Council Report: Zoning change to allow for charter school in Pate Ranch area

After being taken off the table previously, a zoning change in the 7400-7500 blocks of Chisholm Trail Parkway was finally approve by the Fort Worth City Council on March 19. The change will allow for a mixed-use development with a waiver for a charter school.

The property is located south of Altamesa Boulevard, west of Chisholm Trail Parkway on the eastern side of the future Harris Parkway. The applicant, Pate Ranch Land, LP/Pate Ranch Commercial LP, proposed the zoning change in order to develop a Great Heart Academy. The development, however, was not able to meet the majority of the regulations including setbacks and parking.

Pate Ranch had requested multiple waivers to the development standards to accommodate the school.

“We generally don’t like that many waivers, but they’re concerned the school won’t make,” District 6 Councilman Jungus Jordan said, noting that Pate wants to retain other options in such a case.

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Great Hearts academies are nonprofit charter schools based in Phoenix, Arizona. They operate several primary, middle and high

schools in the Phoenix metro area, along with campuses in San Antonio and Irving.

“They approached us with it, and we’re pro-education in Fort Worth,” Jordan said.

The property is a deep lot in a developing area. A senior apartment complex is planned directly to the north. Harris Parkway is under construction, and when completed will connect from Altamesa Boulevard to Bryant Irvin Road.

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The property is adjacent to the new Chisholm Trail Parkway. Jordan said he expects Pate to provide an aesthetically pleasing campus as viewed from the parkway.

“Anything that goes along that parkway, I’m concerned about the aesthetics. The parkway is a pretty road,” he said