City of Dallas planning staff presented a proposed amendment to Chapter 52 of the city code that would require applicable construction projects in Planned Development (PD) 193 to submit an off‑street parking plan as part of the permitting process. The Economic Development Committee voted to hold the proposal until its November meeting after members requested the ordinance text be distributed to committee members and asked staff to continue stakeholder engagement; Vice Chair Ridley moved to hold and the motion was seconded and approved by the committee.

What staff proposed: Veil Liu, Director of Planning and Development, introduced Deputy Director and Chief Building Official Sam Eskander to present the proposal. Staff said the amendment is a response to repeated constituent complaints about construction workers occupying street and metered parking in PD 193 (the planning district covering Uptown, Oak Lawn and nearby areas). The version presented narrows triggers and requirements compared with earlier drafts; under the current language discussed, an off‑street parking plan would be required when all three conditions are met: the project is within PD 193, the construction is expected to continue more than one year, and the project exceeds 200,000 square feet of floor area.

Plan contents and enforcement concerns: Staff outlined the elements a plan must include: a site plan showing off‑street parking for workers and visitors; anticipated worker counts versus parking spaces; a list of approved on‑site or off‑site parking lots; responsible‑party contact information; transit options; and compliance statements. Industry stakeholders — including representatives for the Real Estate Council of Dallas (TREC), Dallas Builders Association and other development groups — told the committee they do not oppose the policy objective but raised practical concerns about implementation: sequencing and timing of permit submittal, whether vendor contracts for temporary parking would be subject to public‑records requirements, how off‑site lots would be brought into compliance, and how enforcement would be carried out when contractors nonetheless park on public streets.

Committee direction and timeline: Committee members said they support the objective of reducing construction parking pressure on public streets but requested more time to review the ordinance language and for additional stakeholder coordination. Vice Chair Ridley noted he has advocated for action on the issue for over a year but supported holding the item given members’ requests for more detail. The committee directed staff to distribute the ordinance text to members, include parking enforcement representatives at the follow‑up meeting, and return the item to the November committee meeting for further consideration.

Notes and limitations: Staff said they reviewed other cities’ programs and pilots (examples cited in the briefing included limited programs in Austin and Chicago) and that the draft before the committee had been narrowed since a November 2024 briefing. No committee vote on final adoption occurred; the motion recorded in the transcript was to hold the item for additional review and stakeholder work.