The city attorney’s office in Dallas, Texas has recommended that the city remove the right of citizens to petition for the closure of businesses that have been proved harmful to the community, Governing reports. Currently, citizens and City Council members can petition to allow evidence to be presented to determine whether a business site causes enough negative impacts to justify shutting it down. While a new state law adds protection for businesses, the proposed city ordinance would strip the ability for anyone to file petitions, which some say goes too far. “People should have the right to challenge what goes on through amortization,” said Raul Reyes, activist and leader from West Dallas 1. “If I feel that a place is no longer suitable and is being harmful to my community, I should have the right to file if my council member doesn’t want to.”
The city attorney’s office, however, says the proposed law would save the city millions. “If the board of adjustment orders a nonconforming business to close, that decision could cost taxpayers millions of dollars, which would result in diminished funding for necessities like public safety, street repairs, and other city priorities,” the city’s attorney office said in a statement. Past instances of petitions have resulted in the shuttering of a car wash where attempts to curb drug crimes had repeatedly failed, and a small auto repair operation that had been at its location for years when city planners pushed through new zoning and effectively forced it to go away. “I am not aware of any locality that restricts the power of its residents to petition the government for something,” said Ari Bargil, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit that offers free legal services across the country. “There are First Amendment implications when the government is taking away from citizens the ability to ask for certain relief from the government.”
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