A proposed industrial development on about 100 acres in far north Fort Worth/Alliance owned by Keller ISD has been delayed after drawing strong opposition from nearby homeowners and members of the Fort Worth Zoning Commission.
At its regular meeting Aug. 12, the commission agreed with the developer to continue its rezoning request for 60 days, giving them time to present a revised plan after addressing residents’ concerns.
The commission also recommended that the Fort Worth City Council reject a proposed conversion of 45 acres near Avondale-Haslet Road to mostly single-family housing from mixed-use, and agreed to continue a rezoning request for a proposed QuikTrip car wash near TCU after receiving 23 letters of opposition.
The Keller ISD property includes 2766 and 2840 Keller Hicks Road, and the odd-numbered blocks among the 3600 to 4100 blocks of Golden Triangle Boulevard.
The school district has proposed a planned development allowing light-industrial uses, including warehouse development.
The proposal included several restrictions intended to buffer the property from surrounding neighborhoods, including an 8-foot solid fence, increased setbacks, additional tree plantings and no regular driveway connection to Keller Hicks.
Denton Walker, with Transwestern Development, the project developer, told commissioners they met with representatives of seven community groups and modified the proposal in response to concerns.
Those changes included increasing buffer zones, adding additional setbacks and reducing the proposed maximum height of a cold-storage building to 55 feet from 80.
But residents of nearby Crawford Farms and Woodland Springs remained opposed.
Lisa Hansen, president of the Crawford Farms Homeowners Association, said the neighborhood’s 1,072 households bought their homes expecting the school district property to be used for a school or some type of community use.
“I thought Keller ISD was going to build a school there one day, and now we’re getting a warehouse,” Hansen told commissioners.
Residents were concerned about increased traffic and noise, and having industrial development next to their homes, she said.
Keller ISD Superintendent Cory Wilson told commissioners that the district believes that using the property for light industrial use makes the most economic sense.
The district has lost about 6,000 students since the 2020-21 school year and has closed three schools in the past year, he said.
It doesn’t need to build more schools, and developing the property for residential or commercial use would take too long to return the desired income. Developing the property for light industrial use would return the best investment in the shortest time, he said.
Commissioners were divided over the merits of industrial development on the site, but leaned toward agreeing with city staff that the proposal doesn’t fit with future plans for the area and also felt the community hadn’t been adequately informed of the proposal.
Eventually, the commissioners agreed that more discussion with surrounding neighborhoods was warranted and voted 9-0 to continue the case until its October zoning hearing.
Commission rejects 45-acre residential conversion
The commission unanimously recommended the city council reject a proposal to rezone about 45 acres along Avondale-Haslet Road to mixed-use from urban residential to become primarily single-family residential.
The developer proposed putting about 40 acres into A-5 single-family zoning, with roughly 5 acres remaining for neighborhood commercial use.
City staff members recommended denial, because the proposal would move the property away from the city’s future mixed-use vision by separating the residential and commercial portions.
Commissioners also worried that once land designated for commercial development is converted to residential use, Fort Worth rarely gets that commercial land back.
“I think when we lose commercial space in this city, we rarely get it back,” commission chairman Jeremy Raines said during the discussion. The commission voted 9-0 to recommend denial of the request.
QuikTrip car wash delayed after opposition
A rezoning decision to allow an automated QuikTrip car wash at 2800 Cleburne Road and the 1600 block of West Cantey Street was also continued after the applicant received 23 letters of opposition shortly before the meeting. City staff had recommended approval of the application.
QuikTrip representative Ben Williams asked for additional time to evaluate the concerns and revise the site plan. The commission granted the continuance.
Former Masonic lodge approved as event center
The commission, meanwhile, recommended the city council approve a revised proposal to turn the vacant former Masonic lodge at 2115 Belle Ave. into an event center for weddings, quinceañeras, birthday parties, baby showers and similar gatherings.
The applicant returned a third time to the commission with a revised plan that included upgraded parking, ADA spaces, enhanced landscaping and a new fence. No one spoke in opposition.
Panther Island zoning overhaul moves closer
During its morning work session, the commission also received an update on a proposed overhaul of the Panther Island form-based code, the first of two presentations planned before commissioners.
A form-based zoning code regulates the shape and design of buildings and their relationship to streets and public spaces, rather than just regulating the use of the property.
The Panther Island update is designed to implement recommendations from the city’s Vision 2.0, a reassessment of the Panther Island strategy, and respond to development that has occurred since the original code was adopted.
The proposed changes would place greater emphasis on mixed-use development, waterfront access, open space, walkability and preservation of view corridors, said Joe Laws, a senior planner with the city.
The revised code would also concentrate development intensity in the district’s core, establish new standards for building heights, landscaping and parking structures, and strengthen requirements for waterfront and public open space.
Law said the revised code is expected to return to the commission for adoption in September or October before going to the city council.
The zoning commission will vote on the revised code Sept. 9, and the council will vote on it Oct. 13, under a resolution the council passed Aug. 25.
2026 Fort Worth Zoning Commission
Documenter: Lou Chapman
Date: Aug. 12, 2026
Learn more about this meeting by clicking here. For the agenda, click here.
Lou Chapman is a member of the Fort Worth Report Documenters crew. If you believe anything in this account is inaccurate, please email us at news@fortworthreport.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
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