The Dallas Economic Development Committee voted to recommend approval of an amended off-street parking and loading development code amendment and forwarded the item to the full City Council for final action.

The committee’s recommendation included multiple changes to the City Plan Commission’s proposal, including retaining the current development-impact-review threshold of 6,000 trips per day, removing parking minimums for designated historic buildings, clarifying no minimums for the first 2,500 square feet of restaurant floor area, and establishing tiered minimums for multifamily housing.

The committee recorded a voice vote in which the chair said “all in favor,” and the motion carried. The recommendation will go to the full council on April 7, 2025.

Committee members and staff described the package as a negotiated compromise after extended City Plan Commission (CPC) debate. A staff presentation and motions described the changes as follows: maintain parking ratios for industrial, commercial and business services only when those uses are contiguous to single‑family zoning; remove parking minimums for uses in designated historic buildings; retain the development‑impact threshold at 6,000 trips per day; retain minimums for high schools but remove minimums for other school types; for restaurants eliminate minimums for the first 2,500 square feet and keep CPC’s recommendation for bars; and set multifamily minimums so that developments of 200 units or more require one parking space per unit, developments of 20 units or fewer have no parking minimums, and developments between 2 and 200 units require a half‑space per unit. The motion also struck driveway‑entrance conditions from the design-of-parking provisions in section 51A‑4.301.

Several council members flagged the committee’s unresolved questions about how transit‑oriented development (TOD) radii should apply to bus rapid transit versus light rail. Staff and CPC materials noted that CPC debated a half‑mile radius around rail stations and considered, but did not adopt, a quarter‑mile radius around bus rapid transit stops. A staff speaker said the half‑mile standard echoed Forward Dallas 2, which identifies TOD areas as a half‑mile around rail stations; CPC chose to adopt a half‑mile around rail and did not recommend a separate quarter‑mile for rapid bus without additional mapping.

Council members representing districts with limited walkability said a half‑mile radius can produce different outcomes across neighborhoods and asked staff for additional information on rapid bus stops that do not overlap light rail. One committee member asked staff to provide a list of rapid‑bus stations that lack nearby rail so the full council can consider whether to add a quarter‑mile radius for those stops.

Supporters of the compromise said the reform will modernize an out‑of‑date parking code, reduce barriers for small businesses and reuse of historic buildings, and could help make housing more affordable by lowering parking‑related development costs. One member cited local examples, including Slow and Steady Coffee Shop in Downtown Elmwood, saying parking requirements delayed openings and discouraged tenants for historic commercial spaces. Another council member described long CPC work dating to 2019 and called the committee motion a necessary compromise.

Staff said they would provide additional data on rapid‑bus locations and noted the item will return to the full council for deliberation and a final vote.

Votes at the committee: chair announced a voice vote; the motion carried and was forwarded to full council.

The full City Council will consider the amended development code language on April 7, 2025. Committee members asked staff for follow‑up materials on rapid‑bus stop locations and how TOD radii intersect with district‑level walkability issues.