Liquor stores, smoke shops on every corner? Not anymore, Fort Worth leaders say
.JPG "Fort Worth officials want to put in new restrictions on where smoke shops, liquor stores, payday loan businesses, and pawn shops can be built.")
Do liquor stores and smoke shops rough a neighborhood up? Fort Worth officials think so.
The Fort Worth Infrastructure and Growth committee met on Oct. 21 to discuss possible zoning amendments for liquor and package stores, vape shops, pawn shops, and credit access business operations (better known as payday loan businesses).
“These types of businesses are disproportionally located in neighborhoods where there are more people of color, lower incomes who have lower educational attainment, and lower financial institution access,” said Stephanie Scott-Sims, a planning manager for the city, during a presentation she gave at the meeting.
The committee originally discussed the proposal in June 2024 as a way to diversify neighborhoods and bring more growth to the city, said Fort Worth city council member Macy Hill.
“There are several [neighborhoods] in Fort Worth that are food deserts — they don’t have strong grocery stores,” Hill said. “Our hope is, instead of having liquor store after liquor store, we would have a grocer come in that could offer a variety of options to these neighborhoods.”
So what’s in this zoning amendment proposal?
Separation requirements
The committee is proposing changes to where new businesses can be built in relation to existing businesses — but there are slightly different proposals for different types of businesses.
Under the new proposal, newly operating payday loan businesses, liquor or package stores, pawn shops, and smoke shops will have to be 1,000 feet from the property line of existing businesses of the same kind, either in a direct line or through an intersection.
Pawn shops are already subject to a requirement that they must be 500 feet from each other. That distance would go up to 1,000 feet.
‘Sensitive use’ radius
City ordinances already contain language generally prohibiting smoke shops and businesses that sell alcohol from operating within a 300-foot radius of schools, universities and hospitals.
Under the new proposal, the list of “sensitive use” locations would expand to playgrounds, parks, religious institutions and day cares.
For smoke shops specifically, that distance would go up to 500 feet.
What else would change?
The amendments include some other changes for payday loan businesses and smoke shops specifically.
For smoke shops, the “definition percentage threshold” — the percentage of sales that include tobacco and tobacco-related products, as well as e-cigarette products — would decrease from 90% to 51%.
Payday loan businesses would be given distinct zoning, separate from banks and other financial institutions, using the definition of credit access businesses provided in the Texas Finance Code.
Additionally, the committee proposed a host of changes to the specific zoning districts where these businesses can be established, with the goal of moving them from heavily residential areas.
What will happen to existing businesses?
These amendments would not retroactively punish existing businesses, Scott-Simms explained at the meeting. Current businesses would become a “non-conforming use.” If the owner of a business sells that property, however, the new zoning requirements would apply.
What’s next?
At the Oct. 21 meeting, council members requested more information about where these businesses are located by council district.
That information will be gathered, and the city council will review the new details at a work session on Nov. 4, with the goal of taking it up at the Dec. 9 meeting.
