Developer appeals Mesquite board’s rejection of reduced-rent housing project

A developer is appealing Mesquite’s decision to deny a request for a multifamily zoning change that would have added about 90 units of income-restricted housing off U.S. Highway 80.

On Monday evening, Mesquite City Council will consider whether to overturn the planning and zoning commission’s decision in late June to deny MVAH Partners’ request, despite overwhelming support from residents, who cited a lack of affordable housing in the city.

In a June 30 letter to the city, MVAH Partners appealed the denial and requested a hearing at Monday’s City Council meeting. Darren Smith, MVAH Partners’ Head of Development in the Southwest Division, cited the public pressure for more apartments as the reason for the appeal.

“Our application received an outpouring of support from the community who want to see more diverse housing options in the City,” Smith said in a statement.

Jeff Armstrong, Mesquite’s director of planning and development services, said that Mesquite City Council requires only a simple majority of council members to overturn the decision.

“So, basically, now that they’ve appealed, it’s like any other zoning case,” Armstrong said. “It’s going to city council for their consideration.”

If the Council overturns the board’s decision, the land will be rezoned multifamily, clearing the way for the first affordable housing development in the past nine years.

It’s been nine years since Mesquite has approved workforce housing developments — even though the city has documented the need for more affordable housing in its own reports since then. The city also implemented a six-month moratorium in 2018 that banned all new multifamily proposals from developers — a move that housing experts say is uncommon.