Attorneys representing the Save Dallas City Hall Coalition have filed a lawsuit in a Dallas County district court against the City of Dallas and key city leaders. The suit alleges that city leaders have failed to follow Dallas law governing the maintenance and preservation of City Hall. The coali tion is asking a judge to require the city to follow historic-preservation procedures and make repairs. The suit is not asking for monetary damages. The suit follows the expiration of a 60-day notice of claim under Proposition S of the Dallas City Charter sent by the coalition on May 12. For context, Proposition S, approved by Dallas voters in 2024, allows residents to sue the city to force compliance with city or state law after providing 60 days’ notice. The coalition says the 60-day waiting period has now expired for its claims that the city failed to preserve and repair City Hall, improperly maintained city property, and violated fiduciary duties. Then on July 22, the coalition separately asked the city’s Historic Preservation Officer to open a demolition-by-neglect investigation, a request the lawsuit argues triggered requirements to inspect City Hall, discuss funding for repairs, and prepare a report for the Landmark Commission. The same letter also served as a new notice under Proposition S, starting another 60-day waiting period before the coalition could bring a related claim against the city. The coalition has not brought that Proposition S claim yet, but is asking the court to order the preservation officer to perform what it argues are mandatory duties under city law. The suit says the request was acknowledged, but the coalition had not been notified that the required meeting, inspection or other steps had been scheduled or completed. In a statement released by the coalition, President Bruce Richardson accused the city of neglecting the building and failing to use available money for repairs. “The City expects private citizens to maintain their properties, but refuses to take responsibility for maintaining our historic City Hall and Plaza,” Richardson said. “Dallas City Hall has at least one failed generator, active parking garage leaks, and is due for roof maintenance. Instead of tackling these problems with millions in available funds, the City halted repairs, wasting money and time to explore a move.” Allegations and claims in the lawsuit Demolition-by-neglect: The suit claims reports of “water intrusion, cracking and concrete deterioration, electrical problems, and a nonfunctioning generator” qualify as “demolition by neglect” under Dallas’ preservation ordinance. Failure to perform investigation duties The coalition says city code requires the preservation officer, after receiving such a request, to meet with the owner or its representative, inspect the building, discuss financing for repairs, and prepare a report for the Landmark Commission. The lawsuit says Historic Preservation Officer Marcus Watson acknowledged the request Aug. 5 and said it had been referred to the City Attorney’s Office. But according to the petition, the coalition had not been notified that the required meeting, inspection, financing discussion or report had been scheduled or completed when the lawsuit was filed. Abuse of city property The coalition alleges the city failed to maintain core life-safety infrastructure, particularly the building’s backup generators. Breach of Fiduciary Duty The coalition alleges the city identified about $22.6 million in ARPA-related budget capacity for City Hall generator, electrical and major maintenance projects, but later reallocated or transferred portions of that funding while repairs remained unfinished. The lawsuit says the exact funding sources and amounts still available are not yet fully known. Failure to Complete Historic Landmark Designation The lawsuit accuses the city of not completing the process of designating City Hall as a historic landmark more than 17 months after the Dallas Landmark Commission voted to initiate designation. It claims “the HPO has still not compiled the required historical significance report, threatening to let the two-year predesignation moratorium expire on March 3, 2027,” a release from the coalition stated. City Hall redevelopment and Mavericks arena The lawsuit ties the preservation dispute to the city’s consideration of City Hall’s future and the Dallas Mavericks’ search for a new arena site. The petition says the city hired a consultant in 2025 to evaluate potential arena locations, and that the Mavericks later identified the City Hall site and former Valley View Mall site as two locations under consideration for a new arena and entertainment district. The coalition argues the city’s exploration of relocating employees and redeveloping the City Hall property adds urgency to its preservation claims. In a news release, the coalition characterized the redevelopment discussions as a “backroom effort to vacate and redevelop the site.” The coalition is asking a judge to order Dallas officials to make necessary repairs to City Hall and prevent further deterioration. It also wants the court to require the city’s Historic Preservation Officer to move forward with the historic-designation and demolition-by-neglect processes, including inspections and required reports. The petition also asks the court to extend City Hall’s predesignation moratorium by the same amount of time the coalition alleges the Historic Preservation Officer delayed required action. The moratorium is currently set to expire March 3, 2027, unless it ends earlier under the city code. NBC 5 reached out to the City of Dallas for comment. A city spokesperson said the city had no comment due to pending litigation. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less