Dallas look to increase multi-unit housing

The city of Dallas will unveil a plan to change zoning rules. City planners say the goal is to increase multifamily and mixed-use developments to improve housing options. Fox 4's Lori Brown joins us from the newsroom. Hey, Lori. Hi, Clarice. Today, city planners working on zoning changes for Dallas said that while the DFW area is the fastest growing region in the country and sets to soon surpass Chicago in population, the city of Dallas is not capturing that growth. One goal of the Dallas zoning reform is to help change that by increasing where multi-unit housing and mixed-use developments are allowed. Planners also are proposing to allow smaller homes on smaller lots to align with the new state law. Planners say the zoning reform will encourage a wider range of housing options, modernize what they call outdated zoning rules and old approaches, and balance the need for preservation with the need for development. Councilman Chad West said the city needs to be thinking about helping increase affordable options that millennials may want, while other council members emphasize the need to protect single-family neighborhoods. And what we have to be concerned about is, when we start allowing multifamily in these single family neighborhoods, we allow one duplex, we allow a second duplex. Well, now we look at it and it makes sense to add a triplex. Now it's easier to put in a fourplex. And so we start dissolving the characteristics of a neighborhood. If we want to continue being an economic leader in this city or in this country, we've got to be able to provide housing for our workforce, both for sale and for rent. We've got to make sure our zoning follows modern trends. Now, that doesn't mean mow down single family neighborhoods. I don't want to be put in that category. The Dallas City Council passed a long range land use planning guide called Forward Dallas in 2024. But Forward Dallas did not impact the city's zoning laws and that is what this next plan is going to address. The next step will be for the city to present the plan to the City Planning Commission Thursday and then release the plan online. The city will also start getting public feedback on the plan starting in December with open houses. And the goal for the city staff is that the changes are adopted in August 2027.