Dallas City Council Preserves Maneuver That Delays Rezoning

The “pay-to-delay” provision in Dallas’ city code is safe after the city council voted down a measure to kill it.

On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council voted unanimously to preserve the ordinance, which allows property owners near a proposed development to delay a zoning case by paying a $150 fee and submitting a formal request. Once postponed, the zoning case is rescheduled no earlier than four weeks later.

The vote highlighted a rift between the council and city staff. Mayor Eric Johnson has made it a priority to simplify development, and the City Plan Commission and the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee recommended that the council end the ordinance. As one resident who testified against the amendment put it, “it’s very clear that cutting red tape for developers is job number one” for the mayor and staff.

A delayed zoning case can stunt developments. Assistant City Manager Robin Bentley called the amendment an improvement for “procedural efficiency” in a memo.

On the other hand, proponents of the existing code called it their last resort against unwanted development.

The city council will review a presentation this week on Dallas Zoning Reform, a broad platform also backed by the mayor and city staff.

The plan aims to trim outdated zoning rules, clarify the development process and diversify Dallas’ residential stock. Few concrete suggestions are public, but the presentation gestures to allowing accessory dwelling units by right, eliminating special use permit renewal requirements and protecting the character of existing single-family neighborhoods.

The city expects to send drafted code changes to the city council for consideration early next year.

The Dallas City Council also approved a zoning plan for West Oak Cliff last week that will facilitate small multifamily and retail development in a 35-acre district centered on Hampton Road and Clarendon Drive.