After obtaining disputed land from a condo owner, the Bush Foundation solved another problem over the winter break.

The University Park Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted on Jan. 13 to rezone the eastern edge of campus.

The decision was quite the hurdle for the Foundation, as homeowners were trying to fight the plan for the future parking lot.

The new zoning allows for parking lots to the North of SMU Boulevard, just behind houses on the 2900 block of Dyer Street.

Because SMU owns the land, the process would normally have been “routinely approved,” according to the Dallas Morning News.

However, before UP made the decision, homeowners in the area collaborated to urge the Foundation to consider alternative parking locations.

Through the window of Tom Bowen’s two-story house on Dyer, one can see the tattered trees where in the future people will park their cars during their visit to the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Bowen is one of many who worry about children’s safety in his neighborhood with the future parking lot.

“When the streets get crowded, it’s really hard to see,” he said. “There are a lot of kids around here. We don’t really think the commission took that really into much consideration.”

Bowen and other homeowners went to the commission in December to discuss alternative locations for the future parking lot.

However, the Bush Foundation and SMU agreed that the original plan for the location was better than any proposed alternative.

According to UP’s Web site, with the acceptance of the site plan, the Foundation agreed to stipulations, such as an 8-foot masonry wall, extensive landscaping to make the lot less visible, and signs to direct patrons to parking locations other than neighborhood streets.

“Really, the traffic is the symptom,” he said in response to the wall that would soon be behind his garage.

While some could argue in opposition to the parking lot that the future library may not have thousands of patrons every day, Bowen believes that “it’s the security and safety,” that is still the concern.

The decision is now on its way to City Council for a public hearing at UP City Hall at 5 p.m. on Feb. 22.