Affordable Housing

Dallas City Council, Staff Spars Over ‘Not in My Backyard’ Mentality as Housing Policy Passes 12-2

By April Towery / April 12, 2023 /

On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved a 10-year housing policy over the objections of a council member who equated the lack of public engagement to “craziness” and pointed to flaws in the plan that she alleged exacerbate racial issues and ignore poverty.  The Dallas Housing Policy 2033 and a separate housing resource catalog replace…

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Dallas Urban Planners Say Missing Middle Housing is Key to The City’s Affordability Woes

By April Towery / April 5, 2023 /

As city planners update the ForwardDallas comprehensive land use plan, they’re paying close attention to alternative housing options such as accessory dwelling units, duplexes, and fourplexes to close the “missing middle” gap, officials said Tuesday.  Dallas Senior Planner Lindsay Jackson and Chief Planner Lawrence Agu III hosted a webinar Tuesday on missing middle housing. About…

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Cypress Creek at Forest Lane PFC Project Advances as Board Members Say They Expect to Get Sued

By April Towery / March 29, 2023 /

A controversial housing project inched forward Tuesday in a carefully-worded motion by the Dallas Public Facility Corp. Board of Directors.  The Dallas PFC Board voted 8-3 to approve a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Sycamore Strategies “subject to indemnification by the [Dallas] City Council and research from corporate counsel that we will not take on…

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Should Dallas’ Development Incentive Funds go Toward ‘For-Sale’ Homes Instead of Apartments?

By April Towery / March 28, 2023 /

About $4.4 million has been collected since May for a little-known affordable housing incentive program known as the Mixed-Income Housing Development Bonus. The MIHDB fund was created by the Dallas City Council last year to provide incentives like changes in height, floor area ratio, density, or parking reduction in exchange for on-site affordable units. Developers…

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Sommerman Says Residents Can Have a ‘Burned-Out Church And a Homeless Encampment’ or Cottonwood Forest Development

By April Towery / March 21, 2023 /

Same song, different verse: An affordable housing project is proposed on Forest Lane, and the majority of the residents don’t like it. This version involves District 2 Dallas County Commissioner Andy Sommerman, who held a public meeting Monday night on the proposed Cottonwood Forest single-family development.  Dallas County secured American Rescue Plan funds — designated solely…

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