Deputy Director Ryan O’Connor and Lakisha Gerder, planning manager with Dallas Parks, briefed the Parks, Trails and Environment Committee on proposed amendments to the parkland dedication ordinance on Nov. 3, prepared in response to a recent state law change affecting the largest Texas cities.

O’Connor said the state law limits land dedication to no more than 10% of a developable site if the city requires dedication and provides two fee-calculation options: a complex appraisal-based calculation using appraisal-district land values or a simpler cap not to exceed 2% of the city’s median family income (MFI). The law also ties fee liability to issuance of a certificate of occupancy rather than the building permit and excludes units defined as affordable under a city program from fee calculation. The city’s original parkland ordinance took effect July 1, 2019.

Staff proposed reducing the number of nexus zones from seven to five—expanding zone boundaries so collected fees aggregate more quickly—and removing unused credit mechanisms and exemptions to simplify administration. The staff-recommended fee schedule was described as “2/2/1/1”: 2% of MFI for single-family; 2% for multi‑bed units (two or more bedrooms); 1% for one‑bedroom multifamily units; and 1% for hotel/motel. The development-community compromise presented in the briefing lowers the two‑bedroom multifamily rate to 1.5%. O’Connor said the staff recommendation seeks to balance park funding needs with housing production, and he noted the change in the five-year MFI used for state calculations (presented as rising from about $65,400 to about $67,760).

On when the city could require on-site land dedication, staff presented two draft options. The version preferred by staff and coordinated with the development community says the director may require land dedication when the property would increase park access for 1,000 or more residents as measured by a 0.5-mile park-access standard; if the director requires on‑site dedication and the city purchases the land, council approval is required for acquisition expenditures (smaller acquisitions could be approved administratively). O’Connor explained that if the city elects to purchase land the purchase price would be fair market value less the fee calculation (staff illustrated the calculation with an example in which a developer’s fee in lieu offsets part of the appraised value).

Daniel Moore of the city attorney’s office described the fee-in-lieu mechanics: a developer pays the fee at the plan application/building permit process; building department transfers monies daily to the parks department into restricted funds used for park acquisition or park development. O’Connor said that to date roughly 5,000 parcels have paid parkland fees and that the combined balance across zones is about $14.5 million; staff noted the city has roughly 300,000 parcels overall. Staff recommended consolidating the existing two funds (park development and fee-in-lieu) into one fund to accelerate accumulation for acquisitions and development.

Committee members debated fee levels and authority. Vice Chair West and Council Member Ridley supported the staff recommendation and emphasized the importance of ensuring adequate park access—especially for family-sized multifamily units—while Council Member Blair and others pressed staff on administrative details such as how fees are administered, whether funds and matches were set aside for specific grants, and how residents would be counted for the 1,000-person threshold. Council Member Ridley additionally noted the proposed compromise (1.5% for two-bedroom units) was intended to incentivize more family-sized multifamily units, while other members argued for retaining 2% for two-bed units to reflect anticipated park demand by families.

O’Connor said staff is targeting a public hearing and council consideration on Nov. 12, 2025 and will post materials and a web page on the Parks Department site. The briefing packet also includes a memo on internal CCAP coordination. O’Connor apologized for inconsistent slide versions during the presentation and said staff will provide clarifying materials to the committee before council consideration.