Fort Worth City Council will consider nonprofit’s zoning request for refugee housing
A Fort Worth nonprofit that helps people seeking asylum with food and housing is seeking a zoning change so it can build eight fourplexes on six acres in southeast Fort Worth.
DFW Aslyum Seeker Housing proposes 32 one-family units, an amenities center and parking at 2201 Annabelle Lane.
But residents of the nearby neighborhood are pushing back, and the zoning commission has recommended that the City Council deny the request when it considers the proposal on Tuesday.
Munatsi Manyande, executive director of the nonprofit, told the zoning commission at its June 14 meeting that it can take three years or more for refugees to receive work permits, and in that time, his network wants to serve those and give them a home, food and assistance in preparing them for work.
One resident told the zoning commission during the June 14 meeting that he and many other homeowners in his neighborhood have lived there for generations and don’t want it to change. He also said crime in nearby apartment complexes is an issue, while his neighborhood is safe.