This neighborhood will get homes instead of an industrial park after Fort Worth changes course
The Fort Worth City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of a would-be industrial park in the city’s southeast side Tuesday morning, earning the praise of activists.
The city designated the gravelly patch of land hugging the northern edge of U.S. 287 near Wilbarger Street for medium-density housing developments. Residents hailed the change as a step toward minimizing the adverse effects of rapid industrialization on neighborhoods.
“This is a positive step in the right direction,” Letitia Wilbourn, a founding member of the Echo Heights and Stop Six Environmental Coalition, told the Star-Telegram after the vote. “There is a whole lot of work to be done.”
In October, as city leadership gathered in the convention center for the mayor’s annual State of the City address, Wilbourn and around a dozen other coalition members demonstrated outside the venue, demanding an end to patterns of “environmental racism” they claim the city enables through its zoning policies.
The city classified the Echo Heights area as an “Industrial Growth Center” in 2000. Urban planners at the time reasoned that the neighborhood’s proximity to several key highways made it a natural commercial hub.
A sprawling patchwork of warehouses and truck yards has surfaced since. Storage facilities and refueling stations rub against parks and health clinics. Eighteen-wheelers routinely rumble through residential streets. The seven-acre plot of land designated by council members on Tuesday is encased by a block of single-family homes, a community center and industrial garages.
Wilbourn and other community advocates have fought for years to limit industry’s encroachment. They suspect the area’s industrialization has endangered the health of its mostly Black and Latino residents. Though no official study has confirmed a correlation between the two, Environmental Protection Agency assessments reveal that Echo Heights residents are abnormally exposed to hazardous waste and carcinogenic air toxins.
Sensitive to the concerns of community leaders, District 11 council member Jeanette Martinez initiated the rezoning process this past summer.
“It was a community driven process,” Martinez told the Star-Telegram. “We want to make sure our constituents and residents have the highest quality of life.”
Wilbourn lauded Martinez’s efforts during the Tuesday council meeting. She hopes the revision will be one of many.
“The city has an addiction to zoning in these communities,” she said. “And they need a 12-step program.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2024 at 4:02 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Letitia Wilbourn’s name.
