The North Texas Wildlife Center in Plano must relocate or comply with zoning standards by late August.
PLANO, Texas — On an otherwise quiet street in Plano, one house stands out—not for its appearance, but for its purpose. Inside, injured, orphaned, and ill animals are cared for around the clock by the North Texas Wildlife Center.
“We have 57 days now, but who’s counting?” founder Mela Singleton said, referring to the looming deadline imposed by the city.
In just three years, the center has doubled its annual intake of wild animals.
“This year we’re at 2,600 intakes and we’re only in June,” the team shared.
The facility is licensed at the city, state, and federal levels and plays a critical role in local wildlife rehabilitation. Singleton tells WFAA that one of those permits, coupled with a Texas Parks and Wildlife permit, is through Plano’s Animal Services to do work as an animal rehabber.
Recently orphaned baby opossums and a box turtle injured by a car were among the 200 or so current animals being cared for on the day WFAA visited.
“I don’t want them as pets,” said Rebecca Hamlin, President of the center. “I want them to thrive where they belong.”
But success has brought complications. “And we got bigger—and because we got bigger, that increased parking problems and increased foot traffic,” explained Singleton.
Now, the City of Plano says the operation violates residential zoning standards. The center has until late August to comply or relocate.
“We are hoping to never learn how city sanctions work,” Singleton said. “Our goal is to avoid that.” She wants to stress that “none of this is about animal care or condition of the home,” and that the center just recently passed its city inspection with Animal Services.
Even during WFAA’s visit, a new patient, a wounded dove, arrived. It was one of about an average of 20 daily intakes.
A statement from the city of Plano reads: “This is a nonprofit that is being run out of a home in an area that is zoned residential. The home is used for commercial purposes only [… ]. The home has been modified both inside and outside to accommodate animals and their care. The owner indicated they are looking for larger property to meet their needs. We’ve been working with the owners, and will continue to work with them, as they bring the property into compliance. The facility appears to be well managed and the only issue is that it violates our zoning ordinance. Please let me know if you need anything else.”
With limited time and growing need, the center is seeking financial and community support to move into a commercial space, ideally still within the central DFW area.
“So that we can keep doing what we’re doing and save more wildlife,” Hamlin emphasized.
The center says this timeline to comply is coming at a very difficult time for the center: it is peak baby season, and many animals who are unfortunately orphaned are brought here. The center is connected to 57 sub-permitted rehabbers across DFW who have been trained and supplied by the center.
Ironically, it’s now the rehabbers themselves who need to be rehomed.
Editor’s Note: A small part of the city’s statement that reveals the address and one other detail has been omitted for the safety and security of the center.