The City of Dallas’ comprehensive land use plan, ForwardDallas 2.0, might be moving forward, but the pace is still at a crawl.
Dallas City Council initially expected to review the document and vote on the plan in June. Clearly, that did not happen.
The proposed plan underwent extensive revisions by the City Planning Commission (CPC) during a lengthy meeting on July 25, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
During the July meeting, the CPC approved ForwardDallas for presentation to City Council members in a 10-4 vote.
Then What Happened?
Following July’s marathon meeting, ForwardDallas entered the next phase of revisions, which were to be carried out by members of the Dallas City Council members serving on the Economic Development Committee.
On August 5, the Economic Development Committee was briefed on the latest version of ForwardDallas, per DX.
During the briefing, Emily Liu, director of the City’s Planning and Development Department, and Andrea R. Gilles, deputy director of Planning and Development, presented a comprehensive 26-page overview of ForwardDallas and the modifications made by the CPC to the committee members.
The Planning and Development team discussed meeting individually with each committee member to address their questions before the Economic Development Committee’s special-called meeting, reported DX.
Per City documents, the special-called meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 27 at 11:00 a.m.
What is ForwardDallas?
According to the overview document, “ForwardDallas is a long-range future land use vision that guides how and where the city grows over the coming decades and describes how to achieve that vision. The plan is rooted in five overarching themes that serve as the foundation for the Plan’s goals, objectives, and actions steps.”
The five themes outlined by ForwardDallas include the following: Community + Urban Design, Environmental Justice + Sustainability, Economic Development + Revitalization, Transit Oriented Development (TOD) + Connectivity, and Housing Choice + Access.
This land use plan has not been updated since 2006.
Praise and Opposition
The plan has drawn both praise and opposition from residents.
Those opposed are concerned that the proposal will streamline the process for developers to obtain rezonings for high-density development in areas where it may not be suitable.
“While it has good aspects, it needs to be edited to remove duplexes, triplexes, and tri-homes as single-family units. As citizens of Dallas, we look to you as City leaders to protect our neighborhoods,” Dallas resident Mitt Hawk said during the public hearing portion of the July 25 meeting.
Advocates for the proposal argue that the future land use document will offer essential housing choices across the city.
“We want appropriate housing. We want thoughtful development. We need better services and communities. All of this can be put together by this plan,” said Dallas resident Brian Tony during the July 25 meeting.
What’s Next?
During the special-called meeting on August 27, residents may finally find out if the council members have the necessary eight votes to pass ForwardDallas 2.0 or if they consider amending the plan further, reported Candy’s Dirt.