Apartments versus single-family neighborhoods. Gentrification. Industrial warehouses next to homes. Revitalization. The Dallas City Council elected in May will have its hands full with an issue that affects every single resident it represents: housing.
In the last two years, city officials have been embroiled in contentious debates over the rules and regulations under their control.
Fears of unchecked changes to a neighborhood’s layout dominated the creation of the city’s updated land-use visioning document, ForwardDallas. The notion of adding density in and around neighborhoods triggered alarm bells. A zoning case in North Dallas — the redevelopment of Pepper Square, an aging retail strip mall into a mixed-use luxury apartment complex — sparked a fight about neighborhood rights.
At the same time, Dallas is not building enough affordable homes to match the number of jobs mushrooming in North Texas, indicating an existential crisis for a city that’s retaining fewer people in its tax base compared to its suburban peers.
As the May election nears, The Dallas Morning News reached out to candidates about their priorities and thoughts on shaping policies. Twenty-three candidates responded, 27 didn’t.
Their visions can be found in a searchable database. Based on their responses, here are the major themes that could influence the direction of the next council.
Adding cheaper homes to the market
For many in the city, owning or renting a home takes up more than 30% of a household’s income. Several candidates pointed out that Dallas needs a variety of houses in a community to match the needs of different generations. Through the course of their lives, people shuffle between homes with a smaller footprint to a house with a yard to grow their family and back to downsizing when their children have left the nest.
As Dallas Housing Coalition Director Bryan Tony puts it, housing in the city is like musical chairs. There need to be enough homes for every generation. The fewer the chairs, the quicker people lose options.
Several candidates appeared to agree.
“Our most fundamental guiding principle must be to increase a balanced mix of housing options that attract new residents to our neighborhoods while ensuring our current residents can peacefully and financially age in place,” District 7 incumbent Adam Bazaldua said.
What could that look like?
Cydney Walker, a challenger from District 7, is urging smaller, more affordable homes with a variety of options. Triplexes and duplexes can encourage owners to rent out units to offset mortgage costs, Walker said. District 7 candidates O’Neil Hesson, Jose Rivas, Lamar Jefferson and Marvin Crenshaw did not respond to questions.
Up north near Lake Highlands, incumbent Kathy Stewart is running for her second term. She suggested building homes and townhomes close to the property line on smaller lots. “District 10 has several of these developments that are very successful and serve as a great way to enter the housing market,” she said.
Her challenger, Sirrano Keith Baldeo, declined to participate, citing pending litigation. Baldeo sued Stewart because he believes she doesn’t live in her registered home, but he would not produce evidence. Stewart’s name was listed at her home address, according to public records, and a judge recently dismissed the lawsuit.
In District 6, which covers much of the western half of the city, candidate responses diverged.
Laura Cadena also mentioned the possibility of the city allowing accessory-dwelling units, such as casitas or “granny cottages” that are attached to homes as a way to provide a cheaper rental option. Cadena, who was the chief of staff for outgoing council member Omar Narvaez, identified areas in West Dallas, the upper Stemmons Corridor, Koreatown and the Asian Trade District that can have communities that include homes for residents from all income brackets.
This year, state lawmakers have focused on addressing housing needs. Bills that could ease the process of building smaller attached residences in the backyards of single-family homes and reduce lot size requirements for new detached homes are currently moving through the Texas Legislature. An attempt last session to remove restrictions on accessory-dwelling units was approved in the Senate but was unable to gain momentum in the House.
Single family vs. multi-family
The next City Council will have to navigate an ever-widening chasm between renters and homeowners, as well as those who endorse multifamily housing in and around single-family neighborhoods.
Property tax revenue also has a role. Single-family parcels make up 35% of the city’s land use but only 4% of the city’s tax base. In comparison, mixed-use parcels make up 0.2% of the city’s tax base and contribute 40%.
Still, Linus Spiller-Craft, another District 6 candidate, said he would call for a reduction in the number of building permits issued for multifamily units and advocate for more construction permits for single-family housing units. He argued the high property taxes of a multifamily complex are often passed onto renters and single-family units are a far more reliable money generator due to the long-term commitment homeowners make to a residential area.
“Dallas has enough multifamily units in the market, and the pendulum needs to shift to more single-family units,” Spiller-Craft said. His competitors — Monica Alonzo, Gabriel Kissinger, Tony Carrillo, Machelle Wells and write-in candidate Quinchee Morgan — did not respond to questions.
Over the past few years, conversations surrounding housing types have grown even more volatile, and a majority stem from the concern that the introduction of a triplex or a quadruplex could change the fabric of existing single-family home neighborhoods that cover the bulk of Dallas’ topography.
District 4 contender Kebran Alexander also supports accessory dwelling units but feels single-family neighborhoods are optimal for much of Dallas because they provide “stability for the community.”
And District 13 candidate Diane Benjamin opposed zoning changes that allow multi-family units in neighborhoods where single-family residences were the norm. Benjamin, a realtor, is challenging council member Gay Donnell Willis in northwest Dallas.
Protecting existing homes
The majority of the residents in Dallas are renters, and less than a quarter can afford the median-priced home. Large houses exceeding 3,000 square feet continue to be built among rows of smaller, older homes, increasing housing costs in their wake and are less affordable due to their size.
Several candidates want to see more mixed-income housing to ensure people from different socio-economic backgrounds can enjoy the same quality of life.
“Our existing homes should be viewed as assets rather than merely as sources of raw land for development,” said District 1 candidate Katrina Whatley, who suggested zoning overlays and home-repair programs as well as focusing city efforts on improving infrastructure in underutilized areas.
Council member Chad West, District 1 incumbent, said the best way to preserve homes is by letting neighborhoods make use of zoning tools and protect vulnerable areas from the “tide of overdevelopment and displacement that would inevitably occur with no active planning.”
West has placed his bets on the West Oak Cliff Area Plan, a collection of zoning cases that could transform Oak Cliff. In the Jimtown neighborhood, the plan helped allow accessory dwelling units in the neighborhood by right “to help existing neighbors achieve goals around multigenerational housing or even create long-term rentals on their properties,” the District 1 incumbent said.
Balancing fears of gentrification with the need for growth is a challenge candidates will have to navigate. The pressures have contributed to a culture of distrust between city staff, neighborhoods and the development community.
District 4 contender Maxie Johnson said the role of a council person would be that of a convener, “bringing community and developers together to regularly discuss the needs and preferences of the community.”
“This makes the process of creating more units more efficient and less contentious,” he said.
Some candidates focused on property tax relief as a tool to keep people in their homes. District 12 challenger Jose Cavazos, like Benjamin in District 13, said property tax payments keep housing an unattainable dream. Cavazos’ opponents — incumbent council member Cara Mendelsohn and Marc Rossouw — did not respond to questions about housing.
In District 3, incumbent Zarin Gracey endorsed a plan to possibly lower the tax appraisal cap for older residents who are traditionally reliant on a fixed income.
Gracey and other candidates from southern Dallas are also advocating for broadening tenant protections in the city’s frame of thinking. Gracey, who is facing two challengers, said he supports creating “a comprehensive Renters’ Bill of Rights with stronger tenant protections against unfair evictions and unreasonable rent increases.”
Neither of Gracey’s challengers — John Sims and Jesseca Lightbourne — responded to questions.
Ways the city can encourage more housing
Alongside others, District 9 council member Paula Blackmon, Willis and former council member and District 6 candidate David Blewett, said the city needs to continue improving its permitting processes to spur affordable, workforce housing. Blackmon’s challengers in District 9 — Ernest Banda and Joseph Sarno — did not respond to requests for comment.
“The laws of supply and demand always win. We must increase supply to affect pricing,” Blewett said.
Some, including District 2 council member Jesse Moreno and District 11 candidate Bill Roth, support using public-private partnerships with entities such as The Real Estate Council to develop pipelines for homeownership.
Moreno’s challenger, Sukhbir Kaur, wants the city to support the free market’s ability to fill the city’s housing needs by focusing on code enforcement, public safety and giving tax breaks “to all and not just 1-3 developers.”
Roth said he wants to see more of what The Real Estate Council is doing in South Dallas through the Dallas Catalyst Project. Revitalizing the areas around the Forest Theatre, in the midst of its own reincarnation, and providing tools to residents in Mill City are other ways these partnerships have played out, he said.
Roth’s opponents, Jeff Kitner and Mona Elshenawy, did not respond.
Meanwhile, Willis mentioned an upcoming project called the “community land trust initiative” that The Real Estate Council plans to unveil in a briefing later this year. The initiative is based on the idea that a nonprofit servicing a vulnerable, gentrifying area can buy a large portfolio of land parcels and help cap property taxes.
A low-income homebuyer can build equity by paying the mortgage for the home. If they choose to sell, the homebuyer can recoup all the money they’ve invested, and the land trust will maintain a lower price point for the home to pass on to another homebuyer.
“The city has created a tool box of incentives to spur housing preservation and development, but it must be monitored to be sure it’s useful in the marketplace,” she said.
One thing is clear: Dallas’ housing issues won’t be solved overnight, and the answers aren’t simple. As policymakers, the new City Council will have direct influence on the next stage of development in one of the country’s largest cities.