3 days ago
Dallas begins first major zoning overhaul in decades to tackle housing affordability and reshape city growth
Across Dallas, housing affordability continues to be a real challenge. The city is now embarking on its first zoning reform in decades.
City leaders aim to boost housing supply, support sustainable growth, and make the development process more transparent. They are currently reviewing what's working, what needs to change, and gathering public input.
As part of her "Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World" book tour, author and zoning expert Sara Bronin is partnering with the Dallas Housing Coalition to share her thoughts. She points out that single-family zoning is currently the dominant land-use type in Dallas.
"Zoning dictates what can be built where, so it will say, for example, that you can only build a single-family home in this neighborhood or that you can only build a factory in that neighborhood," she said. "My thought about zoning is that we should try and make it more flexible and more open."
Bronin said if more single-family residential areas were zoned for multi-family housing, such as duplexes and townhomes, it would open up more options for families.
"It does seem like the planners in the city and many people around them are united in recognizing that zoning is not doing enough for Dallas and helping Dallas plan for its future," she said.
Andrew Warren attended the event, interested in how Dallas' zoning reform effort could expand housing options.
"I got married four years ago and my wife and I moved into an apartment, and after we lived there about two years, our rent went up by $600 a month," he said.
Like many Dallas renters, Warren and his wife want to put that money toward a mortgage, so they've been exploring their options.
"You know the homes are so expensive right now that we've had to save for a while to have enough for a down payment, plus once we have enough for that, we don't want to move somewhere and pay twice as much," he said. "I know some of these zoning changes will probably take a while to start to see the impacts of those, but it is something that we need to do."
Warren said he's hopeful future changes will one day benefit his family.
Dallas residents can learn more and share their feedback online at
