Dallas officials are debating a proposal that would reduce the minimum lot size in residential neighborhoods and allow two- to four-unit homes in areas currently zoned for single-family houses.
The proposal was put forth by Council Member Chad West (District 1). It will be formally taken up at a special meeting of the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee on Tuesday, December 19.
West said the purpose of the briefing was “to see what the process would be for amending the construction codes and the Dallas Development Code to allow for the construction of additional dwelling units.”
“Housing in the City of Dallas is becoming unaffordable for many would-be residents due to a lack of available housing units,” he told Candy’sDirt. “Reducing minimum lot sizes and increasing the number of residential dwelling units allowed on a lot will allow for the development of additional dwelling units in residentially zoned areas.”
“Simply put, this policy would make it easier to build housing that meets the needs and incomes of middle-class Dallasites,” West claimed. “Just last week Austin took a major step forward in implementing lot size reform through the HOME initiative, a policy that has worked in cities like Houston and Minneapolis in taming their affordability crisis.”
“If Dallas cares about tackling gentrification and displacement, we must open up the opportunity for more moderate-sized lots,” he added.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Austin City Council recently approved the first phase of a proposal very similar to West’s. However, the item was met with vocal pushback from many residents and stakeholders.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12), who serves as vice chair of the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, also takes issue with this proposal coming to Dallas.
“I support reduced lot sizes for new developments, but not changing the development rules in existing neighborhoods,” she explained to Candy’sDirt. “People who want to add an [accessory dwelling unit] or other structure on their property already have a means to do so, through the Board of Adjustment.”
Mendelsohn claimed in a newsletter to her constituents in North Dallas that the proposal was a “scheme to remove single-family zoning, opening the issue of short-term rentals to all areas, along with the right to build accessory dwelling units and turn properties in neighborhoods into multifamily or several smaller homes.”
“To allow it by right would essentially eliminate single-family zoning and bring a series of issues that haven’t been explored or evaluated, including lot coverage issues, drainage issues, on-street parking problems, water delivery issues, sanitation challenges, boarding home/group home challenges, and more,” she said.
Mendelsohn added that the City’s initiatives to make housing more affordable should focus on developing vacant land in southern Dallas, lowering property taxes, and reforming the City’s zoning and permitting offices to incentivize more home development.
Mayor Eric Johnson has taken a similar stance on the housing issue, as reported by The Dallas Express. He has maintained that the City government has a poor track record when it comes to being a “direct provider of housing.”
Johnson said the City should instead make building homes easier and more efficient for private developers to increase the supply of single-family houses and make home ownership more affordable for Dallas residents.
