Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the City of Dallas should make building homes easier for private developers rather than spend taxpayer money on “affordable housing” projects.
Johnson added that housing advocates often cannot agree on what “affordable housing” means and argued that the City government should incentivize home ownership rather than subsidize lower-income housing developments.
This week, Johnson discussed the upcoming 2024 bond program during an event with the Dallas Regional Chamber, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The mayor reaffirmed his support for the Community Bond Task Force and maintained that the bond proposal should focus on streets and parks.
Other stakeholders, including residents and City officials, have insisted that more bond dollars should be allocated toward housing. The Dallas Housing Coalition has argued that at least $200 million of the $1.1 billion bond should be used for housing initiatives.
“Of course, we care about housing. Of course, housing is important,” Johnson said. “[But] we actually ought to [know] what people mean when they say ‘affordable housing.'”
“If I separated everybody in the room … [and] said define ‘affordable housing’ for me … I can guarantee what I would read back out to you would blow your minds because none of you would be talking about the same thing,” he said.
Johnson said that when people talk about “affordable housing,” they might be referring to the price of single-family homes being too high, while others view it as government-subsidized housing projects à la Section 8. Some may even be referring to subsidized projects that set aside rental units in an apartment complex for people in a certain income bracket.
The mayor explained that his view of the term is focused primarily on the affordability of home ownership.
“I believe that when we’re talking about affordable housing, primarily we should be talking about how expensive it is for people to live in the city of Dallas who would like to buy a house or a condo,” he said. “The affordability of single-family [homes] is very high compared to what it’s been historically. It’s high across the country.”
Johnson added that the high cost of owning a home could be explained by supply and demand and claimed that to make owning a home more affordable, the City should make it easier for private developers to build homes in Dallas.
“Housing is a market, and it is not exempt from [supply and demand] despite the fact that we talk about it like it’s something different. We don’t have enough houses,” Johnson said. “So, people who would like to be in Dallas — who would like to own a house — are bidding up the price of any individual house that becomes available.”
“So how do we increase the supply of housing is my challenge to the City of Dallas. … In my opinion, we’ve got to help the private sector build more houses. And the primary way … is making permitting more efficient and make zoning less of a difficult process for us,” he added. “We [have] to be talking about how to really make it easy to build in our City because that’s the only way you actually ultimately affect that.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Development Services Department officials have been turning out residential building permits for single-family homes quicker than in previous years. However, building permit activity under City Manager T.C. Broadnax has been down year over year, likely due to the periodic delays and operational backlogs the agency has become known for.
Johnson maintained that the City government has a poor track record when it comes to being a “direct provider of housing.” He said spending a “considerable amount” of bond dollars on certain housing programs is misguided.
He added that residential zoning is an important part of housing affordability and said the City should continue discussions about how to utilize zoning to make homes more affordable.
As reported by The Dallas Express, City officials are deliberating potential changes to the City code that would allow two- to four-unit homes in neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family homes.
Council Member Chad West (District 1) put forth this proposal in an effort to increase the housing supply and make homes more affordable. However, opponents have argued this measure will have little impact on housing affordability and could increase housing costs and destroy communities.