The Fort Worth City Council voted March 19 to approve a zoning change at 4621 Keller Hicks Road to allow for a single-family residential development.
Similar requests were submitted in in 2012 and 2016 but the 2012 case was withdrawn and the 2016 case was denied. There was concern about nearby industrial uses, which include a concrete batch plant, and traffic generated from the subdivision, and the ability of Keller Hicks Road to accommodate the traffic and the railroad crossing.
This time the zoning commission vote 9-0 to recommend approval, with an amendment to add development standards for screening and buffering to the north. The project is received the support of the North Fort Worth Alliance and Villages of Woodland Springs. Three letters were submitted in opposition, and one resident spoke against the zoning change.
Since the last zoning case, several discussions have occurred between Fort Worth, Keller and the railroad. The applicant for the zoning change, CADG WS44 LLC, reported that each have agreed to contribute their proportional share of the improvements.
“Some of the things I wanted done in previous development he hadn’t done, but that’s been handled,” District 7 Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Shingleton said. “I told him if we can get enough good buffering so neighbors don’t complain, and he’s done that. It’s not without some challenges, but we’ll make it work.”
The developer is expected to build three lanes of road in front, and the two cities are working together to fix the intersection and railroad crossing.
In the last zoning case proposal, the draft subdivision layout provided a berm, fence and landscaping to block the view and sound of the plant.
“It’s probably the eighth wonder of the world,” Shingleton said with a laugh. “It’ll look like a flood levy.”