Duncanville officials propose zoning changes to regulate group homes, boarding houses and short‑term rentals

Assistant City Manager Mark Rauscher and City Planner Desiree Powell briefed the City Council on proposed changes to Duncanville’s zoning ordinance aimed at resolving inconsistencies between the Code of Ordinances (Municode) and the zoning code and tightening oversight of certain residential uses.

Powell said the main objectives are to add a group‑home use to the zoning ordinance and to change boarding houses from being permitted by right in some single‑family districts to requiring a specific‑use permit. “So right now we do have a boarding house and group home listed in our code of ordinances,” Powell said, and staff “are proposing to change that” to make the two documents cohesive and easier for staff and applicants to follow.

The proposed process would require predevelopment meetings, formal applications and a $500 application fee for reasonable‑accommodation requests, a fee Powell said is “on par with what our variance fee is.” Staff explained that reasonable accommodation would still be the administrative pathway if a use falls outside permitted zoning, but that some group‑home and boarding‑house proposals would move forward through the specific‑use‑permit process and city council review in certain districts.

Council members asked whether federal fair‑housing guidance was driving changes and about spacing rules. Staff replied that reasonable‑accommodation provisions are intended to address requests tied to disabilities or physical needs and that an existing 1,600‑foot separation requirement for group‑home/boarding‑house uses remains in the code. Staff also told council they will add the group‑home definitions and related “additional regulations” to the land‑use chart for clarity so Municode and the zoning ordinance match.

Powell and other staff also described planned updates to rental‑registration and inspection rules: short‑term rentals (Airbnb, Vrbo) would be tracked and permitted through the registration program, staff expect to expand inspection frequency, and the city intends to acquire software to catalog short‑term and long‑term rental units and integrate with the city’s financial systems. Powell said the software procurement is on the roadmap and staff expect it to be operational by April.

The briefing also outlined a downtown mixed‑use overlay aimed at encouraging walkable, arts‑oriented redevelopment and a larger citywide zoning code rewrite. Staff estimated the full zoning rewrite at $250,000–$300,000 and recommended an RFP to begin the rewrite process over the next fiscal year, with the overlay coming forward for council consideration this spring.

Next steps: staff said they will return with formal ordinance language for the council’s consideration and public input, including required outreach for any overlay adoption.