Arlington City Council members and planning and zoning commissioners took three and a half hours Thursday in a rare joint meeting to get on the same page across several areas of city development.
The session came after some council members discussed frustration with the amount of appeals from developers they received in January.
Similarly, Gincy Thoppil, planning and development services director, said commissioners have asked her the reasons for council behind appeals.
“This is a really good time for you all to talk about that,” she told both boards.
Developers can appeal cases that planning and zoning commissioners deny to Arlington City Council. Council, in turn, decides whether the case warrants a public hearing based on information commissioners did not have during their vote. Council so far has heard five appeals this year, according to posted council agendas.
Raul Gonzalez said council wanted to send a message to developers after receiving three appeals cases during one January council meeting.
“If we start overturning these, it’s not a good deal because it’s basically going to say don’t listen to (planning and zoning), go to council, they can get it done,” he said.
Galen Gatten, assistant city attorney, said the more council members can tell developers they have entrusted commissioners to decide cases, the better. Some cities do not have a two-step process in which developers gain zoning approval.
“It’s an extra step that’s not everywhere and it definitely slows the process from that perspective, but as you saw, it also keeps 75% of the bad projects from being in your lap,” Gatten said.
Council members and commissioners also deliberated on changes to staff reports, such as including in planning documents whether staff approve of a case; changing the ways staff note deviations from city development codes; and inclusion of financial and market values. The joint board asked city staff to include financial value and modified language for deviations.
City Manager Trey Yelverton said he’s seen understanding between council and commissioners “ebb and flow” throughout the years.
“What we’re trying to really figure out is to work on getting some alignment, not that it’ll ever be perfect because hey, we’re making sausage, and it’s not the prettiest thing sometimes,” he said.
Yelverton said the forthcoming comprehensive plan update will provide another opportunity for improvements.
The city has applications open for the comprehensive plan steering committee through Aug. 14. Steering committee members will work with consultants, city staff and other residents to draft a plan for city growth.
“We haven’t done anything like this in a generation, to legitimately try to lay out a new blueprint for the city.” he said.
Commissioners and council members also discussed big-picture economic development and attracting higher-caliber projects.
Andrew Piel, District 4 council member, said elected officials and commission appointees need to keep pressure on developers to bring high-quality projects for consideration. Until recent years, he said, financial institutions and developers have been comfortable bringing forward low-quality projects.
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