[{"_1":2,"_110":-5,"_111":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74,86,98],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},"mediaId",6519377,"mediaKeyId","5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8","parentId",5360518,"title","Votes at a glance: Irving council approves zoning and permits, postpones special-fence and appointment votes","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",2500000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8&start=2500&end=2500","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8/thumbnail_2500000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6519377/Irving/Dallas-County/Texas/Votes-at-a-glance-Irving-council-approves-zoning-and-permits-postpones-special-fence-and-appointment-votes","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6519377-c00eb723ee5f81d7a9c88239f5b6082e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770897196&Signature=Rap6v53V6KZGhj7bqK~NFVBapdO8PetFbwroDYubxEo6wlq0T0-bSSRTUfFZCnr5rTgjWKC8HMsqwgzgs8fv5Liw2AmKCEcJ7Twlf6DDAEDhUrCVPvr-f4EbM187dF~xguX0i-Oxf277mkTsqrgBvAJsZcfnbXdXmymoNxRQprfY4T3TBLEB~hDq-lFb6rrgg873TxLCxf0ciBOdZYwCm5pcRk~xsf~yKVNCdkgnLAGH-d3gkrmQtmR6R-J97XTVNOFh4YE7Rw14lvtxL0dREnY0cs-R4-N1qSoi3SXl-OKd7Uy~iSQpAZwQ6oKlZB0kJmMxqe3dMp0dqV9NgelRsg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Irving","date","2025-07-10T00:00:00Z","article","The Irving City Council on July 10 approved several zoning and land-use items, advanced restaurant alcohol permits and postponed two items for later review.

The council approved the consent agenda (items 3–10) by unanimous vote. Council later voted to postpone ordinance 20254411 SFP (special fence permit) to the Aug. 28 meeting at the applicant’s request.

On zoning and land-use matters the council recorded these outcomes: ordinance 2020558ZC (reduction of lot size and variance request at 861 Hope Lane) passed 5–3 after discussion; ordinance 20251666CC (detailed site plan and on-premise alcohol sales at 105 South Main Street) passed 7–1; a special-fence permit for 206 Cummings Drive passed unanimously with modifications; a detailed site plan for restaurants at 3601 Regent Boulevard (Suites 140 and 150) passed 6–2; and a mixed-use zoning change affecting properties on West Sixth Street, Rindy Street and Hill Trap Drive passed unanimously. The council also approved an appointment to the Firefighters and Police Civil Service Commission on a motion to postpone to allow additional review; that postponement passed unanimously.

Several motions were moved and seconded from the dais; roll-call tallies were recorded where the clerk’s system permitted vote counts. The council handled the votes during its regular agenda; no executive session votes were recorded in the public portion of the meeting.

Key actions and vote tallies are listed below.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Irving - City Council - Jul 10, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At the July 10 meeting the council approved multiple zoning and alcohol-permit items, passed a consent agenda unanimously, postponed a special-fence item to Aug. 28 and postponed a city-manager appointment to allow review.","taxTitle","Irving, Dallas County, Texas","taxId",2782,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_46":80,"_48":81,"_50":82,"_52":83,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":84,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":85,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6519381,"Public hearing: last chance for input before Irving council votes on HUD 2025 action plan",547,2288000,2835000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8&start=2288&end=2835","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8/thumbnail_2288000.jpg","/articles/6519381/Irving/Dallas-County/Texas/Public-hearing-last-chance-for-input-before-Irving-council-votes-on-HUD-2025-action-plan","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6519381-2f3704209aeec4e68d3c162315c15904/orig.mp4?Expires=1770897196&Signature=SS3QN2A2UG4s9jr2hNBAUhe8njJrEQICgj9X75ZD4Xi-agZpCMVJrE~DoYckGsFHcjgKlRM~Q4H1Nzwxpg4-5nqPGgd2jJOjEKd4ZMWRsg~vdUwYvumJ2HHbM14EfaEPpWkPguZMD2GEIgzNTQQkgNz6zec8ELWAMjHpd-fPsKBUTV3EjB03NIr6k46W50ApswrWdU08msSzQ~9NFQCVcQTeybJiKFeAysg8zEhO1aX~VGlPg1rVsgkG8ynfa4iSMJaX88naIePszP3CYLvczB87jQI~ZLk5725Dw1Yb-txjM2AhzfenSBammw7DAT39et83957IgZTaOa7GgxT~Kw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the council’s July 10 meeting, a housing advocate urged residents to review the draft 2025 Action Plan for federal HUD funds and to submit comments before the council’s scheduled vote on July 31.

Laura Anderson, who identified her address and said she was speaking to educate the public, said the draft Action Plan is available on the city website under the Housing and Redevelopment Department publications and reports. She said the city is scheduled to receive about $3,100,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and that, as drafted, approximately $193,000 is budgeted for homelessness-related activities. Anderson urged council and residents to consider whether those amounts reflect community priorities.

Anderson said the plan was the last public hearing before the July 31 council vote but that the city will accept public input through July 18 by email to PDanco@IrvingTX.gov. She also urged the council to consider convening a homelessness workshop she said could cost about $30,000 and suggested ARPA funds (which she referenced as roughly $2,900,000 available) could be used to support additional homelessness interventions.

Anderson said city housing staff currently estimate 45 people are experiencing homelessness in Irving; she encouraged residents to read the 50-page draft Action Plan and submit comments.

The council did not take final action on the Action Plan at the July 10 meeting; it is scheduled for council consideration on July 31.","A speaker at the July 10 meeting urged residents to review the draft 2025 HUD Action Plan, noted the city’s HUD allocation and small homelessness-targeted expenditures, and encouraged public comment ahead of the council vote July 31.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_46":92,"_48":93,"_50":94,"_52":95,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":96,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":97,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6519386,"Irving Arts Center employees urge council to block plan to eliminate Tech 1 positions",834,1262000,2096000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8&start=1262&end=2096","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8/thumbnail_1262000.jpg","/articles/6519386/Irving/Dallas-County/Texas/Irving-Arts-Center-employees-urge-council-to-block-plan-to-eliminate-Tech-1-positions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6519386-09ef35de4811a62cb7e7f7b5377ec22d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770897196&Signature=msNcfYwiyyhO9NQESyyU2ugK7AZinAaUtulE~NlpBwZhMOWnxYmGw9nlnVOMVvBb20XETCXrddu~sCg5W5RhVcelnZlXIuqWTJ2~au9zyyDiU5ooWKLCz3gFg~ox6EIQ22GsfCMtOCm~UmlO2Kg1bNYgVcEOvS6WwYVVlkjHOWB7cylnygD87EQLNCmE2eCenfja-L6XqtZ2UDhTo3Hqxzs8HF6LpV4oc5JKYxo7lxm3oeHJMewtRIa~XODNkGbgNBs1y3DXqZgU6KQM0CLvxJRNWwqlynR7McwRnJcCnR55Kz3gSuollScjl0q1F0foITzP7J36Do8GsUlHXLpXxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Staff and technicians at the Irving Arts Center asked the City Council on July 10 to oppose a proposal that would eliminate Level 1 technician positions and rely instead on outside contractors.

Chris Ospina, a technician at the Irving Arts Center, described reduced regular hours for city employees after the center began using contractors for productions and said the change pushed experienced technicians to seek work elsewhere. “We Irving Arts Center employees have slowly but surely been shoved to the side in favor of contractors,” Ospina said.

Jessica Lesser, a Level 1 technician who identified herself as employed at the center for more than eight years, told the council a proposal scheduled for the Arts Board on July 21 would remove six Tech 1 positions. She said the change is being justified by a Texas limit on part-time municipal hours (referenced by speakers as 1,000 hours per year) and that substituting contractors will in practice increase labor costs because contractors earn overtime premiums.

Lesser said the arts center charges about $40 an hour for a technician and that contractors’ pay increases for long shifts — time and a half after five hours without a meal break and double time after 12 hours — which can raise client costs. “By removing 6 tech 1 technicians, the Irving Arts Center is in fact increasing their cost of labor,” Lesser said, and she urged council members to deny the proposal if the Arts Board approves it.

Speakers asked the council to use its authority to override an Arts Board action if needed. The City Council did not take a vote on the Irving Arts Center staffing proposal during the July 10 meeting; employees asked the council to communicate opposition before the Arts Board hears the item on July 21.","Employees and longtime staff told the council a July 21 Arts Board proposal to remove part-time Tech 1 positions would increase costs and harm retention, and asked the council to overrule the board if necessary.",{"_33":99,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":100,"_41":101,"_43":102,"_45":103,"_46":104,"_48":105,"_50":106,"_52":107,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":108,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":109,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6519391,"Downtown businesses, residents urge Irving council to act on Main Street safety and homelessness",1645,759000,2404000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8&start=759&end=2404","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5360518-1ff2b649a12413de97df9d189944fff8/thumbnail_759000.jpg","/articles/6519391/Irving/Dallas-County/Texas/Downtown-businesses-residents-urge-Irving-council-to-act-on-Main-Street-safety-and-homelessness","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6519391-5e04ed8a5628f80a29f279a7205216fd/orig.mp4?Expires=1770897196&Signature=AB5Y3vSYIpOt4KKHgc8GgV6rJdwnbBmBS3nfS2Nu74BSQSwo5SAxhMAXdmdfJWXUGdScPtNiAItczIwni97pnql8CpD4Vl2oRbye37n-ZjAnnt0y68BtIbTyGIxMWyJYj8sinuzKgIC6oW0nJg5ie7wqH7dzSBDP8v7iZR~pU--nKGEMqLG2-nlAzAsUJL2LbH35Ry2nchxnSb9UIR9rudGWqgJMcYFu-LJcOwFYetP1GsM1B8eKT1EHBG4pXGY6w3Q9eJXbR-znx9KIoni5rE3LGb2FGowJsZ113Y71t6hl7GvcrFuKSDcyUGAsSp6pp2dBAoA6ARNWBwHa6japBA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Residents and business owners urged the Irving City Council on July 10 to step up enforcement and services after months of public-safety problems and what they described as visible homelessness on Main Street.

The comments focused on downtown sanitation, public drug use and a string of criminal incidents. Joanne Gowen, owner of Glory House Catering at 109 South Main Street, said increased police presence has produced noticeable improvements but urged the council to resist restoring downtown benches that, she said, encourage long-term sitting by people experiencing homelessness. “When the benches are gone, I feel like it solved basically 90% of the problem,” Gowen said.

The plea for more visible patrols and neighborhood-oriented policing was echoed by Melody McCallum, a Main Street worker who described repeated encounters with open drug use and a violent incident in 2015. McCallum said she no longer arrives early or stays late at work because of safety concerns. “Safety for our children, safety for our elderly. We’ve got to do something about the park,” McCallum said.

Business owner Steve Goen described repeated incidents of break-ins, vandalism and human waste on building walls and property that he said have been reduced after installation of a police camera in the downtown historic district. Goen cited enforcement tools he believes the city can use, referencing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling and state legislation on encampments and public sanitation. “Irving Police Department, please enforce the laws, law and order in Irving, Texas,” he said.

Speakers asked for a mix of short-term enforcement and longer-term services. Several commentators credited recent increases in police presence for improvements but urged continued attention to protect businesses, employees and customers.

The statements were made during the public-comment portion of the council’s July 10 meeting; they did not produce immediate council action on the dais. The council’s agenda did include housing and zoning items later in the meeting, and several speakers asked that staff and elected officials use upcoming budget and federal funding decisions to address homelessness and safety downtown.","Multiple downtown business owners and residents told the Irving City Council during public comment that visible homelessness, open drug activity and repeated sanitation problems on Main Street are harming safety and commerce and urged stepped-up enforcement and services.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: Irving council approves zoning and permits, postpones special-fence and appointment votes

Public hearing: last chance for input before Irving council votes on HUD 2025 action plan

Irving Arts Center employees urge council to block plan to eliminate Tech 1 positions

Downtown businesses, residents urge Irving council to act on Main Street safety and homelessness