The City of Dallas is losing its directors of housing and planning.
Dallas Director of Planning and Urban Design Julia Ryan and Director of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization David Noguera have resigned from their positions, City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a September memo reported by The Dallas Observer.
Ryan is scheduled to leave her position on September 20, followed two days later by Noguera.
“Please join me in thanking Julia and David for their service to the residents of Dallas,” Broadnax said in the memo.
Overall, Ryan and Noguera have been integral in “advancing critical projects and initiatives during their tenures,” Broadnax said in an email statement to The Dallas Observer. “They will be missed, but we wish them the best.”
Ryan became Dallas’ assistant director of planning and urban design in May 2021 and was moved up to director eight months later. During her tenure, Ryan’s department led conservation efforts for historic and cultural sites in Dallas and completed work on plans, including the Hensley Field Master Plan and the West Oak Cliff Area Plan.
“These two pieces of important work have positive implications in many areas of the city, including housing production, ease of development and permitting, and infrastructure planning,” Ryan told The Dallas Observer in an email statement.
The Dallas Express reached out to Ryan for a statement on her upcoming departure but had not heard back at the time of publishing.
While Ryan’s department has worked to improve development and permitting in Dallas, permit approval times with larger commercial projects are still a point of frustration.
Barrett Linburg, co-founding partner of Savoy Equity Partners recently told The Dallas Express that four of his multifamily building permits saw an average turnaround time of 7.5 months.
Now that state lawmakers have enacted HB14, which allows developers to tap third-party inspectors if a construction permit application exceeds new state-set deadlines, Dallas should see accelerated development and an end to multi-month approval times.
“Theoretically this [HB14] will speed things up massively,” Linburg said.
As for Noguera, his career with the City of Dallas first began in 2017. During his tenure, Noguera helped to reorganize the housing and neighborhood revitalization department, according to Broadnax’s memo.
“It’s a bittersweet time for me as I prepare to leave,” Norguera told The Dallas Express. “Dallas welcomed me with open arms when I arrived in 2017 and I tried to deliver service in the best way I know how.”
During his time as director, Noguera’s department worked to develop programs, processes, and financial incentives to preserve mixed-income housing, the memo said.
Noguera also helped the City acquire more funding and nearly 20,000 housing units through the Mixed-Income Housing Development Bonus Program (MIHDP), the Dallas Housing Finance Corp. (DHFC), the Dallas Public Facility Corp. (DPFC), and the Dallas Housing Acquisition and Development Corp. (DHADC).
“I’ve enjoyed my time with the city and feel like we accomplished a lot during my tenure,” he told The Dallas Express. “I believe the Department is poised for continued growth with the Team and culture we established.”
At this time, Broadnax has not named new interim directors for the departments but said he would announce plans soon.
