Fort Worth wants to buy troubled Keller ISD property, but certain conditions must be met
Fort Worth city council member Charles Lauersdorf emailed Keller school district officials on Feb. 27 saying the city was “ready and waiting” to discuss purchasing a vacant property on Clay Mountain Trail next to Basswood Elementary.
At a school board meeting Thursday evening, interim superintendent Cory Wilson confirmed the district would list the lot for sale to recoup the funds it used last year to purchase the property, which was done strategically to keep developers from building an extended-stay motel on the site. Wilson said the district would only entertain offers from buyers “who intend to develop the property in a manner that is sensitive to the existence of Basswood Elementary.”
In his email, Lauersdorf said Fort Worth had money from developers in its parks fund to use for the purchase, implying that the city planned on using the land for recreational development.
“Like any other interested buyer, the City of Fort Worth is willing to purchase the property at fair market value,” wrote Lauersdorf. “The key difference? The city’s use would not be commercial, ensuring a positive impact on Basswood Elementary’s students, families and faculty.”
Despite what Wilson said about restricting what can be built on the site, Lauersdorf contended that because the property is zoned for intensive commercial, the Keller school district would ultimately have little control over what prospective developers decided to do.
“Potential uses include nightclubs (though extremely unlikely), skating rinks, auto sales and repair, banks, restaurants, barber shops and more,” wrote Lauersdorf. He then mentioned last year’s efforts to keep the motel out, which resulted in a city ordinance prohibiting hotels from being built within 1,000 feet of a school.
“That being said,” Lauersdorf added, “many other commercial uses remain possible, which could be detrimental to Basswood Elementary.”
The Keller school district is dealing with a multi-million-dollar budget deficit, which has led some to speculate the district may close schools and sell off properties. Earlier in February, Lauersdorf and two of his City Council colleagues brought forth a motion to rezone 23 Keller-owned properties for community facilities only. That would mean, if sold, they could only be used for things such as schools and colleges, churches, recreational centers and community and group homes. That was done, Lauersdorf previously said, to keep large-scale commercial developments out of neighborhoods.
At the Feb. 27 school board meeting, Keller’s chief financial officer John Allison questioned the decision to rezone the properties, saying most were already zoned for single-family residential.
“Changing those zoning designations does not seem to make the best sense,” he said.
Lauersdorf disagrees. In his email, he pointed to the property next to Basswood Elementary. “Rezoning the lot to ‘CF — Community Facilities’ would achieve exactly what Mr. Allison proposed — limiting development to churches, government offices (perhaps even a new ISD administration building), health services, public safety facilities, colleges, schools and recreation spaces. Because of this, we will move forward with rezoning to CF.”
Fort Worth’s offer to buy the Clay Mountain property is contingent, however, on Keller giving assurances that no increased enrollment is planned for Basswood Elementary. Last year, Lauersdorf said, the district threatened the property’s previous owner with an eminent domain takeover, saying it needed the lot to facilitate future growth.
“I am not aware of any planned developments that would drive increased enrollment,” Lauersdorf wrote in his email. “If Keller ISD has information to the contrary, we would appreciate a discussion before proceeding.”
At recent school board meetings, Keller officials have partly blamed the district’s financial woes on declining enrollment, which has resulted in less state funding.