Cara Mendelsohn

Council Approves 3 New Apartment Developments Under Public Facility, Housing Finance Structures

By April Towery / April 27, 2023 /

During the “silly season” of campaigning to keep their elected city council seats, Dallas officials are giving passionate speeches from the horseshoe about the causes they believe in.  District 12 Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn has already won — she’s running unopposed — but she’s doubling down during every agenda meeting about the Public Facility Corporation projects…

Dallas Council Balks at Staff Suggestion to Require Electric Vehicle Wiring in Newly Built Homes

By April Towery / April 19, 2023 /

A proposed requirement for builders to create “electric vehicle-ready” space when constructing new homes — thus passing a cost of about $800 to homebuyers who might never purchase an electric vehicle — was amended by the Dallas City Council in an effort to remain committed to its goal of providing affordable housing.  A change to…

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…

Dallas City Manager Says Short-Term Rental Ordinance Isn’t Ready For a Council Vote

By April Towery / April 4, 2023 /

The Dallas City Council spent more than seven hours Tuesday hearing testimony and debating the merits of banning or regulating short-term rentals in residential areas, but a draft proposed ordinance still isn’t “ready for prime time,” according to City Manager T.C. Broadnax. “There’s still a lot of ambiguity in the data and council consensus,” Broadnax…

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…