North Texas suburbs are responding to a new state law intended to increase multifamily housing by imposing local restrictions that may undermine its goals.
Senate Bill 840, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in June and effective as of September 1, overrides local zoning rules in cities with populations over 150,000. The legislation is designed to allow developers to build apartments in more commercial districts, aiming to address rising housing costs across the state.
“Many local governments make it too slow and too expensive to build more housing,” Abbott said at the signing.
The law applies to eight Dallas-Fort Worth area cities: Arlington, Plano, Irving, Garland, Frisco, McKinney, Grand Prairie and Denton. In response, some of these cities have enacted measures such as minimum height requirements for apartment buildings and additional design or amenity mandates. According to reporting from the Texas Tribune, critics argue that these changes could make many projects financially unfeasible.
For example, Irving now requires developers to construct eight-story complexes with amenities like pools and gyms instead of allowing simpler three-story walkups. Arlington has mandated six stories for certain projects and electric vehicle chargers in a portion of parking spaces. Plano introduced new energy efficiency standards along with height minimums for commercial zones. Frisco modified its zoning rules so that apartments must be paired with heavy industrial uses—a technicality that can block development.
Local officials say these steps are about maintaining quality standards and managing infrastructure demands rather than blocking new construction. Plano Mayor John Muns stated his support for more housing but expressed concern about losing local control: “While he’s always supported more housing in the city, taking away local authority prevents local communities from guiding projects in the way they see fit.” In Plano, denser single-family options like townhomes are now permitted where mixed-use and apartment developments are encouraged under state law.
Housing advocates contend that such restrictions counteract the purpose of Senate Bill 840 and could worsen an estimated shortage of 320,000 homes statewide. Nicole Nosek of Texans for Reasonable Solutions indicated her group is considering legal action: “Her group is weighing lawsuits to force compliance.”
Developers are largely waiting before proceeding with new projects as legal disputes play out. Multifamily construction may move faster in Austin and Dallas—cities perceived as more receptive—but even there some officials want input on how developments proceed.
In August, just before Senate Bill 840 took effect, Dallas City Council approved rezoning for a West Oak Cliff neighborhood near downtown that bans fast food drive-thrus and limits building heights—demonstrating continued efforts by city leaders to shape growth policies locally (https://therealdeal.com/texas/dallas/2024/08/30/dallas-sets-table-for-multifamily-developers-in-west-oak-cliff/).
Suburban resistance underscores longstanding preferences for single-family homes despite increasing housing costs (https://therealdeal.com/texas/dallas/2024/07/29/arlington-looks-to-thwart-texas-local-zoning-deregulation/). As debates continue between state lawmakers seeking increased density and municipalities aiming for greater oversight, developers remain cautious amid uncertainty over future regulations.
