Zoning Reform Faces Uphill Battle in Dallas

Writing in D Magazine, Matt Goodman describes the combative mood at a recent Dallas City Council meeting, when council members strongly repudiated efforts to adjust the city’s zoning regulations to boost density and include more duplexes and other ‘middle housing’ types.

According to Goodman, an analysis “found a gulf of 33,600 rental units for individuals who make 50 percent of the area’s median income, which, based on analysis of Census labor data, includes more than one third of the city’s residents.” With the Dallas area becoming increasingly unaffordable for many residents, “City staff are tackling one of the things that could help impact the supply: allowing more than one unit of housing on lots that presently can hold only one.” 

Yet sentiments against upzoning run high, and “Dallas is nowhere close to making such a decision,” and even proposals to permit accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in the city have met with strong pushback. City staff insist the goal is to promote “context-sensitive, gentle-density” that takes into account existing neighborhood character. However, Goodman notes, “What was clear after Tuesday is that they will have to win a fight before they can even begin to research ways to achieve this goal.”