Dallas Clustered Housing (CH) District: Permitted and Prohibited Uses

The Clustered Housing (CH) district in the City of Dallas is designed to provide moderate-density residential development with flexible planning to allow for common open space. In this Dallas municipality designation, residential density is limited to 18 dwelling units per net acre, while most commercial, office, and retail activities are strictly prohibited to preserve the neighborhood character [Section 51A-4.115].

Main Uses Permitted in the Dallas CH District

Uses in the Clustered Housing (CH) district are categorized by their level of permission: those allowed "By Right" (no suffix), those requiring a Specific Use Permit [SUP], and those requiring a Residential Adjacency Review [RAR].

Category	Permitted Use	Permission Level
Agricultural	Crop production	By Right
Industrial	Gas drilling and production	[SUP]
Industrial	Temporary concrete or asphalt batching plant	[SUP]
Institutional	Church	By Right
Institutional	Foster home	By Right
Institutional	Child or adult care facility	See Section 51A-4.204(3)
Institutional	Cemetery or mausoleum	[SUP]
Institutional	College, university, or seminary	[SUP]
Institutional	Community service center	[SUP]
Institutional	Convalescent/nursing homes, hospice, and related	[SUP]
Institutional	Convent or monastery	[SUP]
Institutional	Hospital	[SUP]
Institutional	Library, art gallery, or museum	[SUP]
Institutional	Open-enrollment charter or private school	[SUP]
Miscellaneous	Temporary construction or sales office	By Right
Miscellaneous	Carnival or circus (temporary)	Special Authorization
Recreation	Public park, playground, or golf course	By Right
Recreation	Country club with private membership	[RAR]
Recreation	Private recreation center, club, or area	[SUP]
Residential	Single family, Duplex, or Multifamily	By Right
Residential	Group residential facility	See Section 51A-4.209(3)
Residential	Handicapped group dwelling unit	See Section 51A-4.209(3.1)
Residential	Retirement housing	By Right
Transportation	Transit passenger shelter	By Right
Transportation	Private street or alley	[SUP]
Transportation	Transit passenger station or transfer center	[SUP]
Utility	Tower/antenna for cellular communication	See Section 51A-4.212(10.1)
Utility	Electrical substation	[SUP]
Utility	Local utilities	[SUP] or [RAR]
Utility	Police or fire station	[SUP]
Utility	Radio, television, or microwave tower	[SUP]
Utility	Utility or government installation other than listed	[SUP]
Wholesale	Recycling drop-off container	See Section 51A-4.213(11.2)
Wholesale	Recycling drop-off for special occasion	See Section 51A-4.213(11.3)

Prohibited Uses in the Dallas CH District

The Dallas Development Code explicitly excludes several use categories from the Clustered Housing (CH) district. If a use is not listed in the "Main Uses Permitted" section of the district regulations, it is generally prohibited [Section 51A-4.115].

Prohibited Main Use Categories

Commercial and Business Service Uses: No uses in this category (e.g., catering, custom woodworking, tool rental) are permitted in the Dallas CH district.
Lodging Uses: Hotel, motel, and short-term rental lodging are entirely prohibited.
Office Uses: All office-related uses are prohibited.
Retail and Personal Service Uses: All retail uses, including grocery stores, restaurants, and dry cleaners, are prohibited.

Prohibited Accessory Uses

The following specific accessory uses are not permitted in the Clustered Housing (CH) district:

Accessory helistop.
Accessory medical/infectious waste incinerator.
Accessory outside display of merchandise.
Accessory outside sales.
Accessory pathological waste incinerator.

Note that an Accessory community center (private) is permitted, but only with a Specific Use Permit [SUP] [Section 51A-4.115(3)].

Development Standards for the Dallas CH District

The City of Dallas imposes specific physical requirements on any structures built within the Clustered Housing (CH) district to manage density and neighborhood impact.

Standard	Requirement
Maximum Density	18 dwelling units per net acre
Maximum Lot Coverage	60% (includes aboveground parking structures)
Minimum Lot Size	2,000 square feet per dwelling unit
Maximum Building Height	36 feet
Minimum Front Yard	15 feet (if adjacent to expressway/thoroughfare); 0 feet (all other cases)
Minimum Side/Rear Yard	10 feet (if adjacent to or across alley from non-TH district); 0 feet (all other cases)
Attached Unit Limit	No group of attached units may exceed 8 in number

Buildings are also subject to the Residential Proximity Slope if they are located near certain residential districts, which may further restrict the height of the structure [Section 51A-4.412].

Sections Cited