Strong Towns' Housing-Ready framework, scored section by section against Deer Park's own zoning code.
Does the code let housing get built?
Six reforms, scored section by section against the ordinance
Does Deer Park’s code let housing get built? Housing-Ready is a framework from Strong Towns — six zoning reforms that let a town add homes without a rewrite. It is their framework, not the Council’s demand. For each, the record shows what Deer Park’s own zoning ordinance actually says, cited to the section, and scores it against the framework: met, partial, or blocked. The code and the framework are both here; the reader draws the line.
Measured against the six, Deer Park’s code blocks 4 and partially limits 2 — each citing an openable ordinance section. That is the disclosure; the verdict is the reader’s.
Allow single-family home conversion to duplex or triplex, by right · Blocked
Framework (Strong Towns): Enable property owners to divide a single-family home into two or three units without discretionary approval.
Two-family (duplex) housing is allowed only in the dedicated Two-Family (TF) District (Sec. 4.4); the SF1/SF2/SF3 single-family districts are single-family only, and there is no triplex district. The framework calls for duplex/triplex by-right in all residential zones. open the ordinance →
Permit backyard cottages (ADUs) in all residential zones · Blocked
Framework (Strong Towns): Allow accessory dwelling units on residential lots across all residential zones.
A guest house is allowed as an accessory building (min 600 SF over a garage, one per tract, Sec. 3), but the ordinance provides it shall not be leased or rented — so it is not a rentable accessory dwelling that adds housing supply. The framework calls for ADUs by-right in all residential zones. open the ordinance →
Legalize starter homes in all residential zones · Partial
Framework (Strong Towns): Permit smaller, lower-cost homes throughout residential areas.
A minimum living area of 1,000 SF per single-family dwelling applies (Sec. 3.05). A moderate size floor exists; starter homes below 1,000 SF are not permitted. Partial against the framework. open the ordinance →
Eliminate minimum lot size requirements in existing neighborhoods · Blocked
Framework (Strong Towns): Remove minimum-lot-size rules that block building on smaller parcels.
Minimum lot areas are set per district: SF1 15,000 SF, SF2 6,900 SF, SF3 5,000 SF (Sec. 4 district table). The framework calls for eliminating minimum lot sizes in existing neighborhoods. open the ordinance →
Repeal parking mandates for housing · Blocked
Framework (Strong Towns): Remove requirements that housing include a set number of off-street parking spaces.
Off-street parking is mandated (Sec. 14): 3 spaces per dwelling unit in SF1 and SF2; SF3 requires 2 enclosed/covered plus 2 additional. The framework calls for repealing parking mandates for housing. open the ordinance →
Streamline the approval process · Partial
Framework (Strong Towns): Simplify and accelerate permitting for housing so approvals are predictable and fast.
The base single-family use is by-right, but the code layers Specific-Use-Permit (Council approval), conditional-use, and Planning & Zoning plat-approval procedures on much development. Partial: by-right for the base use, discretionary for much else. open the ordinance →
Every score opens to the ordinance section it reads. A zoning change is a City Council decision — if you want the code to say something different, Think and Act Locally is where residents move it.
Framework: Strong Towns Housing-Ready (strongtowns.org/housingready). Code: Deer Park Zoning Ordinance, Appendix A (Municode; corroborated by the city’s published ordinance).