Dallas, TX Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Q-Conditions (Qualified Zoning) (2026)

Dallas's zoning code has no Q Condition mechanism. The equivalent tool is the Specific Use Permit under Sec. 219, which lets the city council authorize a use in a district only by separate ordinance, after it finds the use will complement or be compatible with surrounding uses, contribute to the welfare of the area, not be detrimental to public health, safety, or general welfare, and conform to all other zoning standards. An SUP applicant must submit a full site plan showing building and use locations, ingress and egress, parking and loading, screening, lighting, landscaping, and tree calipers, plus a traffic impact analysis if the director requires one.

Granting an SUP does not waive the underlying district's own regulations, and the council may add conditions, including requiring the owner to pay up to 50 percent of the cost of infrastructure improvements located more than 250 feet from the lot. Minor amendments to an approved site plan can be authorized administratively by the city plan commission after a public hearing, but only within limits: no more than a 10 percent increase in approved dwelling units, no more than a 5 percent or 1,000-square-foot increase in floor area, no height increase, and no reduction in required parking or setback lines.

Anything beyond those thresholds must go back through the full zoning amendment process. An SUP may also carry a time limit, after which it automatically terminates unless renewed through the same procedure. A property owner or adjacent owner within the notification area may appeal a city plan commission decision to the city council in writing within 10 days; that appeal is the final administrative remedy.