And to the Republic for which nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Honor the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to the Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.

Thank you, you may be seated.

Let me invite Latetia Gallegos to come forward to accept a proclamation.

Do I have her here tonight?

Where you are, I'm looking for you.

Bring whoever you want.

A proclamation here in Arlington, Texas this evening, whereas financial literacy is essential to the well-being of individuals and families, empowering residents to make informed decisions, build wealth, and achieve long-term financial stability.

And whereas access to financial education plays a critical role in promoting housing stability, preventing foreclosure and eviction, reducing vulnerability to predatory lending practices, and strengthening the overall economic health of the community.

And whereas community-based organization, faith partners, and health leaders are working collaboratively to expand access to financial education and resources for residents across Darlington.

And whereas HREBA housing counseling, a HUD certified housing counseling agency headquartered in Arlington provides trusted guidance and education to help families improve credit, manage finances, and achieve sustainable homeownership.

And whereas HREBA Housing Counseling in partnership with other nonprofit organizations, including Grace Lutheran Church, Water from the Rock, Tarrant County Academy of Medicine, and the North Texas Community Foundation Beacon Fund is leading a community-wide effort to promote financial literacy through education, outreach, and collaboration.

And whereas in recognition of Financial Literacy Month, this coalition will host a free community event.

Now, therefore, I, Jim Ross, Mayor of the City of Arlington, Texas, do hereby proclaim April twenty twenty-six is financial literacy month.

Thank you.

But it has a big meaning, and the meaning is that understanding financial matters is a cornerstone to building wealth in our communities, especially our underserved and underinvested communities.

And that's what we as nonprofits uh work very hard every day to do.

So thank you, Mayor Ross, for the proclamation, and thank you for the recognition.

Thank you, everyone.

Mr.

Buskin, speaker guidelines in general decorum, please.

Thank you, Mayor.

We ask that the citizens and other visitors in attendance assist in preserving the order and decorum of this meeting and to provide for attendance at and participation in the meeting without fear of intimidation, threats, or hostility.

Any person making personal, profane, hostile, slanderous, or threatening remarks, who uses vulgar or obscene language, who engages in any other actions that disturb or are calculated to disturb the meeting, or who becomes disruptive while addressing the mayor and the city council or while attending the city council meeting may be removed from the council chambers.

All speakers shall address the city council and not the audience or city staff and shall shall not call out individually named members of city staff or the public.

For speakers tonight, when your name is called, please come to the microphone at the podium and state your name and city of residence for the record.

Speakers may not use music, videos, other forms of media, signs, or props.

During public hearings for zoning cases, the applicant will be asked to speak first and will be given five minutes to make a presentation.

Speakers in support or opposition of the item will be given three minutes each to make their statements.

The applicant will then be given three minutes for any rebuttal.

For all other items on the agenda, speakers will be given three minutes to speak.

If multiple speakers plan to provide the same or similar comments, those speakers may, if they so desire, designate one or more individuals to provide public comment on behalf of the group.

A bell will signal the end of each speaker's time.

In consideration of other speakers, please conclude your comments promptly when you hear the bell.

We ask that you address your comments to the mayor and council.

Thank you, Mr.

Buskin.

Appointments.

Do we have any appointments to boards or commissions this evening?

Thank you, Mayor.

We have two appointments to boards and commissions to the landmark preservation commission.

Christina Rimmons, place one to the zoning board of adjustment, Clemisha Wynne, place three.

Do we have any speakers on either of these individuals?

No, sir, we do not.

Thank you, sir.

I have a motion from Councilmember Pham.

A second from Councilmember Odom Wesley, please cast your vote.

Motion passes.

We'll move on down.

Consideration of items from executive session, Mr.

Buskin.

Thank you, Mayor.

We have one item for consideration from executive session six point one, a resolution authorizing the settlement of negotiations for a street right-of-way easement of 2,700 square feet across a tract of land situated on property otherwise known as 1221 East Division Street, Arlington, Texas for the public use of street improvements and all necessary appurtences for the entertainment district sidewalk phase three project.

Thank you, Mr.

Buskin.

Do we have any speakers on this item?

No, sir, we do not.

Thank you.

I have a motion from Councilmember Gonzalez.

A second from Councilmember Pham.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes consideration of minutes, Mr.

Buskin.

Thank you, Mayor.

Minutes for consideration this evening or the afternoon and evening meetings from March 24th, 2026.

Thank you, sir.

Council, do you all have any additions or corrections?

Seeing none, Mr.

Buskin.

Any speakers on this?

No, sir.

No speakers on this item.

Thank you, sir.

I have a motion from Councilmember Odom Wesley.

A second from Councilmember Gonzalez.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

Consideration of consent agenda, Mr.

Buskin.

Thank you, Mayor.

The consent agenda this evening contains 13 minute orders, three ordinances, and seven resolutions.

The minute orders seek to authorize one through three annual requirements contracts for HVAC and boiler maintenance, repair and replacement services, local analog telephone services, and for local digital and long distance telephone and internet services.

Four sole source annual contract for Amanda subscription maintenance and support services.

Five renewal of annual contracts for grounds maintenance of medians and rights of way.

13 2026 concrete panel and sidewalk replacement program.

The ordinances seek to authorize 14 zoning case PD 25-23 2301 North Collins Street.

15 zoning case ZA26-01 300 West Parker Drive.

16 appointment of municipal court part-time associate judges.

The resolutions seek to authorize 17 change order number two to the construction manager at risk contract for the active 18 2026 state homeland security grants.

19 resolution approving joint election agreement, designating polling places and appointing election judges.

20 interlocal agreement with the city of Fort Worth for detention services at the City of Arlington detention facility.

21 amended and restated interlocal agreement with North Central Texas Council of Governments for reimbursement for improvements to the Texas Rangers parking lot H and the Expo Center parking lot.

22 A and B community development block grant annual action plan substantial amendment reprogramming and amendment to resolution number 24-124 to provide funding for tenant relocation assistance for 1220 West Division Street project.

Thank you, Mayor.

This concludes the consent agenda for this evening.

Thank you, sir.

Do we have any speakers in support or opposition of any of the items as they appear on the consent agenda?

No, sir, we do not.

Thank you.

I have a motion from Councilmember Hogg, a second from Councilmember Galante.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

We'll move on down to consideration of ordinances first reading 11.1 Ms.

Thhoppel.

Thank you, Mayor.

I have uh Amy Rockil Carpenter, our health services manager who will come out of the podium to tell us about it.

Hi, good evening.

We're here to present our smoking ordinance revision, which basically includes the vaping aspect included in the definition.

So I'm here if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any speakers on this item?

Yes, sir.

We have two speakers in support.

Our first speaker in support is Connie Kerr.

Ms.

Kerr.

After Miss Kerr is Alisa Sandman.

Hi.

My name is Connie Carnes Kerr.

I reside at 5403 Rome Court, Arlington 76017.

Mayor Ross and Council members.

I am a longtime volunteer with the American Heart Association, and I have spoken to this group or similar configurations many years in over the years about ordinances and regulations to protect the public from smoking and that sort of thing.

So we now have an opportunity to further enhance our ordinance with your help by including vaping regulations along with the ordinances that regulate smoking.

It's marketed to them with 2D fruity and mint and such flavors.

And it you know progresses on, and then they were they it's a nicotine delivery device.

So then they become addicted to nicotine.

So currently there are more than 90 cities in Texas that uh have updated their regulations to include vaping in with their smoking ordinances, and I think it's time that Arlington be added to that list.

I appreciate your support on this topic that we've already heard you talk about.

And so I ask respectfully ask that you vote to include this.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next speaker, Mr.

Buskin.

Our next speaker is Alisa Sandman.

Good evening, Council and Mayor Ross.

My name is Alyssa Sandman, and I actually reside in Durant, Oklahoma.

Um, so a little bit of a trip for me today, but I work for the American Heart Association as the Southwest Community Advocacy Director.

Um, and the American Heart Association is a national organization dedicated to being a relentless force for a world of longer and healthier lives.

And I am here today to express our strong support for the city's efforts to include e-cigarettes in the smoking ordinance today.

Um, each year, tobacco use leads to approximately 168,000 deaths annually from cardiovascular disease nationwide.

In Texas alone, tobacco claims an estimated 28,000 lives each year, and it costs the state roughly 10 billion dollars in health care costs.

Second hand smoke and now aerosol from e-cigarettes.

Um, they contain heavy metals and fine particles that can worsen lung and heart disease.

As mentioned, more than 90 Texas cities have already moved to include e-cigarettes in their smoke-free ordinances.

And we hope that Arlington will be the next city added to that list.

By taking this step today, Arlington can further protect its community from secondhand exposure and help curb the tobacco industry's efforts to addict a new generation.

Thank you for taking this matter so seriously, and thank you for your commitment to improving the health and quality of life for all Arlington residents.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Have a safe trip back to Oklahoma.

Mr.

Buskin, any other speakers on this, please?

No, sir.

No additional speakers on this item.

We did have five non-speakers in support.

Thank you, sir.

All right.

I have a motion from Councilmember Galante, a second from Council Member Pham.

Please cast your vote.

And the motion passes.

12.1, Ms.

Thoppel.

Thank you, Mayor.

For the records in C Topol, Director for Planning and Development Services Department.

This will be a presentation for both items 12.1, uh 12.1 and 12.2.

First of all, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our council members who have been champions of this, the planning and zoning commission members, our consultant, our staff, not central historic neighborhood developers, businesses, UT Arlington, Walkable Arlington, Downtown Arlington Management, Mission Arlington First Baptist Church, Mount Olive Bass Baptist Church, and all the others who helped us guide in this effort.

The overall effort for the downtown was adopted, the vision was adopted in 2018 with the downtown master plan update.

And now we are coming back with a code and a city initiated rezoning that will help with the implementation of that vision.

So how it all began.

In the past, we have tried a hybrid form of conventional zoning based zoning districts along with overlay districts.

The overlay district got us a little closer in getting some of the public realm looked at with private developments, but not in the way that form-based code does.

So it all started in 2022 when the mayor and council member Boxell started meeting with other jurisdictions that had form-based codes and understood the benefits of it and expressed their interest to council and staff in pursuing a develop a pilot area for this project.

Special thanks to the municipal policy committee chaired by Councilmember Odom Vesley, who met several several times in the last two years in shortlisting the areas for selection and then helping us through the development of the code, making sure that the code provides something for everyone, the residents, businesses, developers, and everybody who come to downtown Arlington.

In January 2025, is when council confirmed downtown as the first pilot area for the form-based code adoption.

Since then, the planning and zoning commission under Dr.

Nunes' chairmanship went through several work sessions to understand the intricacies of this code and refining it to what it is today.

And I want to thank that commission for their efforts.

Last but not the least, I want to thank our staff project manager, Tharney Davy Palma and the long-range planning team.

Also our former assistant director, Richard Gerdson, who also started this team, John Jack, John Chapman, Tabitha Dye, Camilla Plate, everybody helped with this, along with our most important person, our consultant, Jay Naraina, who's also sitting here to answer questions if needed, with livable plans and her subconsultants who held several one-on-one stakeholder meetings.

Met with uh neighborhood groups, conducted a design share it, two public open houses, sent out mailed notifications to all property owners twice during the whole process to just make people aware of the project of what's going on and the changes that it will bring.

So we had several stakeholder meetings, all on the slide.

I won't go into details.

That's uh the open house we had in December of 2025, continued with the stakeholder meetings.

So, what is form-based code?

That's the main topic here.

What we currently have in the books is conventional zoning, means several base zoning districts, such as RS 7.2, RM12, RMF22, CC, LI, IM, and several others that focus on the land use portion of it.

And then we have design standards that we have created for residential, for commercial, uh, for uh overlay districts that have special standards.

Uh so there's quite a bit of things in the unified development code, but we wanted to do something different for the special area of our city.

So, what we are doing is creating a planned development with a flexible master plan for an area that ensures quality development and it is predictable.

So in the downtown, uh it the standards are written, the form-based code will be written such that it relates, the buildings will relate to the street, and all that will be already captured in the code, how it needs to relate to it, how it needs to relate to the adjacent property, how it needs to relate to the other side of the street.

So that's what we are looking at with the form-based code.

It creates predictable neighborhood character, encourages walkable, vibrant areas, uh, gives a proper, appropriate transition to different areas, and uses clear visual standards.

And how does it help?

For residents, for property owners, developers, as well as for businesses.

It does again, it does help everyone.

So this is what we are protecting single family neighborhoods by regulating building height and setbacks that need to be compatible with the existing neighborhoods.

Uh we are create streamlining our processes for developers.

Uh, we are making it flexible so that it can work with different situations, so people don't have to come here for a planned development all the time.

Uh, but it still gives that high quality, that kind of uh development that we are looking for.

And it for businesses, you can do incremental property investments too, and that's okay.

Uh it improves the street activation and experiences for our customers.

So, what do we have today?

Is this map.

This is the existing zoning map, as you can see, a lot of different colors, those are all the base zoning districts, and uh what and and we uh uh on the side we have the 2018 downtown master plan vision that was adopted, and what we now what we are now doing is a city initiated rezoning of the downtown area.

So while we're doing this uh rezoning, what happens is there are two overlays that overlap in this area.

One is the downtown neighborhood overlay, which will be removed completely because there's no need to have that overlay district anymore.

And then in the entertainment district overlay, there's a southwest portion that is included in this uh downtown form-based zoning district, so that will be removed from the entertainment district overlay.

The form-based regulating plan, that's what we call the regulating plan.

It will include five base or five sub-districts, which will have specific development standards, streetscape standards, and recommended connectivity points for the entire district.

Uh staff is proposing to change the sub-district.

So on the right hand side, I did want to point out in the uh in the ordinance as well as uh what you have in front of you, the regulating plan shows this.

But today we received uh an opposition letter from one of the property owners in this area that uh is highlighted, and when we looked at that property and understood why there could be an opposition, there that area has single family homes in each of those properties.

And with the conversion of the single family zoning district to uh corridor mixed use, they would have lost the right to redevelop with another single family home, and that's the reason we are proposing now to change it to UN3, uh urban neighborhood three, which would also allow the single family.

So that's a recommendation that we have uh put right now.

If uh you do take the motion to approve, uh if somebody could just add that to the motion that the recommended changes also added to it.

Amongst the five sub-districts, we have a traditional neighborhood subdistrict.

Again, I'm not going to go through all these slides.

You all have been fully aware of these standards.

So again, it just is for the benefit of the audience that we are putting this slide up here.

It shows you just look at the images and you'll see the character that we are trying to build.

Urban neighborhood is another sub-district.

Corridor mixed use sub-district.

And the downtown gateway subdistrict, which acts as the connector between the entertainment district and the downtown.

It has this wide pedestrian sidewalk envisioned along Collins Street.

But each subdistrict, as you saw in the images, has its own flavor and character, and it is contextually appropriate.

So just to give you highlights, I'm not going into the code details, but the highlights of the form based code.

It protects the integrity of the neighborhoods.

What we did is utilize the neighborhoods, adopted master plans, adopted neighborhood plans that they had, as well as they had some draft conservation district standards.

We utilized all that in preparing some of the traditional neighborhood subdistrict standards.

On March 24th, we had already presented the bulk of the standards at the council work session.

Also at the planning and zoning commission meeting on March 25th, we did the same, so we are not really going through all the details right now.

Staff and the consultant met with the North Central Historic Neighborhood several times to ensure that the proposal protects the integrity of the neighborhood by establishing standards that have their thoughts into mind.

Applicants will not have to go through the entire UDC sections, which Council Bepper Peel, 275 pages of standards that they have to go through.

Everything is now condensed into an 80 80 page document.

And I'll tell you more on how that has also been we've made more simpler guides to make uh to help our residents and developers to build and redevelop here.

So predictability in uh the traditional neighborhood standards.

Um density or anything, the the thought was the form is the most important thing, and how it would ensure compatibility with the neighborhood.

So the maximum height in the traditional neighborhood subdistrict is 31 feet, flat roofs are not allowed, so those are things that are maintaining the character of that area.

Accessory dwelling units currently secondary living units are only allowed with the SUP approval in our code today, but with the form-based code uh subdistrict uh form-based code zoning district, we will be allowing accessory dwelling units by right in all the sub-districts that have residential use.

So, whenever there's a primary dwelling unit on site, they can also have accessory dwelling unit.

And then there are uh criteria for the accessory dwelling unit.

Parking, uh the five-page parking table that we have in the UDC is condensed to this one table for the form-based code.

So you don't have to go through which use and all that.

This is what you have to.

So it's kept very simple and flexible.

So whenever businesses change, they don't have to be worried about.

Oh, I was uh there was an office here, now it's a restaurant, so now I can't meet this parking standard.

So those situations will not happen, is what our hope is, and by making this as flexible as possible.

Uh we have also introduced density bonus in this uh with SB 840.

Uh, we had all of the multifamily apartments and mixed-use developments were capped at 36 units per acre.

Uh, with this provision with the form-based code, we are releasing that a little bit in the downtown area by giving a density bonus if they meet certain thresholds.

And so we've divided that into or categorize that into three tiers.

Uh, tier one, if it if you were going from 36 dwelling units per acre to a third 60 dwelling units per acre, this is what you need to meet.

Tier 2, 60 to 100, and tier 3 is development seeking over 100 units.

So up to 100, you could do it without having to go through any approval process that has to have a public hearing.

So you could do it all administratively if you meet these criteria.

With the bonus density, there's also a small fee that the developer will need to pay, and that is really for the beautification of this entire area.

It's called the downtown beautification fee.

The proposed fee is $500 per dwelling unit per acre over the 36 dwelling unit per acre.

So up to 36 dwelling unit per acre, you're not paying that.

But if you're getting the bonus density, then you're paying a very minimal fee to help the beautification efforts in this area.

For example, I just put uh three of our projects in the downtown that we have.

So one on one center, if it was to be developed now, we're not going back to the developments that have already been established, but if it was to develop now after the FBC adoption with a density of 70 dwelling units per acre, the developer would need to pay a fee of approximately 17,000 dollars, which is 500 times 70 minus 3634.

So that's how it will be calculated.

Very simple to again do that.

And what that fee will do, it will be collected in a separate cost center in the parks department that will utilize this funds to strictly for beautification efforts in this area only.

So it won't go anywhere else, but it is for this downtown form-based zoning district only.

One other thing that we have done is the private developments, if they themselves wish to add a beautification project to their own project that is highly visible from public areas.

So up to 50% of credit for that fee will be given if they do that beautification on their own projects.

How is form-based code applied in existing developments?

It will have tiered structure.

So if you are operating a business today, or you have an office or something, you can operate just the way you are.

You don't have to do anything.

When you change the use, there may be something else that you may have to do.

And I'll go I won't go into detail, but we have a whole list of table to kind of help you guide what you will have to look for.

And uh if you're expanding up to 30%, this is what you would have to do.

If it's more than 30%, this is what you have to do.

So these are the applicability standards.

We have put it in a very uh easy table form for people to understand which section will be applicable applicable to them.

The streamlined permitting process, uh, most of the projects will be administratively approved.

Um for a single family home, it will be just the same process that's a residential permit.

Uh so we we we have already worked out what the process is going to be in the background, but most of the things is uh administratively approved.

If you're not meeting certain standards and it's small deviations to our standards, we can still do it administratively.

We call it as a minor modifications, and uh there's a process for that again, but it's all done administratively.

If uh it's substantial that it doesn't qualify for the minor, that's when we have to do a major modification.

Even the major modification process does not have to go through a process like a plan development that goes to planning and zoning commission and then to see council for a major modification.

They'll first uh just meet with staff, show their plans, we review it, and we say, okay, these are substantial.

We will need to take you to city council for getting the major modification approved, and that's that process.

But during the major modification process, we will notify the neighborhood around that there is a major modification happening for this site.

Uh that will be done, and a sign will be placed on the site.

We have a step-by-step guide for all property owners to understand what's applicable to you.

Uh, you have a step one where you're locating the property on the regulating plan.

Step two, identifying the subdistrict and the frontage type.

Step three, the code is now organized by building type.

So based upon your proposed building type, that's all you need to look at.

Uh there are some printable guides we have created.

We have placed them on your desk also outside at the table.

We have a few more copies of that.

If anybody in the audience is interested in uh taking some of those printouts, you can definitely take it.

We will come back to y'all for a fee adoption on May 5th.

Uh and these are the fees that we have uh worked out based upon the process and just to recoup the cost of services.

Uh not much different than what we'd normally have with all the other fees.

So uh I won't go into detail, but this is what the fee structure will look like.

Streetscape design manual.

So right now we are in the process of creating a separate streetscape design manual that could be utilized by developers when they are building a project.

Um so that will show the street furniture, what kind of trash receptacles, the street light poles, the paving materials, color schemes, all of that will be captured in the streetscape design manual.

Property owner notifications.

As I said, we've gone through this is a rezoning effort.

So we had to send out uh required notices.

Uh and so we have sent property owners within the downtown form-based zoning district, as well as 200 foot buffer.

That's about 975 owners that we sent out the notice notices to.

Uh, and then property owners and tenants whose operating use, operating meaning what they are currently using the property for.

They if those are big going to become legally non-conforming use after this city initiated rezoning, that those were 63 properties.

We sent a separate notification for them to let them know that that's what is happening.

But they don't need to be worried about their current operation.

They can continue their operation as is.

Uh they will just be considered as legally non-conforming use.

Um and then property owners within the boundary that have a planned development zoning.

Uh, there were 12 such uh planned development zoning districts and had 72 different owners to it.

So we sent them notices to uh two pro two of those planned development uh property owners have uh agreed to move into the downtown form-based zoning district.

So we have included them in the map as form-based zoning district now.

Uh we have received 17 support letters, 10 opposition letters.

Many of those opposition letters when we ask them, it's not knowing the entire thing is where the concerns were from.

Uh, but uh there was one I as I said in the uh beginning about the one residential that I have captured also, and one did not show neither support or opposed.

We have been uh fielding a lot of uh phone calls and emails with that as well.

Frequently asked questions.

All this is now on the website as well.

Uh you know, people have asked this does it impact my business?

So again, as I said, uh if you are operating a business to today, it does not impact your business.

You even if you it becomes non con legally non-conforming, you can still continue that business.

Will my short-term rental be affected by the form-based code?

No, if you have a valid short-term rental permit, you can continue operating also.

You can also apply for a short-term rental permit if you're eligible for it.

So uh, will my property be taken by eminent domain?

No, this is nothing to do with city trying to take anybody's property.

It's just a code that helps better redevelopments occur in a faster pace uh in a streamlined way.

So, although the whole presentation has been discussed as one piece, I want to make sure you understand that these are two different items that you're voting on.

One is for the UDC amendment to add the form-based code into the UDC, and then the second item is for the zoning change and the regulating map.

Uh so in that, that's where I've added that that small uh change that we are looking for, the sub-district.

If we can add that into the motion, that will be great.

Thank you, and I'm ready to answer any questions if you have.

Thank you.

Councilmember Boxel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Well, Gen C's been a long time.

A long time, five years.

Um, I want to thank you so much and your staff for all the hard work you did.

And I know what a heavy lift this was.

This was very heavy lift.

And Jay.

Jay, just phenomenal work.

That's that's all I have to say.

Just phenomenal.

Um Trey.

Thank you very much for enduring the bandwidth that this took up on your staff.

I I appreciate it.

I really do.

And uh so I again, this has just been a long time coming, and I'm very pleased and I'm so happy we're here tonight uh voting on this issue.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Councilmember Galante.

GC.

Uh thank you and congratulations.

I'm just gonna uh refer to my colleague um Rebecca Boxel.

Uh day one that I uh when I came to Consul, I saw this was important uh project, and you guys put so much work on it.

And I was glad I jumped into bandwagon and uh went out to Roanoke to visit Oak Street to went out to South uh South Foot Wharf to see the Magnolie Street, and I share the same vision that we can bring a new life in a in a new uh look uh to downtown area and and also uh a part of the district one, which is really the the Bankhead Highway plus the the Sanford Street area with the with uh historic houses.

Uh of course the staff did an amazing job uh internally.

We have so much support, and um I hope this process was uh a dry run from when we we reviewed the UDC after the comprehensive plan is done.

It was a dry run already for you guys.

You got so much knowledge, and I appreciate your your what you did for us, and also uh not the the the lease with the the the people the residents so I uh had the pleasure to go in all the meetings uh of you know seeing so was heas 2024 and the residents were amazing.

They gave so much uh so much input, so much feedback, and in this process, uh everybody uh has uh a piece of the the you know of ownership of that and I appreciate everything you did.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Councilmember Gonzalez.

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

Uh Gen C everything's been said.

I mean, you know, I mean, we really appreciate everyone being involved.

The biggest part is be uh the staff being patient with us during this process because it was a learning experience for many of us.

The only person that really had any uh full knowledge of this was Ms.

Boxall.

Uh she led the fight for this, and I I thank her for being so animate about this and pushing it and making us understand how important it is.

And I'm looking forward to be able to protect the best part is protecting neighborhoods.

That's so important to me.

Seeing they're protected other cities, and it's just great, and I think the citizens will be happy with that.

And I want to thank for all the people that participated, the business owners, the the people that went to the libraries, all these things that we did.

It's just uh I I thank you all so thank you for your patience, y'all.

Sorry, we you all didn't lose your hair like I did, but believe me, I know how it feels, so thank you again.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any speakers on 12.1, please?

Uh mayor, no no speakers on 12.1.

We do have one non-speaker in support.

Thank you, sir.

I'm gonna close the public hearing.

Ms.

Boxel for clarification.

Never mind.

I have a motion from Councilmember Boxell and a second from Councilmember Galante.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes on 12.2.

Uh Ms.

Topel, you've already said everything you want to say, right?

Yes.

Okay.

I love that.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any speakers on 12.2?

Yes, sir.

We have one speaker in support, Josh Alexander.

Mr.

Alexander.

I thank you.

Um I'm representing the ownership group for an apartment complex on Summit Avenue.

It's uh just across UTA from the uh proposed UN 5 district.

Um I just have a a short letter from the ownership group here.

I'm just writing to request the inclusion of the property at 4 412 Summit Avenue, the Dean Apartments uh within the boundaries of the Arlington's foreign-based code pilot area.

It's a 65 units, two-story apartment community, partially built in 1963.

It's a legacy property with over six decades of service to Arlington residents.

Uh I believe it represents the kind of site where foreign-based code can create meaningful opportunity, um, whether through reinvestment or in the uh existing uh in the existing property or future redevelopment.

Uh the flexibility of FBC zoning would allow the parcel to evolve alongside the broader downtown vision.

Uh it's situated directly next to UTA right on campus and along key corridors connecting downtown to the entertainment district.

Um I believe it's well positioned to benefit from the walkable mixed use environment.

The FBC is designed to encourage including it in the pilot area would allow the market to determine its highest and best use, whether that's enhanced multifamily housing, a mixed use project, um, or ground floor retail, and or of course, student-oriented development that strengthens the connection between the campus and downtown.

So I I know uh found out about it a little bit late.

We're right outside, you know, the um the UN five, which really makes sense, I think, for this property.

Uh but just want to get on record for the request so that as you move forward and the uh zoning initiative evolves, then maybe um that area, particularly on some that could be included in in something like this.

Thank you, sir.

I'll recognize council member Boxell.

Thank you, sir.

I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name.

Josh Alexander.

Uh Mr.

Alexander, thank you so much for recognizing the opportunities that foreign based code represents.

And you're the first one that we've had come and request to be included in the forum based code, and I expect many more.

Thank you very much.

I see the value of it.

Yeah, I think it's a great thing.

Thank you.

Thank you for the time.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Buskin, any other speakers on this item?

No, sir.

No additional speakers.

We do have one non-speaker in support.

Thank you, sir.

Ms.

Boxell, I have you as the movement on this, and just for clarification, you're recommending the change that was put in, changing the Southeast District from CM U4 to UN3.

Is that correct?

And Mr.

Peel, are you seconding that uh amended motion?

Thank you.

I have a motion and a second.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

All right.

Uh 12.3, Ms.

Stoppel.

I understand the applicant has withdrawn.

Absolutely.

Yes.

As of this morning, staff received the formal letter from the applicant's team that they've withdrawing the case.

Thank you.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any speakers listed on 12.3?

Yes, sir.

We had three individuals sign up as speakers in opposition on 12.3.

Just so people know the applicant has withdrawn their application on 12.3.

However, if you made the time to come out to speak tonight and you still wish to speak and be heard, I'm going to allow you to speak.

So if there's someone that wants to be heard on this, regardless of the fact that it's been withdrawn, we're going to acknowledge your presence here and let you do that.

So, Mr.

Buskin, if you could call out the first person listed, and if you don't want to speak, you could just say no, thank you.

Our first speaker is Laura Capick.

Mayor Ross, Council members.

Oh, my name's Laura Capick, uh, Arlington, Texas, 76017.

I just wanted to thank the planning department staff, Lisa Sudbury, I believe Virginia Ventera, the traffic engineers, Gen C.

I mean, never there was a time that I called that I didn't get a call back or the information that I needed.

And that's so welcoming, you know, where you can find out information that you don't know.

I wanted to thank Text Dot, the Southeast Connector group.

They also were very prominent about giving information and details.

And I want to thank the applicant because I think he realized that just because there's a plot of land sitting there doesn't always make it feasible forever what you want to build.

And I'm so delighted that he came and looked at that, and now we'll do it correctly by going through a PD, including the community for the information we need.

You know, that's the one reason why I've always been afraid of blank zoning.

We're we have two little pieces of land left, and most of it's infill.

And we have beautiful neighborhoods.

These neighborhoods have been there for 40 some 50 years.

I've been coming down here for 40 or 50 years.

And we just appreciate the way this was handled.

I wish you'd been a day earlier, so I could have you know got more information out there so people didn't have to come tonight.

But I thank you for your time.

I thank you for your decisions.

I thank you for working with this developer and making the point that he needed to work with the community.

So thank you all very much.

Thank you, ma'am.

Mr.

Buskin.

Shelley Ames.

Thank you, Mayor Ross.

Um, Shelley's did I have to state where I live, all of that.

Okay, well, I actually live in the neighborhood right across the freeway from that section, so I know that there's houses right behind that area, and then I have four children of my own.

They run amongst that street with another gosh, six, seven children on our street, um, where our homes um our fence is right there at the back of I-20.

So there's a lot of children there and a lot of um really lovely homes and lovely neighbors, and we just want to be sure that that area that is right there that across the freeway from us, which is also right behind other people's homes and other people's children, um, is provides whatever is built there.

It needs to be sure that it it includes the safety of everybody, including driving and parking and traffic and all of the things that could possibly um develop from whatever is built there.

And so I'm grateful that this particular project was withdrawn because it didn't appear to be um what was best for the community, but um, or it could have led to something that maybe wasn't be best for the community, but I'm really grateful for that, and I'm grateful for all the information that was put out.

Um, and I'm grateful for y'all.

So thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

All right, speaker, Mr.

Our next speaker is Connie Carnes Kerr.

Ms.

Kerr.

I didn't sign up to speed.

Okay.

Anybody else, Mr.

Buskin?

No, sir.

No additional speakers.

We did have one non-speaker in opposition.

Okay.

Thank you.

We're gonna move on down to 12.4, Ms.

Thtoppel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Item 12.4 zoning case PD 20-22R1.

It's a continued case from March 24th meeting.

This is a request to amend the existing planned development on approximately 0.23 acres of land addressed at 109 West Rogers Street, generally located west of North Center Street and north of West Rogers Street.

The proposed amendment is to allow short-term rental as a permitted use, which is currently prohibited in the PD.

The property is just located outside of the short-term rental zone.

However, the current PD is for base RM12 zoning district, which allows short-term rental uh use.

The applicant has developed this infill lot with a duplex to facilitate lot configuration.

The duplex unit was designed in a front and back layout rather than a traditional side-by-side layout.

The applicant designed the second story to be set back from the front to provide compatibility with the existing one-story homes on edges and lots.

There is room for some guest parking on this site.

This evening we have the applicant and owner, Kevin Karami, present the case for us.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

Our request is uh narrow and pretty simple.

Um, we're asking to simply remove the STR limitations on the PD.

Um we as already discussed, you know, it's a duplex, it's very purposely built.

Um why we want or why we believe SDR restrictions should be removed is that the property is already in the entertainment district.

Um the neighborhood has changed quite a bit over the past four or five years since it ritually was developed, and there would be minimal or really no adverse impact from changing it to an SDR.

Um I first want to show a little bit of data that we put together to get an idea of what's going on in the neighborhood.

Um went through and took from Tad every property within about a half mile area, and based on whether it had a homestead exemption or not, determined if it was an investor property or umer occupied.

Um takeaways it's about seven, seventy percent is investor-owned, with 30 percent being owner-occupied.

This is just a nice little map put together.

The stars are where the property is located.

Everything red is an STR property.

Everything orange is uh properties without a homestead exemption, and everything's blue is the owner occupied.

Um based on city staff, that 72 number if you go to one mile radius will be about 140 STR properties.

Um really we just want to highlight that the neighborhood is meant for this.

Um that's why the EDO was established.

Um the next point I want to make is about the property itself.

It's well made for short-term rental.

Um has a fully approved PD.

We're not asking for any changes uh to any setbacks or anything.

It's literally just allowing for STR use.

Um, in terms of parking, which is typically the biggest problem we have with SCRs in that neighborhood.

Um, you have two two-car garages and then a very long driveway that can easily fit a total of 10 vehicles, so parking on the street shouldn't be an issue.

And I'll kind of sum up our requested action here.

Uh we would like uh to remove the restriction based on the three facts that the entertainment district has changed quite a bit.

It's matching what the city has envisioned for the area to be visitor focused.

Um the properties in the area point out this change, and this property itself would have very little to minimal impact to the neighborhood.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Galante.

Kevin.

Thank you for bringing the project in uh question for you.

2021, this is was approved, right?

Yes, sir.

What was the reason why the STR was uh not granted?

Now that you have by right.

Uh Councilwoman Helen, I think at the time, uh decided.

I can't really say why she requested it.

Um I think is probably um a hope that STRs in the area would be not developed.

Um be everything within the um rental uh short-term rental district specifically.

Uh I can't say to your state of mind, but that was the reason.

Okay.

I'll I would also recall, okay?

I support the project.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any other speakers on this item?

No, sir.

No additional speakers on this item.

We do have one non-speaker in support.

Thank you.

Councilmember Hog.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

One real quick question.

Are you prepared for what it takes to run a short-term rental?

Or do you have cameras on this property?

Do you have sound notices?

I I know I think of like Arlington vacation rentals, uh a really successful short-term rental in the entertainment zone.

And there's some pretty strict rules on short-term rentals, and that permit can be taken away pretty quick.

What have you done to prepare uh your property for that?

Yeah, so we've already put security cameras, um, multiple access points to make it easier for guests, you know, keypads, those sort of things.

Um, we will also be working with a uh STR management company.

Um they're called Sidecar Suites.

They have several properties in the area, and we'll they'll be taking this over so they will ensure the quality for any guests that would be staying.

Um can't speak more highly of them for uh the other properties we have with them.

Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing.

I have a motion from council member Boxell, a second from Councilmember Galante.

Please cast your vote the motion passes.

Congratulations, sir.

Thank you.

Okay, we're gonna move on down to 12.5, Miss Soppel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Item 12.5 zoning case ZA 26-2.

The applicant request to change the zoning from a planned development limited to a vet clinic to a neighborhood commercial zoning district NC for approximately 0.37 acres at 2401 West Green Oaks Boulevard, generally located south of Napier Drive and east of West Green Oaks Boulevard.

The subject site is developed and has an existing building with its own parking area.

It is currently vacant and was previously used as a vet clinic.

The owner is trying to broaden his opportunity for finding a viable commercial business to locate within the existing building.

There are two letters of opposition and one letter of support for this request.

This evening we have the owner Travis Niles presenting the case for us.

Mr.

Niles.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Travis Niles, and my family and I are the property owners at 2401 West Greenoaks Boulevard.

I'm requesting approval to rezone a property from plan development to neighborhood commercial to allow viable neighborhood serving uses along the West Green Oaks Corridor.

The current plan development limits the property to a single use, which restricts viability and does not reflect the broader commercial character of the corridor.

The neighborhood commercial district, as defined in Article 3, allows low intensity neighborhood serving uses such as medical and professional services.

The building was designed for clinical use and it has been well maintained.

It has on undergo undergone recent renovations.

It has adequate parking and is well suited for medical and professional occupancy.

This rezoning allows small scale neighborhood serving uses that improve access to services while encouraging continued reinvestment.

It also reduces uh vacancy risk and strengthens long-term corridor stability without increasing the intensity.

Um the scale of the site remains unchanged and no higher intensity uses are being introduced.

And for these reasons, we're respectfully requesting approval of the rezoning to neighborhood commercial.

Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Buskin, are there any other speakers on this item?

No, sir.

We have no additional speakers on this item.

Thank you.

I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing.

I have a motion from Councilmember Galante.

And a second from Councilmember Peel.

Please cast your vote.

Motion passes.

Congratulations, sir.

12.6, Ms.

Thopel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Item 12.6 specific use permit SUP-08-2R1.

Uh day drill site and drilling zone.

The applicant requests an amendment to the approved SUP for gas drilling to establish the location of a new drilling zone and revise the boundary of their existing gas well site at twit at A380 Glenda Drive, generally located south of Debbie Lane, north of Ragland Road, and west of Glenday Drive.

This will reduce the drill site area from 7.479 acres to 6.412 acres.

The applicant intends to drill three new wells on the site.

There were a few letters of support and opposition in the packet.

Additionally, this morning, staff emailed the council members a few more opposition letters that were received after the packet was published.

This evening we have Leslie Garvez on behalf of Total ENP Barnett USA LLC presenting their case for us.

Thank you, ma'am.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

Leslie Garvis here representing Total Energies Fort Worth, Texas.

Tonight we are looking at our day pad, which has been in existence since 2007.

It's been operating since 2008.

These are the views from the four different sides facing the pad.

As Ms.

Toppel mentioned tonight, we are asking for a reduction in the current SUP, which you can see is the outline that encompasses a large plot of land, which is where our frack pond used to be.

In 2023, at the owner request, we reclaimed the frack pond, so we're reduced asking for a reduction in the SUP to free up that land for the owner.

We're also asking for a new drill zone to be established at this location.

Per ordinance, we have included the outline to include the existing wells as well as the three new wells.

We are willing to entertain an option to reduce that to only the three new wells if council desires.

As you can see from this map here, we have one well that was previously drilled that's in existence that's 596 feet from one of the houses to the south, which puts our drill zone at 593.7 feet, so a little bit under 600 feet, only because of the existing wells that were already there.

All of the new wells that we're proposing are within the 600 feet requirement.

And as you can see from this location map, all of the subdivision to the south, the resident that's to the east as well as to the north, those all came after our pad was established at this location.

The closest uh park is 755 feet from this location.

The closest school is over 2,300 feet away.

The closest church is 2800 feet, and the closest daycare is over 4,000 feet away from our location.

We were asked during P and Z if we would be willing to add some additional landscaping just in the right-hand corner of the bottom of the well pad that's outside of the proposed new SUP.

We did agree to that, and we are accepting the responsibility of taking care of those additional trees, even though it's outside of our SUP.

This gives you a little bit of a visual.

We'll be doing landscaping on the north side, the west side, and the south side.

We are not able to add trees on the east side because of an existing utility easement at that location.

We will also have a masonry wall in addition to the landscaping going up, as well as sound walls and sound abatement and dust control at this location.

This particular map shows that because we no longer have the frack pond there, we've allowed space for temporary above ground fresh water tanks for the drilling and completing operation at this location.

They would be temporary and they would fit within the amended requested SUP.

This is the way the road currently looks.

We will be doing upgrades to that road.

And I would like to ask just close with a few comments for our operation that we've had some things come up in the past.

We wanted to reiterate that we make our decisions based on the geology of the location of the formation.

We have a long history of safe operations.

There's no incidents that have been reported at this location, and we have mitigation and regularly scheduled inspections at all of our locations.

This location also has pressure relief devices and emergency and remote shutoff devices, like all of our other locations.

We do mandatory ongoing training internally and with the fire department, and we are constantly doing emissions reduction between our electric drilling, our natural gas conversion to offices, and lake detection and repair.

So we are a business within the community and we are concerned and care about our community.

And I'm open for any questions that council may have.

Thank you, ma'am.

Councilmember Boxel.

Thank you, Ms.

Garvis.

Uh, you and I speak spoke previously.

Um I would like to request that you reduce the drill zone to the smallest possible size that you can and that you can do for the new wells and not include the existing wells since they're grandfathered in any way.

Um and so um would you do you have a diagram of the dimensions that we talked about?

I don't have a diagram in this particular package, but we did calculate out we could do a 20 by 40.

20 by 40.

Approximately 20 by 40 drill zone, and that would be by 40 feet.

Yes, ma'am.

And and uh do you have you calculated the distances to all those areas that you mentioned before from this smaller drill zone?

Um that would put everything, let me see if I have the document here.

That would put everything including the drill zone beyond the 600 required.

I believe so.

So I just want to make a point that the existing wells can continue to operate regardless of its request because they're grandfathered in.

So we're just talking about the new wells that you're talking about, the three wells.

Um, and we had also previously discussed your water usage and uh whether or not you would continue operations whenever the city has a uh a mayor-declared uh drought.

We do all take that in consideration whenever our operations have a conflict with a drought.

We definitely take our operations in consideration.

Okay, and I would ask my council members to uh to request the same thing.

Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Boxel.

Councilmember Odom Wesley.

Um thank you, Miss Garvis for all of the efforts in uh helping our our community and keeping our neighbors safe around the the drill zones.

Would you share um your outreach efforts to the neighborhood?

I think you told me you had a meeting back in February and you have another one scheduled, right?

That is correct.

We did have a neighborhood meeting pre-PZ.

Um we had two residents show up at that meeting.

One was the landowner and one was a resident that um lives west of the location.

General questions were asked, we answered every question.

Um we did send out notices last week of our second meeting that'll be next Thursday night, the 16th at the Beacon.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any other speakers on this item, please?

Yes, sir.

We have 11 speakers in opposition on this item.

No additional speakers in support.

Thank you, sir.

First speaker in opposition.

Our first speaker in opposition is Nathan Smith.

Mr.

Smith.

After Mr.

Smith is Tracy Smith.

I'm Nathan Smith from Mansfield.

I grew up in Arlington.

I'm tired.

I've been tired for a while now.

Maybe it's spiritual fatigue.

Maybe there's a lot contributing to it.

But when I work to pinpoint the place and moment my fatigue started, it's easy to identify.

It started here, right in this room 15 months ago.

That was the day that I witnessed the most unconscionable display that I've ever seen from a government body.

In case of you've you've forgotten, in case you've pushed it out of your minds, that was the day when you, every single one of you, voted to approve 10 more gas wells right next to Mother's Heart Daycare.

Unconscionable, morally repulsive.

I'm tired.

I'm tired of coming here and seeing mothers good, proud, hardworking people begging you for consideration of their children's health.

I'm tired.

I'm tired of seeing Ivy League stamp studies dropped on your desks, which clearly demonstrate the health risks of fracking to kids.

And then seeing you roll your eyes as if the people presenting it are being hysterical.

I'm tired.

I'm tired of watching droves of residents oppose wells, only to have their voices drowned out by the sound of a wallet opening in the back of this room from someone in a suit representing a foreign energy company.

I'm tired.

I'm tired of the gaslighting.

The constant claims that your hands are tied by a state bill that somehow magically allows nearby cities to approve gas well distance requirements two times what Arlington kids and families enjoy.

My expect expectations of you tonight are in the basement, but maybe you'll surprise me.

Maybe tonight you'll start a long road to redemption for the damage you've already done to the community you purport to serve.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Our next speaker is Tracy Smith.

After Ms.

Smith is Spencer Dickinson.

Hello, my name is Tracy Smith, but I live at 704 Grassland Way.

I live right behind where they want to pump more gas.

It's already hazardous over there with the uh with the um the lines there, the electric lines, then you already have gas pumping there already.

And then on certain days you can also smell it.

So I've just wondered why would you want to add more hazardous containment contaminants over there where not only where she's saying schools and stuff, but here's a neighborhood over there, a very prosperous neighborhood.

I spent I spent my uh life savings on that house over there one year ago just to find out that you get ready to further pollute the land that I bought.

And I think it's a travesty that you would have a urban gas project to where you want to put it in urban areas.

I don't understand the the concept knowing that it's hazardous to everybody's health.

You know it's bad for the for the land.

The land in Texas already is unsettled, and this crack and fracking even unsettles the land even more.

The water is scarce in Texas.

It's always a drought.

The water is contaminated in Texas.

Everybody has to buy filters.

We know this.

And you add into the problem in a community where all these people are paying good very large taxes.

We pay a lot of taxes in this area just to have to feel safe, to feel like we are important, to make us feel like we can't we're um that you care.

But it seems like the money is the main thing that everybody's not concerned about the health of the community and the businesses, they're still building out there.

And y'all just and y'all want to destroy it even more with more hazardous stuff out there.

I've been in bought my house one year ago.

It took me three years to find a house.

And as soon as I found one, I get a letter saying that they get ready to continue to build more, pump more gas to where it's going to be hard to sell the house now.

Because now the the property value is going down.

And I don't and I just oppose it, and I don't understand why anybody will want to pump gas in an urban area.

I don't understand the concept of that because to me it's just cruel and evil to pump gas in an area where you know there's daycare, you know there's housing, you know there's people, you know there's children.

We all, and then we got if we sick already with asthma, and you add into it.

I oppose it completely.

Thank you.

Next speaker, Mr.

Our next speaker is Spencer Dickinson.

After Mr.

Dickinson is Tammy Carson.

Mayor and City Council, my name is Spencer Dickinson.

I live in Northeast Terrent County outside Arlington, 76034.

But I'm here as a concerned citizen as well as I'm on the executive committee of the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club.

You may be familiar with Sierra Club, the largest national environmental group and oldest in the country.

We have 200, approximately 200 members that live in Arlington, so I'm here representing my own interests, my own concerns as well as theirs.

So I have some uh comments for you.

Uh we do oppose this uh uh zoning change, or more specifically the three incremental gas well uh as requested.

More gas wells on an existing site might be viewed as as not a big deal, but it is a big deal, and I I hope that you take it as a serious ad.

We now know so much more about the effects of frack site emissions on the local community and population at large than we did when fracking was first allowed in neighborhoods around schools, playgrounds, and daycare facilities some 20 years ago, as the report cited, I think 2008.

With new technology, we can actually see the emissions today using optimal gas imaging videography.

This is the technology that's used by TCEQ to investigate gas well emission hotspots.

All gas wells emit volatile organic pollutants such as methane and benzene and contribute to smog pollution.

I'm aware that a series of videos of Arlington gas well emissions as captured by optimal gas imaging has been shared with each of you.

And it what it shows, I've seen many of these videos, the frequency and number of visible and consistent high-emission gas well is is truly alarming.

I urge you, please review those videos, and I urge you to vote no.

More gas wells means increased pollution, reduced air quality, more asthma, disease, and other adverse health impacts.

Please deny this request for increased wells.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Our next speaker is Tammy Carson.

After Ms.

Carson is Dennis James.

Tammy Carson, Arlington resident since 1975.

How many gas wells does Arlington need?

When is enough?

Enough.

So I Googled gas wells, and this is what I found.

There are approximately 500 active gas wells within the city of Arlington, with dozens more permitted or under development.

Total Energies operates a significant number of these wells with sites still being developed in residential areas and near schools.

Half of the city's population lives within 0.5 miles of a fracking site.

Key facts regarding Arlington gas wells.

Total count.

Estimates estimates range around 500, with many located near in Barnett Shale.

Recent activity.

In 2025, new drilling projects were approved, including 10 new wells by Total Energies near a daycare and a school.

Location.

Wells are distributed through the city, often in residential situations.

So let's say no to adding more gas wells and put an end to this foolishness.

And if our voices are not heard tonight, they will be heard at the voting booths.

Our next speaker is Dennis James.

After Mr.

James is Jane Collins.

Yes, my name is Dennis James.

I live at 6101 Big Springs Drive, 76001.

I never signed up for fracking.

But then all of a sudden I get a notice in the mail, and they say we're just taking your gas anyway.

So basically, my my mineral rights were stolen from me.

And now I have to live in an environment that's contaminated.

And you can't afford monitoring on those sites.

You can't afford cameras.

You can see that there's leaks.

If you had the cameras and the monitoring on the sites, you you could make you can make those repairs and make those things safer.

But you're not nobody's working on that.

There's I mean, it's in the air.

You can see a quarter of children in that area and in Terran County have asthma.

When I was a kid, asthma was rare.

A quarter of the children.

And these wells here are within less than half many less than half a mile from daycares.

I mean, this is in this insane.

400, 500 wells in Arlington.

Terrant County is the most second most fracked county in the United States.

I think we deserve better.

I really do.

And the air quality, and look at everyone in here.

We're rubbing our eyes, rubbing our nose, the stuff's in the air, we can't see it.

If you got 150 million dollars a year and you're talking about raising our property taxes again, and you can't even afford the cameras and the monitoring equipment on those sites, then you need to close those sites.

There should be, they should not exist.

If you can't even monitor them, the money, the profit that this city is making, and these companies that aren't even American companies are making, uh it's it's it's not acceptable at all.

You know, I I've lived in Arlington since 1968, and I think uh we can do a lot better.

And uh I I just want monitoring.

I I want daily monitoring some of these sites because some of these sites are are leaking so badly that you can almost see them with a naked eye.

So I I really believe this is a mistake.

We need to stop this fracking, we need to rethink how we get energy here, and we need to uh put some of that money back in into making these places safer.

So thank you for your time.

Thank you, sir.

Our next speaker is Jane Collins.

After Ms.

Collins is Ranjana Bandari.

I am also opposing this, and I'm gonna ask you to vote not to you know start three new wells.

I think that uh we have plenty of wells, and it makes me really sad about kids getting asthma as a teacher.

I saw a child once when he couldn't breathe, and it was really scary, probably more for him than even for me.

And I think we should really consider our children.

We should consider also that the elderly people are getting affected.

And uh I know that fracking permanently uh ruins water.

It can't be uh made drinkable again.

So we since we're worried about water and air, I think that that would be a really important consideration when you decide how to vote.

So I'm gonna ask you to vote against this, please.

Thank you, ma'am.

Our next speaker is Ranjana Bandhari.

After Ms.

Bondari is Jonathan Prennis.

Good evening, Mayor Ross and City Council members.

My name is Ranjana Pandari.

I live at 903 Loch Loman Drive.

I sent you all five videos taken with an optical gas imaging camera of pollution from the day site.

So I want to add to that that each time this body permits gas wells in Arlington, the gas well density in our 99 square miles goes up.

And so does the risk of adverse health effects for everyone who lives here and who lives in our surrounding cities.

The most significant links between increase and increase in well density and health are found among little children and their mothers, their pregnant mothers.

Researchers found that mothers in the highest density quartiles, where there are six gas wells per mile, you know, Arlington already has way more than that, have a significantly higher incidence of in infants being small for their gestational age.

Scientists have observed a 40% increase in the odds of preterm birth for mothers living in high gas well development areas.

Multiple studies associate high well density with increased congenital heart defects and neural tube defects in children.

A 2025 study found that children aged 2 to 9 living within 3.1 miles of high-intensity gas well zones face the greatest risk of developing ALL, acute lymphocytic leukemia, and the risk remained elevated for children living up to 8.1 miles away from dense fracking operations.

Asthma patients living in high density areas are significantly more likely to experience asthma attacks.

Now I've said all this to you before, but today I want to bring some even more concerning news.

In 2020, a Harvard study published in Nature Communications found that air near fracking wells has much higher levels of radioactivity.

The closer a person lives to well, the higher their exposure to this airborne radiation.

The effect is most significant within 12 miles of the well gas wells, but can be found up to 30 miles away.

The researchers at Harvard found that radioactivity in the air had gone up in the Fort Worth area 40% since fracking began, compared to all other parts of the United States.

And this kind of exposure to radiation, which comes from the decay of uranium and radion, which is found deep underground and comes back up with fracking, is connected to link at lung cancer, high blood pressure, lung inflammation, and all kinds of diseases.

I also want to say that many cities in our state, right here in North Texas, have higher setbacks.

Why should Arlington's children continue to be at the back of the bus?

Or should I say live closest to these polluting gas wells?

Why won't you ever fight for our children?

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jonathan Prennis.

After Mr.

Prentice is Stacey Mello.

Good evening, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

My name is Jonathan Prentice, and I live at 2134 Greenway Street, Arlington, 76010.

And you know, as someone with asthma, I um I take a breathing treatment a day, uh every day just to just to be able to breathe in my city.

And uh I think about the day side, and it's near several, you know, it's um there's several schools and or next to a neighborhood in an apartment complex.

I want to think about Arlington, the American dream city.

I want to think about it as a welcoming paradise with clean air.

But fracking pollutes our dream and exposes our families to serious potential health risks, including higher rates of childhood asthma and childhood leukemia and significantly increased odds of hospitalizations in children with asthma.

Residents are already experiencing negative effects due to the wells that were grandfathered in.

So I just please ask you to vote now.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Stacey Mello.

After Miss Mellow is R.

Nate Gilbert.

Hello, council.

Um I just wanted to point out here that three people that are currently on this uh council are up for re-election here in May.

Uh, one of you has a large road sign that states you're making our neighborhoods a priority.

Another one on her election website states she's building a better Arlington.

And then another person, one of your priorities on your websites is public health and safety.

So I ask of all of you who are up for re-election.

When you vote to approve yet another and another and another fracking site next to our neighbors, next to a school, next to a park, next to a daycare that emits these scientifically proven toxic fumes into our air.

Is that what you mean when you say you're making our neighborhood a priority?

Is that what you mean when you say you're building a better Arlington?

And is that what you mean when you say you're prioritizing public health and safety?

So why is it that when you're looking for our vote, you're suddenly this champion for the safety of our neighborhoods?

Yet when it's time to put your money where your mouth is, you continuously allow Totel Energies to exploit our lands at the expense of our health, at the expense of the health of our children.

So if you vote to approve more fracking in our communities, make sure you're updating your campaign websites and your yard signs.

Stop lying to the voters and show them who you really are and who you're really here to serve.

Our next speaker is R.

Nate Gilbert.

After Mr.

Gilbert is Jamie.

No last name was listed.

Good evening, Mayor.

Good evening, Council.

My name is Nate Gilbert.

I live at 5809 Creek Ridge Drive, 76018, right in District 3.

My wife and I lead a church.

We lead a church in our home, and we are here for many reasons.

But one of the reasons I brought my daughter here.

She's sitting there.

I told her I would not point.

She is seven years old.

And this past September, she had to stay inside recess three days because of her asthma.

It's not getting better, guys.

That's the first time my daughter's ever had to stay in.

And she could not go out and be with her friends.

She had to stay with another teacher because her asthma was unable to breathe.

So you know.

You know.

I actually I think you know, and I I want to point out why I think you're voting.

I we know that fracking is contributing to the poor air quality of the benzene.

We know it's polluting our water.

And I think I'm putting myself in your shoes.

You're probably saying, hey, and I actually uh message a candidate who's kind of trying to understand a little bit more what's going on, and he's like, hey, it's a state issue, HP 40, like we can't vote, right?

That's probably in your mind.

You're here and you're thinking, oh, I can't vote that way, they've already decided it.

What I want to tell you is what I have to tell myself always, you always have a choice.

And the reality is is the law of the land the highest authority, or is Jesus' command to love our neighbors ourselves the highest.

And today, you could vote no.

You could.

No one is going to stop you from doing that.

There might be consequences, but you can vote no.

And I just want to let you know as as I think about for myself, you know, all of our actions are gonna be judged by God.

And there's never an excuse that God's gonna say, well, hey, I understand it was the law of the land.

The law of the land's done some pretty messed up things.

And I think about we could go scriptural, I think about in the days of Moses, you had midwives who are commanded to kill the Israelite children, and you know what they did?

They opposed the king.

And you know what God did for them?

He gave them children of their own.

Because and it says, I want to just close on this, it's because they feared God.

So that's just a question I have, and I have to ask myself every day.

Who am I fearing?

Am I fearing the powers that be or am I fearing Almighty God who's gonna judge each one of us on the basis of what we did or didn't do for him?

So for that, I just want to close it.

You can vote no.

Our next speaker is Jamie.

Hey, I'm Jaime, and I live here in Arlington.

I'm here to urge council to vote uh in opposition to this permit uh for uh frack gaswells at Total Energy's drill site SCP 08-2R1.

I am angry and tired, tired of seeing our city asked to accept more fracking, more pollution, and more risk, as if this is just normal.

Angry that we're still even doing fracking.

Honestly, why are we still even doing this?

Why are we still expanding fracking, adding more wells, increasing well density, and putting more people at risk when we know the huge damage it causes?

We know it pollutes our air.

We know it's linked to asthma, respiratory illnesses, and serious long-term health problems.

We know our region already struggles with ozone and air quality issues, and yet here we are again being asked to approve even more fracking that's only gonna worsen all of this.

Council, when will you say enough is enough?

This is about more than just the three wells and the great possibility of even more uh being added without public input.

This is also about the message we send a message that it's okay to keep pushing this industry deeper into our neighborhoods, that it's acceptable to trade our health for corporate profits, that it's okay to destroy our destroy our environment.

This is not who we should be as a city.

We don't even need fracking.

There are cleaner renewable energy alternatives that don't rely on fracking.

There are ways to move forward that don't involve exposing residents to more toxic air and more uncertainty about their health.

Continuing down this path, expanding fracking in 2026 is archaic, stupid, irresponsible, immoral, heartless, shameful, and disgusting.

On top of all of this, Total's own home country of France has banned fracking.

In what world does it make sense to allow this French company to come in to our community and poison our friends, our neighbors, and our family when they would never be able to get away with this doing it in their own home.

I don't even have enough time to get into how fracking is related to so many health issues like asthma, leukemia, heart and lung disease, how this will especially impact vulnerable populations like children, or the huge issue of how fracking is given a free pass by regulators and isn't even monitored at any level.

But I live here.

This is my home.

And I don't want to keep worrying about what me and my community are breathing in and how bad it is for us and how much worse it's going to get.

Council, you must draw a line tonight.

No more fracking, not here, not like this, not at all.

Vote no on this permit.

Mayor, that concludes our speakers on this item.

We did have five non-speakers in support and two non-speakers in opposition.

Thank you, sir.

I'm gonna invite the applicant if you would like to say anything in additional, or you can opt not to.

Thank you.

We're council member Odom Wesley.

I do have a question for Ms.

Garvis if if she'll come back up.

Could you share with all of us the efforts that Total puts in place to um protect the environment, to protect the soil, to protect the water?

Can you talk about safety in your process?

Certainly.

Um at all of our locations, we um take mitigation efforts.

Um when we go into a site, we analyze um the location.

Um we do have protections in place for protecting the soil, we have berms in place, we have containments, so that if there is anything um that's in the containment, it does not get out to the sites to the location outside of our pad.

Um we do have admission controls on all of our locations to reduce air emissions.

And do you have inspections to make sure you're within the acceptable limits?

We do.

We do ongoing inspections.

Um, we do inspections that are required by the state and the federal government.

We also do voluntary inspections on top of that.

We do around four to five thousand LDAR um surveys every year on all of our locations, including the ones that are not required.

So we would you say you're doing all that you can to protect the environment from all that we've heard expressed from the residents.

Yes, ma'am.

We use every technology possible out there, every advanced technology, total energies invest in to protect the environment.

Um our division here in DFW actually leads the company in emissions reductions across the world.

Thank you for your efforts.

Thank you.

I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing.

I have a motion from Councilmember Hogg and a second from Councilmember Galante.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

We're gonna move on down to 13.1.

Ms.

Lindsay Mitchell.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

Lindsay Mitchell, Director of Strategic Initiatives.

The item before you is a resolution to authorize the sale of approximately 20 acres of city owned property bordered by Lamar Collins, Ryan Plaza Drive, and North Center Street to the Arlington EDC for future development.

The city recently acquired this property in February, and this action transfers it to the EDC to align with our economic development strategy and position the site for employment centered development.

The agreed purchase price is $19 million with proceeds going to replenish the water pay go fund from which the original purchase of the land was made.

And I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, ma'am.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any other speakers on this item?

No, sir.

We do not.

Thank you.

Can I get a motion and a second, please?

I have a motion from Councilmember Hogg and a second from Councilmember Pham.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

Mr.

Buskin, citizen participation, please.

Thank you, Mayor.

If citizen participation gives the public an opportunity to make comments or address concerns regarding matters related to city business or affairs that are in the scope of the authority of the city council and which are not posted on the evening agenda.

However, please understand that the mayor and council are not permitted by law to respond to, discuss, or address the comment at this time.

As these items are not included on the posted council agenda for this evening.

The mayor and council may only ask clarifying questions and or direct staff to take appropriate action.

Speakers who have pre-registered will be given two minutes to make their comments, except that if 26 or more speakers have pre-registered, each speaker will be given one minute to make their comments.

The mayor, we had seven individuals sign up to speak this evening.

Our first speaker is Courtney Bookout.

Next speaker, please.

Our next speaker is Jimmy Burke.

Mr.

Burke.

I'm hanging in there, sir.

Good.

Mayor City Council, it's good to see you all again.

Only got two minutes.

Homeless to the American Dream Part 4.

Quick math, hang with me for a minute for a purpose.

Let's say I can access, not hypothetical, ASAP, $3,000 a month income.

Saying this for a reason.

Quick math.

10% over those for three months is $900 for a baby step emergency fund.

Dave Ramsey style, let's just go ahead and bump that to a thousand.

Let's say 15%, because that's what I've committed to the Lord for tithe and offerings.

Okay.

Let's say I can live on a thousand dollars a month, which I can all non-residential essentials for living.

If my math is correct, we still have, if I take for brevity's sake, I won't fill in all the blanks.

Even if I put 25% of that, $9,000 towards a residence, I still have a buffer of X number $100.

Which is more judicious to purchase a land of property somewhere, not too far, and I've looked into it for less than it costs for one month in a cinder state motel.

I could buy a piece of property, assuming it's available and live on it safely.

I wish I could talk about that today, and I can soon I bet.

Rather than right now being as broke as possible for basic needs.

And I'm optimistic we can fix these things.

And then not having to deal with being at the city park and being criminally trespassed for one year.

Because I looked a little too vagrant.

Which happened to me today.

And even worse things that I can't bring up now for the you know that I'm dealing with right now.

We can do this.

Thank you, sir.

Do we get another part next week?

Next time.

What's that?

Are you coming back so we can get another part?

Because I'm starting to look forward to it.

Well, if I if I keep getting trimely criminally trespassed, not that's true.

If I keep going getting criminally trespassed for a year, I'm running out of places to go.

We're not gonna criminally trying to.

Well, I'm trying to get on my feet.

Well, I was today, green ones.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Angela Whitman.

Ms.

Whitman.

Miss Whitman.

Next speaker, please.

Our next speaker is Zaineb Ali.

Hi again.

Um my name is Zenab.

I'm a resident of Murphy and a current UTA student.

I was here around two weeks ago to talk about Yakoub Ira, who's detained by ICE, who's been detained by us for the past six months.

And the council was made aware of his situation and the kind of person he was and how he was important to the community of Orlington.

Tonight I want to talk about what this council can do.

While this council may not have federal jurisdiction, it has the power to pass a resolution.

And that president has already been set.

In New Jersey, a city council passed a resolution calling for the immediate release of Columbia's last protester in ICE custody, Lika Cordia, and she was freed.

The city of Arlington is uniquely positioned to speak on this issue and is able to bring action to bring Yakoub home.

Yakoub was a constituent, a resident, and an important community member in Orlington.

This council has the ability to add its voice on behalf of the constituents who are detained by ICE.

Yakub is one of yours, and the count and this council has both the moral responsibility to say the standing and the moral responsibility to say so.

I urge the city of Arlington to adopt a resolution and support a Yakub's release.

This sets a pre his detention sense of precedent for a lot of us because he was detained by his social media likes.

How scary is that for the rest of us to think that we could be detained, not based on our legal immigrant status or who we are as Pete or anything like that because he is a legal DACA immigrant, but we can be detained because of our social media likes.

We cannot let this be a president for the people in this country.

We have to stand by the first amendment.

And I urge you to pass a resolution and bring him home.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Nura Bawabi.

Hello, I'm also here today to urge you all to issue a statement of support to demand the immediate release of Yaqub Ira.

So as Zaina mentioned, today marks six months of Yaqub's unlawful arrest outside of his house here in Arlington.

That's six months of mistreatment and misconduct, living life in a cell away from his loved ones here at home.

Yaqub has lived and worked in the United States for nearly 20 years and legally has the same first right amendments as any citizen.

Yet he has been detained and criminalized for liking posts on social media and opposing the genocide on Gaza.

If the state has the ability to criminalize Yaqub for his right to free speech, we must question our own rights as well.

Yaqub's detainment is not just about him.

So I stand here today once again to urge the city of Arlington to demand for Yaqub's immediate immediate release.

Additionally, I wanted to let you all know that there will be a press conference for Yaqub on Thursday, April 16th at the Dallas Ice Field Office, where Yaqu was initially taken after his arrest six months ago.

At this press conference, you will hear more about his case, which I know a few of you all have expressed wanting.

This press conference is a great opportunity to do that, and we hope to see you guys there.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Evelyn Thompson.

Good evening, Mayor and Councilman.

My name is Evelyn Thompson.

My address is 953 Grasswood Court.

I have a problem with my uh electrical power outage.

I've been living in that neighborhood for over 35 years.

And over the six months, I've been having a problem with my power.

And so I'm gonna name a couple of uh days that it been out.

On June the 8th, 25, outage.

On June the 9th, 25, outage.

On 10 October 25th, outage.

Um April 2nd, outage.

Um April 4th, outage.

And I am definitely a heart patient.

I am a kidney patient.

So if I cannot, you know, telephone is run by uh the internet.

And so when I can't, when I'm calling on my cell phone, I'm on hold.

So that means that I don't have long because my phone is going down.

So a heart patient as heat or cold that that's bad on me.

So I'll I just urge you guys to find a solution or maybe uh like you used to back in the day, where come through the neighborhood, cut back the uh uh trees and stuff so that way it won't knock out my power every time there's uh weather, anything.

I'm just afraid that anything can happen to me while I'm sitting there in power outage.

So thank you for listening to me and have a good day.

Thank you, ma'am.

Our next speaker is Sharon Curry West.

Any other speakers, Mr.

Buskin.

No, sir.

That concludes our speakers this evening.

Thank you, sir.

Council, do y'all have any announcements this evening?

Mr.

Galante.

Yes.

Um as my commitment for transparency and accountability.

We're gonna hold we're gonna host the fourth um town hall at District One.

It will be a Texas Rangers golf course on April 16 next Wednesday at 6 p.m.

So town hall, district one, April 16.

Thank you, Mr.

Galante.

Any other announcements from council?

Mr.

Buskin announcements.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'd like to remind our residents, Arlington City Council evening meetings are rebroadcast on Sundays at 6 p.m.

and on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at 6 30 a.m.

The council's afternoon work sessions are rebroadcast on Sundays at 1 p.m.

Wednesdays at 1 30 p.m.

and on Saturdays at 6 p.m.

You can also watch the meetings online anytime at www.arlington tx.gov.

Thank you.

Appreciate everybody coming out tonight.

And with that, City Council is adjourned, I didn't went to this wood to wash dishes.

Oh my god.

So we understand them.

We understand that it's not easy.

We understand that they come with a with a story like they are here for a big reason.

So we tr we we treat them rightful.

We are fair.

The library was my office for maybe four years.

So Arlington is always going to be the place where I have to say thank you.

The diversity in Arlington is amazing, and I feel welcome.

I am Maria Allen and I'm alive with the American Dream.

Bienvenidos a one edition of Arlington Eats in Español.

Cafe Americana llegó al centro de Arlington para ofrecerle a sus clientes una experiencia paradisiaca con una fusion de cultura y sabores.

Pero tomando inquietal.

In the menu tienen platillos typicos del Caribe, the Asia, the España and much.

For example, the Los Salado.