Dallas's Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan sets urban canopy and heat mitigation goals, including a target of 37 percent tree canopy citywide and Trinity River corridor green infrastructure. Article X tree preservation rules and the cool roof code support the strategy, though no single heat-island ordinance exists.
The 2020 Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) sets greenhouse gas, equity, and urban-heat goals for Dallas, including expanding tree canopy toward 37 percent and reducing surface temperatures in environmental-justice neighborhoods. Implementation is distributed across several Dallas codes: Article X of Chapter 51A protects existing trees and requires landscape plantings for new development; Chapter 53 building code adopts cool roof requirements derived from the IECC; and the Trinity River Corridor Comprehensive Land Use Plan promotes green infrastructure along the river. The Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability coordinates implementation. Dallas does not have a single consolidated heat-island ordinance the way some California cities do.
Removing protected trees without an Article X permit, violating landscape ordinance shade requirements, or failing to comply with Chapter 53 cool-roof reflectivity standards on new construction can trigger code enforcement action, replanting orders, and building permit holds.
Dallas, TX
Dallas City Council adopted Resolution 19-1366 in May 2020 approving the Climate Action and Equity Plan (CECAP). The plan sets a goal of net-zero greenhouse ...
Dallas, TX
Dallas has piloted reflective cool-pavement coatings through the Department of Transportation and Public Works in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods identified by...
Dallas, TX
Dallas Development Code Chapter 51A, Article X, Division 51A-10.130 requires a tree removal application before removing protected trees. The provision applie...
See how Dallas's heat island mitigation rules stack up against other locations.
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