Benbrook residents question wisdom of allowing new development in floodplain
The green corridor bordering Mary’s Creek east of Loop 820 between Veterans Parkway and Chapin Road is some of the last open, pristine land you’ll find in rapidly growing Benbrook.
Now, residents fear what will happen should a proposed 178-home residential development be built in that riparian zone, much of it directly in the Mary’s Creek floodplain.
Public outcry
On July 21, more than 60 people filled the gym at Redeemer Lutheran Church on the Benbrook-Fort Worth border to mobilize in an effort to stop the Rowan Ranch development, which is being spearheaded by Fort Worth developer Corey Waldrop and his company Motiv Ventures.
Those attending the community meeting voiced displeasure at the Benbrook Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision to rezone the property for residential use after years of it being left untouched to serve as a buffer between the creek and adjacent homes.
“The wisdom of our Benbrook forefathers was to zone it as a floodplain,” said Sean Moore, who organized the meeting and who is running for Benbrook City Council in an attempt to give voice to worried and angry Mary’s Creek residents.
Waldrop told the Star-Telegram he has worked with engineers on a plan to reshape the floodplain and mitigate the risk to new and existing homes. That plan includes widening Mary’s Creek and putting in barriers to slow water flow.
The plan, Waldrop said, was the result of extensive hydraulic studies. Ryan Reagan, whose home backs up to Mary’s Creek, scoffed at that.
Reagan said there’s 55 square miles of watershed around Mary’s Creek, and he insisted that Waldrop and his engineers have analyzed less than a quarter of that area.
“If they’re off by even an inch,” Reagan said of the engineering models, “there goes my house.”
Those who attended the meeting at Redeemer Lutheran seemed to agree with Reagan’s assessment. The general feeling in the room was that manipulating the floodplain will have unforeseen negative consequences.
Moore cautioned that the impact wasn’t isolated to the immediate area around Mary’s Creek. He pointed out that Mary’s Creek flows into the Clear Fork of the Trinity River, which joins the West Fork as it flows toward the main branch of the Trinity on its course to the Gulf of Mexico. Any changes upstream, Moore cautioned, could affect downstream watersheds.
Benbrook says safeguards are in place
Benbrook Assistant City Manager Ethan Cox said he understood residents’ worries about building in the floodplain, but he reiterated that nothing was finalized in regard to the Rowan Ranch development.
On July 10, the city’s planning and zoning commission recommended changing the zoning to allow for residential construction on the property, but the City Council still has to vote on that. Before the City Council vote, which will likely happen in late August, the public will have the opportunity to voice their concerns.
Additionally, said Cox, should the City Council approve the zoning change, the development would still be subject to oversight. Benbrook’s city engineers would need to analyze and sign off on the plan to reclaim the floodplain, as would engineers from the city of Fort Worth, Cox said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers would also need to approve any plans to build in the existing floodplain.
Reagan and others, however, believe that if the planning and zoning commission’s recommendation passes, Waldrop will have free rein to do what he likes with the Rowan Ranch property. And the Mary’s Creek residents have serious reservations about Waldrop and the promises he’s made to shore up the floodplain before building.
Legal issues plague developer
In April, Waldrop was arrested on felony theft charges after he allegedly failed to pay contractors for work on a residential build in Parker County, and he allegedly never paid a dealer for appliances installed in the home. The total amount Waldrop is alleged to owe is more than $106,000.
The charges also included felony misapplication of funds. An investigator with the Parker County Sheriff’s Department alleged in an arrest affidavit that Waldrop’s client paid him for the project in installments, but that Waldrop transferred “large amounts of funds” from his business account to personal accounts.
The criminal charges, which were filed in Tarrant County, are still pending.
Waldrop, who disputes the charges, said the cases are in a state of “limbo,” and he believes it could take anywhere from three to five years to clear them should the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office pursue charges.
“We hope and pray that with time and with facts and information, those will go away,” he said.
Waldrop’s previous company, Trinity Design and Build, was forced into bankruptcy proceedings in October 2024 by three plaintiffs. Two are homeowners who alleged that Waldrop took their money but never performed work they’d paid for, or performed shoddy work that later had to be fixed. The third plaintiff is a concrete provider who alleged that Waldrop owed them money.
Trinity Design and Build and Waldrop are named as defendants in 11 lawsuits dating to 2021, with plaintiffs alleging nonpayment of money owed. Waldrop’s wife, Margaret (Meg) Waldrop, is named as a defendant in at least one of those lawsuits. Waldrop told the Star-Telegram that she is a co-owner of Motiv Ventures.
According to court records, three of the lawsuits are still pending. The Star-Telegram reached out to defendants and defendants’ attorneys, but only one responded.
That plaintiff, Jan Scott, told the Star-Telegram via email that she and her husband, Dwain Scott, were away on a mission trip. Scott declined to comment until she and her husband returned and could consult with their attorney.
According to the complaint in their lawsuit against Trinity Design and Build, the Scotts entered into a contract with Waldrop in 2020 to remodel their Fort Worth home. They agreed to pay more than $660,000 for the project, which they say Waldrop never completed.
When asked about the allegations against him, Waldrop said he had done nothing wrong.
“Civil suits are inherently part of the business,” he said. “It’s unfortunate. Sometimes it just takes time to get the facts.”
Plaintiffs in at least three of the civil cases against Waldrop were awarded judgments. Those include Origin Bank, which was awarded more than $72,000 for unpaid loan. ABC Supply Co., a construction supplies dealer, was awarded more than $28,000 and Texas Door and Trim received a judgment exceeding $68,000.
Pape-Dawson, the engineering firm Waldrop contracted with for services related to the Rowan Ranch development, filed a $440,000 lien on the property in March for unpaid fees.
Waldrop and his wife own the Rowan Ranch property under a company called Chapin Holdings, LLC. The Waldrops, through Chapin Holdings, have entered into an option contract with David Weekley Homes. According to a spokesperson from David Weekley Homes, the contract allows the company “to purchase developed lots, if and when the property is developed into a subdivision.”
When asked about Benbrook residents’ concerns related to building in the floodplain, the David Weekley spokesperson said the contract with Chapin Holdings stipulates that the lots cannot be either partially or wholly located in the 100-year floodplain.
In response to questions about Waldrop’s legal issues, the spokesperson had this to say: “David Weekley Homes is not aware of any criminal charges against Mr. Waldrop, and is not familiar with any civil lawsuits to which he is a party.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 4:16 PM.