History, heritage endangered by development in Stockyards

A growing coalition in favor of preserving the Stockyards has won the support of organizations in Texas and nationally following the announcement and continuing controversy over a proposal by California-based Majestic Properties to redevelop the historic district.

Historic Fort Worth Inc. placed the Stockyards on its list of Most Endangered Places in May, and the district earned similar recognition in June from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

In the first half of the 20th century, our Stockyards ranked among the three largest in the world, joining Chicago and Kansas City.

During World War I, the Stockyards provided much-needed stock for the Allies’ victory, becoming the largest horse and mule market in the world.

Today, the Stockyards continues to be a center of living, authentic western heritage, attracting more than 3 million visitors a year.

But once the stock pens, barns and buildings and the real working cowboys and cowgirls are gone, they cannot be brought back. Our authenticity will be lost to the dustbin of history.

As with many public issues, folks have different opinions. City Council members repeat their mantra: Trust us. Another publication in town published an editorial calling concerned citizens names and told them to “mind your own business.”

The Star-Telegram has offered a more nuanced opinion, suggesting we should trust a City Council-conceived task force to create design guidelines for Majestic and wait to see the developer’s plans before supporting or opposing its effort.

Although it’s wrapped in patience and prudence, this opinion is ill-advised.

First, the task force has no responsibility for preserving the historic nature of the district. It simply receives instructions from city staff and, frankly, appears to be little more than a cynical political insurance policy to which council members can point once the Majestic bulldozers get started.

“The citizen task force approved this,” a council member might say.

Second, even though the task force is still talking about what city staff tells them, Majestic has already planned and scheduled its announcement of what it intends to do.

What does this mean?

The paper wants us to trust a phony task force and wait for Majestic to design a plan based on phony guidelines even though Majestic has already decided what it wants to do.

In June 2014 our City Council voted to create a strict “form-based code” (a technical but crucial bureaucratic distinction) following its expedited approval of a Majestic zoning change request.

The request had previously been denied by the zoning commission.

The council also called for studies of the effects the development will have on parking and traffic in the district.

One year later, the city has yet to follow through on its commitment to the new code or the parking or traffic studies.

Finally, despite repeated calls from residents to not turn the Stockyards into a theme park, the Majestic executive in charge of the project actually said he wants the nationally recognized historic district to be a “Disneyland-type” destination.

All this begs the question: What does an out-of-town developer known for building warehouses and big-box stores have to do with our historic Stockyards?

An answer may come from the same Majestic executive mentioned above, who recently stated he believes the Stockyards is a “treasure.” I do not doubt his sincerity. But a treasure for whom?

The simple and proven solution to address the concerns of local residents, the 3 million-plus people who visit the district each year, the taxpayers footing the $67 million 15-year tax break and the developer is for the city to grant local historic designation to the Stockyards.

Such a designation will enforce real guidelines, allow the developer to continue the decades-long success story of the district’s renaissance and preserve our living history for generations to come.

John M. Pritchett is a community volunteer, a Republican political consultant, and a fourth-generation native of Fort Worth.

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 7:20 PM with the headline "History, heritage endangered by development in Stockyards."