Right now, there are two sets of rules for development. Denser developments are allowed inside the loop while outside has a different set of rules. The city wants to equalize it, but it won't come without a fight.
Townhomes may be a common sight inside the 610 Loop, but with land prices continually going up, developers like Mike Dishberger with Sandcastle Homes want a chance to build similar densely populated homes outside The Loop.
"There's more opportunity to build outside the loop," Dishberger said. "There's lot more land, a lot more opportunity to build lower-cost homes."
Proposed changes would mean developers can build up to 27 homes on one acre of land outside The Loop, equalizing the building regulations citywide. But neighborhood activists expressed concern Wednesday.
"It totally changes the character of the neighborhood," Mike Huffmaster said. "You lose the lawns, the trees, the grass; it changes the character."
Huffmaster and other neighborhood activists told the city that allowing denser development outside The Loop won't mean more affordable housing, it will just damage existing neighborhoods.
"We're losing them to the suburbs because people want traditional neighborhoods where they don't have to worry about absolutely anything being built next door to them," Jane Cahill West said.
But the people who do the building insist simple economics will keep existing neighborhoods intact and use up already empty lots.
"What it allows you to do is have a larger area to draw from," said David Hale with David Weekley Homes. "There's a greater supply."
City Council is expected to vote on the changes next week.
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