This time I'll ask our 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 language or obscene language, who engages in any other actions that are 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.

Thank you very much.

The minutes of the March 4th, 2026 regular agenda meeting were sent to all the commissioners.

Were there any changes or corrections?

Saying none, I have a motion to approve those minutes by Commissioner Winkles and a second by Commissioner Greer.

Please cast your vote.

Motion passes 8 to nothing.

Next, we have two zoning cases.

One tonight is PD 25 8, addressed at approximately 2100 Southeast Greenox Boulevard.

This is an application for approval of a change in zoning from community commercial uses to a plan development for community commercial uses plus a car wash with a development plan on approximately 1.295 acres.

At this time, I will call on our staff to present its report on PD 25-8.

Mr.

Charles, thank you.

Okay.

Good uh good evening, commissioners for the record.

Kevin Charles, Principal Planner, Planning and Development Services.

Um we will be looking or this evening we'll be looking at 2100 Southeast Green Oaks Boulevard, uh PD 25-8.

Just to re uh introduce the project, uh, this is a site that's 1.295 acres in size.

It is addressed at 2100 Southeast Green Oaks Boulevard.

The current zoning on the property is community commercial, and the request at this particular time is a plan development for community commercial uses plus a car wash with the development plan.

Uh to explain why we are here at this point right now.

The site was originally developed with a a car wash, uh a coin self-service car wash uh that was uh developed in the early 2000s.

The site was demolished by the owners voluntarily.

Uh at that time, a car wash was allowed in community commercial zoning by right.

However, when we updated and changed from a zoning ordinance to the unified development code in 2014, uh though that use was no longer allowed in community commercial, thus the site lost this uh uh nonconformity, and that's why we are here now that with them going through a plan development for a car wash for a full tunnel style car wash because of that change in the UDC.

You want me to give them more time?

Okay.

Okay.

Uh so if you would like, I can continue with my presentation, or we could wait for it.

Go ahead.

Oh, yours is up, but mine is not up.

All right.

All right, thank you guys for your patience.

Look like we are we're we're good to go now.

All right, again, the site data, uh, 1.295 acres, uh addressed at 2100 Southeast Green Oaks.

Uh I explain why we are currently here at this particular point.

Uh let's move through.

So here's a location map.

The site is highlighted in yellow there on the big screen.

Also provided an expanded view so that you can see what type of development is taking place to the east of the site, all the way to the city limit line at State Highway 360 at that intersection.

Uh the subject site is currently undeveloped.

As I mentioned before, it's important to note that the property was originally developed as a self-service coin car wash in the early 2000s.

The properties across South Green Oaks, Southeast Green Oaks Boulevard to the north are all developed as res residential single family detached, uh both RS 7.2 and RS5.

The property adjacent to the south and the west is uh currently uh zoned RS 7.2, but is developed as the Fish Creek Linear Park system.

And the property to the east, as I mentioned, if you look at the expanded view on the on the slide, is all developed as community commercial.

Uh the immediate adjacent property is developed as a dry cleaners.

Photographs of the site.

As you can see from the photographs, starting in the top left-hand corner.

Uh, that is a view of the site from Southeast Green Oaks Boulevard.

There, the next photograph that you see as we go clockwise is the entrance to the Fish Creek Linear Park, which is at the western uh which shares a western property line with the site.

Uh, that's the commercial dry cleaners there next uh to uh to the east, and then the existing residential uses across Southeast Green Oaks to the north.

Uh okay.

Uh at the time of the original development, like we mentioned before, car washes were permitted in community commercial zoning districts.

When the zoning ordinance was updated and replaced by the UDC in 2014, car washers were no longer allowed in CC zoning.

Thus, that is why we are here today for this redevelopment of this site.

The applicant is proposing a one-story structure that will be 25 feet in height at its highest point.

Uh will be 150 uh feet in length where the tunnel is going to be.

The car wash tunnel will also be 20 feet in width.

The interior of the structure will include office and office, equipment room, a break room, restrooms, and areas for all of the required electrical electrical equipment.

The exterior materials of the proposed uh structure include brick veneer, stucco stone, metal panels, and cementitious fiber board.

Each side of the structure will feat feature two shades of brick and stone, and design also incorporates metal awnings and standings and a standing seam metal roof.

The landscaping adjacent to uh Southeast Green Oaks is in compliance with the UDC.

They are using existing landscaping that is there that was there with the previous development, and they are filling in the gaps to make a continuous contiguous vegetative screen from uh Southeast Green Oaks.

This is the saturation map of all of the uh existing car washers within a two to four mile radius of the site.

Uh there are none currently that are located within the two-mile buffer.

Uh there are approximately 11 uh contained within the four-mile buffer of the site.

Uh the site itself is represented by the by the star to highlight its location in the green uh circle.

Deviations due to the existing vegetation, as I mentioned before, uh that share remain.

The applicant proposes a combination of existing vegetation and the installation of 30 new plants to be placed in the open areas and around the proposed building.

The orientation of the structure is adjacent to the right-of-way, and it serves as the perfect screening for the entire site and makes the structure the most prominent feature along the streetscape, screening all of the uh uh vacuum bays and stacking from the public right away.

Additionally, a level two screening area, a buffer area is required adjacent to the south of South West property line in the Fish Creek Linear Park.

Uh currently, no fence uh fence is required there, however, no fencing is being proposed, uh, is my understanding that uh there are some FEMA issues there that they have to address, but they're more in relation to the construction of the retaining wall that is going to be required should they be able to move this case forward and deal with those issues.

We went through the comprehensive plan analysis, and basically what the comprehensive plan analysis is stating is that uh this particular site does this particular proposal does address these top six issues that are that are listed to evaluate and develop proposals in context with the existing infrastructure, ensure a balanced relationship between the land use and the transportation system, identify and develop infield areas in ways that are compatible with their surroundings, require new developments and redevelopments to provide pedestrian and vehicular connectivity between individual development sites, increase the visual appeal within and around residential and commercial developments, and continue to require streetscape improvements as part of new developments.

Staff considerations should you be inclined to recommend approval.

Number one is that they address all engineering concerns prior to the approval of the proposed site plan.

These are the things that were discussed with staff at the work session this afternoon.

Recommend the use of a more earth-toned color palette and reduce the use of the franchise purple that's used on the roof line, uh reduce the number of exterior materials on the structure and focus on potentially the right side corner because that's the most prominent element of the uh site through the use of stone and brick only.

The applicant is Phil Great Car Wash.

The owner is Viran Nara.

Uh staff did receive one letter of opposition.

Uh, that letter of opposition came from uh adjacent property owner from across uh the street on the north side of Southeast Green Oaks, and that main complaint was in reference to the traffic numbers that would increase due to the construction of that new car wash.

Staff is available if you have any questions or comments in reference to this particular project.

Thank you, Mr.

Charles.

Do the commissioners have any questions at this time?

Just let the audience know we had a work session upstairs.

I'm sorry.

Um, Mr.

Carter, but I want to be finished.

We had a work session upstairs.

This career, these cases that are here tonight were discussed in detail upstairs.

Commissioner Carter.

What's the uh roof material type and is there any way to condition it to where it has a uh um a steep roof pitch on it made with a more residential style shingle?

Uh the roof material type of standard seam metal.

Uh absolutely it can be designed with a a more pitched roof.

That is just uh whether or not they decide to use that particular design.

In fact, I think I've seen other of their locations that have actually a pitched roof, uh, but that is something that you can bring up with the applicant.

But yes, they could change the roof pitch, and the current uh material is uh standing seam metal.

You're welcome.

On the staff considerations, what elevation were you all speaking to?

Uh as you approach if you're driving west on um Southeast Green Oaks.

Uh the elevation that we're looking at is the one there with with the field grade car wash uh east elevation.

That's gonna be your most prominent elevation as you come from 360.

And the consideration was to reduce the number of materials.

Yeah, to focus on just the stone and the brick only.

Got it.

Uh and also if you want to have an idea of what you would see from Southeast Green Oaks, that would be the north elevation that directly beneath it with the faux windows and so thank you, sir.

This time I'm going to open up the public set uh public hearing uh and ask for the applicant to please come forward.

Are you here tonight?

Well, this is gonna make for a fast meeting.

Are you the uh applicant for uh please step forward?

Thank you.

Sorry, that's okay, and you did fill out one of these cards.

I did.

Okay, thank you.

Is the writing great probably?

So you're Ali Sandoval?

My name is Allie Sandoval.

Okay, what city are you from, Allie?

Ulysses.

Well, I'm from Mineral Wells, but I reside in Ulysses now.

Very good.

Okay, so uh the floor is yours.

Thank you.

Here we go.

Good evening.

My name's Allie, uh 310 South Industrial Boulevard, Ulysses, Texas.

I'm representing Feel Great Car Wash, um, and the proposed development at 2100 Southeast Green Oaks.

We are a fast growing Arlington-based car wash operator.

We operate on membership model, and we have two locations in Arlington already.

We focus on environmentally friendly systems, quieter, and all electric um equipment.

This is showing a development that we recently remodeled in on 1219 East Pioneer Parkway.

This is a map showing other car washes in the area.

There are they are there, they are spread out.

This location helps better serve the specific trade area and nearby neighborhoods.

Our studies have shown that customers will not drive more than two miles for a car wash.

That's why we feel comfortable building another car wash in this area.

This slide shows uh before and after work.

This is a great example of what we have done in the city of Arlington already.

We took this older site and upgraded it, improving safety and appearance for this respective neighborhood.

This just opened two weeks ago.

This is another car wash in Arlington that we have been able to work on.

Um we call this Matlock 7200 Matlock.

Uh before you see it was uh completely closed down.

We were able to take it from a vacant, underutilized site and turn it into a clean, attractive, and well-maintained.

This grand opening has been the best out of all of our car washes so uh so far this year.

We're really excited to be uh to have this under our belts as well.

This is the proposed site at 2100 Southeast Greenox on the docket today.

This site fits well with the surrounding uses.

Our next door neighbors would be a comet cleaners and an oil change place, the closest two neighbors.

After that, you have a fast food restaurant, Panda Express, uh, and other nearby retail, all on the retail side of the um block.

Our customer experience, all of our car washes.

We provide a clean modern experience with free vacuums, tiles, air, and mat cleaners.

It's designed to be quick, convenient, and customer friendly.

We believe in community.

This is my favorite part of my job.

This was the first reason I was hired on to here is to give back to the community.

In this picture, you can see we were part of Fish Creek cleanup uh near our proposed site last year.

This year it got canceled for bad weather.

Our team was able to get this place that they call like uh plastic uh lake or river and clean up about 25 bags of trash alongside some other community members.

Uh it was it was really fun.

This is a group of kiddos that we recently had a fundraiser with for their basketball team to raise money uh to go to Chicago and Florida for some basketball this summer.

And here are some other examples of ways we've been a part of the community recently.

Our operation hours are in line with other businesses in the area, 7 a.m.

to 8 p.m.

seven days a week.

We have 15 full-time employees, three to six employees per shift.

We have a quick point of sale, uh, about three minutes, and it's designed to minimize traffic congestion.

We also actively maintain our sites and manage noise control with dampering vacuuming systems.

This is a zoning map.

These uh that shows that examples of other zonings in the area.

The blue is the PD.

I'm sure you guys are aware of this.

We just wanted to show that on this side of the road on on this side of the block, it's all retail, and we thought it fit in pr our proposed development fits in pretty well with existing businesses.

Okay.

Our architect our in-house uh architect consultant is not here.

So I could be an architect now, right?

These are elevations, and the left side is the picture that I took with a drone to show it in real life.

This is our car wash in Carrollton.

Other building elevations.

And the conclusion.

Um this site works well for a few key reasons.

It complements surrounding businesses.

It's a fully staffed and actively managed site.

It has historically been a car wash before, and we want to reinvest into a long-term uh long time vacant property.

It was a self-serve car wash.

We would like to make turn it into an express car wash.

We believe the project will improve the area and serve the community well.

Car um this neighbor neighborhood surrounding this.

We did some research and it shows they have probably on average three cars per household.

That's all I got.

Thanks.

Thanks for listening.

Yeah, thank you very much.

So at this time, do the commissioners have questions of the applicant?

Mr.

Maddox.

Yes, excuse me.

How close are you to resolving your FEMA and City of Arlington issues?

I've been told that we have resolved and answered any issues that were.

It took us a long time to get those done, but we have we're good on FEMA.

And the city of Arlington.

We've met our requirements.

Is that true?

For to come to planning and zoning?

No.

It's not true.

I'm so sorry.

Uh so as we mentioned earlier, actually, they are still working through a few issues with the city of Arlington as far as FEMA is concerned.

It was the applicant's desire to come forward uh due to timing and being written.

They felt they wanted to come through and get a determination on their request.

Uh Commissioner Blake.

I'm sorry.

Commissioner Maddox, were you finished?

Okay, Commissioner Blake.

So a couple questions.

And one, you know, I didn't recall the map earlier, but on the other side of the fence over um is that Mansfield or Rim Grand Prairie.

Um, on that side.

I know we're all the ones are in Arlington.

So this was just a Google Maps car washes near Arlington that I just pulled from my computer.

Okay.

Umes that are actually in Arlington.

Or ones that are not in Arlington.

Was that your question, sir?

Well, just how many are you showing or within a couple miles?

Because I think we pulled up and it looked like there was 15 within four miles.

So the ones that I'm showing are similar to our brand.

Express car washes.

Um, they are not in bay automatics like the picture I have here.

Okay.

Car washes that are membership-based, the for quick and easy service.

This is what I pulled up on Google.

Okay.

Well, then my second question is, and we we had a long conversation about premium branding and and and things like that about another case.

Do you all have something that's better in your um facade that that y'all can offer us instead of something that really just looks like a car wash?

So I just want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly.

So is this a good thing to go off of right now?

Well unfortunately with a car wash, you have something that looks like a car wash.

Sure.

But how can we make that something that's pretty that we can be proud of?

And then if I live next door to it, I'd be okay with it.

Yeah, we're happy to make any adjustments that the city is requiring.

Um we do try to pride ourselves.

We are local, we live here in Arlington, or I live in Euless, but our owners and live in Arlington are UTA grads.

We're happy to work with you on what you expect.

More windows, is that what you're looking for, or something?

I'm actually not sure.

I'm one of my concerns is the fact that you know it's right around the corner from a park.

Um kind of big on our park.

So I really don't want to detract from that.

And that's why my concern is with a car wash and we have lots of car washes.

But my other concern is you know, we're we're changing this zoning or or or giving the PD PD back to you of allowing the car wash.

Well, a long time ago we decided we don't want car washes there.

That's why we had a non-conforming use.

So once that came out, why are we putting it back in?

So it I'm trying to figure out how we can make this happen for you, but making it look good enough for the area and and make the neighbors want that there.

Yeah, that's my concern.

Sure.

So yeah, I understand.

I I know it's a non-conforming use, I ask you to reconsider that as it has been baking vacant for a very long time.

Um it didn't have any other contenders, and we're happy to take it from what it is currently to making it uh money generating for the community.

Commissioner Sumter.

Well, first question do you own the property or do you have it under contract?

We own the property.

This it was taking a little bit longer than expected for the FEMA.

We couldn't keep it under contract for two years, so we did end up buying it.

So that you do own it?

Correct.

Um the elevation you have up on the screen is quite different than the one that's in our packet.

Is in the other two locations that you've done in Arlington, I believe you renovated existing car washers.

So this will be a ground up brand new car wash facility.

Is this the brand of field great car wash that I'm looking at right here?

Is this what you're this is from the ground up?

This is in Carrollton off of Josie Lane.

So is this what would what you would be proposing, or what we have on our packet, which is completely different?

What you have in your packet.

This is just showing what we've done in recently.

Got it.

So that's the exact elevations that we used for this brett, like yeah.

There's the elevations, and then there's a real life picture.

And why did you choose this location?

Southeast Green Oaks.

Yes.

Um, it was for sale for a while.

It was previously a car wash, a different model of a car wash.

It's close to our office.

Um we think the traffic there is useful.

Um we looked at the self-serve on the Grand Prairie side.

Um they wanted to sell it, it was doing well, but it was just too much money.

We drove around, we saw this site for sale, um, did our work uh history on it.

It's it's in a good area.

There's nearby retail that works well with us.

People usually wash their cars out of convenience.

Um, it's not a real destination.

So when they're picking up their groceries, picking up food, they can get a quick car wash.

And you said this is member membership based only, so you have to have a membership to go to this car wash, or I could come there today without a membership.

You can come there today, buy a single wash.

Okay.

If you get a membership, it's a better deal.

Okay, because it's no different than any other car wash that I visit, quite frankly, a lot of times because my truck gets dirty a lot.

Sure.

So I love going to car washes.

Yes, so yeah, we pride ourselves on just community-based, we're local here, and we give a good product.

Okay, thank you.

Commissioner Finley.

Thank you.

Um, two things on the car wash.

So after your car is washed, do you have the option of somebody doing tires, drying it off, that sort of thing?

No, ma'am.

Our model is quick and easy.

So we have vacuum stations for you to do it yourself.

Um, but we do not offer detail except for the car wash um at 1219 East Pioneer that we renovated.

It previously offered detail and our customers asked for us to keep it, so that is our first and only detail service.

Um, but we do not hand apply car uh tire dressing or anything like that.

Okay.

And second, uh, in answer to Commissioner Blake's question, there is a self-served car wash at the corner.

If you could go back to your map.

There is a self-serve car wash at the corner of 360 and Kingswood Boulevard on the other side of 360 on the Grand Prairie side, uh, which is I'm sure less than a mile from where it's the picture right there.

Uh which is I'm sure less than a mile from where it's the picture right there.

And then there is a full serve car wash that does the detailing uh in between equestrian and uh camp wisdom on the other side of 360, which is less than a mile from where you're going in, correct?

Right.

Detail?

Did you say it?

Yes, yes, ma'am.

Okay.

All right.

So you would have um you wouldn't consider doing detail at this particular watch.

Why?

I explain it like Chick-fil-A and Chili's.

Uh if you want a quick, easy on the on the way from picking up your kids to the city council meeting, if you need to get gas, you wash your car really quick.

If you're ready to sit down and eat a full meal and wait for the waitress um to take your order and for them to make your food, you go to somewhere like Chili's.

So we are the Chick-fil-A, the detailed people that you talked about are more like Chili's or papacitos, somewhere where you have the extra time.

Okay.

Um do you happen to know what percentage of cementitious fiber board you're considering uh for the building?

I'm sorry, can you say that again?

Do you happen to know the percentage of cementitious fiber board that you're considering for the building?

I don't, but the owner, Viranana just stepped in, so he might be able to answer the questions a lot better than me.

I'll okay.

I want to pretend to be an architect, but I don't want to tell you false information.

All right.

All right, thank you.

We'll wait until he wants to come speak.

Sure, Commissioner Blake.

Yeah, I do have so a couple clarifying questions.

Less than 20 percent, he says.

Okay, all right, good.

So I I have a couple clarifying questions.

So I I understand what the difference between detail is.

That's where I take my mustang and drop it off for a couple hours.

Yes, sir.

But whenever you go through the car wash and you come out the car wash, do you have people that dry it off or do anything on the inside of the car?

No, sir.

So basically you drive, you go to a uh vacuum if you want to, or you just drive right out.

Correct.

Okay.

Um this is what a vacuum stall looks like.

Right.

Um we have the self-serve vacuums.

We have the blue nozzle that's high pressure air, clean tiles, dirty towels.

Um we also have a high pressure or a glass cleaner nozzle.

It's you can't see it in this picture, it's on the other side.

So each station, it's really quick and easy.

I'm a mom, so I keep saying if I have kids, they don't have to get out of the car.

They can just stay in the car while I wipe something down while I clean up the ice cream.

Um and then I can leave, or I can not do any of that at all and just leave.

All right, thank you.

Commissioner Carter.

I actually think the location is it, I think it will be a profitable car wash, but I just feel like that the style of the building is just not what we if we grant back this zoning and allow this, it was removed for a reason.

But if we let it come back and have a car wash built there, what could you promise us in upgrading the building enhancements to make it look special to make it kind of a centerpiece for the area instead of just a standard looking, you know 30-foot car wash.

Right.

You know, that's why I was asking earlier about the could it have a pitched roof, could it have lots of more glass, could it have arches, could it have um you know bigger canopies, bigger, you know, anything to make it look um a little more custom and more upscale.

Because it could really be a a caliber for the area, you know, raise the caliber of the area.

Yeah.

So what what could y'all do?

Yeah, we're happy to work with uh what you have in mind.

With the renovations in Arlington, we were limited because they were also in PD specifically, 1219 East Pioneer.

Um we wanted to do some really cool stuff there, but you have to work within the PD setting.

If we have your support, we're happy to make it really cool looking.

But we can't make certain promises.

I'm gonna interject here.

Yes.

So this is a plan development with a with a development plan.

Which means that this body of people in front of you, these volunteers who've taken the time to to do all this research.

We have the ability to say to you, you know what, we're not gonna let you build this unless it's 100% brick, theoretically.

And unfortunately, you have not given us in our packet enough information to say this is exactly the product we're going to get.

And that's what we're asking for.

When you come here with a plan development with a development plan, you've got to show us the architectural design and everything that we need and want before we're gonna let it go to council.

Okay.

So I don't uh Commissioner Carter asked a really good question.

And I would add to his, would you be willing to change your design to look make it look more like a residential pitched roof?

Yes, we would.

And uh we have we we would welcome uh something like uh all brick uh uh facade as well as uh putting bricks on our vacuum canopy poles, you know, up to like four feet or five feet or something like that to improve the look of those also.

And we've done this before in Arlington, like on Green Oaks on Northeast Green Oaks.

Uh if anybody's traveled there, we've built a car we we also took a self-service car wash, we demolished it and built a new car wash out there.

And we feel like it's uh it added to the neighborhood.

It's uh the address is 1880 Northeast Green Oaks, and uh it's an all-brick building.

Uh the vacuum canopies have brick columns uh going up to four or five feet tall with uh cast stone caps on them, and it it's just an uh increased uh and we'd we'd like to do this.

Uh I thought that was already included in that because those elevations have been done before for this site, and uh I'm let's see.

Not sure why they're not there because we did submit those elevations to the city.

Like along with that site plan, there were some elevations done for the we do have in our in our in our staff report, we have elevations with a lot of purple.

There's purple doors, uh purple, uh I don't know what you call that, just a lot.

Yes, yes.

Yeah, to answer uh Mr.

Carter, we can uh do another set that has more brick um coming up.

We're happy to do that, yeah.

Yeah, pitched roof, you said all roof ditch that gives it a ties in with the neighborhood, ties in with the angel.

Sure.

And uh where there's eaves and overhangs uh lighting in that light look of the uh uh the neon lights and the and the purple and green and all of that is gonna look very trendy and in a few years' time look very outdated.

Okay.

Where if it had more of the um of a higher caliber look to it, it would be it a longer lifespan of it.

Sure, yeah, right.

Okay.

We'd be we'd we'd love to, yeah, we'd like to do that too.

We uh we thought we were doing that even with this, but uh one of the things was there's a shopping center next to us, so we kind of wanted to blend in with them also, but uh upscaling this, yeah, that definitely help us out too.

Uh so let me add to the conversation as well.

So just a couple so that we up here know that uh you know that you have I want you to hear us tell us, please tell us about you're okay with maintaining the retaining wall between your property and Fish Creek.

Oh because the city is gonna build a uh a large caliber sewer drain along the back.

And so there it's already existing, and there's a retaining wall that uh has to be maintained.

Yeah, we're okay with with maintaining that, correct.

Are you also okay with uh well what arrangement do you have with the the business to to your north uh east?

There's a shared driveway, and so you you know you're so we would be responsible for I think there's a a cross access or some kind of yeah, there's an we're all responsible for the process.

You're okay for that.

Yeah.

Okay.

And then along the southern border, what one of our biggest concerns is people are gonna get out of their car, they're gonna clean their trash, and trash is gonna blow into that park.

So we know that you can't build a fence inside the FEMA 100 year floodplain.

However, will you be able to build a fence along the southern board uh uh property border in order to be able to keep trash from getting out that may require you to sacrifice a few things, but I don't think that we can let you build this without having some kind of a fence along the back.

Yeah, we'd I mean, if if if we can keep anything from going into the creek, that we'd I mean that's just our responsibility to do that.

So uh if if uh we've done uh in many cases where that if we build a retaining wall, we can put a fence on top of it, and you can even screen that so that trash cannot blow through the fence or something like that.

Another thing we talked about upstairs, we really like the orientation of your building, the the tunnel, the car wash itself along Green Oaks.

And we like the fact that you have all those stations along the back.

So that the building itself acts as a sound barrier to the neighbors across the street on Green Oaks.

So you would be okay if if we were to pass this either today or some other time.

Uh stating in our in our uh PD that the orientation has to maintain that sound barrier so that people when they come in there and open up their car doors and turn up their stereos, they're not gonna be on the other side of this building blasting their sound across across Greenhouse.

Okay.

I think this was part of the city's requirement because this I think we went through them five or six different layouts, and this is what uh the city wanted us to do, and it worked out for us, and uh it's taken a long time to get to here.

Okay.

Yeah.

Other questions?

Commissioner Winkles and then Commissioner Maddox.

Civil engineers here, if you'll have any more technical questions.

Someir Mohammed can answer.

Okay.

And I'm sorry, first off, I want to say thank you.

And can you introduce yourself, please, sir?

Yeah, sorry.

My name is Vera Nana.

I live in uh I don't need to know where you live in Arlington, but I'm also I I'm also a UTA graduate and I've been in Arlington for many years, and we've done some developments in Arlington and and I love the city, and this is not just uh that's so those some of the things I wanted to kind of help address.

So first I want to address the fact that yes, you're gonna have some competition in San on the other side of 360 in Grand Prairie, and thank you for taking their business, is what I will say to you, because I want those tax dollars in Arlington.

Um second, I do think we need to find a happy medium to I I don't necessarily want to exist match the existing shopping center that's there because if you look at the photos, it's pretty dilapidated in coloring, it's very bland, it has no life.

And I think your building is gonna bring some new life and color to this area, and that's kind of good.

I like that personally.

Um I thank you for pointing out your green oaks, because I did drive past it last night and I went, wow, that's brand new.

That looks really sharp.

Yeah.

I did not know I knew earlier, I just didn't click until you said that.

Um to the ornamental fencing and the iron, first off, we made clarification that you will be responsible for the retaining wall, which is fine.

But you do understand that we have I think our city has some concerns with you building a retaining wall on top of an existing sewer line.

So there may need to be some adjustments in your plan to move that further into your property and adjust that lane of traffic and maybe lose some of those spaces in the back where you have some uh some vacuum spaces to accommodate that retaining wall slash additional fencing to be put up.

We do have a requirement in our city that it be ornamental fencing, and thank you for bringing up the screening because I do think a good quality ornamental fence with some screening with you having the on-site staff personnel maintaining your property daily, that's going to improve that problem that might exist otherwise if it wasn't maintained properly.

So thank you for pointing that out, and thank you for agreeing to do that.

Sure.

The pitch of the roof, I'm not sure.

I think that the ma if I understand correctly when you build car washes, that a lot of that exterior top roofs part is ornamental anyway.

Yeah.

So if you could adjust that a little bit to make it more neighborhood aesthetic, I think that's gonna be more pleasing to the population.

Yeah, we're we're we're open to that and the whether it's uh pitched or which have a way, and we like to put like a standing seam or something like that, which is architecturally uh pleasing.

I think that that's just gonna increase the neighborhoods to want to clean up their stores as well.

So I appreciate that.

Thank you very much.

Yes.

And uh in addition to the Sabin Mohammed.

So before you speak uh your name and the city that you live in.

Uh Samir Mohammed Street and South Industrial Boulevard, U.S.

Texas.

I'm the project manager for uh the field great car washes uh projects.

Uh just to add to your point, ma'am.

Uh we are already in talks with Arlington water utilities in regards to that sewer main.

Uh we have had accommodations, and uh we we do know that we have to realign that sewer line uh to make it uh make it out of the floodplain.

So you're a wall uh wall wall is all wall is gonna be aligned with the with the floodplain, and then the sewer line right now it's encroaching onto our property, so we have to realign it to make it make it work.

I had a question about FEMA.

Commissioner Maddox.

Yeah, like the commission is here.

I appreciate you bringing this project to our city.

Uh but it appears that there's quite a few design elements that are still up in the air right now.

We're still talking about what's something's gonna going to look like and what we're going to do.

Like a little more specificity.

And right now, I don't know how comfortable I am in kicking this out to the city council without knowing where we are on the FEMA issue and the uh City of Arlington issue.

Uh just my comment.

In regards to uh FEMA floodplain issues, we went through four rounds of comments with uh with the drainage studies.

We have already provided the drainage studies, and I think all of the comments have been resolved.

We went back and forth with a third party reviewer that the city hired for the drainage studies.

So uh after the project is developed, they wanted us to file a clomar, which which means the amendment of the floodplain.

Uh so that's that's where we are at a standard right now.

Uh and in regards to the sewer line that is that is incomplete right now because we still don't know if the use is going to be approved or not, so we cannot go to a full-fledged design.

We do have requested the city to provide us the details of the sewer transmission mean, how deep it is, how how what is the diameter of that pipe so that we can do our uh preliminary estimates on that.

Do you have any time estimate on when those items will be completed?

Uh as soon as we have the information from the city, like that what kind of pipe it is, how deep it is, we can provide enough estimate uh to the city.

And we have already requested uh with Mr.

Enrique to provide us that information.

Can you say again the development?

What you're waiting for.

Commissioner Blake.

FEMA.

Um in regards to FEMA, we have already provided all the drainage studies, drainage models, calculations, and this is without with the with the engineer that was handling that the third party review with the city, and most of the comments we went back and forth, and most of the comments have been resolved.

We they wanted us to realign the retaining wall with the with the floodplain AE, which we already did.

We got rid of some of the vacuum stalls, like Mam was telling, uh, to move the site further towards northeast side.

So so majority of it has already been resolved.

And what you just described, removing some stalls.

Is that the drawing that we're looking at?

No, uh so just just to point out if you can if you can if I can go back to the site plan.

Uh so what we ended up doing is uh you see those vacuum stalls 25 through 30, we had to get rips rid of some of those and push the site further towards northeast side.

So that brought the side the fire lane further out of that floodplain.

So that move also moved the retailing wall in alignment with the floodplain E.

Well, yeah, yeah.

Commissioner Center.

Okay.

I know hopefully you're gonna say what I think you're gonna say.

Yeah, um so I hear you've made these changes, maybe question the staff have y'all received that site plan because we don't have that in our packet.

I sent it in an email earlier today.

It this is my fault.

So it was today.

Correct.

Yeah, it was my fault.

Someir had the latest version.

We like he said we've gone through four drafts of this site plans.

I didn't have the latest one when I made this presentation.

So this is the third one.

He had the fourth one, and I did send it, but it was late today.

So in describing what you just said, the changes, nothing would impact the floodplain.

Uh yes, when we build the retaining wall, the site will be out of the floodplain, and we have to file a clomer, uh, which is after after the project is built.

So I don't know uh for the commissioners a clomer conditional letter map revision means you have to get that approved by FEMA before you start construction.

Yeah, which means they're gonna be a year away from even touching dirt.

Okay, so that's a long process.

Okay, so with uh well, what I'm gonna recommend to the applicant is you need to continue this case.

Okay.

If you ask for an up and down vote tonight, if you force us to vote, the majority of us are gonna probably say no.

When the majority of us want to say yes.

We want to say yes, I think that's my opinion.

Uh we haven't voted.

We didn't vote upstairs, we have expressed opinions upstairs, but we have not made any decision.

But my gut tells me that this is going down unless you come back with the final revision of what you're gonna do so we can see it, and you take into consideration the design elements that you're hearing from us.

Earth tones, make it look like a really upscale uh building.

Improve the neighborhood, okay.

If you bring that back to us, it's gonna be an easy yes vote.

Okay.

So, Commissioner Blank, you had uh a question.

I pretty much was going to say almost exactly what you said, except I just want to make it very clear when I walked in here, it was a flat no after hearing you guys talk, after noodling some of these things over.

I think if you went back to the drawing board and gave something back to me that said, wow, that I would give you a yes vote.

I can't speak for everybody else, but I think like Dr.

Nunez says, you might get more yes votes if you're able to do that.

Thank you for the suggestions, and we'd be glad to do that.

So you'd be willing to accept a continuance.

Okay.

Commissioner Carter.

I would like to say uh don't give up.

I think it's a I think it's gonna be a really good project.

And uh so and whenever you have some questions or ideas, uh float them by us.

Some of us are willing to meet, some of us don't have, you know, just depending on everyone's schedule.

But be in touch with us, be in touch with me, email me and we'll go over it and we'll talk about some of the design standards that you know the neighbors might appreciate and uh to make it look really really good.

All right, we'll do that and we'll uh come back to great design.

Commissioner Finley.

I'm gonna go one step further than that, Mr.

Carter.

Um you might want to do a neighborhood meeting in that area.

And I know I worked with you guys with the mission continues for the Fish Creek cleanup, and you see how many people come out there for that.

Um it would be a really good idea to meet with some of the neighbors in the Fish Creek neighborhood right there and just find out what it is that they'd like to see.

I will tell you this right up front.

If you don't have somebody that's gonna dry my car off and do my wheels, I'm still going across 360 to Grand Prairie to have my car done.

So I would reconsider that portion and possibly have someone that drives off the vehicle and does the wheel treatments.

Um I don't think that's a big deal.

You don't need to wax and buff and do all that stuff as a full detail, but I definitely think that that would be a plus because like I said, you don't do that, I'm going across 360 to Grand Prairie.

And I don't like doing that because you know I like Arlington getting the money.

So I consider it you're the second person who told me that because I had to do a lot of research for the HOA for Fish Creek.

There's actually not an HOA anymore.

There is not.

Right?

So I went to the book.

Great.

If you could help me put in contact with that, because I went knocking on doors, I got slammed in the face a couple of times when people were like, didn't they want to talk to me?

I did talk to the old president of HOAA.

Um Sonika Dickerson.

Okay.

Yeah.

Um it was a gentleman.

I'm sorry.

Oh, it's probably Jim Dickerson.

Okay.

Yeah.

And he was really nice and talked to me.

He sent me to another fella's house who was like the pre president currently or most recently.

Yeah, they did away with the HOA.

Yeah.

So that's a something we really it's like why I got hired, right?

Like we go and do community stuff, and it's usually really fun.

That day wasn't really fun.

But if you have a contact or someone I can reach out to.

Well, that would be me.

Okay.

That would definitely be her.

Yeah, I'm happy to set up that meeting.

Oh, we did actually.

We asked them to come to Panda Express.

We sent out invitations, and I was there for an hour and no one showed up.

I do remember hearing something about that, but I didn't get an invitation, and I don't think anyone in our neighborhood got one.

And I know Chris from Comic Cleaners did not get one.

So yeah, maybe we can work together and do a little better job of getting some people together.

Yeah, we're having that that's great.

All right.

Thank you.

With that, there any other final questions before I move this along.

Okay, very good.

Um, I have another card in support, uh, Chris Ball from Comic Cleaners.

Are you here?

Uh and it says non-speaker, but you're in support of the project overall.

Yes.

All right, thank you, sir.

All right, is there anyone here here in opposition?

No, could I speak?

Oh, you oh sir.

He's scared that you scared me.

Sir, if you want to change your mind and speak, come forward.

Remember to state your name and the city that you live in.

Uh my name is Chris Ball, and I live in the city of Arlington in North Arlington.

And um, I'm the owner of the comet cleaners that's next to it.

And um after listening to it, I I I I felt like it's personally I've researched a lot, and and when we bought our our the cleaners there, they they tore down the um the self-service car wash in 2017, and went that's when we took over the cleaners and bought it from the original owner of the cleaners and rebranded it to comet cleaners.

We've sat with it vacant and and it's it's the you know previous property owners, they always had to get notices to get it mowed and things.

So we're happy to have them, but not only because of that, but we people that take care of their cars are usually really good dry cleaning customers, just like we also like to be.

Well, if you take care of your car, you like to take care of your clothes, just like uh fit we love to be around fitness centers, comet cleaners, you know, because if you work out and you take care of your body, you're you probably care about how you look, and so you you you you professionally have your clothes done, some things.

I've listened to them today.

I think they oh, and the other thing is I live very close to the car wash in North Arlington that they're talking about.

I actually have have the express membership, my wife does, and my daughter does, and we clean our cars every week there, and so and if the if you that's the one you own, they do a tremendous job.

Um it used to be uh uh eight bay self-service car wash just like this one over here, and um, and um it got torn down and they rebuilt this one.

And if you haven't had, I thought they'd have some pictures of it, because to me, my wife, we love it.

It blends in very nicely, it's very classy, very professional, and there's a full service car wash over on North Collins that's to the north of I 30, and it's been there forever, and that's where I went before they did this one, and it's full service, and I I'm all about full service, but this one here does a better job as a tunnel car wash than that one does, and they do probably 10 times the amount of cars to that one in the daytime.

We go by there, and there's one or very few cars there.

Theirs is always packed there, it's very nice, it's very always supplies are all in there, very well done.

And then um, so um I think they're gonna get it and as far as if they can get the other part done and get it, we'd love to have them as a tenant.

And the last thing is is y'all've always had the zoning sign out there for now for a few months, and we have customers that come into our store and they see the sign, go, you don't know what's going in over here by chance, do you?

And we tell them a car wash, and they go, a tunnel car wash, and they go, Oh, great, great.

We we we really love the car wash before, but we're you know, self-service is kind of one of those that it, you know, with time is more important nowadays, they don't seem to use them as much.

And so that but there are we have a lot of customers that are real excited about it and stuff that use us, and I'm sure it's gonna be excited for the car wash.

So I think it'll be very successful.

And back also to about the car washes on the other side.

There's um the self-service one over there.

It is if if you can get anything to work over there half the time, we have vans that we have to clean every week, and then the other one that's up, we we drive them to North Arlington and I take them over to their place, and what our drivers do and clean them over at that one just because they um do a so much better job and it and it works every time, you know, and stuff.

So I'll get off my soapbox, but I think they're they're doing a great job, and if they can get it done, we would be glad to have them as our neighbor.

So very good.

Make sure you're paying for the free advertising.

We need your number now.

Um there any other uh questions?

Uh Commissioner Sumter.

Not a question, it's just a statement.

And he he made me think of an urban planning term, it's called agglomeration.

It's the mass of uses that kind of feed off of each other, right?

So we have like you said, go wash your car.

I can drop my um dry cleaning off.

There's an oil change place right next to it, and I can go pick up some food.

We look at these saturation maps that staff prepares for us, which are great, it's great information.

But we also have to think about the location, right?

Not that there is five within a mile, two miles, four miles, whatever it is.

What's the relationship with other uses around it?

And does it make sense as a land use decision, which is that's what this body does for a car wash or whatever.

We don't do saturation maps for restaurants.

We don't do it for retail, we don't do it for nail salons.

We only do it for car washes, oil change places, and convenience stores for whatever reason.

So I think and hearing him say that I just wanted to express that that term package liquor, you're right.

These uses feed off of each other, which makes it successful for the city of Arlington as a whole, whether you like it or not, it benefits the city as a whole.

Our tax base grows.

People have uses that they can go to and appreciate.

So I just wanted to make that point.

Thank you very much.

It's an excellent point.

Any other comments?

All right, thank you.

Um Kevin, Mr.

Charles, please come forward.

Yes, sir.

Uh just uh wanted to make note to let you guys know that if you do decide to continue the case and they are in agreement that we need to continue it to a definite date and not leave it open.

I would not suggest that it be the very next meeting because I think it's going to take some time.

We we staff, we have not seen the new drawings yet.

Okay.

So, you know, uh, I would think I would think that you take that into account.

And that's all I was just saying, continue to a specific date.

So, in other words, you want us to continue it not in definite continuance.

Yeah, not in definite continuance.

Uh if we do indefinite continuance, then we have to re-notice it.

That's gonna roll more time into it.

So I would think uh probably April 25th.

Right now, the next meeting would be April 15th, and then they have one on the 20th.

The 29th would be the next meeting.

I think the April May is that done, but I I have no concern one way or the other.

I'm just saying to a specific date, is what we need to do.

Okay, we're good.

Just to remind the commission, I think uh you all are very well aware that with the new state law, we have to have three days of posting, which means everything has to go out the Thursday before the Wednesday.

So uh so stories like things getting emailed in the morning, that didn't help us.

So staff's gonna need uh at least a week to review it.

So I I I would strongly recommend that you you punt it to me.

To me sometime.

What's that what's the first meeting in May?

May 13th.

13th, okay.

All right, so whoever makes the motion, let's do that one.

All right, very good.

Are there any speakers in opposition?

Sir, you you may sit down.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for for presenting tonight.

What in the world?

Oh, my phone is telling me to relax.

That's cool.

Well, too simple.

I was saying it's a very, very relaxed.

All right.

Uh I'll entertain a motion.

Um second.

So let's see what we end up with here.

Commissioner uh Blake, uh, would you please state your motion?

Like make a motion to continue case PD 25-8, 2100 Southeast Green Oaks Boulevard until May 13th.

And Commissioner Sumter, is that your second?

Uh yes, sir.

Very good.

Uh cast your vote.

Motion passes 8 to nothing.

So we will see you back here in May.

Uh and um hopefully you'll have please ask staff for any clarifications that you need because it's a PD, because it's a development plan.

Show us what we need to see.

Okay, otherwise you're gonna get you're gonna get the same reaction, okay?

But thank you for your business.

Uh most of us, I think are pretty excited about what you're gonna be able to accomplish for the community.

So thank you.

Very good.

We're gonna move on to our next case.

And Commissioner Sumter, I know he's leaving, but I wanted to give him kudos.

That uh comment that he made.

What was the term he used?

Conglomeration.

Conglomerate about the uses, how they feed off of each other was quite interesting.

Very good.

So we're gonna move to PD 21-28R1, located at approximately 800 W Lane.

This is an application to consider amending the uses allowed in the commercial tract and approve a development plan for the commercial track on approximately 3.465 acres, currently zoned PD, residential uh medium density RM12 and community commercial uses.

At this time, I'll call on our staff to present its report on PD 21-28R1.

Good evening, Commissioners.

For the record, Kevin Charles, principal planner planning and development services.

This after this evening we'll be looking at uh 800 Debbie Lane, also known as PD 21-28R1.

Uh the site itself is approximately 3.465 acres in size, uh, is generally located at the southeast corner of South Collins Street and Debbie Lane.

The current zoning is planned development for residential medium density or M12 and community commercial.

Uh however, we are not here to change the zoning on the property.

What we are here for is to approve a development plan for the community commercial tract and to adjust the uses or request uh a revision to the uses that were originally prohibited by the approved ordinance.

Outlined in yellow is the subject property.

Uh as you can see, the property here currently is undeveloped.

Uh the property to the north, separated by Debbie Lane is plan development and currently has a church and some undeveloped property there.

The property to the east is a plan develop development and is developed fully as a single family residential subdivision.

Uh the property to the south, separated by uh to the southwest uh by South Collins Street as a PD developed as single family residences.

And the property directly across South Collins Street is a PD developed in self-storage and and single family residences at this time.

So, how do we get to this point?

Uh generally the area around the subject property began to develop in the late 90s and continued to develop substantially as a residential area.

Uh the surrounding property is primarily residential with a very little commercial in that particular location.

In 2022, PD 21 28, Harmony Court Community was approved by City Council for residential medium density, town home development, and limited community commercial uses.

As a stipulation of that approval, the community commercial track of the site requires a development development plan approval.

The aerial images uh provide an overview of how the area has evolved uh from the early 2000s to the present.

And to be clear, the RM12 section of the of that original PD is currently under development.

Starting at the top left photo and going clockwise, uh there's a view south of the subject site from uh Debbie Lane.

Uh the next photograph is under undeveloped property to the north across uh Green Oak, uh excuse me, across Debbie Lane.

The next photograph that you see there is a residence to the east of the subject site, and then a commercial property to the west of the subject site.

The site is proposed has four points of access.

Um from Debbie Lane, one from South Collins Street, and two from Harmony Court.

Uh, please note that Hormony Court is a private street that also serves the RM12 uh portion of the uh of the development.

The access point leading to the townhouse development uh will not be gated.

The applicant has submitted a development plan for the commercial track with approximately 15,000 square feet of new commercial real estate.

It includes a approximately four uh 4,800 square foot convenience store with fuel cells, a 1700 square foot audio service auto service center, a 500 square foot drive-through restaurant, and a 7600 square foot commercial shell building.

When you look at the building design and the layout of the subject site, uh the development plan proposes four structures, primary primarily facing Debbie Lane.

Lots one and two are proposing corporate uh proposing corporate architecture as they have identified the potential franchises that will occupy those spaces.

However, both will provide 100% masonry exterior materials.

Lots three and four outline potential developments for sites that include a drive-through element.

The structures on these lots uh share similar design features, creating a cohesive appearance.

Both both incorporate wood, stone, stucco, and metal canopies to unify their architectural style.

And the applicant has provided a parking table for each individual lot based off of the proposed uses that they uh anticipate being located in those spaces.

The street frontiers landscaping uh is in compliance as well.

Okay.

They are providing the required 15-foot landscape setbacks along both both street frontages and the required plants uh for both street frontages.

Additionally, to the south of the subject uh of the property, uh there's a requirement for a 15-foot buffer, which is being provided.

They are providing one three-inch caliber tree every three hundred square feet, and a required fencing, the six to eight foot tall uh masonry wall is is already installed as it was installed with phase one, the RM12 vert uh phase of the of the uh development.

There are a few deviations.

Uh one of those being uh that uh service areas and loading docks shall be uh screened from public right away.

The proposed layout of the of the site dictates that the auto service center uh needs to be oriented in a manner that orients the service base towards the public right-away.

Uh this is also allows for them not to have the stacking lanes on that side of the building.

Uh the other deviation is for the internal uh landscape islands in the parking area.

For every 10 spaces, uh the city of Arlington requires a landscape island.

While they are providing a required landscape islands, we do not allow for more than 10 spaces in a row uh without an island break.

Uh due to the light lot layout uh and the uses that they're anticipating, some parking areas will have more than 10 spaces without an island break.

Staff considerations uh incorporate a unified architectural scheme and signage throughout the entire development.

Uh the elevation designs for lots three and four are more in line with current trends.

Uh change the orientation of the auto service center, if possible, to prevent the service base from being clearly seen from the public right right away.

It is important to note that this is a corner lot, so regardless of what direction uh the building is orientated to, it may still be uh coincidentally visible from public right-away.

The applicant did have public uh have uh community outreach, and as a point of clarification, staff has uh uh wanted to show uh in this community outreach table, which is different from one in the staff report because these uh these particular letters of support were received after posting on March 20th.

Um, staff has attached a sign-in sheet from the community outreach meeting held on March 11th.

Uh the the uh individuals who signed that sheet would not specifically give their support to the project.

What they were doing was letting uh was was noting that they were there in person and there to witness uh the meeting.

The applicant is relying as capital partners, the owner is Arlington South Realty LP, and staff is available if there are any questions or comments in reference to this particular project.

Saying none, thank you very much.

Thank you, sir.

This time I will open the public hearing and ask for the applicant to come forward to present their presentation.

Remember state your name and the city.

I don't have my presentation up here.

The screen's not working.

Okay, all right.

Do this a little differently.

Okay, so good evening, commissioners.

I am pleased to present to you today the development plan for the planned development 21-28 that was approved back in 2022.

To your refresher memory, this is a townhome development that's situated at South Collins and Debbie Lane.

There was a three-acre commercial portion set aside for community commercial development.

Back in 2022, the commissioners and city council were most concerned that the residential and the commercial coming online together.

So it's really awesome to be able to present a development plan this evening that does just that.

Um the townhomes are in beginning to go vertical, and the Debbie Lane expansion is is near completion.

And so now that we're presenting a comprehensive plan for the commercial development with contracts and letters of intent for uh national's chain commercial anchors.

The proposed plan is consistent with the published 360 corridor commercial study.

Debbie and Collins was specifically called out as a focus area, um, different from the 360 and Debbie area for neighborhood and commercial convenience.

And so as you can kind of see on the screen there, you know, it says include neighborhood convenience and community convenience as long as small scale office developments and residential development that includes single family, townhome, and multifamily development.

So I would say through this 360 corridor plan, this has completely been accomplished at this particular corner of this this focus area.

The originally proposed conceptual plan for the commercial, it did include an unanchored 28,000 square feet of neighborhood retail center, which is really just not developable developable.

These days, a building and retail center of that type of sides needs a significant anchor or commercial synergy at the intersection, or it's just not going to attract the tenants that you need to fill up that space.

This intersection alone does not have any commercial co-tenancy and to bring that high quality neighborhood tenants who can fill up that 28,000 of space.

And so what we're going to present here today is more along the lines of a comprehensive approach that offers convenience as well as service, food and beverage, and a sit-down family-oriented establishments.

I know you've heard from staff earlier that you know we've had a good amount of community outreach, um, kind of heard from the neighbors, and we're gonna incorporate some of their suggestions into the research that we're going to present for you tonight.

But as you can see, we've collected 28 letters of support for this type of comprehensive development at this corner.

Um a traffic study also was completed with the original plan development.

Um it took into consideration that they were townhomes, multifamily, roadway improvements, and a 20-pump fuel station.

And out of that recommendation came the um deceleration to be installed by the developer at Debbie Lane.

Um also to note that the entrance and exit on Collins is a right in, right out, and there is a divide, it's a divided median right there, so there's no cross traffic sending more traffic on Collins.

And then also, of course, we have incorporated, and I can't draw on the screen, but as you can see right there, there's the pedestrian connectivity that ties the townhome development to the commercial.

So ultimately, we want those residents to have more pedestrian access so that they're not necessarily getting into their cars and having to drive to the development since they're already there.

More of a neighborhood type of function.

And this next slide is just really taking excerpts from that traffic study stating as much as what I've already said.

So at this time, I am going to pass it off to Sahil Kerji.

Um he has done all this research and really put together this comprehensive development plan.

And so I really want him to share his vision and the data behind his decisions.

Please state your name in the city that you're you reside in.

Yeah.

Sahel Kergy, McKinney, Texas.

First of all, thank you for having me tonight, Commissioners.

Uh Commissioner Finley, you had mentioned something in the work session, and I appreciate you acknowledging about the neighborhood meeting.

Um I have been to many, many neighborhood meetings, and I had never gone through that before, but I understand uh how important it is to voice for the public and to let everyone know, our 200-foot radius didn't touch any neighbors, residential neighbors.

But we went out of our way to send out mailers outside of that 200 feet to make sure that folks knew about this development.

Uh my biggest uh, if you want to call it downfall, is really I'm a transparent person.

I want the folks who I'm developing in the communities for to know who I am, what we're doing, why we're doing it, and it's very important.

And uh the previous case that was here actually, uh I am working on actually redeveloping that Sonic site.

So as you know, Sonic is closed.

Uh I will be buying that property and redeveloping it.

So hopefully one day I'll come back in front of you for another project.

But anyways, I want to take a moment and speak about this three and a half acre site.

Uh, one of the most important things that we look at from the development aspect, mostly in the commercial retail neighborhood space, is really understanding how users uh find sites and how they go about making decisions.

And one of the bigger things about this intersection is it's been sleepy for a long, long time.

The road improvements have really enhanced the ability of commercial to come in addition to the townhomes and the multifamily.

And as you can see, we're trying to create a cohesive development.

And I know there's a lot of challenges with the convenience store and automotive, and there's just a lot of uproar about it.

But if you actually take a moment to understand how these operators work, uh, they come into areas where there is a convenience node.

So, for example, um, I think in the last thing we were talking about car washes and the ring of circles.

Well, I think for automotive and these convenience uses, for example, that are anchors that we call them in neighborhood commercial, they look at more of intersections versus mile radiuses rings.

So, even though there are other potential convenience stores in the area, they're not comparable to this, meaning the the stuff that's on Debbie and Matlock, those are kiosks.

They're not full service neighborhood um convenience stores, right?

And so one of the things that is very critical, and when we met with the neighbors, uh we heard their concerns.

Um they wanted sit down, they wanted um retail services, they wanted neighborhood services.

And a lot of times in today's market, it's really challenging to build a high quality project that has long-term tenants over a course of decades when you just have an individual single product, such as a multi-tenant retail center.

They just don't make it.

It happens in the Grand Prairies and the Frisco's, the the worlds where we all kind of look and say, why not us?

They're having the same issue where they're allowing development to come in that's just one singular type of development.

And over time, yes, they're getting tenants in, but after the first few years, they're cycling and they're rotating.

And most of the time, these anchors are what drives the local operators to come.

So I'm gonna take one step back real quick.

I want to show you the intention of the site.

So the reason we designed the site the way it was is I actually could have made that commercial retail building a lot larger, but the reason I didn't is because it takes away from parking.

We have developed enough shopping centers in this market to understand that operators need parking, regardless of where they are.

And so what we did is we created a row of parking there between the QSR and the commercial retail for the specific reason to have a sit-down restaurant there so they can park, walk over, and have have a meal.

As far as the orientation of the bays, I I do agree with uh uh Kevin that either way you face it, uh you're still facing a public right-of-way, but it's important to understand the circulation of the site, right?

The reason we have uh a spine road or fire lane in the back in the front is to allow public safety and traffic to get in and out of the shopping center or the development.

And if you rotate that lube in any different way, you're gonna have conflicts with the QSR drive-thru, you're gonna have conflicts with the convenience store guys, uh, customers that are coming in and out.

And the good apart but uh the good part about this is the loop center, all of the traffic or quote unquote cars are stacked up in the back.

They're hidden.

You don't see them from the main road.

And even on Collins, the convenience store building is blocking uh the stacking behind it.

Uh so that's why we felt very good about um the ability to have the orientation where it is today.

Um as far as the building elevations, I think the quality is very important to go in on uh and understand um how these franchises work.

Um for example, they do have high quality standards, so like uh a 7 Eleven uh is who we're working with at this time, you know, they've agreed to do a full masonry building, right?

It's not stucco, it's not ethos, it's not some of those secondary products that you see over 20 years, they end up deteriorating.

These are masonry buildings, they've got columns that are uh brick as well.

And what if it's a color or the scheme that kind of unifies it, that's a little bit different, and we can talk through that.

Even the take five that we have here, this convenience automotive, this is the same type of take five building that's in Frisco and McKinney where I live.

Fully masonry, it looks great.

Um, they do a great job upkeeping it.

And as you can see from here, the signage isn't overbearing.

It's it's one small brand that everyone knows about.

The rest of the building looks like a traditional retail uh office building.

Um a car street uh a view of someone sitting in a car driving down Debbie Lane and how they would see the bays, right?

So ultimately, we do have bushes there, we do have trees, and and unfortunately, you know, uh fortunately, I guess as as the trees mature and the species mature, these start getting a little bit taller, a little bit more uh blossom.

So this uh will continue to uh hopefully uh mitigate the view that's there.

Um the other thing we talked about really was the anchor.

So uh any any development that you see that has been successful uh in this market is really around the neighborhood centers and uh we you know the power center, grocery store, junior box, and other types of retail, those are just too big for this center, right?

So this property.

So you've got to look at more neighborhood center anchors, which are the 7-Elevens, the Take 5s, the CVS's, the Walgreens, the Raising Canes, et cetera, that can fit here.

And we did take uh into account what the neighbors talked about is bringing some of these uses here.

And we went in and we actually did a map, it's not a map, but it's a it's a breakdown of where all these neighborhood commercial retail anchors are in relation to the site.

So if you look at them, the drug stores, the banks, the large-scale QSRs, the anchors that we would all want here to drive the retail and the sit-down and the nail salon and the smoothie shop, they're all within two miles.

And what ends up happening is they're too close to this intersection.

And it's unfortunate because this intersection could have been something, to be honest with you, but everything kind of outgrew it.

So if you wait longer or if you wait, and this is what happens in development is if you wait too long, users select other places to go.

And what ends up happening is these intersections become sleepy for decades.

And we took it a step further.

I have a lot of great relationships with a lot of brands in this market, and we've developed for them all across.

I went back in and I started asking them, hey, you know, like a bank, a water burger, a Dutch bros, a Jeremiah, these are just examples of Walgreens.

And you can see here, they're specifically calling out things like, hey, it's not a grocery anchor.

Uh we already have two sites within three miles, or hey, we're already working a new deal in the marketplace, or hey, we Walgreens, for example, is not growing anymore.

Starbucks is down the street on Matlock and Debbie.

Um, here's some more examples, right?

Now we can go on and on and on, but these are just to show you that we we realize that there's other anchors there, but the ones that are coming are the ones that have done the heat map, have understand what their fuel sales are.

You know, they're not gonna invest eight to ten million dollars on a development without fully knowing that they're gonna be there for 30, 40 years.

And one of the great parts about this is sorry, I apologize for interrupting your time.

Is over.

Um we can ask the chair if he would like to grant you more time.

Yeah, I am gonna grant you more time.

Uh can you finish in about two minutes or so?

Yeah, I'll go through.

Uh, and one of the uh thank you for that.

And one of the things that's really important to understand is uh the retail neighborhood services, they're local operators, so they they follow these anchor tenants to say, hey, if they've done their homework, they're investing these dollars, they're coming here, we know they're gonna be here for 20, 30 years.

I can go at least 2,000 square feet, spend half a million dollars in building out my Italian restaurant to know that traffic will continue coming here.

And these are the type of users we're going to try to bring to the retail center.

And the great part is because we have 7600 square feet, we can be very selective on who the users are and what type of concepts we bring.

Uh this is just a case study of uh Viridian that you guys are familiar with.

Um we just showed this to kind of show an example of um, you know, a 7-Eleven came in in 2023, and the townhomes came across the street, and what happens a few years later, you've got you've got you know 30,000, 25,000 square feet of retail, and 7 Eleven is the anchor there, or convenience store is the anchor there.

Um this is kind of a radius that you know we can talk about, and same thing with with Take 5.

I know there's concerns on automotive, but you know, they're they've got high quality product like they do on Pioneer and Collins that came in recently, and as you can see here, uh just from the oil chain standpoint, you know, it's not a service tire change, anything like that, it's oil change, uh air filters, windshield wipers, and state inspections.

And the only really competitor in that uh ring is Valveline, which is in Mansfield.

Um I I know that there's going to be some conversation around crime.

We have an exhibit that we can talk about and how crime has uh you know decreased in Arlington in general, and then this is just uh a corridor here.

The last thing I will say is I know the community, there's gonna be some neighbors here who are in opposition and they're gonna share their thoughts, but it's really important to understand that it's not just the fing single family homes that are you know maybe a mile away that have concerns, it's also those residents that are living in the townhomes, the multifamily.

The city has approved those for that those residents to be there and enjoy the neighborhood services, and I think that they you'll see that they have sent those positive uh uh support comments in.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Um this time, are there any questions of the applicant?

So um, someone needs to stay at the microphone.

Yeah, commissioner uh commissioner winkles.

Good evening, thank you.

Can you go back in your slide to um the elevation drawings of your four buildings?

Uh go back one more, I think.

Okay, this one here.

So one of the concerns that we shared upstairs was the fact that we don't want to box 7-Eleven.

We want it to be very um aesthetically pleasing and complimentary to the other buildings.

We really like your section for a building with the color tones, and it's very accentual, it's very trendy, it looks nice.

And one of the comments I made was 7-Eleven can adjust if we ask them to.

Is there any opposition or any reason why we couldn't make the first two buildings match the secondary two buildings in stone and veneer and things like that?

So the color scheme is the same, but still use their logos, maybe bring in some silver for 7-Eleven or whatever.

But can we do that?

Would you guys be opposed to that?

No, we wouldn't, we could do that.

Um, so long as you know they we I mean, we're fully bricked masonry, so there we can't go any higher than that really.

No, no, no, no, I understand.

I think the colors the the having a brick and masonry building is plus.

We want that, right?

But I don't really want an orange and tan colored brick next to a dark colored cream colored brick.

I think it's much more it's very outstanding, whereas if we had it all asymmetrical, a nice color scheme that complements the neighborhood, that creates a higher end look to that corner.

We're gonna then draw more a different style restaurant.

We're gonna draw a neighborhood restaurant that wants to be part of the community.

Absolutely.

And so I just want to make sure that y'all would be in compliance there.

We will we'll work with staff on that, yes.

All right.

And then the other suggestion that came up during our work session was, and this is this might be something that you'd have to ask because you do have that XL D like D cell lane or the D cell lane coming into your parking lot off of Debbie.

Would it be a potential to adjust the landscape along Debbie Lane to make it have berms going like a flow, maybe up and down?

So some of that treescape there, it's not just flat.

So maybe in front of the take car five oil change, it has more of a berm so that the brush area, the landscaping is then creating a shield or a barrier to the view of the parking there, and then maybe coming back down around the corner around the intersection, so that it's aesthetically pleasing, but it provides more of a screen, so to speak, for the for that view of having the automotive center bays visible.

Yeah, can I ask you a question though?

So let's say for whatever reason public safety traffic safety becomes an issue on the berm.

Are you okay if that's the first option?

The second option is also maybe adding uh extra trees in that area or a taller bush, in addition if the berm becomes an issue.

So my only problem with that, and this is personal opinion.

We went in and we've created all of these guidelines about how many bushes have to be on a property and how many trees.

And when you put 20 trees on top of 40 bushes, the bushes die.

So then all I have is a cue, a bunch of trees with dead bushes under them, and a lot of times our our neighborhood commercial people just don't maintain it.

So that would be my only concern.

Yes, I think you can do a lot of large native grasses there that will be that will survive Texas heat that would provide a great aesthetic that could provide a great uh great visual.

Um, yes, I'm the city's gonna dictate the median safety is gonna dictate whether or not you have a berm there.

But my take is a 20-foot native grass that's really pretty versus a three-foot square boxwood is going to be much nicer and create more of a screen.

Yeah, okay.

And one more to clarify when you were talking about berms kind of throughout Debbie, is it really by lot one and two, or do you also want it all the way to the room?

That's more of the entire overview.

So all along that I what I kind of envisioned is that the entire lot from entrance at the far west all the way around to the entrance on um the opposite side, kind of have that flow where, and you see this a lot, and I know we made reference to this.

Um maybe Mr.

Carter or um maybe even um Commissioner Blake made it, made a reference to the the shopping centers in South Lake or the shopping centers and other communities that have lots of of grass and berm areas around the exterior, so that while you have a neighborhood shopping center right in a neighborhood, you almost don't really know it's there until you're on it.

Um I'm not saying that that's what I'm looking for because I do believe we have a marketing aspect that has to take place for our people to want to do business.

And and first off, I think you brought a great project.

Um I think it provides a lot to us, but I think those are just some things that will make it neighborhood pleasing to those who are going to have to drive past it.

Once the tenants arrive, they're gonna go in there because they need the services and they like them.

So uh I'd love to do that.

So that'd be fine.

We can do that.

Thank you very much.

And like I said, great project, great detail.

I think it complements the neighborhood well.

Thank you so much, Commissioner.

Additional questions about commissioners, Commissioner Carter.

Uh the uh the the alley that goes back to the um the housing.

Um I really don't like that.

I think in the future, in 10 years' time, 15 years' time, it's gonna be an alley for uh crime and easy access and too easy access to get a whoop to break away from the store.

So I I really just can't see that being a positive at all.

I think I think it is still walkable if people take the the street in the sidewalk to get there for I want to interrupt you for just a moment.

That walkway is already predetermined.

There's nothing we can do about it.

But it was part of the uh V that's on the further.

It's got nothing to do with that.

But if I may, I think it's an interesting point you've brought up, and this visual doesn't show this, but the grade change from Debbie Lane all the way down to where the townhomes go, it's about a 20-foot drop.

It's a pretty, I mean not from the townhomes, but where the detention is at the end, it's a pretty significant drop.

So the way we've designed the site is based on the grading and the existing flows versus what's gonna come up in Jacob's not here, but he would geek out with me on it.

But uh on the back side of that entire south side of that uh development, there's gonna be between an eight to ten foot wall that's built.

So there's a six-foot wall that's built today for the behind the townhomes, but then there's a landscape buffer, and then it's our ten foot wall that's going to go all the way across.

And what we're gonna have is we're gonna have a staircase that kind of goes down to connect to uh the pathway that's on uh uh the townhomes, and what that allows us to do is that creates more screening too, in my opinion, from all the traffic, because we're gonna be sitting up much higher than the uh the townhomes there once they're developed.

And maybe that's why I just noticed that I didn't know it was part of the previous one, and it was uh I didn't see it whenever I was studying it, studying it this week because it was part of the other part.

Yeah, but um what what kind of commitments could you make to us to make it a a uh a higher caliber style building, uh, especially for the 7 Eleven and the canopy for the you know the gas canopies.

What what other um in your experience and past things that you've built have you done to you know give it a an enhanced look?

Yes, all brick is appreciated, but uh you know, pitches and overhangs and stuff we've already talked about with the other case.

But what could what could you offer us um that would really make it a very good looking product for this intersection because it's a 50-year plan basically, but they also 7 Eleven's can go, you know, can last 10 years, they can last 50 years, depending on the so what could you do to help yourself and also help us and the neighbors to make it a very uh you know to class it up.

Yeah, I think that process in um Nikki, you'll have to tell me, but we're happy to kind of revisit the building elevation as part of like the development plan between now and city council, or you know, go through that and we can add a pitch on the canopies because I know they've done that in the past, right?

But the building itself, they've done so many different versions, so it's a matter of kind of like what what feedback do we have that I can share other than a box, right?

So there I think there is something about Mansfield, but you know, I haven't seen the Mansfield one, honestly, so I I can't speak to that uh Commissioner.

Uh but I've seen other ones in like a Frisco where they're adding a little bit more metal or uh you know the canopies are not um uh what is it called?

Uh uh kidding the word, but more a cantile, yeah.

So we can work on that.

Is there something specific you have in mind, Commissioner, that I can take in?

Because yes, the answer is yes, it's just a matter of what is it that you think that we can help about.

I think it would be for y'all to present it back to us, besides the stuff that I've mentioned.

Uh there's some verbiage that I would not know how to use.

I'm not in the uh the you know the the business of designing, but I've I just feel like uh with it we want to give it a our we want you to give it your best shot and make it a really good looking product.

Sure.

And I think it'll extend the longevity of it.

Um and what we could do, uh, Commissioner Sonia, like the design I did for the retail, that was kind of from my vision board if you want to call it, because I'm gonna develop that retail.

Um we can match some of those kind of aesthetics, which have the the metal canopies, the different color between the bright black brick, the white stone, um, you know, the the wood, the brown that's there.

And if that's something that would help, then we can do that as well and create maybe some more articulations in the building potentially to help maybe stop it being a square box.

Because I know that they they did do on this design, you can see they did add the the brick columns in on the gas canopy, so that's uh an enhancement that they they've done for the canopy itself.

I want it to be a uh I I feel like it does have the potential of being a neighborhood hangout, a safe place to go get gas at night at 10 o'clock to go get the to go get a Slurpee, but it it's got to feel right and it's got to um it for it to for it to be uh built right and create the right environment, it'll it'll have a longer lifespan of feeling safe and feeling good.

Sure.

So that's that's what I want to focus on.

And if you're okay, we can work with staff on revising that as part of our plan going forward on that.

If you want to make that a condition that we do that before, but that's where I'm leaning on it is the you know, as long as it's a um high caliber style place and not just your quick throwing up building.

So I agree.

There's one of two ways this commission can go tonight.

Uh considering some of the comments that were made up at the during the work session.

One way we can do this is to use what Commissioner Winkle's just uh uh suggested that the design elements in lot one and two be carried over to the design elements in lots three and four.

Yeah, and that that wording then requires staff and the developer to work together to achieve that kind of look.

Because when you look at these buildings, one is the one on the left, two is the next one, three is uh is is the uh the the oil change and four is the seven eleven.

We like one and two, we'd like to see three and four look the same way.

Sure.

So it's not just a 7 Eleven, it's it's the oil place.

And if they all use that, and if between staff, whether you use I'd love to see articulations instead of a fret of flat front and the back.

But yeah, uh especially on that 7 Eleven.

Uh so if we can either go that way, that means we have to trust our staff and the developer.

The other way is ask for continuance and have them bring back the design elements, show them to us, and then we go, aha, that's it.

That's the second option.

So Commissioner Winkle.

Just one more comment.

To that extent, the in my vision, and this is just me.

You have some great awnings that are very contemporary looking on the building four that that are very contemporary.

I would tie that across the board to uh to the take five oil change to your or if that's the vendor, I don't remember, and to the 7 Eleven, because then you have that contemporary cohesiveness, and I'm okay.

I trust our staff.

We we have a great staff here who will put in play the right things to make a quality project if we were at it that way.

I mean, I don't I don't know that you want if you want to continue it's that's your document.

No, I mean I I would like to have direction from you guys, and I'm happy you guys don't know me, but I'm I'm a developer that will be here, and hopefully you guys will see this project come through.

Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Blake.

I personally would like to see this go go to staff and let them finish this up and and make it a little bit more uniform, but you know, some notes in here, and I you know, unfortunately for all of Arlington, you know, the majority of us are still car dependent.

So it's kind of hard to get away from not having a gas station.

Me personally, I'd rather go to a 7-Eleven or something like that versus I think QT might be one of the closest ones, and that's not always the best place to go.

Um, you know, looking at what y'all are trying to put together, you know, you have a couple businesses that feed off each other.

And uh Commissioner Sumter previously was talking about how we make synergy and going through here.

And you know, I'm looking, and there's not a lot of people in the audience, but I see people that are not necessarily for this, but sometimes it's better to have somebody that is willing to do what it takes to make a good project.

And I I get the feeling that you are.

I've talked to you at my office, and you know, I would rather see that come in than someone else that comes up and is building something that is just mediocre.

And I think you're willing to go that extra step.

And if you can get 7-Eleven or the oil change place, which I think we discussed who that was, to say whatever's the best you're doing, we need to wow Arlington.

We need to wow these people and put the stuff that uh Commissioner Winkles talked in there and make it pretty and wavy and and hide things as much as possible.

Hopefully, we can get the homeowners more on board with that.

Because I really want them to want this project.

I would love to see a restaurant come in there with outdoor seating.

That's one of the things I I think we're missing in Arlington.

You can't go around someplace and sit.

I'd love to see that out there.

I'd love to be able to drop off you know my car someplace and then come next door and go have dinner.

I do it a lot in North Arlington.

So if we make something that direction, I think homeowners start wanting that.

And I think that's your vision.

I mean, I've talked to you in detail.

So and you've done a great job explaining it, and I think the biggest thing that ends up happening is the first person that comes in the intersection, everything kind of gets put on them, right?

Ultimately, in the sense that we want this, this, and this.

But if you look at the northwest corner, it's a multifamily with drainage, so there's not going to be any commercial there.

The west part southwest corner is a one-acre site, it's not material enough to have an actual development other than maybe a single tenant user.

The north side is the church and the storage, and then you've got that five-acre site.

So I think what it's going to do for this development, if if we can get these different uses, it's going to create more demand and buzz for maybe the five acres across the street or down on Ragland, whenever that ends up getting developed on this the south side of the corners there.

Um it's pulling also, in my opinion, from the folks from the MATLABs of the world where it's just too busy to go in there, and they want to get something convenient on the way out.

Because there's a lot of folks, if you look at the traffic patterns coming from 287 to 360, and they're bypassing everything west of the Tabasco Road there.

Sorry, east of the Tabasco Road, but now they're gonna stop, hopefully have some you know, some community services and then go.

Thank you for that, Commissioner.

Additional questions.

Thank you.

I'm gonna read now uh there are additional speakers in support.

Angela McDowell, are you present?

Please come forward.

Remember to state your name and only the city of your residence.

We don't need your street address.

Okay.

I wasn't gonna give it to you.

Good.

Darn.

The world is a crazy place.

Um Angela, um, I live on Lake Arlington.

I've lived here my whole life.

I live and breathe Arlington.

Angela.

McDowell.

McDowell.

Okay.

Um I am and I'm sorry, I'm a really bad public speaker.

So sorry about my nerves.

Um I manage the townhomes next door, live well at Harmony.

Um I wrote what I wanted to say down, so bear with me.

So I'll just read it.

Um but like I said, I've lived here 38 years.

My whole family went to UTA.

Um we have Charles T.

McDowell Center for Global Studies.

That was my grandpa.

So I'm very proud of Arlington.

I'm proud to be up here speaking to you guys.

Um, so again, thank you for the opportunity.

Again, I work for Willow Bridge.

I've worked for them for 12 years.

I'm gonna be managing and leasing the townhomes.

Um, just um this new development brings a thoughtful mix of uses that reflects how people actually live today by combining residential retail and community-oriented spaces.

It creates a more vibrant and functional environment.

This kind of diversity supports local business, encourages economic activity, and gives resident convenient access to everyday needs without having to travel far.

Um, y'all were talking about the access to and from the townhomes to the retail.

And we have a fence currently there that has a gate that you can open and close to and from the retail to our property.

Um, I think what we're gonna do is implement a keypad there again, just for I think you brought up security, safety, things like that.

So there will be a keypad.

Um, and right now there's a wrought iron fence with a to and from gate.

Um, second, the emphasis on walkability is especially important.

This is something the city has clearly been working toward, and this project aligns well with that vision.

Safer, more walkable spaces, encourage people to spend time outdoors, connect with neighbors, and reduce reliance on cars.

Um the only important that not only improves quality of life, but also contributes to a healthier and more sustainable community.

Um with that being said, we are trying to um create a community within our townhomes.

Our owners are live well and um they uh thrive on community health, wellness.

Um then finally, future residents will benefit from both the design and the location.

They'll have access to nearby amenities, improve public spaces, and a stronger sense of community.

Developments like this can help create places where people don't just live but feel connected and engaged.

Overall, I see the project as a positive step forward, one that supports the city's goals, enhances livability, and adds long-term term value for residents and the broader community.

Thank you, Ms.

McDowell.

Are there any questions of the speaker?

Yes.

Uh Commissioner Greer.

Thanks for being here.

I'm just curious if you could share how that townhome community is coming along.

Is it leasing up well or selling well?

Is it um we're leasing, not selling, just to clarify.

Yeah.

Um it's well.

We are we have our first move-ins on April 1.

So they're doing it in phases.

So our first phase is 16 units on Clove Place.

Um we're punching those fingers crossed at the end of this week.

Um, so yeah, we have our first move in on April 1, and we're just trying to stagger those those move ins.

Um Friday, we'll have a model home that's being decorated and an office right now.

Friday, we'll have a model home that's being decorated and an office right now.

I'm in this beautiful construction trailer, which has been just glamorous.

So I'm ready to be out of that.

But yeah, April 1 is our first move in.

Leasing is going well.

We're very busy.

So but it's going very well.

Thanks.

Any other questions?

Commissioner Carter.

Can you explain the uh gate again real quick?

So the gate access is for the tenants, not for the people that there's it's gonna be gated so the people that could be exiting the store area will not have access to the code, the combination.

Correct.

It's not just to clarify, it's not a gated community, but there is um a wall gate surrounding the perimeter of Livwall Armony.

Um but to get in and out um on those private streets, it is not gated.

You can drive a car, you could walk in, but behind each town home that faces the retail, there is a wall um slash gate, and there is there are um some walkway gates.

So that keypad would be interior, exterior to get in and out for residents only.

Okay, that sounds pretty good.

Uh and so you you've got 16 that are pre that are ready to be leased, and you've got one move in, or you've got 16 move-ins.

So you could come in and lease one for October and apply, and all of that.

When I say 16, that's the first group of homes that are gonna be ready for April 1st through the 15th move-ins.

Um that's what I mean by 16.

So we just got electricity yesterday.

Um they're still working on them, they're still under construction, but between the first and the 15th, we will be wrapping those that will construction will be wrapping those up for people to move in.

And and you've got one commitment or you've got multiple commitments.

Oh no, we have multiple.

But for those first 16, I think we have four move-ins.

Um, and actually it was technically, if you want to be technical, it was seven, and then the remaining, and so out of those seven, we have four, and then plus our model, which is five.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you very much.

Next speaker.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Alan.

Can't read it.

N-O-R-L Neil Noel.

No.

Alan Mill, thank you.

Uh Alan, please state your name and just the city.

Alanol Capel.

Uh so a couple of things.

We originally owned all the land where the townhomes are.

Uh we're uh a very material investor in the townhome community.

Uh our partnership owns this land uh for the commercial as well.

Uh we've been patiently waiting on Debbie Lane to be finished.

Uh we've been approached by lots of retail developers.

Uh when we were approached by Slawhill, we were blown away by his level of quality and detail.

Most everyone else just wanted to do a plain vanilla things you see everywhere.

Uh we originally uh years ago in the early 20, it was around 2021.

SEV-11 approached us before we had the whole concept plan done when the quick trip was announced up at 360.

71 lost interest.

But I think one of the commissioners mentioned this.

Uh we live in Capel, we have a quick trip.

We have two quick trips and a racetrack.

We have a brand new 7-Eleven right by my house.

I never go to the big ones because there's always a bunch of trucks and you you have to drive around to find a gas pump.

But the 7-11 is beautiful and it's great, and get my propane there and get my gas there, and works great.

There's a we'll change place right by our house.

I can walk to it.

So I take my car, drop it off, go back home, and they call me when it's ready and go back and do whatever.

Uh so anyway, we we think this is a great compliment to Arlington and to our development.

So happy to answer any questions, but very supportive of uh of this.

Any questions?

Thank you very much.

Next uh in support, Wayne Bergdorf.

You want to say anything?

I'm non-speaker.

You're a non-speaker, very good.

I have one that's not marked uh in support or opposition.

Jacqueline Brown, are you here?

Are you in support or opposition?

No.

You're in opposition.

Okay.

So with that, guess what?

You're first.

Okay.

Okay.

These are all in opposition, so please go forward, Jacqueline Brown.

Remember your name and your city.

Jacqueline Brown, Arlington, Texas.

Uh I love Arlington, been living here a long time, over 38, 39 years.

Uh I live less than a mile.

I'll say about yeah, when I do my steps, it'd be about 700 steps from my house.

And when we were not notified, I never got a mailer about anything.

Only reason I knew about the meeting was because Southwent, HOA president reached out to all the other surrounding communities.

I'm opposed to it because we don't need a loot job station there.

We don't need a 7-Eleven.

To be honest, I'll go down to the to the QT, I'll go to the Quick Trip.

If I need my oil change, it's a place less than two miles from my house to go on Matlock.

And as far as walkable, I always thought it would be a resident area.

And I don't mind the building and stuff, but why a convenience store and an oil change place?

I got my daughter off at TC at TCC across on New York.

Across from there, they have a restaurant, it's also a daycare, it's a bakery, it's a sale shop, and then it's a it's a police doorfront.

That's what we need in that area.

We don't ever see a police officer over in that area.

And when you do call one, they're not coming at a hairy.

So if they were to do the building and stuff, just do the commercial building, just no convenience to a loop place.

Put a police doorfront there.

That's what that part of Southeast Arlington need.

We don't need another 7 Eleven.

We don't need a lube job place.

We need something that is walkable.

And with that being as close to that elementary school as it is, and out and beer and wine will be sold at 71.

I'm already picking up empty cans and stuff and bottles when I do my daily walk.

But that's all I have to say.

I'm opposed to it.

I don't think it's a good idea for the convenience store or the loop place.

Thank you very much.

Next in opposition, William Fields.

Non-speaker.

Non-speaker.

All right, very good.

Shirley Bruce.

Non-speaker.

Chad Dixon.

I believe you had to leave.

No, I'm right here.

Oh, wait a minute.

I had to stand up because I was a bit frustrated.

Yes.

Thank you, Chad.

Good evening.

Name and city.

Chad Dixon, Arlington, District 3.

I live in the area of where this is to take place.

There's been a lot of great preemptiveness about tackling why opposition shouldn't matter.

And um I get that people have invested millions.

Okay, I get that.

But I've invested my blood, sweat, tears, into my community.

My kids go to UT Arlington.

Our neighbors care about each other.

And we've already had an attempted kidnapping.

We've had multiple shootings.

And two days ago, we had one of our kids chased down by an unknown assailant in our community that used to be safe.

And Arlington has shoved over a thousand new units of rental properties in a very small area.

Without ever giving us a consideration of the people who have invested their life's hard work into Arlington.

And so tonight, I pray, I plead with you to please listen and honor the commitment from the city itself.

Now they're rentals.

So now it's more than a thousand.

It's closer to 1,500 rentals in less than a little bit of a mile area.

When we have been told and promised that there was going to be no gas stations built, no convenience stores, because everything was going to be like the 360 South Corridor project that was promised to us that it was going to be about walkability, not about cars, not about vehicles.

And then they come to us and they show us a gas station and a convenience store.

And I have to ask, why on earth, if this is so safe, why do they need a wall between them and the convenience store?

Shouldn't they feel safe enough in this project that there is no walls?

I'm sorry, I know I'm very passionate about this, but I came from nothing.

And I worked my butt off for years, working two, three jobs to support my family.

And when I thought about settling down in South Arlington, I felt like it was a great investment.

And so much has been taken away.

So much of us have been ignored.

And now that we had commitments from the city about what we were finally going to get, even though they were a bunch of rentals.

That was to draw in quality anchor stores that created community walkability.

I don't know how healthy it is.

Actually, look at me.

I do know how healthy it is to enjoy a 7-Eleven.

Their food is not quality.

That is not healthy.

And while people will sit there and say, hey, guess what?

I have one in my really nice area.

Well, they also have seven, five dining areas in Copel right near where that 7-Eleven is at.

You know what we have?

We have storage units coming in.

We have the rental units.

Everything goes to Mansfield.

And it's about time that City of Arlington puts their foot down for their residents who have invested their hard work, blood and tears, to say, you know what?

We need to hold out for something that the community really wants, needs, and serves, that is truly walkable, that is truly safe, that does not give reasons to hide behind alleys and needs gates to protect.

Yes, the people matter in those rentals, but their average stay is two years.

Mine is my whole life.

With that, I'm done.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next speaker in opposition, Ben Bruce.

Mr.

Bruce, remember State Your Name and the city that you live in.

My name is Ben Bruce.

I live at 508 Corbin Drive, Arlington, Texas.

My wife and I moved here in 1974, and we have lived here continuously ever since.

All of us asked for high end restaurants, entertainment venues, single family homes, and parks.

Do I need to go through how many of those we got?

None.

Now we've got somebody who wants to come in and develop what may in fact be one of the last commercial developments down in our area.

And what are we going to get?

A 711, some more convenience stores, another gas station, and by the way, the QT and the racetrack are eight tenths of a mile down the road.

Anyone on 360 is going to drive right by them to get to this new development.

What do we need to do?

What do the residents need to do to get a high-end restaurant?

The one over the um the Texas Road House over on 287 in Mansfield.

This is a Wednesday night.

You can't get in that place on a Wednesday night.

But can we get a Texas Roadhouse here?

Can we get an Outback Steakhouse?

Apparently not.

And why would that be?

Why can't we, Arlington, do what they apparently can easily do in Mansfield?

I don't understand that.

My wife and I have lived here for 52 years.

You want to talk about security, police?

I was a police officer for the city of Arlington for five and a half years.

I did a total of 31 years when I finally retired.

Two years ago, they talk about how the crime is down in Arlington.

Two years ago, the emergency response time average was seven and a half minutes.

When you have an emergency call, and I can read you a list of them if you don't know what they are, but none of them are pleasant.

You know what can happen to you in seven and a half minutes while you're waiting for a police officer.

Three minutes.

Thank you for sharing your voice tonight.

I appreciate your help.

Hearing none, I'll now ask for the applicant to rob the opposition.

Yeah, five minutes, sir.

Thank you for that.

Um can is there a way I can get the presentation back up, please?

Thank you.

So I think one of the things and you know, the neighborhood itself, there's like you guys are showing during your your your session, there's a a group of neighborhoods that surrounds this area.

And we understand that there are some neighbors who are in opposition of the communion store and also of the loop change concept.

And I think the bigger thing here is to really understand if commercial development was to come here, or what it would look like, how do we get the uses that they do one, right?

Which is the sit-down restaurants, you know, the uh the nail salon, the the tutoring, the the smoothie shop, the coffee shop, the things that really will help the cohesiveness of that development.

I think there was a conversation uh someone had shared he had shared about the outback and the the roadhouse.

You know, we don't control those users.

We present them with the facts where they are, and like he mentioned, they're on 287, they're too close, right?

And so it's not a matter of did we go through the process and we're just picking the first person that comes and this is what it is.

No, we we intentionally went through this process of going to find out who the anchors will be for this three and a half acre site, right?

If this was a 10-acre, 15-acre site, I can understand that we need a different design plan for this.

But on three and a half acres, there's only so many options that you have that can anchor the retail that they're looking for.

And one of the things I do want to bring back up is to show that the uses that are there uh that we're all looking for are already in the marketplace.

Now, that isn't a a knock on the city or on us or even the surrounding developments, it's just a matter of timing, right?

If Debbie Lane had been improved 10 years ago, all of these tenants could have been here.

And I I can emphatically say that.

But they all went down the street.

I'll give you an example.

There's a Trader Joe's going down the street.

Is that it's in Mansfield on MATLAB?

Could have brought them here, yeah, but they've already committed to that site.

It's a more synergetic site.

And what's happened?

I have a relationship with Chipotle.

I've reached out to them.

They're going in another direction because it's closer to this energy.

So at the end of the day, I want to be able to develop that retail with the highest quality.

And the quality is not, oh, whoever first comes in, it's hey, let's vet you out.

Uh what's your menu like?

What's your operating history?

How many locations do you have?

What uh uh you know, what uh menu do you serve?

These are the things we ask when we uh evaluate um tenants.

And at the end of the day, I think it's really important to understand that the 360 corridor study that was done specifically talks about convenience and also about the multi around the the different residential uh components and hopefully you can see that yes, maybe the C store or the automotive is not the desired use for the Southwind community.

But if you look at the letters of support, we have sir.

You've had your turn.

If you look at the overall community, we do have letters of support, right?

We have 26, 27 letters of support that sir.

You get one last warning and you're out of this uh out of this room.

Okay, please continue.

And I know the frustration is there, but I think the quality of the development is going to be shown by the uses that we bring in the building quality and the tenants.

And I know you know, at the end of the day, it all matters about how we design the site, create the safety, and once Debbie opens up, um you'll see a very different intersection, and we'll be the staple that starts it, and hopefully the the five and a half acres across the street that's on the north side that's community commercial in the PD, that will also be developed for uh retail neighborhood service drive-through restaurants, and within the next five years, this intersection changes.

We focus so much on the past and what's now.

We as developers, we look at the future.

We see what the vision is and what the tenants need uh and the market needs.

Uh that's all I have to say.

Thank you for your time.

Any questions?

Uh sir.

Commissioner Blake.

So just to kind of clarify for me, if you didn't have any leases currently on that property, but let's see, raising canes came to you or HTO.

Would you put one of those in there?

Absolutely.

But they they're too close.

Right.

And how come those don't just come to you because you call them and say, hey, I've got a correct location?

Why don't they come to us?

Yeah.

Because they have their own uh target areas that they look at, right?

And and within those target areas, they have a certain plan.

So I'm sure you've read articles where XYZ concept is opening 20 more locations.

Well, they've already kind of subsetted the areas that they want to be in.

And what ends up happening in the raising canes example that you gave, right?

They look at existing stores and how they're doing.

And if they're doing phenomenal and they're within, you know, uh outside of that ring, then they'll do another one.

And a lot of these franchises, they're corporate per se, but they have franchisees.

So how it works is it goes a step below and says, okay, who are the franchisees of these locations, right?

And are there any available target areas that are there?

And in this example, a lot of them are camp wisdom already, 287, 360 broad.

And I we've developed a sh uh a 12-acre site on Broad Street across from the high school.

We got Chipotle there, we got res retail, but it it was all uh uh what is it called?

It was all as part of the growth pattern.

We've missed that growth product here for that.

Thank you.

Any other questions for the uh commissioner Carter?

So if you did if you didn't have these uh pre-commitments from 7-Eleven and others, what other of these sites uh of these location or of these restaurants would would the site fit?

What other what are some other solutions for it if 7-Eleven was uh not interested?

Well, I mean, if you look at the anchors, right?

We're talking about quick service restaurants, we're talking about banks, we're talking about drug and pharmacy stores, and we're talking about automotive uses that we consider anchors for neighborhood services, right?

So if you go down the list and you can throw as many as you want, they're either there, they're either not growing, right?

So if you look at some of the markets, a lot of the quick service restaurants that we all want, and Saladin goes a great example.

They came in the market, they put a bunch of stuff on the ground, and now they're all closed, right?

So it's also a matter of how do we anchor the site.

And I I truly believe, and I can say it with conviction, I believe that 7-Eleven and the anchors there will drive what the neighborhood needs with the coffee and the uh smoothie and the sit-down restaurants.

Is is there a lifespan of a 7-Eleven?

I I feel like you're an expert in the in the business.

Is there a is there a lifespan for a 7-Eleven?

As far as like how long they sign leases for?

Yeah, how long they sign leases for, how long it do they, you know, like um and the rush of Walgreens and CBS, those all made it around 15 years, it seems like maybe 20.

And then they go vacant, right?

At some point in the big box.

How many years can we expect the 7 Eleven to operate where 7 Eleven is a name brand doesn't give up on it and it become a uh you know, some other type of alternative store.

Yeah, what's the lifespan of a 7-11?

Yeah, so normal leases are initial 20-year leases with probably six five to six five-year leases on top of some other thirty years.

So you're looking about 50 to 60 years is their lifespan of those deals.

So a lot of the 7-Eleven booms of the 70s, those a lot of those 7-Elevens aren't here.

So what happened to those leases?

Uh did they they it seems like they probably made it 15 to 25 years?

So what if if you just said 50 to 60, what well that's the that's usually the the lease term that they have that they have options on that they can exercise.

Okay, but they're but they're viable lifespan where the where Mr.

7-Eleven in downtown Dallas says, hey, this location at Collins and Debbie's not working any longer because it's the crime is high, or they're not selling enough beer or selling more beer and not enough food or gas.

How when could that happen typically?

Is that what that's similar to any other tenant that would be here, right?

Um they they would evaluate that at the end of their lease, their initial lease.

Because they're the way it works is they provide corporate guarantees for their leases, and then they're on the hook for that lease up until their initial term expires.

Okay.

So they're there at least for those 20 years.

Okay, so you you feel confident that no matter what just uh I'm sorry, I just want to remind the commission.

I know there's been a lot of talk about specific operators, yeah, but it's very important that this commission makes its decision on the use and makes its decision on the design.

So we just don't get bogged down on on the I mean if this gentleman winds up, you know, it turns out that 7-11 says the pass and another gas station comes in, that's that's what you're gonna have.

So just make your decision based on the use.

In this case, it's gas sales.

Uh you gotta know you've heard a lot about the uh uh quick, what is it, the uh the quick take five, you're you're making a decision on the oil loop, you're making a decision on the the size of the buildings, just don't get too stressed on 50-year leases for for wall for uh uh I'm sorry, but it's been a long day.

Yeah, well, I think the I think the name brand is a of a of a store, of course, is a huge straw rather than to have a uh you know a a Joe's convenience store.

So that's where I was going with that is we need if if this does happen, it needs to be bright and shiny and it needs to look good and it needs to be managed professionally, not in seven or nine or twelve years time already uh be a uh a dark seven eleven.

the the the the size of the buildings just don't get too stressed on 50 year leases for for wall for uh uh i'm sorry it's been a long day yeah well i think the i think the name brand is a of the of a store of course is a huge shawl rather than to have a uh you know a a Joe's convenience store so that's where I was going with that is we need if if this does happen it needs to be bright and shiny and it needs to look good and it needs to be managed professionally not in seven or nine or twelve years time already uh be a a a dark 7-Eleven so that's what my point is yeah and if you look at oh if you look at some of the communities outside of Arlington that have grown and um I'm going back to where I live obviously McKinney Frisco Allen Plano those 7-Elevens are maintained very well and a lot of it has to do with the overall develop and development standards the code enforcement there's things like that that they also have to adhere to uh as well uh and ultimately what's going to happen is if you have a mix of different uses then you're gonna have the the sit down restaurants or the property manager who's managing all these different things and there's gonna be a C C and R is in place which is a covenant uh conditions and restrictions agreement which uh outlines maintenance requirements things of that sort in addition to whatever the city has and one more quick question does do you or your management company own the the the townhouses behind no or they're sold off to a different yeah I'm just developing the commercial portion of the three and a half acres up front of yeah I have nothing to do with that site.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other uh commissioner Finley thank you um just a couple of things okay 7-Eleven in my mind and I don't know whether this is franchisees that this happens to or whether it's corporate but I have a 7-Eleven that is down the street um probably half a mile from a quick trip and then we have a 7-Eleven that's probably a mile from that 7-11 um and they're both on major corners I get spot crime uh reports every day from my neighborhood within a five mile radius and there are more crime reports from those two 7-Elevens than there are from any other area um the Quick Trip or even Kroger or that shopping center I have to tell you I'm I'm not in favor of the 7-Eleven there I'm not in favor of the gas station there and I'm not in favor of the um the take five or whatever it is it I really and truly believe that we need something in that area it's it just seems like in South Arlington we get whatever whatever the lowest of the low is just so that we can collect money on taxes or a sales tax or a property tax.

And I've lived out in this area for 30 some years so I I do know a little bit about what goes on out there.

But you know there used to be it was just a black top road 360 wasn't there.

We didn't have apartments out there.

Now I realize you know services are services but we we think that in South Arlington we deserve better and um that's my mentality there you know I mean if this was Veridian would you be building this in Veridian would I be building it there?

Yes I would seriously I already did there's a 7 Eleven 7 Eleven right across from Verde but uh but a take five yeah you'd be building a take five in Veredian quick car place right by my house out of a caliber auto I live in McKinney as well so like we understand there's a Circle K, there is a 7 Eleven and even the anchors that come in like Tom Thumb and these guys yes it's great to grow but they all bring fuel stations it's a part of it right I think at the end of the day we get fixated on 7 Eleven or the brand and the gas canopy but if you look at every single major grocery anchor including Costco including they all have the gas canopy.

And I will tell you I have in open communications with other folks there are grocery anchors that are in this DFW Metroplex who aren't as doing well on the grocery side because they don't have the gas and they're trying to work with their landlords to get gas fuel station there so they can bring more traffic in and so I know we see it from the the neighborhood standpoint I'm just trying to educate and show kind of how we look at it from the development and the user standpoint.

And I get it at the end of the day you know I can only present the facts and things that I I've got today and hopefully you know if if if I can answer any questions I'm I'm happy to do it's just I know it's it's frustrating for some folks it is it's because I and oh sorry I was just saying I I feel like a lot of the frustration also is because of the the the multifamily that's come there too to some extent right like the traffic and all that and I I don't live there but I come quite often to Arlington I have a I have a sure yeah but lo let them finish then I I own a property down the street on Debbie and Walnut Creek.

I I own a property down the street on Debbie and Walnut Creek.

It's a Mansfield.

So I'm here all the time working on that development, and that traffic is a nightmare.

But once it opens up, the traffic study itself has taken into account the communion store, the uh retail, and the townhomes as well.

So this the improvements of the road have been developed based on this being there.

Now, if that wasn't in the study, I'd tell you, yeah, probably more traffic, but they've already included that.

So the D sell lane, these little things that we've taken into account based on the studies that have been done, we're utilizing that to create this development plan.

And luckily for us, right, ultimately, we've got brands that want to be here, and we have a development plan.

I've been in many examples where we're just conceptual, and hopefully it happens.

But you know, we're trying to work with these users to bring them here.

And ultimately, I know I keep saying this and you may disagree, but ultimately this will unlock the the quick service restaurant and the retail.

And I've firmly I've been in the business long enough to know that when you build 30,000 square feet of retail, the first 8,000 will be good quality tenants that you guys want, and everyone then after that, it becomes a cost.

It becomes like a hey, who do we bring in just to fill this to pay the mortgage and whatnot?

Then what ends up happening is it goes like this, and then towards the tail end of that 30,000 square feet that was originally designed, the quality of the tenants go down and it happens.

It it I'm sure it's happened here too as well.

And so what I want to do is I want to be able to control what comes in to the retail, which is the most critical piece of the puzzle, right?

And so that's what I would hope that you guys can look at as well.

And I believe for interrupting you.

No, that's what I'm saying.

It's just that it is very frustrating to live in Southeast Arlington, and all we get are gas stations, convenience stores, car washes, you know.

I mean, nothing that really for us that have been paying taxes, property taxes for 30 plus years, you know, we don't need that many of those particular things out there in that area.

So and you know, quite honestly, people that are renting are not paying the same amount that we are for services that we deserve that we've been told that we'll get eventually, and and don't.

So it my thought is I'm I'm not in favor of this of this project, not all of it.

I'm you know, I'm in favor of the retail, and I know we talked at the neighborhood meeting that you know, would you consider something other than the 7 Eleven and the um and the take five or whatever it is, yeah.

Um if if you could get that in there, if you if you could get something else in there, would you consider that?

Yeah, and and when you you brought that up, we we went back and talked to some of the folks that we feel could be here, and again, it's the same, it's all timing, right?

At the end of the day, it's how uh you know, let me take a step back.

The users that want to be here, they want an anchor.

So, like for example, Chick-fil-A, they're down the street, right?

And I keep saying this because what's happened is that Matlock intersection has really drove drove a lot of the users there, and I hear it from everyone.

Well, why does Mansfield get it, not us?

Well, I don't know the answer to that question, other than they got the four corners that have the grocery anchor, they got the HEB, they got the Costco, they got the um Kroger on Broad Street, they got the hospital on the Broad Street.

You know, they got all those things.

So, like to me, I am trying to figure out this is a neighborhood site.

This is not a highway site, this is not a grocery anchored site, this is a neighborhood retail commercial site.

And if you look at rate neighborhood retail sites over the course of the past five to seven years, they're all developed with different types of uses.

It's not just one use.

And retail is a portion, a QSR drive-thru is one portion, and then automotive is a portion.

You know, the previous applicant put together the the car wash, right?

I'm giving example, like that is going to bring a different type of traffic to that intersection or to that area.

And even the cleaner said, hey, if they come in, then that's what's gonna help my business.

That's the same thing that these small businesses that are in the retail center, they look at too.

They say, yes, it's a convenience store, but they're going to bring traffic.

So when I do put half a million seven hundred thousand into my build-out that I know that to cover my ten thousand dollar rent, for example, for the next 10 years, I know that there's going to be someone on the other side that's going to continuously drive traffic for the next 10 years I'm here.

And that's that's really the the truth behind it.

Oh Mr.

Gatton, we're gonna have a follow-up question or come up.

Any other questions?

I have one.

We brought this up, and I'm only gonna bring it up because I've heard it said a couple times.

Sorry, I didn't have my mic on.

Um you mentioned earlier that the development of this project.

Um you mentioned earlier that the development of this project, please don't quote me on this, but you said it missed a window where it might have been able to have different things.

Um that's at no fault of anyone other than the economics and the way that the land built out and developed out, and and that's totally understandable.

I I completely respect and understand that.

But if you if you look at this development, and I think you have if you if you if you were to change the anchor, do you think it would change the dynamics of it?

The dynamics of the development.

I mean, I I agree with the conglomerate statement that like businesses drive like people to come and do business.

I I would love to see that end building that incorporates your retail side, have a great cafe that's open half the day for breakfast and lunch, and then something in the other end that's open for dinner that provides some opportunities.

And I think you're gonna I think that's kind of where I hear you wanting to develop that that you're hoping to acquire some tenants that provide those types of services.

But in order to do that, if I understand you correctly, in order to do that, from a retail marketing standpoint, we have to provide the traffic flow on the other end to get them in.

Okay.

I just I really needed to clarify that just for me.

Yeah, um and I'll take it one more step further.

Uh Commissioner Winkles is this corner, there's four corners to this intersection, right?

Yes, sir.

Right.

So when you look at anchors, right, since we're the first development coming in, right?

They're looking for anchors as well.

And and when I say that, co-centered is what the word is, right?

What is the co-centergy of the intersection?

Well, when you look at the northwest corner, there's no retail commercial.

It's a it's a detention pond.

They have retail that's facing inwards.

And honestly, that's that cent town is there.

That's great.

I wish them the buttons.

They're not gonna get the tenants because no one wants to face inwards on a major street, right?

So that's really not retail.

If you go to the southwest corner, you've got that one acre site that has the storage in the back.

Well, that itself is not been developed and it won't get developed until something else around it doesn't, and it's gonna be small enough that it may be a single tenant or maybe it's uh a medical use or something of that sort.

And you go to the northeast corner, you've got the church, then you've got the storage behind it, which got approved last year.

Then you've got five acres here, which right now is a batch plant kind of uh where they're doing all the stuff for the road.

So once the road's finished, they get that off.

You know, you're talking another year before that's even something that comes through.

So what we're trying to do is we're trying to drive traffic into this intersection uh for the customers that are coming in for the retail.

Perfect.

Thank you for clarifying.

I just really wanted to understand that.

Any other questions of the applicant?

Thank you, sir.

With that.

We've gone officially through our list of speakers.

Uh we'll close the public hearing and ask commission for questions, comments, or a motion.

And I'll start off with some comments.

So, yeah, Debbie Lane missed its opportunity.

I agree with you, uh, Commissioner Winkles.

A lot of that has to do with the ups and downs of the overall economic uh picture of of the North Texas central market.

Mansfield had an advantage.

I've lived here since 1971.

Started at UTA in 1971.

And um I'm retired.

I've lived here my whole life.

I've been on City Council in the past.

Mansfield had what we call greenfield, large, large swaths of undeveloped land.

It is cheaper and easier to build on large swaths of undeveloped land because it's just cheaper.

Why would you uh uh uh build in a in a city where you're gonna have to uh redo all kinds of infrastructure, sewer, water, it's much more expensive to build in Arlington.

Arlington only has give or take, somewhere around 1500, 1800, maybe 2,000 acres of land left to build anything on.

So tonight we're gonna try and make a decision on what's the highest and best use of this land.

There's not a single commissioner up here that doesn't remember it because we we went through it in the staff report and during the work session.

We know what the original intent was of that community commercial piece of property.

We know that it said that they didn't want gasoline up there, gasoline stations up there at that time.

But that was a different economic time.

Here we are in a different economic time.

I'm I'm vacillating back and forth with my decision about how I feel about this because I don't like the oil change.

I don't like the gas.

The comments that are that our citizens made is a promise was made.

And City Council voted on that promise.

But at the same time, this will go before city council.

And city council will be asked to make an exception and a change.

And your elected representatives at City Council will have to decide.

Are they going to live up to the previous council's decision or are they going to change?

And they're going to look at the present economic picture because I do understand we've been doing this long enough up here.

A lot of the comments that have made are spot on.

You can't bring restaurants, nice services to areas that are needed in Southeast Arlington without an anchor.

Because you won't get traffic to come to the restaurant.

I know I see you're raising your hand, but sir, your time is finished a long time ago.

You had your opportunity, and the public session is closed.

Now it's time for the commissioners to speak and express your opinions before they vote.

So with that, I'll stop and we'll start over here.

Commissioner Finley.

Thank you.

Well, you made a very valid point.

The fact that we have very little vacant land left.

I think we have to be so picky about what we build on that vacant land.

I think we have to think down the road, you know, not just 10 years, not just 20 years, but we have to think long time down the road.

And I understand it's a vacant piece of property.

I understand that you know we don't get any, we don't get any sales tax, we don't get big property tax if something's not built there.

But why build something that may not be the best use just to build something?

The economics changes just like you said from you know year to year sometimes.

And obviously the previous council voted not to put gas on this specific piece of property.

They had their reasons.

I don't know what they were, but I tend to agree with their reasons, there with the staff report and with their decision that they made.

I I am just not in favor of that.

I am not in favor of just plopping something on this piece of property just so we can say we built something there.

I think that we need to be more choosy and know that we are putting the highest and best use on that piece of property, and it needs to wow me every time I vote on anything from now on.

It needs to wow me.

I don't want just something mediocre going in there.

So we've heard residents say what they wanted, and maybe it's just not the time right now to build this particular project.

That's that's my take on it.

Anybody else want to make any comments Commissioner Winkles?

I I I firmly think if we sit on this, we're gonna lose an opportunity, and you're gonna get shoddy retail in there, and that's not what we want.

We're not gonna have good quality, and I think we have an opportunity before us working with a developer who has consistent projects.

He's been a very quality driven project throughout the community, not only in Arlington, but in Mansfield and surrounding communities, and he's willing to meet the demands that we put and forth that we put in place with our zoning through our PNZ commissioners and the people in our office.

I think that we we would miss the vote if we don't pass this, honestly.

That's just my opinion, and I respect it, but and I respect everyone else's, but I think that we also have to take that into consideration.

Let's go.

Commissioner Blake.

Like a statement, but I do have I would like to put forth a motion.

Um I did want to point out, and it's very unfortunate that all the people that are on this list that was passed out did not show up, but the amount of people that actually took time to write emails was pretty impressive for their support.

But the amount of people that actually took time to write emails was pretty impressive for their support.

I also wanted to point out that you know y'all are bringing out a stable long-term tenant.

And that's one of the the things that you know truly pushed me early on to kind of be supportive of this project.

So with that, if it's okay, I'd like to make a motion to approve.

I'm able to do that now.

Yeah, you can do that.

There we go.

I'd like to make an appointment to approve PD 20 with that 21-28 R1 800 Debbie Lane, uh, with the following additions of carrying on the design elements from I believe it's lot one and two carries over to three and four.

And I'm gonna add that we make sure that this is the premium facade that that these um uh tenants have.

And in addition, and I'm not quite sure how to put that with the burns or the the landscaping uh to where we we have some definition there, and yeah, so that the berms in the right locations block the view of the uh of the open garage tour base.

That's what I meant to say.

Okay, um so we're we're not you know we can still comment um because I haven't asked, I haven't called for the vote yet.

Dr.

Nun has I would like to say that if we do move this forward, uh because there will be changes needed, they need to resubmit, staff will need a review.

Uh there could be back and forth with staff.

Staff recommends that they don't go to council until May the 5th.

Uh that would be the earliest reading that staff feels we can take them to.

I want to just make you all aware of that.

Yeah, and I my only change to his wording is that the landscape adjustments along the right-of-way easements along the major corridor be adjusted appropriately to not create an accident issue, a visual issue for medium purposes, but to create a shape a screen or barrier from that the quick car change location.

Well, okay.

So that's your motion and that's your second.

So I'm yes, sir.

Uh Commissioner uh uh Carter.

I would also like where it's added in to the uh where the the building is enhanced, landscaping and building design and and the gas canopy enhanced and brick um uh brick structure um brick where uh brick on the on the buildings um yeah brick canopy that's what and not cantilevered but brick pillars because I think is what uh the applicant had mentioned that he a canopy that's not cantilevered, but it's uh oh supported supported um I don't that it that's why I'm not sure if it needs um a continuance or a go ahead and make these changes, but it if it's if it's gonna be there, it's gotta be it's gotta be the best they can give us uh for the for the neighbors Commissioner Maddox Yeah, I understand what Commissioner Carter is saying, but I I think that uh as was mentioned before, we have a great staff, and I feel confident uh that our staff can work with the developer and come up with something that's susceptible rather than this group here trying to dictate the columns and overhangs and cantilevers.

Let's let the staff work to with the comeback with something that's susceptible.

Well, my last comment is having heard all my fellow commissioners make their really good points.

I think I'm gonna vote in favor of this, and the reason I'm gonna do it is this is a catalyst.

We've talked about that.

There are three other corners that are going to remain dead if nothing happens.

And I think that we're gonna get more restaurants and more neighborhood services on the other three corners, but we gotta start someplace.

As much as I I agree with uh Commissioner Finley.

It it pains me to vote for something that's got a gasoline station in here, but we're going to change the design.

We're gonna make it look like a really really nice uh convenience store.

And we have the other two buildings that are gonna have a sit-down restaurant and other stuff in there.

It's a catalyst that's gonna change that entire intersection, in my opinion.

So with that, cast your votes.

No, I'm sorry.

Commissioner Carter, before you cast your votes.

I feel like so.

What we've given them is going to be subjective to what staff how what staff thinks is higher skill.

So that's so again we're giving we're stepping back.

And I just want to remind the commissioner uh at the end of the day, it's all subjective, but it's all based on what the council agrees on.

So you're if you are if you feel comfortable with approving this use and the and the design with those higher standards that can that staff will work with with the applicant, then ultimately at the end of the day, council's gonna have to bless whether or not they think it's at the standard that that is works.

And did we set some standards beside the landscaping?

I if I did I did miss it.

We did we did for all four buildings.

Okay, so I'll I'll listen to the motion then.

So the motion's already been made.

Yeah, okay.

Okay.

All right, cast your vote.

Motion passes six to one with one abstention.

With that, thank you for all the neighbors that showed up to express their opinion.

I know you're disappointed, but it's part of the process.

Your voice was heard and can be heard again.

Just because we approve this doesn't mean it's gonna get built because city council makes a decision.

And there will be changes to this product before it gets to city council.

Your voice needs to be heard at City Council again.

Can you tell them what date you go?

Oh, yeah, when is the next city?

Oh, when will they be coming?

That's right.

Uh approximate.

We May 5th, it's when we can check it to City Council, we believe.

So mark that on your calendars.

And get your other neighbors to come out.

Dr.

Nunez.

Sir.

You said meeting is over.

Sir, I told you I just told you they ran out of disturbance.

Leave.

But Dr.

You said that reports from the boards and commissions and liaisons.

I don't think are there any other reports from staff?

Now, sir.

All right.

So let me remind everyone that our next regular regular session meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission will be on Wednesday, April the 15th, 2026 at 5.30 p.m.

And we are here by adjourned.

We now have the semi-automatic machine.

We have to add our ingredients and shorting.

And in just a few minutes, you will have a package of fresh tortillas.

Next time you go to Marquez Bakery, don't forget to explore their menu.

Um just we make maranitos all the way to orejas, which is a little bit, you know, uh more of a gourmet Mexican pastry.