Some Dallas council members are trying to figure out if amending single-family zoning restrictions could bring more housing opportunities to residents. But during Tuesday’s Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee meeting, members said a change to current zoning restrictions to allow for development by right is a “non-starter.”
The conversation comes after District 1 Council Member Chad West and four other members submitted an early November memo requesting a briefing over amending the zoning restrictions.
“Housing in the City of Dallas is becoming unaffordable for many would-be residents due to a lack of available housing units. Reducing minimum lot sizes and increasing the number of residential dwelling units allowed on a lot will allow for the development of additional dwelling units in residentially zoned areas,” the memo said.
Along with West, District 5 Council Member Jaime Resendez, District 11 Council Member Jaynie Schultz, District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua and District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon all signed the memo.
The memo tasked city staff to come up with different options for how housing density could be increased across the city.
Before their presentation, staff members told council members several times that the briefing was to start the conversation and was not a formal proposal. But they did say the conversation is worth having.
“The reality is, this is a conversation happening in every single city nationally,” Planning and Urban Design Interim Director Andrea Gilles said during the meeting. “If the City of Dallas won't have that conversation, its going to be problematic. We need to get ahead of it and start talking about it.”
But Tuesday’s conversation quickly turned into some council members — and residents in attendance — voicing their opposition to what staff had presented. Those concerns centered on protecting current single family zoning restrictions.
“By right is a big red flag for me and a non-starter,” District 2 Council Member Jesse Moreno said during the meeting. “I believe in neighborhood self-determination.”
‘Barriers to other types of housing’
City staff laid out what the five-signature memo had requested. That includes looking at the process to create new “tri-plex” and “four-plex” code definitions, reduce minimum lot size of single-family districts — and to allow those new uses to be built in single-family zoned areas of the city.
West and other housing advocates say these ideas could potentially create more housing stock and make sure more Dallas residents are able to find adequate housing at different price points.
“I can’t emphasize enough that this is just a conversation, there is no proposal on the table,” Gilles said. “But it is an intent to start the conversation around these issues.”
Gilles said that the conversation around how to create more housing opportunities has also been a part of the Forward Dallas land use plan conversations.
“Again, not exactly how we do it, but thinking about the big picture ideas about accommodating more housing in our city,” Gilles said.
Planning and Urban Design Assistant Director Andreea Udrea said during the meeting that right now, city code makes it difficult for different housing options to be built.
“The code right now is not necessarily welcoming,” Udrea said during the meeting. “It contains barriers to other types of housing.”
Udrea says the city does acknowledge the need for more diverse housing options in the city and says the discussion needs to center around greater access to “neighborhood living.” And a gentle increase in density also needs to be “context sensitive.”
“Meaning, it has to fit well within the area that is being developed,” Udrea said.
But nearly every council member in attendance at the meeting voiced concern over what staff had presented at the request of some elected officials.
‘Way off base’
Residents and council members say the process outlined could jeopardize single-family residential neighborhoods in the city. Similar concerns were raised during the city’s battle over a new short-term rental ordinance — and during conversations around how to limit heavy industry in vulnerable communities.
During the briefing city staff told council members it had “laid the groundwork” for how to start addressing some of the city’s housing needs while thinking about the Forward Dallas project.
District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelson told staff the “proposal” before the committee would mean residents couldn’t count on an area staying single-family — and said she believed the staff’s presentation is “way off base.”
“Any one of their neighbors could then make this into a four-plex by right,” Mendelson said. “So, they actually don’t get to chose a single family neighborhood anymore.”
Other council members say the decision to bring the presentation to committee did not have all communities in mind.
“What we don’t want is for other individuals, who don’t represent our districts, to speak on our behalf with the design of communities that are not supported by infrastructure, economic development solutions,” Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold said. “I don’t have individuals knocking on our door…asking us for the city to introduce a mandated policy by right.”
Arnold said her constituents are asking for market-rate single-family homes — not “infill housing” that doesn’t “raise the bar” in southern Dallas.
“I’m a little bit offended by the fact that this process is rolling out and no one has knocked on my door at all to find out from me what’s going on in District 4,” Arnold said.
Conversation delayed
Council Member Bazaldua was one of the only members present that signed the memo. He said the meeting wasn’t transparent and didn’t allow residents to give their full input.
“Scheduling a special called meeting knowing the author of the memo wasn’t even available ahead of time, to me is disingenuous,” Bazaldua said during the meeting. “This is clearly an attempt to stifle the democratic process that we have in our city.”
Bazaldua also pointed to how minimum lot requirements have been historically used in Dallas.
“Minimum lot coverage size was also used as an alternative to redlining and deed restrictions that perpetuated segregation,” Bazaldua said. “I think that’s important for us to speak to.”
At nearly every point of the discussion, staff emphasized any code amendment would go through the usual process. That’s through public hearings, zoning advisory boards, committees and finally full council.
But they warned a solution was needed — and Dallas was behind in trying to find one.
“To be fair this is actually a delayed conversation, we are late to game to this conversation to be perfectly frank,” Gilles said. “I think the reality is…the pressure on our neighborhoods is not going to change if we don’t do anything. Our city is changing so how are we doing to adapt?”
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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