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Texas — City of Dallas

Dallas doesn’t hand out density.
You have to earn it, block by block.

In most Texas cities the bonus math fits on a napkin. Not here. Dallas ties added height and units to your parcel’s Market Value Analysis category, its zoning district, and the income bands you agree to serve. JDJ reads that map for a living. We run the MVA lookup, model the Mixed Income Housing Development Bonus, and carry the submittal through DallasNow and ProjectDox while the code shifts under everyone’s feet.

Governing Code

Dallas Development Code

Department

Planning & Development / Housing & Neighborhood Revitalization

Portal

Dallas Now

Have a site in Dallas?

Tell us what you’re trying to build — we’ll run your MVA category
lookup and map the MIHDB bonus path.

Start a Dallas Project
Call Us: ‪(818) 252-9610‬
Texas markets Texas Austin San Antonio Round Rock Georgetown Houston Fort Worth Dallas The Woodlands
Dallas set

QUICK REFERENCE STRIP

The framework, in JDJ’s words. Every Texas city on this site runs its own code, its own departments, and its own portals. Here is the Dallas set, so the vocabulary on this page matches the vocabulary your reviewer will use.

Governing Code

Dallas Development Code, Chapter 51A

Application platform

DallasNow (Accela, live May 2025)

Commercial plan review

ProjectDox (electronic plan review)

Comprehensive plan

Forward Dallas 2.0 (adopted Sept. 25, 2024; amended March 2026)

Density bonus

Mixed Income Housing Development Bonus (MIHDB), Chapter 51A-4.1100

Lead departments

Planning and Development Department (PDD); Development Services Department (DSD); Housing and Community Development
The framework, in plain terms

How Dallas Regulates Development

Dallas is running two clocks at once, and that is the single most important thing a developer entering this market needs to understand.

The first clock is the code on the books today. The Dallas Development Code, Chapter 51A, is the governing zoning ordinance. Its bones were laid in the 1960s and last meaningfully reworked in the 1980s, which is why the city now carries hundreds of Planned Development Districts, each functioning as its own miniature code layered over the base. If your site sits inside a PD, the base district rules are only the starting point. The PD text controls, and reading it correctly is often the whole game.

The second clock is reform. In September 2024 the City Council adopted ForwardDallas 2.0, a comprehensive land use plan that replaced the 2006 version and was amended again in March 2026. ForwardDallas 2.0 is a guidance document, not a zoning ordinance. It defines twelve “placetypes” that describe the mix of uses, density, and design the city wants in different areas, and it explicitly does not rezone anything on its own. What it does is set the direction for the zoning-reform effort that the Planning and Development Department launched in 2025, the first serious rewrite of the code in nearly four decades. That effort is still moving through diagnostics, public engagement, and City Plan Commission review. It is not adopted, and its final shape is not settled.

For anyone underwriting a Dallas deal, both clocks matter. Today’s entitlements are granted under today’s code. But timelines, allowable housing types, and bonus structures are all live subjects, and a project that pencils under the current rules may look different against the version of the code the city is drafting. JDJ tracks both so your strategy is built on what is enforceable now while staying aware of what is coming.

What developers come to Dallas for

In-Demand Dallas Entitlements and Permitting

These are the approvals moving the most volume in the Dallas market right now, and the ones JDJ is asked to run most often.

Mixed Income Housing Development Bonus (MIHDB)

Dallas's marquee density tool. Under Chapter 51A-4.1100 of the Development Code, MIHDB lets a multifamily or mixed-use developer build beyond base zoning in exchange for reserving income-restricted units. What makes Dallas distinct is that the size of the bonus and the depth of affordability required both depend on your parcel's Market Value Analysis (MVA) category. Sites in stronger-market categories serve higher income bands; sites in softer-market categories serve deeper affordability. In MF and MU districts the bonus follows the MVA table. In Planned Development Districts the bonus and reserved-unit requirements vary district by district. Developers may build the reserved units on site (the city's preferred path) or pay a fee in lieu into the MIHDB Fund, calculated from residential floor area based on building type and MVA location. The by-right nature of MIHDB in eligible districts is its biggest advantage. Instead of a full rezoning, a developer can often reach the target density through the bonus alone.

Rezoning and Planned Development District amendments

When a project cannot reach its program through base zoning or a bonus, the path runs through the City Plan Commission and City Council. This includes straight zoning changes, new PDs, and amendments to existing PD text. Given how much of Dallas is already inside PDs, PD amendments are among the most common entitlement actions in the city, and the ones most sensitive to how the accompanying case is framed and how neighborhood stakeholders are engaged.

Accessory Dwelling Units through the ADU Overlay

ADUs are not by-right across Dallas. A property owner generally needs to sit inside an approved Accessory Dwelling Unit Overlay (ADUO) or secure a Board of Adjustment special exception under Dallas City Code. Establishing an ADUO is a petition-driven, neighborhood-level process: petitions must be signed by more than half of the property owners in the requested area and verified by staff before the City Plan Commission and City Council consider the overlay. Detached ADUs are capped at 800 square feet. ADU allowances are one of the specific items on the table in the ongoing zoning-reform effort, so this is an area worth watching.

Platting and subdivision

Most vertical work in Dallas depends on a clean plat. Replats, minor plats, and full subdivision review all run through Planning and Development, and platting status is one of the first things JDJ verifies during due diligence because it drives the critical path more often than developers expect.

Board of Adjustment relief

Variances and special exceptions for setbacks, lot coverage, parking, and specific-use questions are decided by the Board of Adjustment. No BOA case sets a precedent, and the board weighs effect on neighboring property rather than benefit to the applicant, which is exactly why the framing of the request matters.
Dallas Service Offerings

What JDJ handles in Dallas

Dallas’s MIHDB bonus is the most complex of any Texas city on this list
— MVA category, zoning district, and income band all factor into the math.
JDJ owns that modeling alongside the DallasNow submittal.

01. Entitlements & Land Use

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MIHDB bonus modeling

Chapter 51A-4.1100 applications, from MVA category confirmation through the reserved-unit and fee-in-lieu math.
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MVA category and bonus table lookup

parcel-level determination that sets bonus eligibility and affordability depth.
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Fee-in-lieu analysis

modeling the on-site versus fee-in-lieu decision against project economics.
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Rezoning and PD amendment coordination

managing the City Plan Commission to City Council path.

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ADU Overlay and Board of Adjustment screening

mapping the ADUO petition route or the special-exception path.

02. Permit Expediting

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DallasNow submittal and tracking

full application management through the city's Accela land management platform.
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ProjectDox plan review coordination

electronic commercial plan submittal and corrections management through each review cycle.
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Board of Adjustment application support

special-exception and variance filings, including ADU pathways.

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Expedited review coordination

positioning qualifying projects for the city's expedited plan review track.
U

03. Due Diligence & Feasibility

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DCAD parcel verification

Dallas Central Appraisal District ownership and parcel confirmation.
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Dallas County records research

deed and plat review through the County Clerk.

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Platting status assessment

identifying replat or subdivision requirements before they hit the schedule.
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AMI and income-band calculations

MIHDB underwriting support tied to current Area Median Income figures.
What changed, and why it matters to your pro forma

Recent Dallas Developments Every Developer Should Know

DallasNow replaced the legacy permitting stack (May 2025).

The city consolidated roughly fifteen legacy systems, including its two-decade-old POSSE engine, into DallasNow, a cloud-based Accela platform that now handles permitting, planning, platting, inspections, and engineering in one place. Applications, status tracking, fees, notifications, and inspection scheduling all live there. For active projects this means a single account and a single source of truth, but it also means anyone still working from pre-2025 process assumptions is working from a map that no longer matches the terrain.

Commercial plan review is fully electronic through ProjectDox.

Dallas Development Services moved to paperless commercial permitting, with plan sets submitted and reviewed digitally in ProjectDox. Clean, correctly exported vector PDFs and a submittal packaged to the city's electronic standards are now the difference between a smooth first cycle and an avoidable rejection.

ForwardDallas 2.0 was amended in March 2026.

The comprehensive plan the city adopted in 2024 continues to evolve. Because it steers the zoning-reform effort, its amendments are early signals of where the code is heading, even though the plan itself changes no zoning.

Zoning reform is live and unresolved.

The Planning and Development Department is running the first comprehensive code rewrite in nearly forty years, aimed at simplifying the code and implementing ForwardDallas 2.0's placetypes. Proposals under discussion have touched on allowing more housing types in residential areas and expanding ADU access, and they have drawn organized support and organized opposition. Nothing here is adopted. For developers, the practical takeaway is that the entitlement rules of 2027 may not match those of today, which makes both timing and optionality worth pricing into a Dallas deal.

No statewide ADU preemption passed.

Texas Senate Bill 673, which would have required jurisdictions to allow ADUs by right, did not pass before the 89th Legislature adjourned in 2025. Dallas's ADUO and Board of Adjustment framework remains the governing path, so ADU strategy in Dallas is still a local, parcel-by-parcel question.
Dallas's vocabulary, in plain English

Local Terminology, Decoded

MIHDB

Mixed Income Housing Development Bonus. Dallas's density bonus program under Chapter 51A-4.1100.

MVA

Market Value Analysis. The category system that sets both bonus size and affordability depth.

DallasNow

The city's Accela land management platform for applications, status, fees, and inspections.

ProjectDox

The electronic plan review system for commercial plan sets.

ForwardDallas 2.0

The comprehensive land use plan guiding the zoning-reform effort. Not a zoning document.

Placetype

One of twelve area visions in ForwardDallas 2.0 describing a desired mix of uses, density, and design.

PD

Planned Development District. A site-specific code layered over base zoning.

ADUO

Accessory Dwelling Unit Overlay. The petition-based path to allowing ADUs in a Dallas neighborhood.

AMI

Area Median Income. The basis for income-restricted unit calculations.

DCAD

Dallas Central Appraisal District. Source for parcel and ownership verification.

The questions we answer most

Dallas Developer FAQ

Q. Which portal do I use to apply for a Dallas permit?
DallasNow, the city’s Accela-based land management platform launched in May 2025, handles applications, status, fees, and inspections. Commercial plan sets are then submitted for electronic review through ProjectDox. Most commercial projects touch both systems.
Q. What is the MIHDB and how is the bonus calculated?
The Mixed Income Housing Development Bonus is Dallas’s density bonus program under Chapter 51A-4.1100 of the Development Code. The bonus amount and the required affordability both depend on the parcel’s Market Value Analysis category and its zoning district. Developers can provide reserved units on site or pay a fee in lieu into the MIHDB Fund, calculated from residential floor area.
Q. Are ADUs allowed by right in Dallas?
No. ADUs generally require an approved Accessory Dwelling Unit Overlay or a Board of Adjustment special exception. The overlay is established through a neighborhood petition signed by more than half of the property owners in the requested area. Detached ADUs are capped at 800 square feet.
Q. Does ForwardDallas 2.0 change my zoning?
No. ForwardDallas 2.0 is a comprehensive land use plan that guides policy and future zoning decisions. It does not rezone property on its own. The separate zoning-reform effort now underway is what would eventually translate the plan’s direction into enforceable code.
Q. How long does commercial plan review take in Dallas?
Initial commercial review cycles commonly run in the range of a few weeks, and Dallas offers expedited review for qualifying projects. Because fees are valuation-based and adjusted periodically, current amounts should be confirmed in DallasNow or the city fee schedule before budgeting.
Q. Why does my site being inside a Planned Development District matter?
A PD functions as its own code layered over the base zoning. Much of Dallas is covered by PDs, and the PD text, rather than the base district, controls what you can build and what approvals you need. Reading it correctly is often the first real step in an entitlement strategy.