Making urbanism easier through regulatory reform

The housing crisis is inspiring creative land use regulatory reforms at the state and municipal level that align with good urban planning. Recent reforms in the Lone Star State “could drastically change the face of development” in Dallas and other Texas cities, according to Dallas-based developer Brandon Palanker, vice president of the CNU North Texas chapter. 

“The reforms we are seeing here in Texas are nothing less than transformative and represent a model for other states and cities to follow,” he says. “This legislation will enable our region to meaningfully impact the housing affordability crisis by reducing costs, eliminating uncertainty, and providing market flexibility.”

Here are the reforms and their impacts:

1. Senate Bill 840 allows, as of right through administrative approval, at least 36 units per acre and a height of 45 feet for residential development on land currently zoned for commercial, retail, or office use. This statewide law applies to cities with a population of over 150,000 in counties with a population of over 300,000. That’s an astonishing entitlement that applies to most of the mid-sized to large cities in Texas. This could have a significant impact on commercial corridors in Texas, allowing suburban retrofit in the form of mixed-use, compact development.
2. Senate Bill 2477 streamlines the approval process for converting office space to mixed-use or multifamily residential use. It removes regulatory hurdles, such as traffic impact studies, additional parking requirements, and utility upgrades, in cities with a population of more than 150,000 and in counties with a population greater than 300,000.
3. Senate Bill 2835, known as the Single Stair Bill, allows municipalities to permit apartment buildings with a single stairwell up to six stories (changing the current standard from three stories). There are restrictions consistent with smaller buildings—no more than four units allowed per floor and the maximum distance to the stairwell from the unit entrance is 20 feet, Palanker says. As Public Square has reported, single-stairwell buildings can be constructed in small to medium sizes in walkable neighborhoods, thereby improving the urban form. Studies show they are as safe as double-stair buildings.
4. Dallas allows the International Residential Code (IRC) up to eight units. IRC, which has less expensive standards, is typically allowed up to four units. This regulatory change will allow IRC to apply to more missing middle housing types, reducing barriers to more units. There are restrictions, consistent with small-scale, missing middle types—the buildings can be no more than three stories, and the square footage is capped at 7,500. 
5. Dallas reduced or eliminated minimum off-street parking requirements. “The City of Dallas overhauled its parking minimum standards with drastic reductions and, in some cases, elimination of parking minimums. Parking mandates are removed for areas downtown, within a half-mile of light rail and streetcar stations, for offices and most retail, and for small bars and restaurants (under 2,500 square feet),” Palanker explains. Where parking is still mandated, a tiered approach requires one space per unit for large developments (over 200 units), a half space per unit for mid-sized developments, and no minimums for small developments (under 20 units). 

Taken together, these reforms will make a significant difference in Dallas and larger Texas cities. All have occurred in the last two months. 

While these reforms don’t focus specifically on building form with the intent of creating walkable urbanism, all have form-based implications. It is easy to see how these reforms could make compact, mixed-use, walkable urbanism easier.