Housing developers will find it more difficult to skirt zoning requirements in terms of height and floor-count around here. The Dallas City Council came to its senses and ruled that builders have to measure the height of a building from the ground — what a concept — rather than a mound of dirt surrounded by, say, a flower box at the corner of the building. In other words, they squashed "dirt skirts."

The ruling, in part, occurred because of a group of folks who live on or near Oram Street. They lost their battle but won the war.

Council also passed an ordinance that places a $500 fee on any suburban resident who has the audacity to become involved in a vehicular accident within city limits — whether or not that person was at fault. Double coupon day, I guess, if two suburbanites crash into each other. The fee does not apply to Dallas residents.

That seems like a double standard given Dallas' great wailing and gnashing of the teeth when Highland Park leaders even thought about maybe imposing a toll on Mockingbird Lane between Central Expressway and the Dallas North Tollway.

And where does the letter of the law stop and the spirit of the law start? Ostensibly, you'd think the ordinance is aimed at suburban commuters who use Dallas streets daily, so OK, people from Richardson, Plano, Garland, Mesquite, and all the others. But what about someone here on, say, a shopping trip from Tulsa? I mean, they had the good sense to escape Oklahoma, if for only a day, and some Dallas yahoo plows into them, and well, "here's the bill for $500. Thank you for shopping Dallas." Or someone here for vacation — can't imagine why, though — from Montana — oh, that's why. Car wreck? "Sorry, pay up, and enjoy your stay. Y'all come back now, ya hear?"

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