We'll start with what it is: Originally adopted in 2006, ForwardDallas is a citywide plan that establishes guidelines for how public and private land should be used and what the city should look like. The city is in the process of updating the plan now.
“It is a vision or a guide for how the city of Dallas should grow over the next 10 to 20 years, and it’s a way for the community to get involved in that discussion,” Andrea Gilles, the interim director of Dallas’ planning and urban development department, told the Observer. “ForwardDallas looks specifically at future land use, and how that is developed or looked at for the long-range vision for Dallas.”
The plan has five overarching themes: environmental justice and sustainability; transit-oriented development and connectivity; housing choice and access; economic development and revitalization; and community and urban design. ForwardDallas is not a regulatory document and doesn’t change zoning. It’s just meant to inform decisions about zoning and development in the city.
Why is ForwardDallas being updated now?
Gilles said plans like these usually get updated every 10 years. “We are at about the 17 year mark, so it was time,” she said.On top of that, things in Dallas have changed since the first iteration of ForwardDallas was passed, Patrick Blaydes, chief planner for the ForwardDallas project team, told the Observer. The city has seen a lot of growth, for example. Revising the plan will hopefully allow the city to think up new ways to design and use spaces that offer equitable access to resources, strengthen communities and foster continued growth.
“I think a lot of what ForwardDallas has looked at is ‘OK, how has the market changed and how do we need to be intentional about what that change looks like?’” Blaydes said.“It is a vision or a guide for how the city of Dallas should grow over the next 10 to 20 years, and it’s a way for the community to get involved in that discussion.” – Andrea Gilles, city of Dallas
tweet this
The plan will outline how land within particular areas should be used, developed and managed over time. The goal is to ensure communities’ needs are met, attract new businesses, protect the environment and natural resources, assist in infrastructure planning and provide a transparent planning process for residents. A primary way the plan will be implemented will be through zoning, to which property owners and the city can initiate changes. ForwardDallas can be amended further by city policies, zoning changes and the adoption of smaller area plans, such as a neighborhood or corridor plans.
How will the plan be used?
The plan is separated into four major sections: land use themes, placetype descriptions, the future placetype map and the implementation plan. Each theme comes with a primary goal, which provides a direction for what the plan should achieve.Land use themes will outline how a community wants land to be used. Placetype descriptions detail various types of places in the city that represent ideas for desired land uses, development character, urban design features and density for areas in Dallas.
The future placetype map provides a graphical and geographical representation of where each placetype is in the city and how they are related to one another. The implementation plan details how each land use theme will be addressed, a timeline and what agencies or departments will be involved.
Gilles said ForwardDallas doesn’t propose massive changes to established and existing residential areas. “It does ask us all to think about how we figure out where to put more housing,” she said. “But largely what ForwardDallas talks about is housing, allowing for mixes of uses along our corridors where we do have established activity centers close to transit. You know, if there is a large property that becomes available, let’s talk about what type of housing goes there.” But she said all of this would be part of a separate process. “There aren't recommendations within the plan to make changes to our established residential neighborhood,” Gilles said. “It discusses where can we potentially add some more housing in the future?”
She added, “ForwardDallas in and of itself does not change anything as far as what you can and cannot do on your property, or what your neighbors can and cannot do on their property.”
What does the plan aim to achieve?
Each land use theme comes with a goal. For environmental justice and sustainability, the city hopes to protect communities from environmental hazards while enhancing environmental quality through conservation and sustainable practices. When it comes to transit-oriented development and connectivity, the city wants to advance safe, compact and walkable mixed-use developments around DART stations and other transportation nodes to increase accessibility to housing, job opportunities and amenities.With housing choice and access, Dallas plans to increase attainable housing options throughout the city to meet the diverse housing needs of residents. The city also wants to promote equitable economic development across Dallas by revitalizing neighborhood centers, commercial corridors, employment centers and transit areas. For community and urban design, the city hopes to help shape Dallas streets, sidewalks, buildings and open spaces.
What’s happening with the plan now?
ForwardDallas made it out of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Committee and is now with the City Plan Commission. “It's now in the purview of the City Plan Commission to put their touch on this plan,” Gilles said.The commission will meet and discuss the plan at its meeting today. While there was a lot of public input for the plan in the last two years, Gilles said there will be public hearings and meetings through the City Plan Commission that citizens can attend and provide their input. City staff are also going out upon request to neighborhoods that want to know more about the plan, which could help shape the future of Dallas.
“ForwardDallas is a piece of the puzzle,” Gilles said.
