The City of Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission convened on November 12, 2025, to review amendments to public comment rules, three zoning change applications, and four specific use or discussion items. The primary focus was on two Planned Development (PD) rezonings to increase residential density, a Specific Use Permit for a secondary living unit, and a public comment rule update to align with City Council changes.
Good evening again, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Dr. Ignacio Nunez. I serve as chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission for the City of Arlington. I hereby call this regularly noticed meeting of the City of Arlington's Planning and Zoning Commission regular session to order for November the 12th, 2025. At this time, I will ask the administrator to read the speaker guidelines and general decorum for tonight's meeting. 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 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 any if there are many speakers for an item, each speaker will be given three minutes to make their statements. 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. And 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. Thank you very much. First item of agenda is the minutes from the October 29th, 2025 regular session agenda meeting, and they were sent to all the commissioners in advance. Were there any changes or corrections that were needed to these minutes? If there are none, I do have a motion to approve. I do from Commissioner Blake. And I have a second by Commissioner Finley. Please cast your vote. Motion passes nine to nothing. Next on the agenda, we have the amendment to rules for public comment. First, do I have a motion to suspend the rules at this point in time? Oh maybe first we ought to hear what the changes are. Thank you. Thank you, Honorable Chair and Council uh Commission. Uh I'm here today on an unusual item. Uh so rarely that you change your rules, but uh I'm here to address your rules of public comment. Uh the Arlington City Council amended its rules of public comment uh with the approval of resolution 25-228 on September 16th, 2025. Uh staff has been instructed to bring similar amendments for consideration and approval by all appointed boards and commissions, including the Planning and Zoning Commission. Uh Galen Gett and your land use attorney here to present those uh changes to the rules. Uh the only proposed change before you tonight uh is uh uh eliminating some uh extra verbiage uh regarding the public on uh public comment on at open meetings. Uh but I will note for the record that there is no changes to the uh speaking timelines, uh that the time limits are or anything like that for the public. I think they will not notice uh that there's been any change. Unfortunately, and I apologize for this error, uh, looking at your rules of comment, uh your your rules of procedure. If I became aware that uh in order to do a rule of procedure, you needed to have it on your agenda and then come back and vote on it the next meeting. However, the very next rule in your rule of public comment or your your rules of uh procedure states that you can suspend the rules by a two-thirds vote. So I would ask if the council, if the commission is interested in adopting these rules tonight that you take a voice vote, uh a motion to suspend the rules if that passes by uh at least six votes, then you can take a record vote uh to adopt these proposed changes. And I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Uh well, for for the public, uh we looked through the rules upstairs, and there is a it's a minor change. And uh and it had to do with um Gaitlin, why don't you tell us what it had to do with primarily? First one first one was you couldn't just use your first name, you have to use a full name. Uh yes, and that was actually uh uh uh an issue that came up here in in the uh at the P and Z uh had an individual came forth and just gave their first name. And so we've just cleared clear that up that they should give their full name. Uh they still don't have to give their address, they just need to say that they're resident of Arlington or resident of wherever, uh, but they should give their full name. And then the other change is to some verbiage regarding uh diversity inclusion uh language, and uh we are proposing to take that out just so that we don't run afoul of any federal government directives.