While some cities are finding ways to add density and use zoning as a tool for affordability, Mesquite, Texas is headed the other direction.
“Once heralded as the pinnacle of affordability in the D-FW homebuyer market, Mesquite is considering a zoning and development code overhaul that would hike the minimum permitted home size by more than 30%. Housing policy experts say the change could further price people out of the city and impact Black and Hispanic residents the most,” report Francesca D’Annunzio and Leah Waters in a paywalled article for the Dallas Morning News.
City planning staff laid out a number of proposed zoning changes in an April meeting of the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission, according to the article, commencing a process expected to culminate with an updated single family zoning ordinance this fall.
“One of city staff’s suggestions included upping the minimum square footage for single family homes,” report D’Annunzio and Waters. “If the City Council passes the proposed standards, new houses will have to be at least 2,000 square feet, instead of the 1,500 square feet currently required.”
Jeff Armstrong, Mesquite’s planning and development director, is quoted in the article describing the proposed changes as intended to increase tax revenues due to higher property values.
Soundbites debating the consequences, intended or not, of increasing zoning code requirements for square footage are included in the source article.
FULL STORY: Mesquite wants to increase the minimum home size by 30%. It could price people out of the city
Charlottesville Comprehensive Plan Update Attracts Opponents
An updated version of the Charlottesville comprehensive plan update is now available for public comment, and a recent article in the local paper lets plan opponents air their grievances.
Colorado Mountain Communities Line Up to Oppose Statewide Zoning Reforms
State preemption isn’t going over well with local government officials in the remote corners of Colorado.
Development Code, Future Land Use Map Updates Coming to Dallas
The ForwardDallas initiative is attempting for the Holy Grail of planning: development certainty.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service