Tiny homes in Dallas won't be allowed in residential neighborhoods — for now
DALLAS - Tiny homes are a trendy way to create affordable housing for everyone — from young people to seniors to the homeless.
Now, the city of Dallas is working to figure out if they belong in residential neighborhoods.
The Dallas City Plan Commission decided last night there is more work that needs to be done before giving the green light to tiny homes in single-family residential neighborhoods.
Tiny homes are typically between 100 and 400 square feet.
To put that in perspective, it’s about one-fifth the size of the median home sold in the U.S. in 2021.
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"I am not opposed to these," said Dallas City Plan Commissioner Melissa Kingston. "Both have a lot of potential to provide aging in place, housing for young people starting out, or simply housing for people who don't want to live in 3,500 square feet."
Now, as the city of Dallas works to approve a comprehensive plan for growth and development, city plan commissioners discussed whether tiny homes should be part of that in residential areas.
There is one tiny home development already in the city of Dallas.
The Cottages at Hickory Crossing development provides homes for people who once lived on the streets.
While Kingston thinks there is a need for tiny homes, she says the city needs to do a lot more work before giving them the green light.
"I do think these two housing types are important things to consider for the future of the city," she said. "But because they’re not currently in our development code and aren’t defined at all, it’s a little reckless to just plop them into the place type without them going through the processes and having them vetted."
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Commissioner Lorie Blair explained that tiny homes may not be right for the whole city but could be appropriate for different areas.
"We’re like Burger King. We can have it our way," she said.
In the end, city plan commissioners voted to move tiny homes into a section of the plan that will define them and create standards for them.
As of now, tiny homes can't be placed in single-family neighborhoods, but that could change after more vetting.