Aledo Council Chambers, 200 Old Annetta Road
Council adopts parkland, dark-sky lighting and tree ordinances and orders the May 2 election
Three code changes from the November joint workshop passed unanimously, with red cedar, honey locust and Ashe juniper struck from both the protected and replacement tree lists.
The Aledo City Council met Feb. 5, 2026, at 200 Old Annetta Road with Mayor Shane Davis, Mayor Pro Tem Shawna Ford and Councilmembers Ben Clark, Todd Covington and Summer Jones present. No one came forward during citizen appearances.
After public hearings at which no one spoke, the council unanimously approved Ordinance No. 2026-O-07, amending the Unified Development Code's open space standards on the dedication of parkland and open space within subdivision development, and Ordinance No. 2026-O-08, amending the lighting standards to the illumination standards of the International Dark Sky Association. Grant Fore, senior planner with the Berkley Group, told the council both had been discussed at the Nov. 10, 2025, joint work session with the Planning and Zoning Commission and that the commission unanimously recommended approval on Jan. 8, 2026.
The tree preservation ordinance drew the most discussion. The amendment to Chapter 22, Article X of the Code of Ordinances covers protected tree species and replacement tree species. Fore said red cedar, honey locust and Ashe juniper are considered nuisance trees but have not been deemed invasive in the state database. Clark asked that all three be removed from both the protected list and the replacement list, and the council approved Ordinance No. 2026-O-09 with those amendments on a unanimous vote.
The council approved Resolution No. 2026-R-05 ordering the May 2, 2026, election and a joint election agreement and contract for election services with Parker County, and approved an amendment to the Freese and Nichols professional services agreement for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Project. City Manager Candice Edmondson presented the first-quarter financial and investment reports for Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
On the consent agenda the council approved the Jan. 15 minutes, Resolution No. 2026-R-02 ratifying the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee appointments, Resolution No. 2026-R-03 adding Edmondson to the city's accounts with First Financial Bank, and Resolution No. 2026-R-04 amending the city's authorized representatives with the TexSTAR Investment Pool.
The council met in executive session from 6:35 to 7:28 p.m. on the posted topics of the Dean Ranch development conversation, Grand Prairie v. State, litigation pertaining to annexation, and downtown development, took no action, and adjourned at 7:47 p.m.
Sources: City of Aledo: approved minutes, Feb. 5, 2026 (CivicClerk); City of Aledo: agenda, Feb. 5, 2026 (CivicClerk); City of Aledo meetings portal
How this was sourced: Primary documents: the approved minutes and the posted agenda of the Feb. 5, 2026 meeting on the city's CivicClerk portal. Every vote, number and name above appears in those documents; the Ledger did not review a recording of the meeting. Public commenters who are not officials are not named. Written Sept. 4, 2026, for the archive.