Controversial Texas housing law has 'directly facilitated' over 1,250 new homes

A new Texas state law has indirectly stimulated the production of at least 7,235 new housing units, according to a report from a bipartisan coalition.

In an op-ed, the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board notes that despite opposition from some NIMBY groups and local governments, the law has proven successful in getting more apartments built, directly facilitating over 1,250 units.

The law, SB 840, allows developers to build multifamily housing on commercially zoned land without having to request a zoning variance. "The coalition that authored the report — Texas Appleseed, the American Enterprise Institute and Texans for Reasonable Solutions — identified multifamily applications that would not have been allowed before SB 840 and other projects whose rezoning was made easier by the law." 

While some cities are trying to limit the impact of the law, others are embracing it. Dallas aligned its local rules with the state law and tracks the use of SB 840 in permit applications, which makes it easier to understand the law's effects.