A new housing plan is heading to Dallas City Hall for debate even as some Austin residents are assailing a similar proposed measure in their own city.
During its next meeting on December 12, the Dallas City Council Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee will take up District 1 Council Member Chad West’s proposal to allow three- and four-unit homes in residential neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family homes.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, West submitted a memo last month seeking a “discussion and possible path forward” for potential amendments to the Dallas City Code that would allow “tri-plexes” and “four-plexes” to be developed in single-family zones in an attempt to address the city’s housing crisis.
West’s memo was co-signed by Council Members Adam Bazaldua (District 7), Jaynie Schultz (District 11), Paula Blackmon (District 9), and Jaime Resendez (District 5).
“It’s too expensive to live here, and it’s actually getting worse,” West told NBC 5 DFW. “[People are] coming from the East Coast and the West Coast. They’re moving here because it is a favorable economy.”
“And if we want to welcome them in our city and not just keep perpetuating urban sprawl, we’ve got to do something about providing housing initiatives,” he said.
He argued that his proposal would increase the availability of lower-income housing in Dallas, citing the Kings Highway neighborhood in Oak Cliff, which he represents on the CIty Council. The neighborhood includes single-family homes alongside duplexes and fourplexes.
“This is a neighborhood that has adjusted and developed over time with gentle density, allowing for housing for our service workers, police and fire, our nurses, folks that are otherwise getting pushed out to Grand Prairie, Garland, outside of Dallas, because they can’t afford to live here anymore,” he told NBC 5.
While West argues that increasing the density and the supply of housing units will make housing more affordable, others argue it will have the opposite effect.
The City of Austin is currently considering a similar proposal put forth by Council Member Leslie Pool called the Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment (HOME) initiative.
The Austin City Council is scheduled to vote on the first of two phases of the proposal on December 7. While some members of the Austin community support the HOME initiative, many residents have vocally opposed it.
Many of these dissenting voices were highlighted in a recent documentary entitled Subdivide and Conquer: The Realities of HOME. In the film, some Austinites argue that allowing more units on plots designed for single-family neighborhoods will increase housing costs and destroy communities.
“More density does not equal affordable housing. This is a huge myth,” claimed architect and realtor Kimberly Kohlhass. “I don’t see this as a solution at all.”
“The developer gets paid by the square foot, and I’ve seen how they cram square footage into the attic that shouldn’t be counted as square footage,” she explained. “They’re not going to do a bunch of tiny homes on a lot. They’re going to maximize every square foot because that’s their job.”
Urban planner Jim Duncan of Duncan Associates also argued that developers want to weaken regulations in an effort to increase profits, sometimes to the detriment of residents.
“They’re feeding the other side with the false narrative that density equals affordability, and everybody knows that’s not true,” he claimed.
Furthermore, Bill Bunch, executive director of Save Our Springs Alliance, noted that in 2021, one-third of the homes sold in Austin were sold to investors rather than people intending to actually live in them.
“Normally, you increase supply, and the prices go down, but it’s not that simple in a city where land can’t expand; you have a fixed supply of land,” he said.
The complete 30-minute documentary can be viewed here.