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Dallas, TX
How can Dallas protect single-family homes while adding density?
One of the major challenges of addressing Dallas’ housing shortage is developing new supply and adding density while protecting the single-family neighborhoods residents have worked so hard to be a part of.
Last month, the City Plan Commission approved a rezoning request for West Oak Cliff’s little Jimtown neighborhood that strikes a nice balance of both. How? It prevents multifamily development while offering a unique option: “granny flats.”
Roughly five years in the making, all that’s left is for Dallas City Council members to approve the rezoning. We urge them to do so.
The area up for rezoning is actually only a portion of the broader Jimtown area. It’s situated just southwest of Clarendon Drive and Hampton Road and includes 50 properties. The areas surrounding it are mostly zoned for single-family residential, but this one section is currently zoned for multifamily uses.
Residents started the formal rezoning process in 2019. Before that, they had attended a meeting in which they found out their homes were zoned for multifamily use, said neighborhood association president Mary Lou Paras. Most had assumed they were zoned for single-family use.
Once they found out, fear of redevelopment drove the community to come together and ask the city to act, Paras said.
Paras described the neighborhood’s many community meetings and said the desire to change the zoning was pretty much unanimous.
While barring multifamily uses in most of the neighborhood, the rezoning allows, by right, what are called accessory dwelling units, known commonly as granny flats.
These units are located on the same property as a house, either as a smaller detached unit or are an attached portion, according to the American Planning Association. Residents who jump through the municipal hurdles such as permitting can rent these spaces out.
That creates an opportunity for adding density and affordable housing. Plus, it offers residents an avenue for supplementing their income.
Victor Romo, 69, a Jimtown resident who spoke before the Plan Commission last month, told officials that he and his wife, Linda, have lived in their home since 1988 and are lifelong residents of Oak Cliff.
The residents of his area want security in knowing that a developer isn’t going to come in and “build three two-story condos on one lot,” Romo said.
Often, when an area is redeveloped, existing residents are priced out.
Romo told planners that he continues to work in landscaping because his Social Security benefits aren’t enough. “It’s ridiculous that we’re living in the times that we are,” he said. “I don’t even know where we can afford to live if we can’t pay the taxes.”
Zoning is about more than documents, meetings and motions, it’s about real people who have made their lives in our city.
This process took entirely too long. A lot can change in five years. But in the end, Dallas got it right with Jimtown, tailoring the area’s zoning to the community’s needs. That’s how it should work.
We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com
Jeff Kolb and Sam Gannon welcome Cowboys insiders Clarence Hill (All City Dallas) and Calvin Watkins (Dallas Morning News) for a hilarious breakdown of the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Giving insight, arguments, and plenty of laughs as two of the best Dallas Cowboys writers in the business go head-to-head on what Dallas should do next.
Dallas, TX
New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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