Five Dallas City Council members want the city to study changes to development standards that would allow more housing to be built on sites where only single-family homes are currently allowed.
North Oak Cliff City Councilman Chad West sent a memo to the mayor Wednesday directing city staff to investigate code changes to allow duplexes, triplexes and quadruplexes in residential neighborhoods. The memo also mentions lot size. Most residential lots in Dallas are between 5,000 square feet and 7,500 square feet. Mr. West wants to reduce the city's minimum population to 1,500 people, believing that doing so will encourage manageable population density on the city's valuable existing land. In his memo, he asks the council to hold a briefing within the next 30 days.
“Due to a lack of available housing units, housing in the City of Dallas is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many prospective residents,” the memo states. “By reducing the minimum lot area and increasing the number of residential units on site, it will be possible to develop additional units in a residential-only area.”
West was joined by colleague Jaime Rezendes, who represents Southeast Dallas. Janey Schultz, North Dallas City Council member; Paula Blackmon of White Rock Lake; and Adam Bazaldua in the air above South Dallas and Fair Park.
West said he hopes the city follows the example of Houston, which lowered its minimum lot size from 5,000 square feet to 1,400 square feet in 1998. There, it's not uncommon to find blocks of townhomes and duplexes interspersed with single-family homes.
In July he announced his plans. dallas morning news Opinion article. This week's memo is an important procedural step that will allow staff to ultimately submit their findings to the City Planning Commission for consideration. Ultimately, the City Council would have to approve the changes.
Dallas is lagging behind other major Texas cities in addressing residential zoning amid a housing shortage. Austin lowered its minimum lot size to 2,500 square feet this summer after a recent study found that allowing more infill development could lower housing costs by giving people more places to live.
And we need more places for people to live. A recent study by the nonprofit Child Poverty Action Lab found that Dallas has a shortage of 33,600 rental units for people earning 50 percent of the area median income. That means $31,150 for a single-person household, $35,600 for a two-person household, and $40,500 for a three-person household.
Just under half (40 percent) of our workforce pool holds jobs with an average annual salary of less than $40,500. Prices are rising from urban areas, and West and his colleagues are trying to find ways to create scenarios that increase housing supply. These strategies start with the humble task of zoning reform. For tens of thousands of Dallas residents, the dream of owning a home is currently impossible. Next year's bond will likely include housing funding, but the work to support it will be included in the zoning code.
West and his colleagues are asking about the “contextual missing middle,” in planning parlance: two-, three-, and four-unit buildings that often look like single-family homes next door. . Junius Heights and M Street are existing examples of neighborhoods that have a mix of medium-density and traditional housing.
Dallas' complex web of zoning regulations makes it difficult, if not impossible, to construct such buildings in most residential neighborhoods. The city does not have a specific zoning classification for triplex or quadruplex homes, and they are currently only allowed in multifamily zones. However, multifamily zoning also allows for large apartment buildings, which generally poses an obstacle for single-family homeowners. Planners want to build predictability into the zoning code so neighbors can rest assured that the quadplex, which blends into the rest of the block, won't one day turn into an apartment tower. The city may also need to analyze setbacks, lot area, and other relevant code requirements to ensure that these new types of housing can be built.
That's a big part of the memo request. “The purpose of the briefing is to review what the process will be for amending the Building Code and the Dallas Development Code to allow for the construction of additional housing.”
Urban planner and researcher Nolan Gray explained the problem in 2019:
A small 1,400 square foot lot will accommodate a rowhouse or shotgun house. These are building types that keep housing cheap and the strain on infrastructure low by conserving land. They also tend to generate more tax revenue per acre to fund municipal services. The high density also allows for walkable, mixed-use urban districts. On the other hand, large lots of 5,000 square feet are the norm in post-war American suburbs. These larger lots mean fewer homes can fit in a given area, facilitating automation and separation of land uses such as residential and commercial.
Texans for Reasonable Solutions, an Austin-based advocacy and research group, urged lawmakers to take up the issue in Austin. He uses Houston as an example, calling it “a true Texas success story.” The paper calls the city “the most liberally regulated major city in the United States when it comes to land-use restrictions,” citing data showing median home sales prices are below state and national prices.
Redfin data this year shows Houston's median home sale price was $311,000, compared to the national price of $407,100, according to the U.S. central bank. The median sale price in Dallas was $398,000, according to an October report from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center.
Similar efforts to promote housing density failed in the last Congress. Democrats in the Texas Legislature helped kill a series of bills supported by affordable housing advocates. It would also have prevented local governments from requiring residential lots larger than 2,500 square feet. Another company would have given homeowners permission to build accessory dwelling units (garage apartments or granny apartments) on their property without local government permission.
Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas) led the opposition, describing it as another attempt by the state to prevent local governments from creating ordinances the right size for their communities.
The ironic take on the no vote is that lawmakers didn't want to add any density to state law. If this is truly a matter of local control, this week's memo is the first step in clarifying where the Dallas City Council stands on the types of housing that can be built in most areas of the city. It will be. And in doing so, determine who can afford it in the future.
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Matt Goodman is Online Editorial Director. D Magazine. He writes about a man who was a surgeon who killed someone.
