FAQs

Arlington’s Comprehensive Plan is the key policy document providing goals, strategies, and action steps for Arlington to grow and prosper as a modern city. The Comprehensive Plan provides the blueprint for all aspects of Arlington’s development using interrelated chapters, or elements, analyzing the Arlington’s current and future issues, needs, challenges, and opportunities. Additionally, recommendations and strategies will be related to other City planning efforts.

The Comprehensive Plan is important because it sets the overall policy context for future growth and development for Arlington. The comprehensive plan addresses growth pressures in the city, future public facility and infrastructure needs, preservation of community character, preservation of natural resources, economic growth and quality of life initiatives. It is of particular interest to elected officials who adopt and fund its implementation, appointed officials who use it to guide decisions, as well as city departments who are charged with its enactment.

The Texas Local Government Code establishes the legal basis for the comprehensive plan. The code states that a municipality may adopt a comprehensive plan for long-range development. If a city adopts a comprehensive plan, it must be used as the basis of subsequent zoning amendments. The comprehensive plan is described as a plan for the orderly growth and development of the city and its environs. The plan should “facilitate the movement of people and goods, and the health, safety, and general welfare for the citizens of the city.”

The current Comprehensive Plan - 99 Square Miles - was adopted in 2015. Since then, the Dallas-Arlington-Forth Worth area has added over 1 million residents. It's due to this population increase, changes in housing needs and the economy, and other community needs, that an updated plan is being worked on.

The City uses the Comprehensive Plan as a guide for decisions when:

• Build on the ideas and guidance from the many participants in the planning process.
• Establish the vision for what Arlington can achieve and aspires to achieve.
• Consolidate and coordinate in one comprehensive document the policies that relate to the city’s physical growth, economic growth, and development.
• Guide decision-making and evaluation of zoning map and text amendments and discretionary development approvals.
• Identify short and long-term strategic actions for the city to undertake.
• Provide the basis for orderly, consistent, and predictable land use decision making.

Zoning is how the City regulates the land based on use of the property, setbacks building height, parking requirements, landscape standards, etc. Zoning, as part of the Unified Development Code (UDC), is a regulatory tool intended control the development and use of land. Zoning helps to implement the Comprehensive Plan and other City plans for growth and development.

ZONING/UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE

ZONING DISTRICTS

INTERACTIVE ZONING MAP

For Arlington, the Future Development Areas (Future Land Use) Map within the Comprehensive Plan is an advisory document. It establishes desired future land use patterns and key community characteristics. Some city plans, like the South SH 360 Corridor Strategy and the US 287 Strategy delve deeper into future land use for particular properties and locations. These future land use maps are an important long-range tool intended to inform development decisions.

The Zoning Map and Unified Development Code (UDC) are regulatory documents. They determine what may currently legally be built on a property, and include development standards such as maximum building heights, required setbacks, parking requirements, and landscaping regulations. Zoning helps to implement the Comprehensive Plan and other city plans for growth and development.

• The Future Land Use Map typically designates various districts within a city for particular land uses, such as residential, commercial, or industrial. 
• The Zoning Map legally regulates specific development requirements on individual pieces of land.
• The Existing Land Use Map shows current conditions, what the uses actually are now.

Community members are encouraged to sign-up for newsletters and alerts through www.ArlingtonListens.com. Additionally, be sure to follow the City's Facebook page.

If you're interested in meeting with a member of the Comprehensive Plan, please contact us directly at LongRangePlanning@ArlingtonTX.gov.

A Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee is a diverse collective of community members that represent different districts and varying demographics within the City.

Members of the steering committee will have an important role in shaping the planning process by providing unique perspectives, expertise, and ensuring that participation in the planning process is inclusive of the community. These committee members will provide input and feedback on each element of the planning process, including preliminary plan vision and goals, guiding principles, base concept development and strategies, element policies and priority actions, implementation strategies and recommendations.

Steering Committee meetings will be held:

City Hall - Council Briefing Room

101 W Abram St, 3rd Floor

Arlington, TX 76010

Anticipated meetings will be held on the third Thursday of the month starting November 21, 2024.

If scheduled, meeting agendas will be posted on the City's website and at City Hall 72 hours before each meeting. 

Comprehensive Plan Timeline

Phase 1: Baseline & Visioning, November 2024-July 2025

Phase 2: Plan Development, May 2025-March 2026

Phase 3: Review & Adoption, February 2026-October 2026