What shapes a site plan in Dallas-Fort Worth
Dallas-Fort Worth is a metro of many zoned cities, each with its own discretionary permits, set inside counties that plat land without a use table. Five conditions follow, and each one changes how a preliminary site plan is drawn and reviewed here.
- Dallas works through specific use permits. Zoning in Dallas is Chapter 51A, the Dallas Development Code, and a use the code lists for a specific use permit (SUP) takes one under Sec. 51A-4.219 [6]. Planned development (PD) districts add a layer of their own: some call for a DIR site plan under Sec. 51A-4.803, and many apply residential adjacency review (RAR) [6, 7, 8].
- The suburbs write their own distances, and two of them set the DFW benchmarks. Fort Worth sends a car wash 200 ft or less from residential to a conditional use permit [4], while Frisco holds vacuums, outdoor speakers, fuel tanks and other automotive structures 250 ft from any residential zoning district (§ 4.21) [5].
- Permits lead the nation. The Dallas metro authorized 71,788 housing units in 2024, more than any other US metro and up from 68,029 in 2023, and the City of Fort Worth's own count rose to 13,148 from 10,060 [2].
- Growth has moved past the core county. The metro added 123,557 residents from July 2024 to July 2025, second among US metros, while Dallas County lost 2,616 residents and stood at 2,661,397 [1].
- Outside the cities, land is platted and ETJ status can change. Unincorporated land answers to county subdivision rules under Chapter 232, and SB 2038 lets land leave a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) by petition or election [9].
Jurisdiction map: who governs where
The first line of a DFW site data table names the city, county or ETJ that will read the plan.
| Jurisdiction | What governs a site plan there | Source |
|---|---|---|
| City of Dallas | Chapter 51A; SUPs for listed uses (Sec. 51A-4.219); PD districts with RAR or a DIR site plan (Sec. 51A-4.803) | [6, 7, 8] |
| City of Fort Worth | Zoning ordinance, amended for car washes by Ordinance 25514-05-2022; one of the metro's SB 840 cities | [4, 10] |
| City of Frisco | SUPs under § 2.05.02 and § 6.15, recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission and decided by City Council; preliminary site plans heard by the commission | [11, 12] |
| City of McKinney | Car wash permission set district by district, by SUP in C1 and only with fuel sales in BN | [13, 14] |
| City of Grand Prairie | Unified Development Code, Article 10 (11.04.25 edition), with concrete paving rules in Secs. 10.4.3 and 10.5.1 | [15, 16] |
| City of Cedar Hill | Zoning Article 5, with stacking counts per automated bay | [17] |
| Collin, Denton, Tarrant, Ellis and Parker counties | Subdivision authority under Local Government Code Chapter 232; county review periods in Sec. 232.0025 | [9] |
| City ETJs | City platting outside city limits until the land is released by petition or election under SB 2038 | [9] |
Mansfield's specific use permit path for a tunnel car wash is worked through in the express car wash model project in Mansfield. Rules for Arlington, Plano, Denton and the other cities are confirmed with each city before a layout is fixed. The Houston, San Antonio and Austin pages cover the other Texas metros, and site plans in Texas sets out the statewide rules.
Site plan process: City of Dallas
In Dallas the instrument a use and district call for sets the review a site plan meets.
| Instrument | When it applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base district under Chapter 51A | The use is allowed in the district | [6] |
| Specific use permit, Sec. 51A-4.219 | A use the code lists for an SUP in that district | [6] |
| Mini-warehouse SUP, Sec. 51A-4.213(7) | Self storage in the CR, RR, mixed use, multiple commercial and central area districts | [3] |
| Car wash, Sec. 51A-4.210(b) | The code states that an "SUP may be required" in several districts | [18] |
| Residential adjacency review | Car washes in many PD districts, PD 535 and PD 369 among them | [7, 8] |
| DIR site plan, Sec. 51A-4.803 | Development in some PD districts | [6, 7] |
| By-right multifamily under SB 840 | Housing on commercial land, approved administratively once the official finds that the project complies | [10, 19] |
The body that hears a Dallas SUP, and its calendar, are confirmed with the city before a layout is fixed.
Site plan process: Fort Worth and the suburban cities
Fort Worth. Ordinance 25514-05-2022, one of the two DFW benchmark codes for car washes, amended the zoning ordinance: a wash 200 ft or less from residential takes a conditional use permit (CUP), drying and vacuuming stay at least 25 feet from any residential district, and no car wash dryer may face a residential district or use [4].
Frisco. An SUP in Frisco follows § 2.05.02 and § 6.15, with the Planning and Zoning Commission recommending and City Council deciding [11]. A preliminary site plan is a separate commission item: the agenda of May 27, 2025 carried PSP25-0014, a preliminary site plan for an HEB fuel station with a car wash [12]. Frisco's code is the other DFW benchmark, and it counts queue space per bay, with 6 stacking spaces for each full-service car wash bay and 3 for each automated self-service bay (§ 4.04) [20].
McKinney. A car wash in the C1 Commercial Neighborhood district needs an SUP [13]. In the BN district, McKinney's Chapter 146 allows one by SUP only in connection with an auto fuel sales facility, and only as a fully automated wash that takes one vehicle at a time [14]. City Council approved the Oasis Car Wash SUP (20-0012SUP2), on a 2-acre corner lot at Collin McKinney Parkway and Lake Forest Drive, on April 6, 2021 [13, 21].
Grand Prairie and Cedar Hill. Grand Prairie's Unified Development Code, Article 10 in its 11.04.25 edition, counts two-thirds of a machine wash's minimum as tandem stacking spaces and asks for 2 tandem spaces per self-serve bay [15]. Its Secs. 10.4.3 and 10.5.1 require concrete paving for drive approaches, driveways, fire lanes, parking and storage surfaces, and outside storage takes a Type 3 screening fence [16]. Cedar Hill's Zoning Article 5 asks for 3 stacking spaces per automated bay plus 1 exit space, and 4 per vacuum or gas lane at a full-service wash [17].
Counties, the ETJ and SB 2038
Collin, Denton, Tarrant, Ellis and Parker counties exercise subdivision authority under Chapter 232 of the Local Government Code, and Sec. 232.0025 sets the county review periods [9]. Release from a DFW city's ETJ comes by petition or election under SB 2038, and a city must release the area named in a valid petition [9].
Grand Prairie, with Texas Municipal League support, challenged SB 2038 in a suit filed in Travis County on October 25, 2023 [22]. A secondary report states that the 261st District Court dismissed the suit without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction on April 14, 2025 [23]. A DFW feasibility study on ETJ land therefore carries two yield columns, one under the city's platting rules and one as released county land.
By-right multifamily on DFW commercial land
SB 840, in effect since Sept. 1, 2025, reaches only a city with a population greater than 150,000 that lies wholly or partly in a county with a population greater than 300,000 [24, 19]. In DFW, Irving, Dallas and Fort Worth are among the cities over that line [10], and a law firm summary also lists Arlington, Plano and Frisco [24]. In a covered city, multifamily of 3 or more units, and mixed-use residential with at least 65% residential floor area, is allowed by right in zones that permit office, commercial, retail, warehouse or mixed use [24, 25].
The by-right yield on such a tract is 36 units per acre minimum, higher where the city allows more, and the building may rise to 45 ft or the zone's commercial height if that is greater [24, 25]. A city may ask for no more than one parking space per unit and no setback deeper than 25 ft [24, 25]. It may not require a multifamily project in a mixed-use zone to include nonresidential uses, and once the official finds that a project complies, approval is administrative [19]. Layouts for these programs are on the multifamily and mixed-use hubs.
Asset rules in Dallas-Fort Worth
| Asset | Rule in Dallas-Fort Worth | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Self storage, Dallas | Mini-warehouse only by SUP in CR, RR, mixed use, multiple commercial and central area districts (Sec. 51A-4.213(7)) | [3] |
| Car washes, Dallas | An SUP may be required in several districts (Sec. 51A-4.210(b)); residential adjacency review in many PD districts | [18, 7, 8] |
| Car washes, Fort Worth (DFW benchmark) | CUP at 200 ft or less from residential; drying and vacuuming 25 feet or more from any residential district; no dryer facing residential | [4] |
| Car washes, Frisco (DFW benchmark) | Automotive buildings, vacuums, speakers and fuel tanks 250 ft from residential zoning (§ 4.21); 6 stacking spaces per full-service bay (§ 4.04) | [5, 20] |
| Car washes, McKinney | SUP in C1; in BN only beside auto fuel sales, fully automated, one vehicle at a time | [13, 14] |
| Car washes, Grand Prairie and Cedar Hill | Grand Prairie: two-thirds of the minimum as tandem spaces for a machine wash (UDC Art. 10); Cedar Hill: 3 per automated bay plus 1 exit space (Zoning Art. 5) | [15, 17] |
| Industrial outdoor storage, Grand Prairie | Concrete for drive approaches, driveways, fire lanes, parking and storage surfaces (Secs. 10.4.3 and 10.5.1); Type 3 screening fence for outside storage | [16] |
| Multifamily and mixed use, SB 840 cities | By right on commercial land at 36 units per acre minimum, higher where the city allows more | [10, 24] |
| Hotels, Dallas market | The largest hotel construction pipeline in the US at Q2 2026 | [26] |
State rules for these assets are on car wash site plans in Texas and RV and boat storage site plans in Texas; layouts are on the self storage, car wash, industrial outdoor storage and hotel hubs.
Growth corridors and proof points
The metro counted 7,638,294 residents at its April 1, 2020 base and 8,477,157 on July 1, 2025, a gain of 838,863 or about 11.0% [1]. The Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 estimates named Princeton, in Collin County, the fastest-growing US city in 2024, up 30.6% [27]. At Q2 2026 Dallas held the largest US hotel construction pipeline, 183 projects and 22,840 rooms, ahead of Atlanta's 157 projects and 17,423 rooms, according to Lodging Magazine's coverage of the Lodging Econometrics report [26].
The hearing record shows how far a discretionary permit can swing in the suburbs. In Richardson, the City Plan Commission approved a Clearwater Express tunnel wash 3-2 at its Sept. 19 meeting, and City Council then denied it 6-1 on Oct 9, 2023, Community Impact reported [28]. In Red Oak, City Council voted 4-0 at its Aug. 10 meeting to deny a Wash Masters specific use permit, under ordinance 26-020, after the Planning and Zoning Commission had denied it 2-3 on April 27, the Waxahachie Daily Light reported [29]. Approvals come through the same door: McKinney's Council approved the Oasis Car Wash SUP in 2021 [13], and Frisco's commission took up the HEB fuel and car wash preliminary site plan in 2025 [12].
Industrial land is read against paving rules. On June 23, 2026, Grand Prairie reviewed heavy truck and equipment parking on an existing crushed concrete surface against its concrete paving rules [16]. Market context is in the posts on Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington as an investment region and a mixed-use waterfront district on a Fort Worth island.
Site factors
- Distance to homes. Residential adjacency sets the first line on many DFW auto-oriented sites: review in many Dallas PD districts, and the benchmark distances of a CUP within 200 ft in Fort Worth and a 250 ft separation in Frisco [7, 4, 5].
- Queue length. Stacking is counted per bay, from the benchmark of 6 per full-service bay in Frisco to 3 per automated bay plus an exit space in Cedar Hill [20, 17].
- Paving surface. Grand Prairie's concrete rule reaches storage surfaces as well as drive approaches, driveways, fire lanes and parking [16].
- Jurisdiction status. A parcel in an ETJ can change rulebooks during feasibility through a release under SB 2038 [9].
- Floodplain, soils and drainage. These are confirmed with each city and county engineer before a layout is fixed.
What the preliminary plan carries in Dallas-Fort Worth
The instrument differs by city: an SUP or a PD district review in Dallas [6, 7], a CUP for a car wash near homes in Fort Worth [4], and a preliminary site plan before the Planning and Zoning Commission in Frisco [12]. The preliminary site plan is drawn to that instrument: building footprints, drives, stacking lanes, parking, pads and yield, with a site data table that reports the distance to the nearest residential district, the stacking count per bay and, on commercial land in an SB 840 city, a by-right multifamily yield beside the commercial scheme.
The same sheet goes to a lender, to a general contractor for pricing and to the investors behind the land purchase; the engineer of record then designs grading, drainage, utilities and access and seals the construction set. The site plan consultant and site plan services pages explain how the studio works with the engineer and architect of record, where unsealed site plans are accepted covers the concept stage, car wash renderings answer the screening questions a hearing asks, the case studies show the method on model projects, and service areas lists every metro covered.
Frequently asked questions
Does a self storage project need an SUP in Dallas?
Yes in the CR, RR, mixed use, multiple commercial and central area districts, where the Dallas Development Code allows a mini-warehouse only by specific use permit (Sec. 51A-4.213(7)) [3].
Can I build apartments on commercial land in Dallas or Fort Worth without rezoning?
Can a DFW city require a traffic study with my plat?
Is a Texas site plan on the 30-day plat clock?
How close to homes can a car wash sit in Fort Worth?
Fort Worth's car wash ordinance is a DFW benchmark: drying and vacuuming stay at least 25 feet from any residential district, and a wash 200 ft or less from residential needs a conditional use permit under Ordinance 25514-05-2022 [4].
Does Frisco review a preliminary site plan?
Yes, as its own Planning and Zoning Commission item: the agenda of May 27, 2025 carried PSP25-0014, a preliminary site plan for an HEB fuel station with a car wash [12].
Can land leave a city's ETJ in Dallas-Fort Worth?
Yes. SB 2038 provides for release by petition or election, and a city must release the area named in a valid petition [9].
Sources
- 1)Slow Growth Impacts Nation's Largest Counties Hardest (CB26-56, Vintage 2025 estimates), U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 2)2024 Annual Building Permits highlights, U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 3)Dallas Development Code Sec. 51A-4.213, Wholesale, distribution, and storage uses, City of Dallas (American Legal Publishing). Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 4)Ordinance No. 25514-05-2022, amending the zoning ordinance for car washes, City of Fort Worth. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 5)Frisco Zoning Ordinance, Subsection 4.21: Supplementary Regulations, City of Frisco (eCode360). Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 6)Chapter 51A, Dallas Development Code (Ordinance No. 19455, as amended), City of Dallas (American Legal Publishing). Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 7)Article 535, PD 535, C.F. Hawn Special Purpose District No. 3, City of Dallas, City Attorney's Office. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 8)Article 369, PD 369, City of Dallas, City Attorney's Office. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 9)2026 County Subdivision Handbook, Texas Association of Counties. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 10)Multifamily By Right, City of Irving. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 11)Frisco Zoning Ordinance, Subsection 2.05: Special Zoning Districts, City of Frisco (eCode360). Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 12)Meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission, agenda, May 27, 2025, City of Frisco. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 13)File 20-0012SUP2, Oasis Car Wash specific use permit, City of McKinney (Legistar). Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 14)Chapter 146, Zoning Regulations (November 15, 2022), City of McKinney. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 15)Unified Development Code, Article 10 (11.04.25 edition), City of Grand Prairie. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 16)City Council communication, meeting date June 23, 2026, City of Grand Prairie. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 17)Zoning Ordinance, Article 5, Development Standards (via Municode), City of Cedar Hill (text via Municode). Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 18)Dallas Development Code, Chapter 51A use regulations (Ordinance No. 10962, as amended), Sec. 51A-4.210, City of Dallas. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 19)Legislative update, August 29, 2025, Number 33, Texas Municipal League. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 20)Frisco Zoning Ordinance, Subsection 4.04: Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements, City of Frisco (eCode360). Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 21)New car wash to come to Collin McKinney Parkway, Community Impact. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 22)City of Grand Prairie petition challenging SB 2038, filed in Travis County, October 25, 2023, Texas Municipal League (tml.org). Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 23)Report on the dismissal of the Grand Prairie SB 2038 suit (secondary), noeticbuild.com. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 24)Texas Senate Bill 840: By-Right Multifamily Development Now in Effect, Haynes Boone. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 25)Client Briefing: Texas Senate Bill 840 and Texas Senate Bill 2477 (89th Legislature, 2025 Session), Foley and Lardner. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 26)Coverage of the Lodging Econometrics Q2 2026 Global Pipeline report, August 19, 2026, Lodging Magazine. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 27)Population Growth Reported Across Cities and Towns in All U.S. Regions (Vintage 2024 estimates), U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 28)Richardson car wash project put on hold by City Council, Community Impact. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 29)Red Oak City Council denies Wash Masters specific use permit (ordinance 26-020), Waxahachie Daily Light. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 30)Legislative update, September 1, 2023, Number 35, Texas Municipal League. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 31)House Bill 3699, enrolled text (88th Legislature, 2023), Texas Legislature. Accessed 2026-10-10.