Fort Worth FedEx hub on track to extend permit amid environmental concerns, outdated zoning

Following concerns of pollution, environmental injustice and an outdated permit, city officials will vote on whether to approve FedEx’s request to continue operating a trucking facility in southeast Fort Worth.

FedEx has leased 9 acres at 4700 Martin St. as a semitruck and trailer storage site for 10 years under a special use permit. Zoning history shows the company was first granted the permit in March 2015 to operate the storage site for five years.

During a May 14 zoning meeting, commissioners voted 10-1 to recommend that City Council grant FedEx a conditional use permit. But they also questioned how the company failed to recognize the initial permit was outdated. 

Describing the illegal use as an “oversight” from a “huge corporate entity,” FedEx was not aware its initial permit expired in March 2020 until the company was notified by city officials, said Sean Tate, an attorney representing FedEx at the zoning meeting. Company leaders “immediately” submitted an application for a conditional use permit, requesting an additional five years to operate. He did not specify when the application to extend the permit was submitted. 

The company is not looking to expand the site or services on Martin Street, said Tate, but is in the process of installing fencing and landscaping to enhance the site’s appearance, which is mostly surrounded by homes in the Echo Heights neighborhood. 

FedEx representatives also held meetings on March 10 and April 5, inviting environmental advocacy groups and residents to address concerns about heavy traffic and the site’s environmental impact.

Teena James, a leader of the Echo Heights Stop Six Environmental Coalition, speaks during a protest before Mayor Mattie Parker’s State of the City address on Oct. 6, 2023. Letitia Wilbourn, right, and James are co-founders of the environmental coalition. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)

But Letitia Wilbourn, a longtime Echo Heights resident and leader of the Echo Heights Stop Six Environmental Coalition, says FedEx has violated its permit by commuting and operating in restricted areas. 

“They break their own rules. They break your rules,” Wilbourn told commissioners.

The company and its trucks have negatively affected the quality of the neighborhood through noise and air pollution, added Wilbourn.

“(FedEx) made $22.2 billion so far this year, they can go anywhere they want to be,” she said. “Why do these companies keep coming to Echo Heights, polluting us, destroying our neighborhoods?”

The neighborhood has been at the center of a yearslong battle between city leaders and members of communities where industrial businesses heavily reside, including trucking facilities and natural gas drilling sites. Wilbourn previously told the Report that community members have suffered from health issues exacerbated by industrial pollution. 

Alongside environmental advocacy groups Downwinders at Risk and Northside Fort Worth Air, Echo Heights residents have demanded to meet with city officials since September 2024. Their questions surround how city staff will incorporate environmental justice — and the proximity of industrial businesses to homes — into Fort Worth’s 2050 comprehensive plan. 

A $1 million federal grant application submitted by the environmental services department in 2023 would have funded research to help city staff devise a plan to reduce industrial pollution in Echo Heights. The fate of the grant remains unclear after the Trump administration halted federal grants and cut environmental justice initiatives earlier this year.

Wilbourn previously told the Report city leaders can continue pursuing environmental planning whether or not Fort Worth receives the grant.

“It doesn’t take money to fix this. All it takes is their policy,” said Wilbourn.

Activists have criticized city staff for not organizing a meeting with environmental groups. Fort Worth planners are still early in the process of putting the comprehensive plan together, said FWLab assistant director Eric Fladager. 

Once a consultant has been assigned to the project, city officials will host a focus group inviting residents to discuss environmental justice issues and how they would like their concerns to be addressed in the plan, he said. 

“We want to sort of be more focused, be more efficient with our time and get into the solutions, rather than just go over the problems again,” said Fladager.

The timeline for the document’s completion has shifted several times, from fall 2025 to fall 2026. Fladager previously told the Report he anticipates the document will be complete, and adopted by City Council members, in spring 2027.

Meanwhile, the FedEx permit is set for a City Council vote on June 10. The area is represented by District 11 City Council member Jeanette Martinez. 

Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org. 

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