Affordable Housing in Dallas Shouldn’t Come at the Cost of Dallas Parks

By Rudy Karimi

Rudy Karimi is the Dallas Parks and Recreation Board Member for Council District 14 

In a move aimed at reducing costs for developers and boosting affordable housing, the Dallas City Plan Commission (CPC) recently voted to slash Park Land Dedication fees by 50%. The recommendation, led by Council District 1 Plan Commissioner and developer Christian Chernock, seeks to ease financial burdens on the development community, but at what cost to our communities? While developers may save money on the upfront cost of housing, the cost of building and maintaining Dallas parks and green spaces for our growing population is also rising.

Proposed Developer Fee Schedule Could Severely Limit New Parks in Dallas

To understand the impact, it’s important to understand what Park Land Dedication fees are. These are fees paid by developers to fund Dallas parks and green spaces in areas undergoing new development or in park deserts. The fees are typically assessed based on the number of dwelling units or square footage in a development project. The idea is to ensure the growing population has green spaces to play and recreate along with enabling the developer to be a good community partner. However, Texas House Bill 1526 (HB 1526) now caps these fees at 2% of the median family income (MFI) in any given area. In Dallas, this allows a maximum fee of $1,308 per dwelling unit for single-family homes and multi-family units with two or more bedrooms. A 50% reduction in these fees will devastate the Dallas Park and Recreation Department’s ability to acquire new parkland, deliver projects, and keep pace with rising land costs.

Section 212.211 of HB 1526 states:
“This section applies only to a municipality that after August 31, 2023, requires a parkland dedication fee for a multi-family, hotel, or motel development in an amount, calculated on a per dwelling unit basis, not greater than two percent of the median family income.”

The CPC’s decision fails to account for the fact that affordable housing residents deserve access to quality parks, too. Parks promote mental and physical health and provide safe play areas for kids while bringing communities together, especially in higher-density housing areas. While the fee reduction will lower a developer’s upfront costs, it also reduces the long-term livability and quality of life since parks and greenspaces increase neighborhood appeal, reduce crime, and foster economic growth.

Dallas should never have to choose between affordable housing and quality parks, especially since the Park Land Dedication fees developers are paying in Dallas are already among the lowest in the region. To put this in perspective, Plano’s Park Land Dedication fee is currently 146% higher per dwelling unit than Dallas’ current fees. Under the CPC’s recommendations, the difference would skyrocket to 338%!

Why are we taking resources away from a public service that benefits all residents to pad the pockets of private developers? This same question can be asked about Texas Senate Bill 2, which similarly prioritizes private interests over public needs.

As Dallas continues to grow, we need to increase the Park Land Dedication fee to ensure a sustainable source of funding for preserving and expanding our parks and green spaces, not reduce it. Without proper funding for parks, our quality of life will suffer. Similarly, our neighborhoods will lose those vital resources that make them so wonderful to begin with.

I encourage Dallas residents to take action and contact their elected council members to reject the City Plan Commission’s recommendation to cut Park Land Dedication fees. Let your elected leader know that the vibrancy of our neighborhoods is non-negotiable and that these fees, which are passed on to developers, should be increased, not decreased.