Dallas Council’s January Briefings: Development Code Updates, Permitting Process Improvements
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A new year signifies new beginnings, but in the City of Dallas, it also means revisiting some old things in need of an update. A case in point is the Dallas development code, which was paused while the Planning and Development Services Department focused a significant amount of resources and manpower on the ForwardDallas 2.0 comprehensive land use plan update.
ForwardDallas 2.0 was adopted in September, shortly after Planning + Urban Design merged with Development Services. City officials say the staff organizational chart realignment, authorized by Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, is improving efficiency and eliminating silos.
But how’s that development code update coming along?
While many Dallasites forgot the code update was happening, Southern Dallas Progress Community Development Corporation president James McGee did not. In a series of email exchanges with Megan Wimer, interim assistant director of the new Planning and Development Services Department, McGee pointed out that the City’s two-year contract with Chicago-based Camiros Ltd. is about six months from its expiration date.
McGee said that the contract calls for the “comprehensive reform” of Dallas development codes — Chapters 51, 51A, and 51P — and includes two one-year renewal options.
Wimer responded on Dec.26.
“With the adoption of ForwardDallas, we will now refocus our attention to the code reform project,” she said. “The contract with Camiros will be renewed and we will ask them to create a new timeline and will share that when available.”
Development Code Update
The Dallas City Council returns to the horseshoe on Jan. 8 for its first agenda meeting of the year. Briefings are scheduled for Jan. 15, and while a draft agenda hasn’t been posted, Councilmember Chad West said in a December newsletter that discussion topics tentatively include an update on the Dallas Love Field Master Plan, permitting process improvements, and an amendment to the Dallas Development Code to align with Texas Senate Bill 929.
To be clear, this is not the development code overhaul, but the passage of state legislation affects the local code, and Dallas City Council members have said they want a better understanding of what that means before proceeding with controversial rezoning cases.
Senate Bill 929 passed in the 88th legislative session and became effective in 2023. It’s complicated and involves big words like “amortization,” but the simple explanation is that Texas municipalities are now required to provide written notice to property owners and occupants before adopting or changing zoning regulations or boundaries.
It’s the reason a rezoning decision that could alter heavy industrial uses near southern Dallas’ Floral Farms neighborhood was delayed to Feb. 12.
The City Plan Commission also will be briefed about Senate Bill 929 during a special workshop at 11 a.m. Jan. 16.
Permitting Process
We’re anxious to hear about permitting process improvement updates now that Sam Eskander has dropped the “interim” from his title and is Dallas’ chief building official. It’s likely we’ll hear about a new dashboard and how staff has cleaned up a backlog of old permit applications that were filed years ago and never granted.
The proof is in the pudding, as council members often say, so it’s encouraging that we’ve heard from builders in the last few months that the process has in fact improved significantly.
