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The Real Estate Council is
actively monitoring issues at the state and local level that impact
the commercial real estate industry and our partners. Our mission is
to build a better city – and public policy is an essential component
of that vision.
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To maximize TREC's
impact on state and local advocacy, we need to understand how
proposed policies will affect our members. Please take a moment to
complete our Public Policy Survey. Your responses will help TREC
identify key sectors within commercial real estate and focus outreach
to those most affected by legislative changes for analysis and
feedback.
Take the public policy survey here
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89th Texas Legislature
The 89th Texas
Legislature will gavel in on Tuesday, January 14, to swear in new and
returning members, and for the House to elect the next Speaker.
November 12 was the first day legislators could file bills for next
year’s legislative session. It’s gearing up to be a busy session,
with the state touting a $20 billion surplus. Out of the gate,
legislators filed over 1,000 bills from reducing minimum lot size
requirements to legalizing casino gambling. TREC’s Legislative Bill
Working Group held its first meeting in mid-November to evaluate the
landscape and discuss legislation that could impact our industry.
A few themes emerged from the prefiled legislation that are
noteworthy:
·
Public
disclosure of real property sale prices
·
Local
preemptions related to development, including a mandatory timeline
for a city to process building permits, municipal regulations on
ADUs, setbacks, and parking requirements, restricting additional
density on single family lots
·
Property
tax relief, including capping year-over-year growth in appraisal
values, and researching how Texas could eliminate property taxes
altogether
·
Affordable
housing reforms, including limiting LIHTC development locations,
establishment of a Workforce Housing Program, and reducing vote
threshold to approve affordable housing developments
TREC met with our Real
Estate Councils of Texas (RECsTX) cohort to discuss legislation,
priorities, and planning for the Lobby Day in Austin on Wednesday,
February 26. TREC is closely monitoring legislation that would impact
commercial real estate and will provide routine updates. Please
consider joining the Legislative Bill Working Group -- we need
TRECsperts to provide feedback about the impact of bills on our
industry.
TREC will be sending out a brief survey encouraging members to update
their profile in Community Hub to include their subsection of the
industry to help us determine legislation that would be relevant to
specific sectors of CRE.
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Parking Reform
In January 2024, the
city’s Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee (ZOAC) approved a draft
ordinance to remove parking minimums from Ch. 51A. On
November 21, CPC was briefed and discussed the proposed ordinance,
which included staff recommended revisions, including a
Transportation Demand Management Plan (TDMP) and design standards.
TREC shared reservations with city staff about additional design
standards and a new TDMP. At the December 5 CPC meeting,
the Commission voted to leave the public hearing open until the
special called meeting on January 16, 2025.
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Proposition U
On Election Day, voters
approved Propositions S and U. TREC, along with a
coalition of city and
community leaders, opposed these propositions, citing potential
financial harm to the city. On Friday, November 15, the city issued a
memo showing
the negative impact of Proposition U, which requires the allocation
of 50 percent of all new revenue to public safety initiatives. The
memo states that Moody’s revised the city’s General Obligation
outlook from stable to negative, citing reduced ‘financial
flexibility’ for the change, saying “[t]he negative outlook reflects
the expected credit impact of Proposition U.” TREC is actively
monitoring the consequences of Proposition U and its potential
effects on Dallas and the CRE industry.
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Dallas City Manager Search
On Monday, November 18,
the Dallas Morning News reported the
Dallas City Manager search has been narrowed to four candidates.
Among them is interim City Manager Kim Bizor Tolbert, who many have
seen as a frontrunner for the position. Tolbert was appointed as
Interim City Manager following TC Broadnax’s resignation in May.
Other candidates include William Johnson, Assistant City Manager for
the City of Fort Worth; Mark Washington, City Manager for Grand
Rapids, Michigan; and Zachary Williams, County Manager for Dekalb
County, Georgia. The Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs will
discuss the candidates at their Thursday, December 12 meeting, and
candidates will be evaluated by a host of stakeholder input community
meetings prior to council’s vote, which is tentatively planned for
Friday, January 17.
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HFC-PFC Bylaws
On Tuesday, October 29,
City Councilmembers held a special called Housing and Homelessness
meeting to discuss review of the Housing Finance Corporation
(HFC)/Public Facility Corporation (PFC) bylaws and discuss HFC/PFC
locations, project approval processes, city oversight, and board
staffing. Committee members voted to continue HFC/PFC program as is
while the bylaw discussion continues into the new year. TREC is
closely monitoring the bylaw review and will provide more updates as
they occur.
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Digital Advertising Kiosks
On Monday, September 16, the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee surprised staff and stakeholders by directing staff to
issue a new request for proposal (RFP) for digital advertising
kiosks. Council was briefed on December 4 on digital kiosks, and 10
councilmembers voiced support for continuing to explore kiosks in
some form, several citing revenue as a motivation. You can watch the
briefing here.
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City Meetings
Interested in knowing what's going on the agenda at upcoming
city committee and council meetings? You can review the calendar and
view upcoming city meetings here.
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REMINDER: Renew Your TREC Membership
Renew your TREC membership
by December 31 to avoid service interruptions and sustain your
benefits of membership. You can renew online by clicking here. If you
have questions, please email
the membership team.
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Join TREC PAC
State and local
officials influence commercial real estate through zoning,
permitting, and tax policy. TREC needs your support to elect
candidates who back sound policies. TREC PAC members (Champion level
or above) enjoy exclusive benefits, including attending the 89th
Texas Legislature RECsTX Lobby Day, interviewing candidates for
Dallas City Council, and voting on candidate endorsements and
contributions. Join TREC PAC today to
help shape policies for our members and the industry.
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Public Policy Committee
Interested in joining
TREC's Public Policy Committee?
Contact Michael Williams to
learn more. The next meeting will be Thursday, January 23, at 8:30 a.m.
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- Thursday, February 13, 2025 | Bank of Texas Speaker Series: A
Conversation with Patrick Dumont, President and CEO of the Sands
Corporation, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks
- Tuesday and Wednesday, February
25-26 | RECsTX Reception
and Austin Lobby Day at the Texas Capitol (Must be a PAC
member to attend)
- Associate Leadership Council applications are due January 9. Apply today!
- View all upcoming TREC events here
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Manage Your Preferences
The
Real Estate Council
3100 McKinnon Street, Suite 1150 Dallas, TX 75201
214.692.3600 | recouncil.com
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