Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee Meeting — October 26, 2026

The Dallas City Council Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee met on Monday, October 26, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 11:49 AM in Council Chambers at Dallas City Hall, with video conference participation. The committee received a two-part briefing on the State of Homelessness (Part One focused on city departments), a detailed review of the Dallas is Home pillar for housing production, preservation, and infrastructure alignment, and several briefing memos on upcoming City Council agenda items. No public comment period was held.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the September 22, 2026 Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee meeting minutes by unanimous voice vote.

Discussion Items

State of Homelessness, Part One — City Departments’ Strategy and Response

• Staff from the Office of Housing and Community Empowerment (HCE) and Emergency Management and Crisis Response (EMCR) presented the city’s internal homelessness strategy, including the evolution of the response system since the Bridge opened in May 2008, the 2016 Dallas Commission on Homelessness, the 2017 creation of the Office of Homeless Solutions, $20 million in 2017 bond funding, and $19 million approved through Proposition I in 2024.
• HCE and EMCR reported a combined budget of approximately $6.5 million for emergency shelter services and $13.2 million for housing and supportive services, using city, county, state, federal, and ARPA funds.
• Staff outlined four response functions — prevention, respond, house, and stabilize — and listed city-owned assets, including the Bridge and Family Gateway at 1950 Fort Worth Avenue, where planning includes 71 permanent supportive housing units with 48 project-based vouchers.
• EMCR reported that it funds the Dallas Street Response Team, a temporary inclement weather shelter contract with Austin Street Center, and encampment cleanings through two hazardous-material-certified private vendors.
• Staff identified system gaps: limited shelter and transitional housing, limited options for unaccompanied youth ages 18–24, limited medical respite beds, barriers to shelter access for people with medical and behavioral health needs, and limited prevention and diversion resources.
• Staff proposed adding 100 emergency shelter beds at the Bridge, exploring other city-owned sites for transitional housing, developing a temporary housing community after the previous vendor, Pallet, went out of business, and using combined data sets to target the highest utilizers of multiple systems.
• Councilmember Mendelssohn said the briefing was premature given the Dallas County homelessness tax measure being voted on that day, questioned whether the city should duplicate county efforts, and criticized the Public Facility Corporation as not a homelessness solution.
• She also challenged data quality: city-funded diversion served 79 households over 11 months with $250,000 split among three providers, while she cited Family Gateway (1,930 diverted in 2025), Housing Forward (2,086), and OurCalling (10,000) as evidence the city’s investment was not yielding comparable results.
• She noted the presentation cited 150 unaccompanied young adults ages 18–24 including 31 unsheltered, and 231 families with children, which she said contradicted Dallas ISD-reported 4,500 homeless students, Richardson ISD’s 2,400, and Family Gateway’s 6,000 calls for service and 462 families in shelter or hotel in 2025. The transcript also contains one staff reference to “15 unaccompanied youth,” conflicting with the 150 figure.
• She expressed skepticism of the point-in-time count, said most shelters are at about 98 percent capacity, disagreed that homelessness is decreasing, and argued the county should take the lead on filling system gaps.
• Councilmember Johnson raised repeat encampments in District 4, saying the planned response was not followed and calling for the same downtown Dallas Inc. model used near downtown to be replicated in other districts. Code Compliance Director Chris Christian explained enforcement tools for private property owners, including criminal trespass affidavits, fencing, site hardening, habitual nuisance designations, and litigation, while noting Code Compliance does not receive the $3 monthly environmental fee.
• Chair Blair requested a staff presentation on a successful encampment cleanup completed with multiple departments and property owners, emphasizing that closing a site must be followed by activation to prevent return.
• Other committee members asked about community engagement, the 100-bed expansion cost and operator RFP, coordination with Dallas ISD about the new school near the Bridge, and whether the city’s inclement weather shelter system reduces returns to homelessness.

Dallas is Home Pillar Review: Housing Production, Preservation, and Infrastructure Alignment

• Staff presented a deeper dive into three Dallas is Home pillars: citywide housing production, preservation, and infrastructure alignment.
• Staff cited a need for 40,000 households earning below 30 percent of Area Median Income, nearly 10,000 deed-restricted units expiring within 10 years, and a city rental rate of 61 percent compared to an earlier goal of 50 percent.
• The production strategy includes establishing a shared project pipeline, using district conditions to determine housing mix, creating early interdepartmental feasibility reviews, and aligning financing commitments through completion.
• The preservation strategy proposes a verified preservation inventory, an early warning system for expiring affordability restrictions, and interventions to retain affordable rental and owner-occupied homes.
• The infrastructure pillar aims to coordinate housing project timelines with water, transportation, and other infrastructure capacity and funding schedules.
• Committee members generally supported the framework, but raised concerns:
  • Councilmember Mendelssohn called for district-level data on single-family vs. multifamily unit counts, vacancy rates, and affordability, and said tax abatements should not be offered in areas that already have a preponderance of multifamily housing.
  • She said government subsidy should focus on the lowest-income residents most at risk of homelessness, called for preserving affordable single-family homes, and argued Southern Dallas infrastructure alignment should be a top priority.
  • She challenged the absence of market-rate development in Southern Dallas and asked for a definition of “at-risk affordable housing.”
  • Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Johnson said new homes in his area are priced from $350,000 to $600,000, making homeownership unaffordable for educators, firefighters, and police officers; he called for market-rate housing and resources for Southern Dallas and cited a history of disinvestment.
  • Councilmember Willis supported the framework but worried about workforce housing at 30–60 percent AMI and the difficulty of closing financing gaps.
  • Chair Gracie asked for an intentional Southern Dallas strategy, noting that preservation and new production must make areas marketable; she also described a 66-unit property near Kiest Park as a potential conversion opportunity.
• Staff said they would incorporate the feedback, add appendix data, and continue meetings with private developers and district members.

Briefing Memos and Upcoming Agenda Items

• Item C — Communities Foundation of Texas donation: The committee reviewed the upcoming November 10, 2026 City Council item accepting $200,000 to support Land Bank operations; CFT is also providing $200,000 for a consultant. A deeper Land Bank presentation is planned for January.
• Item D — Dallas Public Facility Corporation (PFC) and Dallas Housing Finance Corporation (HFC) quarterly update: General Manager Aaron Eaquinto reported that both boards are evaluating unrestricted funds for gap financing, soft loans, rental assistance, and a reserve of about 1 percent of portfolio value. Board votes on the plans are expected by the end of 2026. Councilmember Mendelssohn called for reopening the PFC/HFC bylaws to align spending with Council priorities and to scrutinize tax abatements.
• Item E — September 2026 Dallas Street Response Monthly Outcomes Report: The briefing memo was received; no questions were raised.
• Item F — Low-Income Housing Tax Credit policy and application process: The briefing memo was received; no questions were raised.
• Item G — Transition Resource Action Center (TRAC) subrecipient agreement: The committee reviewed the upcoming October 28, 2026 Council item for a 10-month agreement not to exceed $211,413, with two one-year renewal options, for services to unaccompanied young adults age 24 and under.
• Item H — Bella Limon development loan: The committee reviewed the upcoming December 9, 2026 Council item authorizing a development loan agreement with O-SDA Industries, LLC not to exceed $8,800,000 for an 86-unit mixed-income multifamily development at 4311–4329 Belmont Avenue, contingent on a 2026 9% Housing Tax Credit award, using $5,000,000 in CDBG or HOME funds and $3,800,000 in Mixed-Income Housing Development Bonus fee-in-lieu funds.
• Item I — Committee forecast: The committee reviewed upcoming November and December agenda items.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the September 22, 2026 minutes unanimously.
• Directed staff to provide follow-up data, including PFC units created at 30 percent AMI, a breakdown of the $3 water-bill environmental fee, and diversion program details.
• Directed staff to prepare a presentation on the successful cross-departmental encampment cleanup model.
• HFC and PFC boards are to complete fund allocation plans by the end of 2026, with a report to the committee in December.
• Staff will return in November with the external-partner portion of the homelessness strategy and the next Dallas is Home pillar deep dives, followed by a data-focused briefing in December and a full council briefing in January before final adoption of Dallas is Home.
• No formal votes were taken on the briefing items; the committee may make recommendations to City Council on future agenda items.
• The meeting adjourned at 11:49 AM.