Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Session - August 19, 2026
Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Session - August 19, 2026
The Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Arlington held a regular session on August 19, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting was called to order by Chair Dr. Ignacio Nunez, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The commission approved minutes from July 29, 2026, with an 8–1 vote (one abstention). The agenda included consent agenda items for plats, a public hearing for a setback variance case, and a delayed specific use permit.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of July 29, 2026 Regular Session: Approved 8–1 (one abstention), with Commissioner Finley included after initial omission.
- Final Plat – Autumn Parc Addition: Approved with conditions on the consent agenda for plats to be approved. Vote: 8–1 (one abstention).
- Replat – Kevkat Addition: Disapproved on the consent agenda for plats to be disapproved. Vote: 9–0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Applicant Ben Armstrong (Armstrong Forensic Laboratory): Spoke in support of the proposed setback variance, explaining the business's growth from 24 to 58 employees and the need for additional bathrooms. He expressed willingness to work on landscaping and screening the retaining wall.
- Shirley Garcia Simpson (412 Loch N Green Trail): Opposed the variance, citing safety concerns from a gas line rupture during construction, debris and water runoff into the HOA canal, high E. coli levels, and lack of communication. She requested better neighborly conduct and cleanup.
- Craig Smith (son of adjacent homeowner): Opposed the variance, emphasizing the visual impact of the retaining wall and weep holes on his mother's property value. He requested a professional landscape architect to improve the wall's appearance.
- Non-speaking supporters: Michael Armstrong and Kay Armstrong.
- Non-speaking opponents: Rhonda Lake and Gina Telker.
Discussion Items
- PD91-09R1 (300-330 Loch N Green): Application to revise a development plan to reduce the north side yard setback by 4 feet 3 inches, from 20 feet to 15 feet 9 inches, for a building expansion at Armstrong Forensic Laboratory. Staff reported that the original 2023 administrative change inadvertently approved the encroachment, leading to a stop-work order and a denied variance by the Zoning Board of Adjustment (6–1 vote, but needed 7). The property is adjacent to a residential HOA with a 15-foot fire lane/easement. The building would be approximately 59 feet from the nearest house. Staff recommended approving with conditions: an artificial green wall on the retaining wall, a xeriscape landscape plan, and consultation with engineering to redirect weep drains. Commissioners discussed the need for communication between the applicant and the HOA, and the importance of improving the retaining wall's appearance. Commissioner Finley noted that the responsibility for cleanup and communication should rest with the applicant.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Approve PD91-09R1: Moved by Commissioner Blake, seconded by Commissioner Sumter. The motion included staff recommendations for screening the retaining wall (per staff's three conditions) and a requirement for monthly communication between the applicant and the HOA during construction, with contact information shared. Vote: 9–0. The commission approved the setback variance with these conditions.
- SUP25-13 (500 East Abram Street): Delayed to September 16, 2026, as announced by the chair.
- Next Meeting: Scheduled for September 19, 2026, at 5:30 PM, with four zoning cases planned.
Meeting Transcript
All right, well, good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Dr. Ignacio Nunez. I serve as chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Arlington. It's on, just I need to point it down here a little bit. There you go. Uh and I hereby uh call this regularly noticed meeting of the City of Oregon's planning and zoning commissioner commission regular session to order for August 19th, 2026. Let's see. Uh Commissioner Blake, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please? Please stand, ladies and gentlemen. Under God. Thank you very much. At this time, I will ask our administration to read the speaker guidelines in general decorum for tonight's meeting. We ask that the citizens and other visitors in attendance to 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. And in person making personal, profane, hostile, slanderous, or threatening remarks, who uses vulgar 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 sh 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 the city of residents for the record. The applicant will be asked to speak first and will be given ten minutes to make a presentation. Speakers in support or opposition of the item will be given five minutes each to make their statements. If there are many speakers for an item, each speaker will be given three minutes to make their statements. The applicant will then be given five minutes for any rebuttal. And multiple speakers plan to provide the same or similar comments. Those speakers may, if they so desire, designate one or more individuals to provide public comment on behalf of the group. A bell will signal the end of each speaker's time. In consideration of other speakers, please conclude your comments promptly when you hear the bell. We ask that you address your comments to the planning and zoning commissioners. Thank you very much. Our first item of business is approval of the minutes of the July 29th, 2026 planning and zoning regular session agenda. All the commissioners receive these minutes in advance. Were there any changes or corrections that were needed to the minutes? Seeing no comments, do I have a motion to approve? I do by Commissioner Winkles. And I have a second by Commissioner Maddox. Please cast your vote. Somehow that that got erased. One moment, sorry, computer issues here. Okay. Okay, so right now what we do, we have a the minutes will show. Oh, there it is. Well, Commissioner Blake made the motion, and Commissioner Greer is a second. Motion passes, seven to nothing with one abstention. Oh, and let the let the minutes show that Dr. Commissioner Finley is a yay vote. So I'm so sorry. Uh I'm going to go ahead and ask for a brief pause just so we can include Commissioner Finley, if that's okay. Please do so. Thank you. But we're we can move forward though, right? Absolutely. Go ahead.
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