Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Session – June 18, 2025
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Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Session – June 18, 2025
The Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Arlington met in regular session on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 5:59 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, three public hearings, and a vote on each. All seven commissioners were present (Commissioners Blake, Sumpter, Finley, Ware, Winkles, Carter, Maddox).
Call to Order & Approval of Minutes
- Minutes of June 4, 2025 – Commissioner Sumpter moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Winkles. The motion carried with 5 ayes (Blake, Sumpter, Ware, Winkles, Carter) and 0 nays; Commissioners Finley and Maddox abstained.
Public Hearing: SUP25-4 (1645 New York Ave) – Banquet Hall
- Applicant: Armando Aguilar (Ovilla, TX) proposed a banquet hall for quinceañeras and similar events in a 17,246-square-foot suite within a multi-tenant shopping center zoned Community Commercial (CC). Events would be primarily Saturdays, 8-hour window (e.g., 4 PM to midnight), with on-site security always present. Capacity up to 400 guests.
- Staff Recommendations: Resurfacing/restriping parking areas and repainting the building facade. Applicant agreed to comply.
- Commissioner Blake added conditions: the banquet hall must not be used as a nightclub, security guard required for events over 50 occupants, and the SUP is specific to this applicant. Applicant accepted.
- Vote: Motion to approve passed 7-0.
Public Hearing: ZA25-3 (1225 California Lane) – Zoning Change and LPO Removal
- Applicant: Lai Ping Tang (Arlington, TX), UTA professor and bioengineering entrepreneur, requested removal of Landmark Preservation Overlay (LPO) and rezoning from Planned Development (Light Industrial) to Office Commercial (OC) for a medical research laboratory. The property includes a historic house moved to the site in the 1940s/50s. Applicant invested over $100,000 in repairs but cited structural issues and LPO restrictions hindering necessary modifications (e.g., wider doors, loading dock) needed for venture capital funding.
- Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) voted to recommend keeping the LPO. Two letters of opposition and one support were received.
- Commission Discussion: Several commissioners expressed desire to preserve the historic house and suggested the applicant work with staff to potentially apply the LPO only to the structure, allowing redevelopment of the rest of the lot. Applicant agreed to a continuance to explore options.
- Motion to continue the case to the July 16, 2025 meeting was made by Commissioner Sumpter, seconded by Commissioner Winkles, and passed 7-0.
Public Hearing: SUP25-1 (2712 W Division St) – Auto Repair Garage Major (Vehicle Wrapping)
- Applicant: Michael Thrash (Mansfield, TX), doing business as Sick Wraps and Custom Installs, proposed a vehicle wrapping business (vinyl film application) in a 1,000-square-foot lease space within an existing 4,000-square-foot structure on 0.399 acres zoned Light Industrial (LI). All work performed indoors; no body repair or painting. Up to two vehicles at a time, two bay doors. Hours: 6 AM – 8 PM daily. Applicant agreed to staff recommendations including landscape buffer, no outdoor storage, and SUP non-transferable.
- Public Comments: No opposition; one owner spoke in support.
- Vote: Motion to approve with staff conditions passed 7-0.
Key Outcomes
- SUP25-4 (Banquet Hall): Approved unanimously (7-0) with conditions (no nightclub, security for 50+ occupants, applicant-specific).
- ZA25-3 (Zoning Change/LPO Removal): Continued to July 16, 2025, by unanimous vote (7-0); applicant to work with staff on preserving the house while allowing development.
- SUP25-1 (Vehicle Wrapping): Approved unanimously (7-0) with staff recommendations.
- No other business or reports were discussed. The meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
I'll hang on to this board. Okay. Okay, good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tom Oir, and I serve as chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Arlington. I hereby call this regulation notice to meeting of the City of Arlington's Planning and Zoning Commission regular session into order for June 18th, 2025. Well now have speaker uh guidelines and uh general decorum and I ask the speaker to uh to uh give us those guidelines, please. We ask the 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 planning and zoning commissioners or while attending the planning and zoning meeting may be removed from the council chambers. All speakers shall address the commissioners and not the audience or city staff and 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. The applicant will be asked to speak first and will be given 10 minutes to make a presentation. Speakers in support or opposition of the item will be given five minutes each to make their statements. If there are many speakers for an item, each speaker will be given three minutes to make their statements. The applicant will then be given five minutes for any rebuttal. 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 at 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 planning and zoning commissioners. A copy of the minutes for June 4th, 2025. Regular session agenda meeting were sent to all the commissioners in advance. Were there any changes or corrections needed to the minutes? Hearing none. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes and a second? I have a motion from Commissioner Sumter and a second from Commissioner Winkles. Please cast your votes. At this time, I'll call on staff to present its report on zoning case SUP- or SUP 25-4 at 1645 New York Avenue. Good evening, Commissioners. Uh, for the record, Alex Van Amberg, Planner, Planning and Development Services. Presenting zoning case SUP 25-4. Address is uh 1645 New York Avenue. This is a 17,000 square foot suite on a parcel about 16.772 acres in size. The current zoning is community commercial, and the applicant's request is an SUP for a banquet hall. The site is located south of Park Row and east of New York Avenue. Um the suite location is outlined in red on this map here. It's located at the southeast corner of the parcel. And medium density townhomes to the south. Uh the building set back approximately 150 feet from the east property line and about 70 feet from the uh south property line. So this is a 17,000 square foot suite and a multi-tenant shopping center. Um nearby tenants include a laundromat to the suite directly to the south in the same building. Um a grocery store in that single tenant building to the west. And the northern suite has permits in uh they're renovating to be a funeral chapel. Uh the site does have access from both New York Avenue and Park Road Drive, and it does have uh parking located behind the building and in front of the building. Here we see some images of the front of the building and the front parking lot. The suite is kind of in the middle there. And here are images of the rear uh of the building and the parking area to the rear of the building. Also a street view from New York Avenue. Uh we've also included a saturation map showing other banquet halls in the area. Um there are two other banquet halls located quite close to this request. Uh one is on the same parcel, but on the northern side. Uh they're both shown in green here.
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