The Fort Worth City Council approved a zoning change that will restrict future multifamily developments in the Stockyards area.
Council voted 8-1 to adopt an an amendment to the zoning ordinance governing land use in the Stockyards, following the recommendation from the city’s zoning commission. The commission voted 5-3 in November in favor of the change.
Only District 8 City Councilman Chris Nettles voted against the zoning change, although the plan drew community both support and criticism.
Nettles said he opposed limiting multifamily development due to Fort Worth’s rapid growth.
Cheryl West, president of the Fort Worth Stockyards Business Association, along with others, said the residential development is incompatible with the environment of the Stockyards, which has blossomed into a major entertainment district and tourism destination.
“We need to promote development that is compatible with a historic district,” West said.
Craig Cavileer, managing partner of Stockyards Heritage Development Co. and executive president of Majestic Realty Co., also asked the council to stick with entertainment, retail and restaurant uses that have led the Stockyards to become a top tourism destination in Texas.
“We have 8.2 to 8.4 million visiting the Stockyards a year and everyone is coming about four times a year,” said Cavileer, “I’m looking forward to seeing more of this content.”
Proponents of the zoning change also said increased traffic from residential development will only worsen congestion in the area. A comprehensive traffic study is underway, according to city officials.
When a plan for revitalization of the Stockyards was originally laid out, a form-based code was approved to shepherd development in the historic district. Even then, concerns cropped up about the incompatibility of residential living in an entertainment destination, according to city officials.
The Stockyards land-use plan allowed residential development outside of the core commercial area but there was little interest by anyone to develop there, according to city officials.
But that has since changed and residential developments are now planned at former sites of the Armour and Swift meat-packing plants, both on East Exchange Ave.
San Antonio-based development firm Kaori Residential plans to build two mixed-use projects that would add 730 residential units on the site of the former Swift Armor Meat Packing Plant at Packers and East Exchange avenues.
Stockyards Heritage Development Co., a partnership between California-based Majestic and Fort Worth-based Hickman Companies, transformed old mule and horse barns into the resplendent Stockyards showplace, Mule Alley. The firm also has plans for residential development in the Swift/Armour area.
Previously approved projects, including Kaori’s, were grandfathered in before the zoning change.
Kaori representatives asked the council to slow the process and not vote at the meeting. They told the council that multifamily development is vital to the success of the Stockyards.
The zoning change will not completely eliminate multifamily development from the Stockyards but will limit it to the south and west sides of the commercial district. It will no longer be allowed on the north and east edges.
“Staff recommended updates to the Stockyards form-based code, identifying areas where multifamily development is appropriate,” said District 2 Councilman Carlos Flores, whose district includes the Stockyards. “This was shared and supported by the vast majority of stakeholders.”
“With this vote,” Flores said, “council reaffirms its commitment to the residents of Fort Worth that the Stockyards redevelopment continues in a direction that preserves and protects its history now and for the future.”