The Dallas Planning and Zoning Commission revises a plan to ease parking requirements for new developments in the city.
DALLAS — The Dallas Planning and Zoning Commission (CPC) made further changes Thursday to a plan that originally proposed essentially eliminating the city’s parking requirements.
City staff called for sweeping changes to the requirements, which would make Dallas among the largest cities in North America to get rid of parking minimums for developers designing homes and businesses.
“These rules created in the 1940s often hinder the development of new homes, small businesses and walkable neighborhoods,” said Dallas Chief Planner Michael Wade.
Current development code typically mandates two off-street parking spots for single-family homes, one spot per bedroom for townhomes and apartment buildings and a certain number of spots per square foot for businesses.
Dallas argues the requirements hamper new multi-family development, drag out the permitting process and stifle small businesses. The changes would not remove existing parking or prohibit developers from including it in their plans, but rather loosen the requirements.
Skeptics raise concerns that eliminating parking rules will mean fewer places for cars in a city that still heavily relies upon them and could result in congested street parking in residential neighborhoods.
“Residents have to deal with the fallout from it, that’s what we’re suggesting?” CPC Commissioner Melissa Kingston asked city staff Thursday. “Manhattan probably doesn’t need as much parking for bars and restaurants as we need in Dallas, Texas.”
CPC has made a number of amendments to scale back the city’s initial plan to eliminate the requirements. The chair of the commission indicated Thursday a final draft of the plan won’t be voted upon until CPC’s March 6 meeting. If it passes, it would head to City Council for final approval.
The Dallas Housing Coalition is in support of reducing the parking requirements — saying the rules limit options for “affordable, low-rise, multifamily housing.”
Among the coalition’s members is Lisa Marshall, who runs the Fighting Homelessness nonprofit and seeks to build a housing complex for people aging out of foster care and lower income older adults.
She said current parking requirements would make it difficult for her to build. “We need the actual space to build housing to get these people off the streets,” she said. “That piece of concrete could house someone, that’s why we really would like to see these minimums dropped.”
