
We can tell you what was said during a Dallas City Council discussion last week on expanding housing development options and reducing minimum lot size requirements. We’ve pulled some great quotes from the two-hour briefing and heard what residents on both sides have to say.
But you still might walk away wondering what’s really going on.
A Jan. 31 staff presentation was prompted by a five-signature memorandum authored by District 1 Councilman Chad West and signed by council members Jaime Resendez, Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon, and Jaynie Schultz.
West said the purpose of the memo was to begin discussions on “how we could utilize infill properties in Dallas to encourage two-, three-, and fourplex development and how we might reconsider our 1950s and 1960s-era minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet for homes.”
Sounds rather innocuous, right? Not so fast.
“Due to some fears by council members surrounding even having these conversations, this discussion started off in a rocky way,” West said.
The topic was briefed in December at a Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee meeting that most signators of the memo were unable to attend. Councilman Bazaldua, who signed the memo and attended the December meeting, called it an ambush riddled with theatrics.
District 2 Councilman Jesse Moreno, who chairs the housing committee, rebuffed that characterization.
“It’s been said that I refused to place this item on the agenda, and I just want to get one thing out there,” Moreno said last week. “I actually encouraged this to be placed on our agenda, and a different route was pursued.”
It’s been a tricky topic for reporters to cover.
Those who signed the memo are spending a lot of time defending it and explaining they just want to “have a conversation about options.” They’ve been accused of pushing an agenda or having ulterior motives. There has been speculation that city planners are trying to railroad a sweeping policy change that could destroy single-family neighborhoods. And those who support reducing minimum lot sizes have accused the Not in My Backyard crowd of fear-mongering.
A Dallas Morning News report on last week’s meeting was referred to by District 12 Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn as “possibly the most inaccurate portrayal of a city hall meeting/discussion of a topic in the 4.5 years I’ve been on city council.”
As always, we encourage interested readers to watch the full briefing and discussion.
Dallas Staff Briefs Council on Minimum Lot Size Reduction Options
During last week’s meeting, Assistant Planning Director Andreea Udrea reviewed current zoning regulations, noting that 18 residential districts are based on minimum lot size. The current city’s zoning includes less than 5 percent multifamily, 2 percent duplex and townhomes, and about 20 percent planned developments, she said.


Udrea told council members that the market has a “big appetite for a diversity of a platted type of single-family.”
Sometimes an area is rezoned to multifamily when the developer really just wants to build duplexes, Udrea explained.
“There is no bucket in the code right now for the type of gentle infill … that the market wants,” she said. “The code is a little bit broken.”
Udrea explained that other cities are exploring minimum lot size reduction “to allow and create more housing options at different price points and for diverse households including multigenerational households, single parents, those who want to age in place, and students.”
City staff and several council members agreed that it makes sense to first adopt the ForwardDallas comprehensive land use plan update before strategizing about specific zoning changes.
ForwardDallas is slated to go before the council for adoption this summer.
Mendelsohn said she would like to see ForwardDallas define a single-family “placetype” that only includes single-family homes.
“When you start talking about context-sensitive design and gentle density … those are not the things I’m objecting to,” she said. “I don’t care what it looks like, if it matches the size of the house in the neighborhood. That’s not the point. It might be context-sensitive to look that way. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. The difference is I want a single-family neighbor, and the neighbors want single-family neighbors. They don’t want to have multifamily next to them.”
Mendelsohn said she’s concerned that an effort is underway to redefine “single-family” to include duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold said city leaders have “terrorized and upset” people who think their established single-family neighborhoods are going to be infiltrated with multifamily units.
“For me, the answer is no for established neighborhoods,” Arnold said. “Let’s not do this hoodwink, bait-and-switch, gotcha approach to our constituents.”
Councilman Bazaldua apologized to the city planners who he said were being attacked for simply doing their jobs. The conversation about lot size was the result of a five-signature memo, not a bait-and-switch approach from staff, he said.
“I think it’s a really sad day in our city when policymakers with different perspectives and views can’t have complex policy discussions,” he said. “That’s what we were elected to do. I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all solution, but I also don’t think the conversation should be approached as a dichotomy.”
Opposing Viewpoints on Whether Minimum Lot Size Conversation Should Proceed
Homeownership is becoming less attainable and the need for rental units is great, West said, pointing to a Child Poverty Action Lab study.
“So in my mind any options that we have on the table to consider, we should be considering,” he said.

Highland Park and neighborhoods like Winnetka Heights have gentle density that works, West added.
Moments prior to last week’s briefing, West suggested that the matter be “punted” to the appointed City Plan Commission “before we try to cure cancer with this policy.”
Because of the way the item was posted, the briefing went on as planned and there was no clear consensus on the next steps.
District 13 Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis later suggested it could be reviewed by the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the CPC.
Mendelsohn made sure her fellow council members knew where she stood.
“Thank you for the conversation,” she said. “Not interested. Would not like to see that go to CPC. Thank you.”
District 11 Councilwoman Jaynie Schultz indicated her support for the discussion.
“This is not in any way, shape, or form a proposal,” she said, adding that it’s a chance to learn and see if an opportunity exists to “make Dallas better.”
Willis referenced the misinformation that’s been spread on the topic.
“I think to characterize this as trying to destroy single-family neighborhoods is just irresponsible,” she said. “I wish everyone would stop that. I think we need to explore it. We’re a big city and we’ve got an aging population. We’ve got some aging stock and we also have an opportunity for great growth.”
Councilwoman Blackmon said she wants to explore how the city should grow for the next generation.
“I think that’s a valid question that we should be asking our constituents,” she said. “This is the beginning of a long, long conversation.”