Here’s what to know for Arlington’s upcoming town hall meetings

On Oct. 1, Arlington will host the first in a series of town hall events to discuss pressing topics across the city. 

City staff and Mayor Jim Ross will discuss six topics over 12 meetings with residents during the Arlington Unfiltered: Straight Talk with the Mayor town halls. In preparation for the events, which will be held through May 2027, the Arlington Report has compiled context for the discussions.

Here’s what you should know:

Ordinance changes

Ross will kick off the first meeting by highlighting changes to the antidiscrimination chapter of the city code and vaping ordinances as pieces of discussion.

In September 2025, a majority of council members voted to remove an antidiscrimination ordinance from the city code. Leaders said the change was needed since the ordinance was found to not be in compliance with a federal directive against diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

If the council refused to remove the ordinance, city staff said, Arlington could have lost federal grant funding under the directive.

The ordinance was passed in 2021, creating a structure for city staff to investigate claims of discrimination against protected classes, both included in and beyond the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and later mediate the situation. Two classes in particular, gender identity and sexual orientation, were not explicitly named in the act but were included in the ordinance.

After the ordinance was removed, organizers of Arlington’s yearly Pride event canceled the 2026 iteration.

In February 2026, the council passed a new version of the ordinance that drew criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates who argued it no longer had enforceability. Some on the council said they felt the original ordinance was not enforceable to begin with.

The revised ordinance removed the investigation and mediation mechanisms, instead having staff direct residents’ claims to state or federal authorities.

In June, the HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health announced it would bring back its Pride event. CEO DeeJay Johannessen said recent election results and conversations with city leaders portrayed a positive outlook for local LGBTQ+ protections.

On the vaping front, council members voted in April to amend the city’s previous smoking ordinance to include e-cigarettes and vapes.

The ordinance prohibits smoking indoors in many public and some private establishments, as well as some public outdoor facilities.

At the time, advocates with the American Heart Association celebrated Arlington’s change, saying it helped set a standard for other cities in the state.

Environmental issues

The presence of gas wells has long been a hot-button environmental issue in Arlington. 

On one hand, activists at meetings argue that gas wells not only pollute the city but also cause explicit harm to residents. On the other hand, council members have continuously pointed to a 2015 state law that prohibits them from outright banning fracking or implementing regulations that are not “commercially reasonable.”

The debate most recently came up again in June, when a majority of council members voted to approve a townhome development roughly 300 feet from existing gas wells in east Arlington.

Ross previously told the Report that a representative from French energy company TotalEnergies will be in attendance at the meetings. According to the city’s gas site permit website, Total has 27 permits in the city, which is roughly 58% of open permits in Arlington.

While gas wells have brought companies like TotalEnergies profits, the city has also seen a monetary benefit. Currently, all gas well revenues are funneled to the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, the city’s nonprofit charitable arm.

According to tax filings accessed through ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, the foundation had roughly $7.38 million in revenue and $8.14 million in expenses in 2025. At that time, the foundation had roughly $126 million in total assets.

The discussion will also include talks of data centers, an issue that has inspired heated debates across North Texas.

Currently, only one data center is operating in Arlington, according to The Texas Tribune’s data center tool, and city staff has reported that the city is “not a good candidate” for larger hubs. The city council is also expected to hear an informal staff report on the viability of data centers in Arlington, as well as possible regulations the council could put into place.

Public transportation

According to the city, the public transportation town halls will include discussion around Arlington On-Demand, the Handitran service and the use of Flock Safety cameras.

Arlington is the largest city in the United States without a mass public transportation system. The city has opted instead to operate a rideshare system through its Arlington On-Demand system.

However, the city is also exploring the creation of a regional mass transit system that leaders have said will focus on high-speed rail, micro transit and autonomous systems.

The topic of adding a mass public transportation system, through buses or rail, has been one that has popped up during political campaigns for council candidates in the past.

On the Handitran, the council has most recently discussed the system’s current operations outside city limits, with staff and council members discussing how the city could recoup that expense. So far, the council has not made a definitive vote on the issue.

The final transportation topic the city announced was Flock cameras, an issue that has picked up steam alongside data centers as touchpoints in political campaigns and local governmental meetings.

The city council is expected to discuss the safety concerns surrounding the cameras during an upcoming council meeting, and Ross said the city’s police chief will be at the meetings to discuss the issue.

Public/private responsibilities

The city listed private roadways, creek erosion and dams as town hall topics.

In August, KERA News reported on the creek erosion and its effect on homes in the city. According to that report, the city has roughly 112 miles of natural creeks and waterways. 

However, only 43 miles of that is owned by Arlington. City officials have maintained that the stormwater mitigation and erosion control on land not owned by Arlington is solely on private property owners who have a creek running through their land.

Some outside authorities on erosion have claimed that the city is heading toward a point of no return, but city staffers say Arlington is on the right path for addressing the issues.

Related article: As creeks eat away at Arlington backyards, residents demand city take action to prevent crisis

Housing and homelessness issues

The city has listed Texas Senate Bill 840, short-term rentals, multifamily housing and homeless accommodations as topics for these town hall meetings.

Texas Senate Bill 840 has become a topic of considerable discussion since it went into effect in 2025. The bill allows developers to build multifamily apartments on land zoned for commercial use, foregoing a rezoning process. Arlington is one of only 19 cities in the state of Texas where the bill applies, since it only affects cities with 150,000 or more residents that are in counties that have populations of over 300,000. 

Lawmakers who pushed for the bill said it helps with affordability by fast-tracking housing developments past some regulations. However, since the law has gone into effect, some city leaders have raised concerns about the lack of local control through the zoning process.

In Arlington, there have been at least three projects pushed through via Senate Bill 840, according to a city site tracking these developments. In April, the law’s wide-ranging impact came to a head during a zoning change proposal that brought scrutiny from residents and council members. 

Accommodations for homelessness have also been a recent topic of discussion for council members. 

During Partnership Home’s annual State of Homelessness meeting in May, city and nonprofit leaders discussed the changing landscape of funding for homelessness services. Partnership Home CEO Lauren King said federal changes were shifting dollars from permanent housing solutions to transitional services.

At that meeting, Ross discussed the city’s new permanent housing project on West Division Street. The project, which is being pushed for a 2030 completion according to officials, will have roughly 70 units serving homeless and people nearing homelessness in Arlington.

The city’s homeless services did become a focal point throughout budget discussions. Two council members, who voted against the property tax rate, pushed for more funding in the 2026-27 budget for homeless projects.

If the city had moved to the no-new-tax revenue rate, which means it would have brought in the same amount of revenue as last year, the city would have had another $2.2 million. Leaders said that extra revenue could have gone to enhancing homeless services, among other projects.

Discussion is expected to surround multifamily housing, another significant issue with residents. It has also become a large touchpoint for candidates in the latest local election cycle. 

Beautification and nuisances issues

According to the city, the topics for these discussions will include homeless encampments, panhandling, trash pickup, graffiti removal and beautification efforts.

Of the topics, the most recent initiative is the Arlington mural project. Local artist Colton Canava has been working on murals near streets across the city to commemorate Arlington’s 150th anniversary.

Council members said the initiative plays a dual role: to increase public art and beautify walls near roads that are often tagged with graffiti.

Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at [email protected].

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