5 November 23 - 29, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER | CONTENTS | UNFAIR PARK | SCHUTZE | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | MOVIES | DISH | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | looking at reform of minimum lot size rules. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Re- publican, filed a bill in the last regular legis- lative session that would have reduced minimum lot sizes to 1,400 square feet. Min- imum lot sizes in Dallas range between 5,000 square feet and 7,500 square feet, ac- cording to Candy’s Dirt, a real estate news website. West wants to see minimum lot sizes in Dallas reduced to 1,500 square feet, which is the minimum lot size in Houston. Austin recently reduced minimum lot sizes to 2,500 square feet. There is some bipartisan interest in re- ducing lot sizes, West said. “The left is inter- ested from the affordable housing, workforce point of view,” West explained. “The far right is interested from a property rights ‘do what you want with your prop- erty’ point of view.” So, West guesses an ef- fort to reduce minimum lot sizes across Texas is something that could eventually make it through the state legislature. He wants Dallas to be ahead of the curve. “If we want to actually try to take control of this situation,” West said, “we need to do that now and not wait for the state to tell us what they think we should do.” There’s already a lot of vacant land in Dallas that could be used for multi-unit resi- dential structures. “Why not allow gentle density in this form to exist in neighbor- hoods where we’ve got those vacant lots?” he said. Some people have concerns about reducing lot sizes and allowing more density in the city. “One of the fears I’ve heard is that this is going to destroy single-family neighborhoods,” he said. “But I haven’t seen that in my own dis- trict.” He said Winnetka Heights, a historic neighborhood in the city that’s been around since the 1900s, has per capita more duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and even six- and eight- plexes than anywhere else in Oak Cliff, possi- bly in the city. “These properties blend into the neighborhood in a way that seems natural,” he said. “So, the properties can be built in a way that doesn’t destroy the character, but really fit in and blend in in a way that neighbors can live with and even respect.” Another concern people have, West said, is that single-family homes will be demol- ished to make way for something like a du- plex or triplex. “For several reasons, that’s not realistic,” he said, noting the market costs of construction don’t support this. However, he’s also asked city staff to look into a policy that would discourage demoli- tion of existing single-family homes to make way for more higher-density buildings. One idea is to make people wait one year to build after they’ve pulled a demolition permit if they plan to build anything other than a single-family home on the lot. “I think that would be going to the extreme, but it is something that we could consider if that’s the only way we could get people to feel comfortable with it,” West said. While all the details are still up in the air, West said city staff have told him that they could be ready to brief the full council on this matter by early December. We bring sophistication with a twist to the metaphysical and holistic markets with products, classes and services. We have locations in Dallas, Carrollton & Frisco. www.soultopia.guru psychic Hotline Now available: 888-415-6208 Visit us: 900 W Davis St, Dallas • 3414 Midcourt Rd #100, Carrollton 7004 Lebanon Rd, STE 106, Frisco, Texas 75034 Best of Dallas 2020 awarD wiNNer
