What goes on there right now can be no worse than what goes on now.
That neighborhood can't get any worse, it can only get better. And that hotel is ground zero.

Go down there at night and watch the prostitutes that operate 1 block from the hotel to catch johns and then go straight to the motel with their pre-purchased rooms.

More virulent crime vs what's been happening at the hotel for years?Check out the police records for that beat as I did - look at the awful things that go on at that place. It's already occuring.

We're not working with the owners anymore - they have owned that hotel for years and they know exactly what goes on there and at other hotels that they own.

Are you really going to say it can not be worse? I was born in Detroit, if you have ever had the misfortune of watching the brand of football the Lions play, you know, it can get worse. If you have ever spent time in any depressed area in a Rust Belt city, you know how much worse things can be.

I will concede several points to you. First that there is prostitution there. Second, that the entity running the Motel 19 makes a profit off letting it happen. Third, that they may be paying city officials to allow it to happen.

While conceding those points, I ask you to pull the back another layer of the onion of corruption. And look at why the Motel 19 is profitable. If there is demand for a service or product, it will be sold. Motel 19 deals in sex. Which is Illegal, but there are many other places in Dallas that sell the same product.

You are intent on shutting it down. Why? Motel 19 must be making money, or it would go out of operation of its own. You speak of a public safety issue, but, if the public safety was threatened, it would have been shut down already. Organized crime, crime for a profit, is better than stupid crime. Stupid crime ends up with crimes of violence that make no sense.

Second, I dislike the way you are attempting to shut down this business. You have identified the Motel 19 as a high crime area. Shutting down the hotel will lead to more violent crimes, the Motel 19 probably has its own rules about what can be done. They stay open by making a profit. If bodies start showing up in the area, the media will take notice and it will be shut down. They have an interest in selling sex and keeping it safe. If you doubt it, drive by most of the legal sex shops in Dallas along Westmoreland and see if they do not have a guard posted to keep the business inside.

Third, it will make the Patel's need to pay more to be in business or not to have too many police around. We could just convince a city council member get police to police the area. That would take the profit out of the business before trying to put a business out of business through a city council vote or condemnation.

What I am saying is let the Patel family keep the Motel. We both know that it is place of illrepute next to several schools.

If you and I can both go there and see that there are bad things happening, even from our untrained eyes, get the police to stand between the customer and the profit. Then the Motel 19 will shut down on its own.

Naptha, sometimes I just need a little bit of clarification. You seem to openly admit that Motel 19 profits from illegal activity--for which it is a friendly business.

Dealing crack is enormously profitable for some. It's still illegal. If it's illegal, it needs to go. Period.

We can't make decisions that particular types of illegal activity are "OK" to have in a certain place or that placing appropriate "rules" on illegal activity will give them a "pass" to continue what they're doing.

It just needs to stop.

The City Plan Commission is a city entity. The Commission is part of the "system" for shutting down this kind of trash.

Shutting down the Motel 19 will not lead to more violent crime. It will decrease crime in the area by giving miscreants one less reason to be there.

"Rules of the house" or "no rules of the house," if the rules govern how to run your illegal activity its not the kind of business Dallas wants or needs.

Shut 'em down Mikey!

your argument has flaws which Allen already mentioned.

Take 20 bucks, rent a room one night at this dump, and tell me what you think.

If the motel was shut down across from Townview Magnet school in Oak Cliff, maybe we wouldn't have had the situation a month or so ago where the guy lived at the hotel and tried to kidnap a student. Or the shootings that go on constantly at the motel near Ohio & Beckley, less than 1 mile away from this dump.

You drive in that area late at night and tell me if it doesn't attract crime. We're not going to wait for that to happen here.

People that allow our neighborhoods to be dangerous while posing to be city plan commissioners will be exposed. Maybe we don't have the resources that the bad guys have to "lobby" the powers that be, but we have the community's support and God willing this place will be a memory in the near future.

The room is only $20, but the action may cost an extra $50.

It is not your intentions I am critical of, it is your plan for achieving those goals.

Closing down the Motel 19 is a noble goal. It treats a symptom but not the disease.

I may have better defined my "Argument" in an earlier response, it has not yet been posted. If and when that is that is posted, we can discuss that matter further.

In the mean time, a new way to look at it. Flash forward to next year. What if the Motel 19 is gone. Describe to me how you see it playing out. What is the next step?

The City of Dallas can has not even figured out how deal with the folks that are either to crazy or addicted to take good care of themselves. Shall we shut down the City Court because the area around it is haven for beggers?

By saying, God willing, are you saying God wants the Motel 19 shut down? (For those of you watching home, I am trying to bait Mike into a discussion about the will of God) That is an "Arguement" for another day.

"You drive in that area late at night and tell me if it doesn't attract crime. We're not going to wait for that to happen here"

It is good that you see the Motel 19 as a "Here".

I want enforcement, education, and opportunity for the "Here".

The real enemy is poverty of the pocket, the mind, and the soul.

Close down the Motel 19, but have a plan for something better. It must employ a few folks in the area that only change the sheets and get tips, and when that is gone, they will be out of a job.

If Motel 19 were selling the sex themselves, like a shower and tan place, they would be profiting from it. They are making a profit because of the proliferation of prostition, which creates an increased need for temporary bed space. And being a motel....

"We can't make decisions that particular types of illegal activity are "OK" to have in a certain place or that placing appropriate "rules" on illegal activity will give them a "pass" to continue what they're doing."

We, meaning you and I can't, but it does happen all the time. Sex is sold in Dallas, and for some time it seems that the City of Dallas has chosen to tolerate that business in that area.
Yet, even if you are successful in shutting down then MOTEL 19, people will still enjoy paying for sex. Guess they will head over to the Relax Inn in Grand Prairie. I am all for shutting down the Motel 19 as well, but buy attacking their livilyhood, prostitution. Enforce the law around the Motel 19, so that people think, "I will not go to the Motel 19 to pay for sex, there are too many police," and people that sell sex will go, "I will not sell my wares at the Motel 19, there are too many police." Motel 19 will be forced to go legit, or lose its profitability and close. Use the law to create market forces that will achieve your goal. Lack of prostitution will create a decrease in the demand for temporary bed space, thus, a loss of profit for a motel. The motel is symptom, the selling of sex is the disease.

"Dealing crack is enormously profitable for some. It's still illegal. If it's illegal, it needs to go. Period"

Prostitution is more like quasi-legal, like marijuana use, or gambling. If a large enough section of the population is willing to pay for something, it will be sold. With in limits, why not legalize, regulate, and tax on those sorts of social issues. That policy has worked well with booze, gambling, tobacco. Why would it not with work with sex and some drugs? I digress. But becouse of this quasi legal environment, a city ends up with are areas where it is ok to engage in certain activities. That way those activities don't end up in other areas of the city. When this situation was going on a year ago, it was non issue, because those who lived in the area lacked enough power to get their voices heard. It seems that since BTW is coming to the area, bringing with it, new stakeholders with larger status in the community, the powers that be will have to take notice. Prior they were aware of the situation, but had little interest in taking action, because, it would not be politically profitable for them too.

Look, Naptha, I see where you're going with your argument. As someone who is "quasi-libertarian-friendly" (I've been trying to figure out how to work "quasi" into my response--hey, it's the best I could come up with on the spur of the moment!) I can appreciate the reference to "quasi-legal" activities.

However, prostitution is not legal or even "quasi-legal." It is illegal. You may argue that it is "acceptable" to have in certain areas. I'll argue that, if this is the case, get the law changed to allow it in certain "acceptable" areas.

Until then, we don't need to "cushion" the law for a motel owner who knows good-and-well what's going on in his establishment. We need to abide by the spirit and purpose of the law.

In this case, a prostitution-promoting, neighborhood-destroying sex motel needs to go!

I really get a kick out of the "Couples 19" sign, I mean it really screams cheap sex motel. The sign is a Dallas classic. But, if you must shut it down. Maybe the sign can go to the Smithsonian...

I just looked at the Dallas City Hall Crime Stats for Motel 19, they are seemingly better than those nearby on the North side of Keist, there has been 1 aggravated assault, 2 thefts, not one robbery, not even the motel itself, and 4 cars have been stolen. That makes 1 violent crime and 6 property crimes. For that neighborhood, not bad. 45 calls in 4 years, some apartment complexes or trailer parks can pry top that in few months.

I decided to scroll the map and compare Motel 19 stats to those of the nearby intersection of Polk and 67. 8 car thefts, 4 armed robbery, 4 assaults, 4 burglaries, 7 thefts. 27 cimes, 19 non violent, 8 violent. Should we then also shut down those businesses in that area? They seem to be a greater magnet for crime than the Motel 19.

So is city should deny a special use permit based on your measure of "percieved crime"? Because the posted crime stats did not seem to support closing it down. However, there were no map Icons for Prostitution or Drug Dealing, (But, if there were a hooker icon on the site, I would pry laugh at it.) What are the number of arrests on or withing 300 feet of the Motel 19 for the aforementioned vices since Jan. 1 2005?

In comparison to the rest of the area, I am not feeling your high crime vibe.

The permit was denied by the City Planning Commission. The owner can appeal to city council and district court, but since he is without a Special Use Permit, we look to get the motel shut down as soon as possible.

Now, sustain the Momentum by putting something better in its place. Dark and empty property with no owners tend to pose a different kind of problem. Now that you have achieved your first goal, the real job can start.

That neck of the woods has many problems, and the Motel was one of them. Maybe not the worst, but you were able to get the ball rolling a positive direction. I applaud your work.