Council adopts code change allowing RV parks at golf courses with conditional-use review

The Dallas City Council unanimously approved a recommendation from the Planning Commission to amend the Dallas Development Code to allow recreational‑vehicle (RV) parks in parks-and-open-space zones when proposed “in conjunction with a golf course,” subject to conditional‑use permit review.
City Planner Chase Blue summarized the application as a privately‑initiated code change that would add RV parks as a conditional use only when they are paired with a golf course. “The gist of what they are asking for is that we amend the list of allowed uses in our parks and open spaces zone… to include RV parks in conjunction with a golf course,” Blue said.
Attorney Alan Sorum, representing the Dallas Golf Club (the applicant), said the golf course is exploring an RV park use to diversify revenue and that the applicants accept conditional‑use review to address impacts and neighborhood compatibility. “Staff recommended that if it do go forward, it should be as a conditional use and we're okay with that,” Sorum told council.
Councilors raised practical questions about definitions and limits. Councilors asked whether the proposed language would apply to disc‑golf or other small‑scale recreational uses; staff said the city’s development code does not have a separate definition of “golf course,” and, absent a definition, the city defaults to the ordinary dictionary meaning. Staff also noted state law prevents the city from imposing maximum stay durations in private RV parks; an operator may set limits, but the city may not.
Councilor Shane moved to adopt the Planning Commission recommendation; Councilor Blosser seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
What the change does and does not do: the amendment does not automatically create an RV park at any specific location. It simply enables property owners of golf-course parcels in parks-and-open-space zones to apply for a conditional-use permit; that permit process lets the city examine site‑specific impacts (traffic, utilities, compatibility) and impose conditions. Staff noted allowing the use in parks-and-open-space was intended to avoid a broader comprehensive-plan amendment that would be required to reclassify land to general commercial.
Ending: The city will implement the code amendment via an ordinance prepared by the city attorney; any future proposal for an RV park would require a conditional‑use permit application and neighborhood notice under state law.