Spotlight Series

Can you tell us what you do with the city of Duncanville and give a little bit of background on your history, how you became a planner, and what led you to Duncanville?

Warren: Yeah, sure. I'd be happy to answer that question. Thanks for having me. I am the Director of Planning and Zoning in the City of Duncanville. My hometown is Duncanville, so it's a bit of a homecoming. What got me into planning? I discovered planning in high school through an advanced placement program, Human Geography. When I took that my senior year of high school, it kind of opened up my eyes to how I could be a positive agent for change within communities like the one I grew up in. I went to Texas State University in San Marcos and that was what I wanted to do with my life. Learning how I could be that difference maker within communities and improve the quality of life for people within communities, like the one I grew up in. So, I worked for several different cities and for a short time in the private sector and then I was able to come back to Duncanville. I've been here about two years, and it's been a really great experience.

This year, we're focusing on the past, present and future of the Greater Dallas region and how GDPC and our members have played a role in the development of the region. So, what projects have you worked on in the past that have made an impact on the Greater Dallas community?

Warren: So, with the city of Duncanville, I think one of the more interesting projects that I worked on was a was the Ladd Nature Preserve project. So, we were actually able to identify a piece of property within the city, a vacant tract, in a sector of the community that we wanted to utilize for the nature preserve. We did not have the land use capabilities, the qualification, or the classification for nature preserves. But we were able to write code that would enable us to utilize that property as a nature preserve. Also, for future properties to also become nature preserves if other properties were identified as such. So that's one of the projects that we can kind of point back to. Having the ability to create nature preserves in our city was something that's pretty cool.

Can you tell us about some of the projects that you're currently working on that you think will contribute to the growth that we've seen in the region?

Warren: Yeah, we have several current planning projects that we're working on. There's a lot of brownfield development where we're updating existing infrastructure. One piece of property that comes to mind is the Wheatland Plaza development in which there was a Minyard’s there for several years that left. And then the property, through our Economic Development Corporation, partnered with a local developer to kind of revitalize that area. And so, with a combination of land use and economic development, we've really been able to make a catalyst for change and for development in areas that had previously seen decline.

And finally, what big projects are you looking forward to tackling in the future? And what are your goals for the region as a whole?

Warren: I think that one of the exciting aspects of working for the city of Duncanville is the potential for growth and development and for this region to really see its full potential and what it can become. I think that there's a lot of growth that we can do on our main street corridor and really make it a vibrant place to live, work and play. There's always the potential for growth and development and we're really excited to see what's going to come in the future.