Texas lawmakers are moving to break open local zoning rules in the name of housing supply.
The Texas House of Representatives passed a key piece of legislation aimed at tackling the state’s housing shortage, approving a bill that would allow new homes to be built on smaller lots across Texas’ largest cities, the Texas Tribune reported.
Senate Bill 15, a top priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is part of a broader wave of zoning reforms pushed by state lawmakers to curb housing costs by removing barriers to increasing supply.
The bill, which passed the House 86-43 Wednesday, reduces the minimum lot size cities can require for single-family homes in new subdivisions, cutting it from the 5,000 to 7,500 square feet common in major metros to as little as 3,000 square feet. The provision applies only to new subdivisions spanning at least 5 acres and does not affect existing neighborhoods or areas restricted by homeowners’ associations.
Proponents argue the change will let builders offer more affordable homes, as smaller land requirements lower development costs.
But some lawmakers, especially from urban districts, pushed back, warning that the state is encroaching on local control and that the House’s amendment requiring cities to create a new zoning category for such homes could weaken the bill’s impact.
The legislation follows similar local moves in cities like Austin and Dallas.
Austin passed an ordinance in December reducing its minimum lot size from 5,750 to 2,500 square feet, aiming to enable smaller, more affordable “missing middle” housing. Dallas followed suit, adopting its ForwardDallas 2.0 plan, which reduces minimum lot sizes and permits multiplexes in some formerly single-family-only zones. The Dallas plan, however, is advisory and still relies on adoption by the city council on a case-by-case basis.
SB 15 now heads back to the Texas Senate, which must decide whether to accept the House’s amendments or send the measure to a conference committee to iron out differences.
The proposal joins a constellation of other housing reforms advanced this session, including measures easing apartment construction along retail corridors, removing barriers to converting office buildings into housing and blocking local bans on manufactured homes.
Texas’ housing shortfall, estimated at 320,000 units, has become a central policy issue as the state scrambles to meet surging demand driven by population growth and corporate relocations.
— Judah Duke
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