The Dallas City Council will still have to approve the plans for the store.

DALLAS — The first H-E-B store within Dallas city limits became one step closer to reality Thursday. 

The Dallas City Plan Commission Thursday approved a zoning change to allow the project to move forward, with some amended restrictions. The issue will still have to go before the Dallas City Council. 

The popular, Texas-based grocery chain has been expanding in North Texas and is planning its first store in Dallas city limits at the southeast corner of Hillcrest Road and LBJ Freeway in North Dallas. 

The grocer bought the nearly 10-acre piece of land in January, and their plans for the site include a 100,000-plus-square-foot grocery store.

The site currently has aging office buildings, according to Dallas city filings. Its zoning ahead of the rezoning effort allows for low-rise office buildings. 

At meetings ahead of the City Plan Commission vote, residents near the site had expressed concerns about the potential traffic impacts. H-E-B had sought to ease some of those concerns, proposing dedicated turn lanes, among other measures, to ease congestion around the store. 

“We appreciate the thoughtful consideration from city officials, staff, and community members throughout this process. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the city and neighbors,” the company said in a statement after Thursday’s vote. 

Some speakers at the City Plan Commission Thursday again raised traffic concerns, though, and among the traffic mitigation measures proposed is a right turn lane at Hillcrest Road. 

“I love H-E-B… but this is a really bad location for everyone concerned,” nearby resident Nell Taylor said during a recent meeting regarding the project ahead of the city plan commission vote. “The traffic is a huge concern. My biggest concern is the crime rate… I just feel like there is going to be a lot of vandalism, and it’s going to make a lot of havoc for our neighborhood.”

While the proposed North Dallas store would be the first one in Dallas proper, H-E-B did open a Joe V’s Smart Shop in southern Dallas in the 4100 block of W. Wheatland Road last year. followed by a second Joe V’s Smart Shop at 7700 Samuell Boulevard that opened earlier this year.