Landmark Commission denies claimed demolition-for-safety at 1102 Church St., then approves reconstruction, garage demolition and new carport

The Landmark Commission of Dallas voted on a sequence of items tied to 1102 Church Street in the Tenth Street Historic District on June 2, 2025: it denied a retrospective demolition claim filed under the “imminent threat to public health or safety” standard, then approved a certificate of appropriateness to reconstruct the house (framing-only condition), approved demolition of an accessory detached garage, and approved construction of a rear-yard two-car carport with conditions.

Staff had presented the demolition request (case COA-25-52) with a recommendation to approve because the structure had already been largely stripped to its framing and staff found the work met the cited city-code demolition standard. The City attorney summarized the legal standard for demolition under the code: to approve a demolition for imminent threat the commission must find (1) a documented, major and imminent threat to public health and safety, (2) that demolition or removal is required to alleviate that threat, and (3) that there is no reasonable alternative to avoid demolition in a timely manner.

Commissioners concluded the applicant had not borne the burden of proof on those elements and voted to deny the demolition request. The commission then considered a related COA to reconstruct the main building (case COA-25-57).…