Dallas Development Services Department is hosting a bring-your-lunch-and-learn event to discuss the City’s landscaping and tree preservation regulations.

“Bring your lunch and join the Development Services Arborists to learn about tree protection regulations, the impact of soil compaction, and Article X. Landscaping is a critical part of the development process, and we want to keep you well informed!” reads the event website.

The event is slated for Monday, June 17, at noon. The session will be held in the Development Services Training Center at 400 South Zang Blvd. Lunch will not be provided.

Dallas’ landscaping and tree preservation regulations comprise about 75 pages of the City Development Code.

Examples include:

“Except as provided in this paragraph, medium legacy trees must be planted in a minimum 400 square foot open soil area with a minimum average soil depth of 36 inches (1200 cubic feet) per tree. For locations with shallow soils of less than 36 inches in average depth, the open soil area must be a minimum [of] 750 square feet.”

“The minimum required landscape area for a shared access development is determined by the number of individual lots. Landscape areas in individual lots may be included in the total landscape area measurement for developments with a maximum of 36 individual lots. … One site tree must be provided for every 4,000 square feet within the shared access development.”

As reported by The Dallas Express, housing prices have kept many would-be homeowners from finding affordable housing in Dallas. Some observers have pointed to the number of building regulations in many Texas municipalities.

“When these burdensome regulations, many of which are superfluous, add roughly six months in delays to construction timelines, Texan home buyers and renters are stuck paying up to 5% in increased costs for every 3.5-month delay,” said Nicole Nosek, founder of Texans For Reasonable Solutions, in a previous statement to DX.

The Development Services Department (DSD) has been criticized in recent years due to inefficiencies, permitting backlogs, and logistical debacles, particularly under former City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who recently quit his post to take up the same job in Austin, as reported by DX.

DSD has five bring-your-lunch-and-learn events scheduled this summer, ranging in topics from permitting hurdles to residential codes.