Mesquite | Townhomes, Triplexes and Apartments

Mesquite Townhomes, Triplexes and Apartments: PD Zoning, A Districts and SB 840

In Mesquite, a triplex, fourplex or row of townhouses on residential land needs a Planned Development district, because no residential district allows them by right. The A-1 and A-3 districts allow apartments with detailed rules on density, unit mix, amenities and parking. The 2025 state law SB 840 now opens office and commercial land to apartments with no rezoning. This page covers all three paths. The Mesquite overview gives the short version.

Triplexes and Fourplexes Need a PD

The use schedule in Sec. 2.203 lists "Other attached dwellings (3-plex, 4-plex)" under single family attached dwellings, with no letter in any district column and the note "Requires PD district." The code defines multifamily as "a residential building containing three (3) or more dwelling units," and multifamily dwellings are permitted in the A districts. So a triplex is either a PD project or a small apartment building in an A district, where it must meet all the Sec. 2.501 rules for apartments.

A PD lets the Council write custom rules for one site. Sec. 5.311(G) says a PD ordinance sets "density, lot size, unit size, setbacks, building heights, lot coverage, parking ratios, screening and other requirements," and Sec. 2.501 says the apartment standards "shall serve as guidelines for review of multifamily developments in PD districts." The fee under Ordinance No. 5274 is $2,000 plus $15 per acre over one acre for a new concept plan. The Council records from 2024 to 2026 include PD cases for apartments. On August 3, 2026, for example, the Council approved a new concept plan for "a 277-unit multifamily development located at 21701 IH 635" under an existing Planned Development - Multifamily ordinance.

Townhouse and Patio Home Guidelines

A townhouse in Mesquite is "A single-family, attached dwelling unit in a building with three (3) or more dwelling units, each being on a separate lot and attached by common vertical walls extending from the foundation through the roof." A patio home is a detached house that faces its outdoor space toward a side or rear patio. Both need a PD, and Sec. 2.502 gives the guidelines the PD starts from:

Source: Mesquite Zoning Ordinance on municode, Supplement 71, Sec. 2.502(A).

The same section adds rules around the lots. An 8-foot precast concrete screening wall must run around "the perimeter of the district." At least 40 percent of the district, not counting the home lots, must be pervious open space, meaning ground that lets rain soak in, and the district needs "a plaza or other common space with a minimum of ten thousand (10,000) square feet." A homeowners association must maintain common areas, and its documents must let the City collect fees and do the upkeep if the association fails to. The walls must be at least 90 percent masonry, and 100 percent on a facade facing a public street.

"Modification of these guidelines may be approved with the concept plan," so each PD can set its own numbers. In the new Downtown Mesquite district, townhomes are permitted by right in the DM-MU subdistrict and follow Sec. 2.502 except for building separation, open space and parking. The downtown and special districts page covers that option.

Apartments in the A Districts

Sec. 2.501 applies to "multifamily uses in all districts," and "Multifamily developments or redevelopments that include more than twenty-five (25) dwelling units require Planned Development district zoning." A site plan is always required. The main rules:

• Lot and yards: 10,000 square feet and 80 feet of width; 25-foot front and street side yards; 25-foot side and rear yards next to AG, R or D land, and 15 feet next to A or nonresidential land.
• Density: 12 homes per gross acre in A-1 and 25 in A-3, and never more than 25 per acre of net buildable area, which leaves out land in the 100-year floodplain.
• Stories: two stories if less than 200 feet from a single-family district, three at 200 to 300 feet, and five beyond 300 feet.
• Walls: at least 75 percent of the exterior walls "constructed of brick or stone."
• Unit mix: homes of at least 725 square feet (500 for an efficiency); efficiencies no more than 5 percent; one-bedroom homes at least 50 percent; homes with three or more bedrooms no more than 5 percent.
• Entries: "The entry to all dwelling units shall be from an interior hallway of the building."
• Open space and amenities: 400 square feet of open space per home on sites of more than 12 homes, and outdoor amenities such as a pool, playground, fire pit or picnic area; sites of 50 or more homes also need two indoor amenities.
• Security: fencing of 6 to 8 feet with gates set back 25 feet from the street, and lighting and "operational video surveillance" of parking areas, hallways and entrances.

Parking follows Sec. 2.501(K), which Ordinance No. 5106 rewrote on May 6, 2024: 1 space per studio (1.25 or 1.5 when studios pass 10 or 20 percent of the homes), 1.5 per one-bedroom home and 2 per home with two or more bedrooms. The total rises by 10 percent when the site is within 300 feet of a collector or local street where houses, a school or a park front the street. Age-restricted communities need 1.25 per home. At least half of the spaces must be covered, and no parking may sit between a building and a public street.

Two studies come with larger projects. Fifty or more homes "shall require a traffic impact analysis," and a rezoning that includes 25 or more homes needs "an analysis of the expected impact on the public school system," sent to the school district at least seven days before the Commission hearing.

The TNMR District

The Traditional Neighborhood Mixed Residential district is the code's own district for mixed housing. Sec. 4.1501 says its purpose is "to create communities consisting of multifamily housing and other housing types that are well-designed and integrated into the surrounding neighborhood," and Sec. 4.103(D) aims it at infill sites that the comprehensive plan marks for urban multifamily.

• Every project needs at least two building types from a list of apartment buildings, townhouses, "Flat over flat" and "Paired house" duplexes, and single-family houses, each at least 10 percent of the homes. Accessory units over garages may be added beyond those building types.
• Lot widths may be 25 feet for detached homes and 16 feet for attached ones.
• Parking is a "Minimum of one (1.0) and maximum of one and one-half (1.5) spaces per dwelling unit," and parking for apartment buildings must be structured and lined on street frontages.
• At least 5 percent of the site must be functional open space, and blocks may run no more than 2,000 feet around.

TNMR is a zoning district, so land needs a rezoning to it and a site plan. Its parking range of 1.0 to 1.5 spaces per home is lower than the A district rule of up to 2 spaces per home.

SB 840 on Mesquite's Commercial Land

SB 840 created Local Government Code chapter 218, in force since September 1, 2025. It applies to "a municipality with a population greater than 150,000 that is wholly or partly located in a county with a population greater than 300,000." Mesquite had 150,108 people in the 2020 Census and lies partly in Dallas County, so it applies by VanPlex count. Section 218.101 then says a city "shall allow mixed-use residential use and development or multifamily residential use and development in a zoning classification that allows office, commercial, retail, warehouse, or mixed-use use or development." Multifamily there means "three or more dwelling units within one or more buildings."

By VanPlex reading, in Mesquite that describes the O office, GR general retail, LC light commercial, C commercial and MU mixed use districts set up in Sec. 3.101. The law leaves out "a zoning classification that allows heavy industrial use," land within "1,000 feet of an existing heavy industrial use or development site," and land within "3,000 feet of an airport or military base," which matters near Mesquite Metro Airport.

The City has not rewritten its code for SB 840. The Council received a briefing on SB 15 and SB 840 on September 15, 2025, and the item titles on Legistar through October 5, 2026 show no ordinance on either. So the Mesquite text still says what it said before, and on covered land the statute controls:

Source: Mesquite Zoning Ordinance Sec. 2.501 and Sec. 3.203, and Local Government Code 218.101 and 218.102.

Two more state limits matter. Section 218.102(a)(3) bars a rule that "restricts the ratio of the total building floor area" to lot area, and (a)(4) bars requiring nonresidential uses in a multifamily project outside mixed-use zoning. Section 218.102(b) says that when a project meets the rules, the permit office "shall administratively approve the permit," with no Council vote. The statute names no limit on unit mix, amenities, covered parking or security fencing, and Section 218.003 keeps building codes, stormwater rules and historic preservation rules that apply to all development. Whether Mesquite's other Sec. 2.501 rules still apply to an SB 840 project is a legal question; ask the Planning Division and a lawyer in writing before you design.

A separate part of chapter 218 covers converting an office, retail or warehouse building at least five years old into homes. For a building that meets Section 218.202, the City may not require a traffic study, extra parking or an impact fee unless the land was already subject to one (Sections 218.203 and 218.204).

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Mesquite overview, SB 840 commercial to residential and financing 2 to 4 units.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)