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Irving exemplifies the troubles faced by inner-ring suburbs

12:00 AM CST on Sunday, December 27, 2009
By BRANDON FORMBY
bformby@dallasnews.com

In many ways, Irving is the poster child for the issues typical to inner-ring suburbs over the past decade. Its growing pains come not from population booms, but from shifting demographics and attempts at reinvention.

Irving has served as the backdrop for the national debate on illegal immigration. And it has decided the balance of political power in the Texas House. The Dallas Cowboys are gone, a convention center's going up and a light-rail line is being laid.

"In the last decade, we've actually become a world-class city," said longtime City Council member Lewis Patrick.


Representation

Hispanics remain the largest racial or ethnic group in the city. Their ranks between 2000 and 2008 grew at five times the rate of the city's overall population. Still, Hispanics often criticize the all-white City Council for not representing their needs or dealing with claims that police racially profile residents.

One of the biggest points of contention is the department's use of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that checks the citizenship status of arrestees. Irving has turned over more than 5,000 suspected illegal immigrants for deportation since 2006.

Earlier this year, a U.S. District Court judge ordered the creation of single-member districts aimed at helping Hispanics get elected. Proposed districts await federal approval.

North Lake College professor Rene Castilla said that if implemented, the districts will not only help Hispanics' issues get council attention but also force council members to better inform and listen to all of their constituents. "And I don't think the overall Irving community realizes the significance it's going to make in their involvement," he said.

With sales-tax dollars committed to DART, Irving lost America's Team. Yet the city is wasting no time in getting rid of the iconic Texas Stadium, which will be demolished early next year.

"It's given us a prime piece of real estate to create some significant tax base on," said Mayor Herbert Gears.


Building up

Development has become the name of the game in a city that already draws business behemoths. In 2000, details on DART's Orange Line were sketchy at best. Now, construction is under way on the 14-mile light-rail line that will link downtown Dallas to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

City leaders are quick to brag about more than $4 billion worth of development expected to surround the line. It's believed to be the biggest collection of planned transit-oriented development in the nation.

"The Orange Line is going to be the catalyst that draws additional opportunities to our city," said Chris Wallace, president and CEO of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce.

Reshaping already-developed areas is also a top priority. Everything from aging apartment complexes to business signs lining corridors has led to hard-line enforcement and new ordinances. The city also committed millions of dollars in loans and consulting fees to Delbert McDougal, who is charged with redeveloping the city's Heritage District.

Such aggressive and costly moves are typically controversial. But Patrick, who joined the council in 1996, said the actions are effective – and often emulated by other older suburbs.

"I think it's better now than when I first got on the council," he said of the city.

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