Irving Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously adopts procedure changes, sets 2/3 threshold for amendments

The City of Irving Planning & Zoning Commission on July 14 voted unanimously to suspend a procedural requirement for the meeting and then adopted three amendments to its rules of procedure, including a change to require a two-thirds vote for certain amendments.

Commissioners first moved to suspend Section G (a rule that generally requires a rule of procedure to be introduced at one meeting and acted on at the next) for the purpose of taking action that night. The motion to suspend was seconded and passed unanimously.

Following the suspension, the commission voted to adopt three sets of amendments: (1) revise voting-threshold language to require two-thirds for certain rule changes (members discussed but did not adopt a unanimous or simple-majority standard for all items), (2) revise ex parte communication language to reference the Open Meetings Act and clarify staff and director responsibilities, and (3) make various director-language and cleanup edits to align the document with current practice. The motion to adopt the three sets of changes passed unanimously.

During the discussion commissioners debated whether rule changes should require unanimous consent, a majority, or a supermajority. One commissioner argued for returning to unanimity for sensitive procedural changes; others favored a two-thirds threshold as a practical safeguard. Staff said the revised language was intended to encourage commissioners to share substantive outside contacts with staff for packet distribution while avoiding overbroad requirements that could chill ordinary communications.

The commission approved the redlined changes and directed staff to prepare a final redline for the minutes and reflect the adopted edits in future packets. No public comment was recorded at the time of the votes.