Mansfield City Council Regular Meeting – August 10, 2026

The Mansfield City Council met in regular session on August 10, 2026, in the Council Chambers at 1200 E. Broad St., Mansfield, TX. The posted agenda and transcript show a 1:00 p.m. call to order, while the minutes state 12:00 p.m. The Council recessed into executive session at 2:28 p.m., reconvened in open session at 6:20 p.m., and adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Council Member Brent Newsom was absent; Council Member Juan Fresquez arrived at 2:03 p.m. All votes taken during the open session were unanimous.

Recognition

• Adam Stark, Interim Executive Director of Public Works, and David Hinshaw, Assistant Director of Public Works - Utilities, reported that the Public Works Department received three awards at the TCEQ Public Drinking Water Conference: Outstanding Public Drinking Water System, Outstanding Cross-Connection Control Program, and Innovative or Proactive Water System.
• Staff highlighted that the cross-connection and innovative/proactive awards were first-time honors, and that the innovative award recognized the department's internship program with Mansfield ISD's Ben Barber Academy and UT Arlington. The transcript is internally inconsistent about how many of the state's 7,100 public drinking water systems received the drinking water system award: the presenter first said one, then later said six.

Discussion Items

Work Session: The Canals at The Reserve

• Clayton Comstock, Executive Director of Planning and Development, previewed the 6:00 p.m. public hearing item (ZC24-016) for The Canals at The Reserve, a zoning request by Stillwater Capital Inc. for 153.073 acres bounded by E. Broad St., Matlock Rd., Heritage Pkwy., and Regency Pkwy.
• The property is currently in The Reserve Planned Development, established January 23, 2006, and revised December 10, 2012, and June 13, 2016. The proposed Canals PD would create a site-specific regulating plan with four subdistricts: canals, neighborhood, Broad Street, and employment.
• Staff said Mansfield 2040 designates the site as Mixed-Use Regional and The Link Special Area Plan recommends a walkable, urban town center anchored by civic uses such as City Hall.
• Existing reserve PD entitlements were described as 2,529 residential units across the central and workplace subdistricts; approximately 961 units have been built at a density of 33.8 units per acre. The proposed rezoning would remove the area west of Matlock from the central subdistrict, while roughly 1,197 remaining central-subdistrict entitlements east of Matlock would continue.
• The Canals PD proposal includes a maximum of six apartment blocks (three in the canals subdistrict and three in the neighborhood subdistrict), with a 20-acre cap in the canals subdistrict and a 25-acre cap in the neighborhood subdistrict, totaling about 45 acres or 29% of the 153-acre site. Apartments would be prohibited in the Broad Street and employment subdistricts.
• The proposal requires minimum four-story apartment buildings with no maximum height, structured parking (90% in the canals subdistrict; 75% for at least one neighborhood apartment block), and sequential phasing triggers before apartment permits are released. The first apartment block must be in the canals subdistrict with canal frontage. Later blocks require a hotel, a grocery store of at least 20,000 square feet, or 30,000 square feet of commercial, plus cumulative commercial milestones of 75,000, 200,000, and 300,000 square feet.
• Council Member Bounds asked staff to ensure the phasing language could not be satisfied by building three hotels in place of mixed-use commercial triggers; staff acknowledged the scenario was not planned and said it could be closed.
• Other standards discussed included no drive-throughs, a minimum 12% district-wide canal/bay/open-space network, 5% per-project publicly accessible open space, a master property owners association, an architectural review board/pattern book, and development review committee approvals with major deviations requiring a special development plan.
• Council Member Simmons asked about the history of the canals concept, maintenance and operation, and the impact if the city declined the concept. Assistant City Manager Matt Jones said the idea grew from strategic visioning and a desire for a regional destination/town center anchored by City Hall; it was publicly launched in 2024. Staff said the canals/open spaces would be city-owned but maintained through POA and other maintenance mechanisms, and declining the plan would likely mean continued piecemeal development under the existing PD.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Tom Corbin, an attorney from Mansfield, spoke during citizen comments about City Charter Section 3.02(b) and Procedural Rules Section 1.02(C). He argued that Council Member Newsom's absences should be addressed publicly, asked the Council to place the matter on the next agenda, and asserted that if the absences were not validly excused, the office should be vacated and an election set. He also asked how Council Member pay is being handled.
• No other citizens spoke. A second comment card was received for Alexander Stein of Dallas, but he was not present.

Council and Staff Comments

• Council Member Vaszauskas highlighted the Animal Care and Control ribbon cutting and the Judge L. Clifford Davis residential community groundbreaking, thanking staff and Tarrant County Commissioners Court members for their partnership. Mayor Evans echoed the comments and mentioned Council Member Newsom's continued recovery.
• City Attorney Victor Flores, responding at City Manager Joe Smolinski's request to Mr. Corbin's comments, said the Charter and procedural rules do not specify an excuse-approval process, but state law permits absences for illness/medical reasons, and Council Member Newsom's absence was for a medical reason.
• Darcy Lupton, Director of Financial Services, was available for questions on the Monthly Financial Report for the period ending June 30, 2026; no questions were asked.

Executive Session and Action Taken

• The Council recessed into executive session at 2:28 p.m. (minutes note the session began in the conference room at 2:35 p.m. and ended at 6:14 p.m.) to discuss pending litigation, real estate acquisitions, municipal court judge interviews, and economic development projects under Texas Government Code Sections 551.071, 551.072, 551.074, and 551.087. The open session resumed at 6:20 p.m.
• Motion passed 6-0 to authorize the City Manager or designee to negotiate, finalize, and execute a 380 Agreement for Economic Development Project #22-04 as discussed in executive session.
• Motion passed 6-0 to approve Resolution RE-4576-26, authorizing a Second Amendment to the Economic Development Agreement with Nack Development, LLC, amending Section 3.4 to July 1, 2027, Section 3.5 to September 1, 2027, and Section 3.6 to September 1, 2027. The minutes list the seconder as Council Member Bounds, but the transcript indicates Council Member Vaszauskas seconded.

Consent Calendar

• The consent agenda, which was approval of the July 27, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting minutes (item 26-2557), was approved 6-0.
• The July 27, 2026 Local Transportation Issues Sub-Committee meeting minutes (item 26-2562) were approved by sub-committee members Tonore, Bounds, and Fresquez, 3-0.

Public Hearings

• ZC24-016, The Canals at The Reserve: The public hearing and first reading were tabled to the August 24, 2026, City Council meeting on a motion by Council Member Vaszauskas, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Tonore, to allow staff time to provide a more final and complete draft for Council and citizens. The motion passed 6-0.
• OA#26-002, Commercial Drone Delivery: On staff's request, the Council continued the public hearing and second/final reading to the October 12, 2026, Regular City Council meeting to allow time for an additional work session and clarifications. The ordinance would amend Chapter 155 definitions, allow commercial drone delivery by right or by specific use permit in C-1, C-2, C-3, I-1, I-2, and PD districts, and add special conditions governing drone delivery and related aviation uses. The motion by Council Member Simmons, seconded by Council Member Bounds, passed 6-0.

New Business: Proposed Tax Rate

• Troy Lestina, Deputy City Manager/Chief Financial Officer, presented the proposed tax rate of $0.639000 per $100 valuation, unchanged from the current rate. The no-new-revenue rate was reported as just over $0.60, and the voter-approval rate as $0.73.
• Lestina reported that Tarrant County's July certified value declined just over 1.26% year over year, Johnson County rose 5%, and Ellis County had a small decrease. New construction added about $481 million in value, but protest increases of about 13% year over year and a 17% loss in value due to protests absorbed that growth.
• The 2026 homestead exemption of 20% was included in the calculations; the median homestead taxable value decreased, which reduced taxes for a median homestead under the proposed rate.
• The truth-in-taxation worksheet (Form 50-876) was received August 7 and revised August 10; the final certified copy will be posted when available. Public hearings are scheduled for August 24, 2026, and September 14, 2026, with the budget ordinance and final tax rate vote on September 14.
• A motion to approve the proposed tax rate of $0.639000 passed 6-0. This vote sets the proposal for the September 14 ordinance vote; it is not the final tax rate adoption.

Key Outcomes

• Tabled The Canals at The Reserve zoning request (ZC24-016) to August 24, 2026.
• Continued the commercial drone delivery ordinance (OA#26-002) to October 12, 2026.
• Approved the proposed $0.639000 tax rate, with final adoption set for September 14, 2026.
• Approved executive session actions for a 380 Agreement (Project #22-04) and Resolution RE-4576-26 with Nack Development, LLC.
• Approved regular meeting minutes and Local Transportation Issues Sub-Committee minutes.
• Adjourned at 6:50 p.m.