City of Dallas
HR&A worked with the City of Dallas and stakeholders to craft an Economic Development Policy and Incentives Policy to proactively address disparities in economic opportunity through policy, public investment, and partnership. As advisors, analysts, subject matter experts, and external capacity, HR&A helped ensure that the implementation of the policy would provide measurable impacts and improvements to businesses and communities across Dallas.
To align policies and programs with a new equitable vision, HR&A then partnered with staff to prepare the City’s first Historic and Cultural Preservation Strategy and develop a Housing Action Plan to meet ambitious housing goals. Following two years of engagement, analysis, and policy development, the City Council unanimously passed updates to the Economic Development Policy and Incentives Policy in early 2023. Recognizing how many different municipal functions impact and affect economic development processes and outcomes, these policies reflected deep input from a 15-member civic Task Force appointed by City Council, which HR&A managed alongside an internal working group of staff leadership from 14 departments. Significant updates to municipal practice and policy included defining target areas for equitable economic development, creating an Infrastructure Investment Fund to designate resources towards historically underserved areas, and reducing barriers to entry through a new as-of-right economic development incentive. HR&A also provided staff augmentation and advisory services to assess and address challenges with permitting processes, small business support, and community development organizational structures.  Â
In the two years following the adoption of those policies, HR&A led other implementation initiatives, including: Â
Cultural & Historic Preservation Strategy – The Economic Development Policy calls for the City of Dallas to overhaul the historic preservation mission and function to preserve the City’s cultural assets and better serve stakeholders that have not historically been direct beneficiaries of City preservation programs. HR&A developed a citywide strategic plan for historic and cultural preservation with community leaders to strategize how to best use tools across City departments and functions to help preserve Dallas’ history and culture. The strategy included recommendations for new cultural preservation programs (such as a cultural district designation) that were better designed to serve the needs of Dallas’s historically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The engagement-driven plan also included strategies to make existing historic preservation programs more accessible, better utilizing the functions and programs of other departments such as Housing and the Office of Arts and Culture to protect cultural assets and leverage them for community investment.Â
Housing Action Plan – Addressing housing affordability is a key pillar of the Economic Development Policy. While the City of Dallas had previously updated housing policies with the release of Dallas Housing Policy 2033 (DHP33), staff and Council required a plan for the strategies and resources needed to implement DHP33 and work towards a future where all residents can access housing that meets their needs. HR&A worked with housing staff and stakeholders to measure and communicate housing needs, establish resource priorities, and set actions and goals. With Dallas being short 39,900 rental homes that are affordable to households who earn up to 50% AMI, losing naturally occurring affordable homes every day, and becoming decreasingly accessible for homeownership opportunities, the Housing Action Plan puts forward concrete actions for Equity Strategy Target Areas, citywide housing production and preservation, infrastructure to serve housing, partnership, and engagement. Dallas housing staff continues to use this plan to guide and measure their work. Â
