The debate over reducing minimum lot sizes and allowing for three or four-unit developments in all areas of Dallas turned tense during Wednesday’s Dallas City Council meeting.
What several members and city officials say is a crucial conversation about ensuring residents have access to more housing options, others called a non-starter.
City staff’s briefing was meant to be a conversation starter. No proposals were presented and the council did not vote on any formal plan. But they say the discussion is needed — and long overdue.
“I’m not saying its right for every neighborhood,” District 1 Council Member Chad West said during the meeting. “I just think we should just open our minds and our hearts to consider this.”
West, along with four other council members, directed city staff to look into the issue and brief the council late last year. During a December Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee meeting, several council members voiced harsh criticism and opposition to having the discussion at all.
And Wednesday’s meeting was no different.
“While this may have been a conversation, now that we’re having it my response is no thank you,” District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn said during the meeting.
Mendelsohn argued that the ideas being discussed could upend single-family neighborhoods and break down trust with residents.
“People who bought a home deserve to have that predictability that their neighborhood will stay intact,” Mendelsohn said. “And not turn into something that was once single-family which is now single-family, with multi-family mixed in…I don’t want that.”
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold represents parts of southern Dallas in District 4. She seemed to agree with Mendelsohn’s argument about making sure single-family residents remained the same.
“They don’t want to be victimized by what appears to be…this bamboozle bait and switch,” Arnold said. “We ought to be a city of our word. So, for me, the answer is no for established neighborhoods.”
But others had a different view.
“The best thing that we can do as council members, I think, is figure out the best ways to use the land that we have and preserving areas as well,” District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon said. “It’s not a one size fits all, but we have got to do something.”
Blackmon was one of the members that signed the initial memo to place this discussion before the council.
District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua said stopping the conversation all together won’t help the city figure out the housing issue.
“We’re never going to explore how we can challenge the status quo if we ball up our fists and stomp on the ground and say ‘this is not what we want’,” Bazaldua said during the meeting. “That’s not we were elected to do. That’s lazy.”
Bazaldua also said he was disappointed about how the discussion played out during the meeting.
“It’s really sad in our city, it’s really unfortunate, that we have found a place in time where our governing body can’t even debate policy issues,” Bazaldua said. “Everything I’ve heard today doesn’t surprise me.”
The debate is ongoing — but the council directed city staff to focus on finalizing a new land use plan before tackling the minimum lot size issue.
“This is the beginning of a long, long conversation,” Blackmon said.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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