Dallas Housing Policy 2033 Focuses on Action But Not Data
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How does the Mark Twain quote go? “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
The City of Dallas loves a good survey and sky-is-falling data, but when the numbers don’t support the narrative of a particular individual or advocacy group, they’re quickly dismissed. And to be fair, there’s also probably another survey somewhere declaring the polar opposite.
Some credible information has been released lately about how Dallasites actually feel about housing choices and affordable units.
If you’re a statistics nerd, this may interest you but don’t expect the data to sway a vote at the horseshoe on Marilla Street.
Zillow Survey Says Dallasites Like Affordable Housing
North Oak Cliff Councilman Chad West brought up an August 2024 Zillow survey during a discussion last week about the City’s highly-debated ForwardDallas comprehensive land use plan.
Los Angeles-based housing affordability researcher Shane Phillips first brought the survey to light during a recent forum at the Greater Dallas Planning Council.
“It shows pretty broad support for everything from [accessory dwelling units] to large multifamily developments being built in people’s neighborhoods (especially when it’s near transit or includes affordable units), and it breaks down the results by age, income, race/ethnicity, tenure, etc.,” Phillips said in an email. “It also shows them by location, including Dallas, and over time in the case of the ADU question. In Dallas, support for ADUs among homeowners increased from 51% in 2019 to 73% in 2024. I think it just goes to show that committed, long-term advocacy really pays off.”
Additionally, about 64% of Dallas residents agree with the statement, “Having more affordable housing in my community is more important than free parking for myself.”
I can already hear the naysayers asking, “But who did they poll? What was their sample size?”
Zillow Group Population Science conducted a representative survey of more than 12,000 adults across 26 metropolitan areas including Dallas. Statistical “raking” was used to create calibration weights to ensure that the distribution of survey respondents matched each metro’s population with respect to a number of key demographic characteristics, according to the survey.
Comptroller: Texas Needs 300,000 More Homes
An Aug. 27 Texas Tribune report declared that Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s office says Texas must build hundreds of thousands of homes to lower housing costs.
“Homebuilding in Texas didn’t keep up as the economy boomed and millions of new residents moved here over the past decade, the comptroller’s 26-page report found,” writes Dallas-based reporter Joshua Fechter. “That lag in homebuilding left the state with a deep housing shortage: Texas needs 306,000 more homes than it has, according to one estimate cited in the report. That shortage has fueled competition for a limited supply of housing, especially in the state’s major metro areas — sending housing costs soaring, forcing many would-be first-time homebuyers out of the market and leaving more than half of the state’s tenants spending too much on rent.”
So how does the data inform the City of Dallas’ Housing Policy?
Do the surveys and statistics matter when crafting a housing policy for the whole city? Maybe. But an angry mob at City Hall appears to have more power to change minds than a Zillow survey. Because Dallas City Council members are elected to two-year terms, there is always a ballot box in the near future, and at least 11 of the 14 have an opportunity to reclaim their seats in May. Council members Omar Narvaez and Tennell Atkins will term out; Jaynie Schultz has said she will not seek re-election.
Dallas Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Director Cynthia Rogers-Ellickson provided a brief update during a committee meeting last week on the Dallas Housing Policy 2033 and a recently created housing task force.
DHP 2033 has shifted the housing department’s approach on implementation actions to be more proactive to achieve greater opportunity and equity for Dallas residents, Interim Assistant City Manager Robin Bentley said in an Aug. 26 memorandum. HR&A Advisors was tapped to draft action plans that will lay out 18-month and five-year milestones and prepare a comprehensive look at the Dallas housing market.
West said he was concerned that the policy does not provide baseline activity data on housing production, repairs, or preservation.
“There’s really no way to track it,” he said. “I think there’s just pie-in-the-sky goals here without the tracking of data. I don’t even understand how a policy can exist without us having [specific] goals. I’d like to know how we’re going to address that, and maybe that’s the task force that’s going to set that.”
Rogers-Ellickson said that in the past goals have been based on the amount of funding provided through each program. A presentation is scheduled for September to dive further into clarifying policy goals, she said.
District 12 Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn asked for a list of task force members.
“We can’t have people who are all about density stacking a committee and bringing forward this recommendation,” she said. “It really needs to be representative of the views of the entire city. Otherwise, we’re going to end up with another packed chamber and we’ll have this split of people who want Dallas to be hyperdense versus people who want to continue to enjoy their single-family life. If you’re not including multiple views about housing, you’re setting us up for a very bad situation and wasting a lot of time … Please stop with policy and just get to work on doing what we’ve already asked you to do.”
Councilman Jesse Moreno, who chairs the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, said he and Schultz participated in the selection of task force members and it is a well-rounded group of individuals representing different interests from across the city. A list of members had not been publicized at press time.
