The City of Irving holds the unique distinction of having one of the highest percentages of renters among similarly sized cities throughout the state.
Only 36.8% of housing units in Irving are occupied by the owner, leaving 63.2% of residents in rental units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. With a population of roughly 250,000, there are a total of 65,123 multifamily units, according to City documents.
While certain small college towns, such as San Marcos, have higher rental rates, Irving is unique in that such a large city has so few homeowners. For example, the similarly sized Garland (pop. 242,035) has a 37% rental population, while Lubbock (pop. 260,993) is slightly higher with 49.9%.
Even College Station has a higher rate of owner-occupied units than Irving, despite the city being the home of Texas A&M University, which has one of the largest student bodies in America.
One reason for this imbalance in Irving’s rental/homeowner ratio could be the preferential approval that the Irving City Council has allegedly given to apartment developments over the years, even when it might undercut the City’s tax base.
“The city’s tax base is primarily commercial,” the most recent budget notes, with over two-thirds of tax collections coming from that source.
So, when the City converts commercially zoned land to multifamily residential — a smaller tax property but with greater infrastructure demands — it potentially weakens Irving’s fiscal situation.
Irving City Council Member Brad LaMorgese (District 2) told The Dallas Express, “We need to continue to ensure we preserve our zoning for businesses. They pay nearly 74% of the taxes in Irving.”
“If we sacrifice our commercial zoning to add more multi-family, ultimately, it will mean taxes will increase,” he continued. “Multi-family does not pay for itself when you consider the use of city services.”
Looking at the situation more broadly, LaMorgese said, “I have always believed we need all levels of housing in Irving. It takes a real focus to make sure that this is in balance and that we are not weighing too heavily in favor of one type of housing over the other.”
“With the addition of so much multi-family, our housing balance is out of proportion,” he explained.
LaMorgese added, however, “I firmly believe our City Council has been heading in the right direction and hope we continue to commit to smart and thoughtful development.”
One example of the ongoing debate surrounding the proliferation of multifamily developments in Irving is the proposed low-income tax credit development at 8000 Walton Boulevard, between a Walmart and a movie theater.
On February 23, the City Council voted in favor of a resolution–in a 5-4 split–to support an application by developer Palladium to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to develop affordable housing in the location.
Council Members J. Oscar Ward (District 5), Dennis Webb (District 8), Mark Zeske (District 3), Phil Riddle (District 4), and Kyle Taylor (District 7) all voted in favor of the development. The opposing votes came from Mayor Rick Stopfer alongside Council Members John Bloch (District 1), Al Zapanta (District 6), and LaMorgese.
The land is currently zoned for commercial use, meaning it would have to be rezoned to allow for residential development.
LaMorgese explained to The Dallas Express his resistance to the proposal, saying, “The proposed tax credit apartments (subsidized housing project) between the Walmart and the Movie Theater would sacrifice our current zoning and forever change it to apartments.”
“The City already has the two largest tax credit complexes in Irving in Valley Ranch,” he noted.
“We need more retail and commercial, and the demand is high for that right now,” LaMorgese continued. “You can look all over LBJ 635 in this area and see the commercial and retail development. The demand is there.”
“The proposed development is not right, and changing zoning would be wrong, in my opinion. The Planning and Zoning Commission rightfully voted 7-1 to reject a comprehensive plan amendment and also rejected the proposed zoning to change it to apartments by that margin,” LaMorgese explained, pointing to the action taken during the committee meeting on May 1.
“I hope the City Council does the same,” LaMorgese added.
The full council will consider amending Irving’s comprehensive plan to allow for the development on May 4.
The perceived imbalance between renting and homeownership has been a topic of discussion in the ongoing City Council elections. Irving City Council District 3 candidate Paul Bertanzetti explained to The Dallas Express that diversified housing is vital to having a strong city.
“We need to protect the homeowners we have here, and it’s been my experience that they’ve passed enough laws for apartment people, but the homeowners are really disadvantaged now,” he suggested.
“The problem with apartments that I’ve found while being in politics and helping candidates go door to door is that when you get to homeowners that are near apartments, they are worried about the crime,” Bertanzetti added.
Nearby municipalities, such as Dallas, have wrestled with increased criminal activity in apartment buildings, prompting some leaders to suggest that developers might be forced to adhere to building requirements recommended by police to reduce crime, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Bertanzetti has been supported by the grassroots political action committee Families for Irving, which seeks to “protect and preserve the character of existing single family housing neighborhoods.”
John Tancabel, a founder of Families for Irving, additionally explained to The Dallas Express that while “higher density makes sense for certain areas of Irving,” the PAC’s leaders “oppose an across-the-board push for higher density.”
“Irving needs to protect and preserve the single-family neighborhoods that it has,” said Tancabel. “These are the neighborhoods that are most attractive to families wanting to put down roots.”
He added, “If Irving continues its push for higher density, single-family homes will become an endangered species.”
Tancabel further clarified that Families for Irving is “not trying to become Southlake and get rid of apartments. But Irving has more than its fair share of apartments.” He pointed to the census statistics as backing for this claim.
Other candidates for District 3, however, have placed the same emphasis on single-family developments as opposed to more rental units.
For example, incumbent Council Member Mark Zeske pointed to his extensive record of voting for tax credit affordable housing units during the recent League of Women Voters Candidate Forum.
Zeske added, however, that the “answer is something complicated” and ultimately suggested that “new jobs fixes [sic] affordable housing,” heralding Wells Fargo breaking ground on a new office building.
A similar dichotomy has also developed in the race for District 5, with the call for a more balanced housing makeup for Irving being led by candidate Mark Cronenwett, who previously served on the Planning and Zoning Commission and has received the support of Families for Irving.
“We need to protect our single-family homeowners. They invest in their homes and neighborhoods, and that’s what provides the stability our City needs to thrive,” Cronenwett told The Dallas Express.
“We cannot allow high-density developers to cram as many apartments as they can next to single-family neighborhoods. That decreases home values, strains the existing infrastructure, and increases crime,” he concluded.
Matt Varble, one of Cronenwett’s opponents in District 5, has said, “I believe affordable housing is an important piece to the city’s success … and affordable housing solutions such as apartments create a cheaper and more accessible way for employees to live and build a future.”
Varble also indicated his support for the low-income development on Walton Boulevard.
Heather Stroup, also running for District 5, said, “We need to ask ourselves, where’s the need in Irving? What is the land use? Do we have the land? Do we have the infrastructure in place?”
“A lot of times, we get these projects going, and we don’t quite have the infrastructure in place, and then people complain about all the traffic that we have,” she added. “We have to have some level of regulation and protection for environmental resources as well, and we need to make sure development does not outpace our infrastructure.”