In response to community concerns about proposed redevelopment in Historic Northside, the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is co-hosting a zoningworkshop with city staff in Marine Park.
The workshop will be hosted at the Artes de La Rosa Cultural Center, beginning at 9 a.m. June 1, with the goal of clarifying aspects of Fort Worth’s zoning and rezoning process and providing the community the opportunity to participate in the process.
Staff will conduct the presentation in both English and Spanish and touch on topics including the fundamentals of zoning, the effect zoning has on urban planning and property development, and the steps on how to be involved in the zoning process.
The event comes as city leaders target Historic Northside for revitalization efforts. The community was one of two neighborhoods in Fort Worth selected for the Main StreetAmerica pilot program, which looks to reenergize older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
Both pilot programs were announced in August2022, with the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce managing efforts for Historic Northside, and Southeast Fort Worth Inc. leading the way in east Fort Worth’s Polytechnic Heights community.
The Hispanic chamber published their first annual report and assessment last year, and Anette Landeros, president and CEO of the Hispanic chamber and a board of directors member for Historic Northside, said the goal of the second year is to talk about “the technical portions” of the revitalization process.
“To be honest, we’re learning as well, and so we thought ‘Let’s all learn together and organize a workshop,’” Landeros said.
The Hispanic chamber and Main Street America hosted training and community meetings last year to receive feedback and engagement from locals. In 2023, the pilot program fundraised over $65,000, completed the beautification of Marine Park and created the Sonidos del Summer festival, which is coming back in July.
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Fort Worth Report
“We’ve been able to maintain the engagement, but our hope is to continue to build on that and for folks to be fully aware that their perspective is valuable,” Landeros said.
Amid the chamber’s efforts to engage with residents, concerns loom surrounding possible gentrification and redevelopment. Residents have raised concerns about the impact of the $1.16 billion Central City flood control project, which will create hundreds of acres of waterfront development on Panther Island between downtown and Northside.
And, in the Stockyards just north of Historic Northside, community pushback on a proposed hotel in April did not stop City Council from approving the development.
Community members have also vocalized concerns with the rezoning of sectors on 1300 Commerce St. The second tract of the zoning case would rezone a residential tract to planned development for all uses.
One of the architects of the project, Jason Eggenburger, said at a May 14 City Council meeting that the tract will be used for additional parking and a dumpster.
Richard Perez, a longtime local of Northside, has been working against the rezoning since being made aware of it in March, including circulating an online petition which currently has 65 signatures. Perez plans to attend the Saturday workshop and recognizes the importance of educating people on rezoning, but is concerned that the event will not touch on the current issues the neighborhood faces.
“I have no idea what their angle will be or if they’re going to try to pitch the zoning changes as something good,” Perez said. “I’m not sure how sensitive they’re going to be to what we want as residents here.”
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Perez spoke at the May 14 council meeting where the proposed rezoning was discussed after being approved by the zoning commission. A vote on the proposal was moved to June 25 after a motion by District 2 council member Carlos Flores, who represents the area and referenced the zoning workshop as one reason for the delay.
Perez said he is not opposed to all of the proposed development in Northside, referencing the rezoning of businesses on Main Street.
Landeros said the chamber is looking forward to seeing the engagement at the Saturday event, and that there may be more planned events if the workshop is a success.
“We’re going to see how this one goes, and then just as we do with every event, figure out what went well and how to adjust and hopefully continue to increase participation,” she said.
Ismael M. Belkoura is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
