Dallas released the first public draft of its new development code on November 5, 2026. It would replace today's zoning everywhere in the city, including every lot in Midway Hollow. Comments submitted this winter will shape Draft 2, expected in spring 2027. The City expects a final vote around August 2027.
More homes per lot. Most single-family lots could have a duplex plus a backyard unit (ADU), with no public hearing.
Smaller lots. In the western half, the minimum lot drops from 7,500 to 5,000 sq ft. About 182 lots could be split in two.
Corner apartments. About 113 corner lots with an alley could hold apartment buildings up to 45 ft tall; buildings of 20 units or fewer need no parking.
Taller corners. The retail sites at Marsh and Northwest Highway, Marsh and Walnut Hill, and Midway and Northwest Highway could reach 70 ft, or 120 ft with a bonus, with no required step-down next to homes.
Less notice. City staff could waive setbacks and coverage by up to 10% without notifying neighbors.
Some changes are good: new limits on garage-dominated fronts, a side height limit that protects neighbors' light, and caps on paving. We support those.
The western half (zoned R-7.5(A) today) would become R-2. The eastern half toward Midway Road and the Walnut Hill frontage (R-10(A) today) would become R-1. Several streets, including Cortez, Gaspar and Van Ness, are split. Check your lot on the City's zoning map.
Let neighborhoods choose whether to add duplexes, ADUs and small apartments, as the City's own ForwardDallas plan contemplates.
Keep lots whole: keep today's minimum lot sizes and the rule that new lots must match their block.
Keep apartments on corridors and step heights down where commercial zoning meets homes.
Open the City's comment form at DallasZoningReform.com/comment.
Say you live in Midway Hollow and which street.
Pick two of our asks (copy from the sample comment below) and add one sentence in your own words. Personal comments count more than copies.
Tell us you did it, so we can count.
Monday, January 11, 2027, Bachman Recreation Center, 11 am to 1 pm or 4 to 7 pm. It is the closest open house to Midway Hollow. Other dates are listed on the City's site.
West half: District 6, Council Member Laura Cadena, Laura.Cadena@dallas.gov, 214-670-4199
East half: District 13, Council Member Gay Donnell Willis, Gay.Willis@dallas.gov, 214-670-3816
Use the sample letters below, and add a sentence of your own.
Is this final? No. It is a first draft, and the City is asking for comments.
Can neighbors block it with a petition? No. State law exempts a citywide code from the 20% protest rule, so comments and Council votes are what count.
Will my house become nonconforming? Existing homes keep their rights, and most become "deemed conforming."
Are you against more housing? No. We support new housing on the corridors and commercial sites around us, where state law already allows it.
Paste this into the City's comment form. Keep the two asks that matter most to you and fill in the brackets.
I live on [Your Street] in Midway Hollow (Council District [6 or 13]). I'm commenting on Public Draft 1.0.
[One sentence in your own words: how long you've lived here, what you value, or what worries you.]
Please make these changes in Draft 2:
Neighborhood choice: Don't automatically convert single-family districts to allow duplexes, ADUs and corner apartments. ForwardDallas says the plan does not recommend a City-initiated rezoning of single-family neighborhoods. Let neighborhoods opt in, or at minimum allow one extra unit per lot with owner occupancy.
Keep lots whole: Keep R-7.5(A)'s 7,500 sq ft minimum instead of converting to R-2's 5,000, and restore the rule that new lots must match the established lot pattern (51A-8.503), which is missing from Sec. 19.16.
Apartments on corridors: Remove by-right multi-unit buildings from interior corner lots in R-1 and R-2 (Sec. 10.4.D), or require an SUP and parking.
Height transitions: Restore a step-down where MX districts abut homes, such as the 55 ft-within-100 ft rule the draft already uses for INST and GI.
Notice: Require mailed notice to neighbors within 200 ft for administrative modifications on residential lots (Sec. 18.5).
Stronger NSOs: Let an NSO keep existing lot sizes and limit added units (Sec. 9.3).
Please also clarify: one ADU per lot; whether 8 to 9 ft service alleys count as "alley access"; and why Table 5-1 lists a 3,000 sq ft R-2 bonus lot that Sec. 11.2 doesn't support.
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
Send to: Laura.Cadena@dallas.gov
Dear Council Member Cadena,
I live at [Your Address] in Midway Hollow, in District 6. The zoning reform draft would convert our R-7.5(A) blocks to a new R-2 district with 5,000 sq ft lots, by-right duplexes plus ADUs, and apartment buildings on corner lots with alleys. By one count, about 182 lots in our part of the neighborhood could be split.
ForwardDallas, which the Council adopted in 2024, says it does not recommend a City-initiated rezoning of single-family neighborhoods. I'm asking you to carry two amendments: keep today's 7,500 sq ft minimum (with the lot-pattern rule), and let neighborhoods opt in to added units. I'd welcome a meeting with you and your neighbors on this.
[Add one sentence in your own words.]
Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Email Address]
[Your Phone Number]
Send to: Gay.Willis@dallas.gov
Dear Council Member Willis,
I live at [Your Address] in Midway Hollow, in District 13. The zoning reform draft would convert our R-10(A) blocks to R-1, allowing a duplex plus an ADU on most lots and apartment buildings up to 45 ft on corner lots with alleys, with no parking for 20 units or fewer. The retail corner at Midway and Northwest Highway could reach 70 ft with no height step-down next to homes.
Neighbors should have a real say in a change this large. Here are amendments you could carry: let neighborhoods opt in to added units; limit multi-unit buildings to thoroughfares; and restore a height transition where commercial zoning meets homes. Our neighbors would welcome a meeting.
[Add one sentence in your own words.]
Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Email Address]
[Your Phone Number]
Figures are estimates from the City's public GIS data and Public Draft 1.0. Not legal advice.