Fort Worth approves motion to nix new ‘stealth dorms’ near TCU
Community advocates in the Rosemont neighborhood of Fort Worth were celebrating on Tuesday — and thinking toward the future.
At the Fort Worth City Council meeting on Dec. 9, councilmembers approved a controversial and storied zoning measure meant to curb multi-family ‘stealth dorm’ homes that have exploded around TCU in recent years.
The measure, originally brought to the Zoning Commission in October but moved to November, proposed the rezoning of 386.12 acres in a portion of the Rosemont neighborhood to mostly eliminate multi-family housing, as well as some types of commercial and industrial zoning, in favor of zoning that supports single-family homes.
“The purpose of the zoning change is preserving the character of suburban residential neighborhoods; encouraging new development in character with the existing neighborhood scale, architecture, and platting patterns; and encouraging appropriate infill development in the central city to preserve and protect neighborhoods,” a city staff report on the measure reads.
The Zoning Commission approved the motion and sent it to the council for approval.
Council members Elizabeth Beck and Jeanette Martinez have championed the measure, which neighborhood advocates say will preserve the historic homes and tight-knit community they love.
“I’m feeling excited for our community,” said Cristina Plascencia Snoke, a member of the Rosemont Neighborhood Association and a resident in the neighborhood. “I think it’s going to ensure that our working class community can stay here in our city and be able to build generational wealth.”
With the single-family homes in the neighborhood protected, Snoke said, advocates want to turn their gaze to the homes around mixed-use zoning on Berry Street.
“Our next steps after this are to try to address that BU area...just opening up a dialog with the city and with TCU on figuring out how we can avoid a lot of the issues that a lot of the other areas that have seen an influx of student housing are experiencing,” Snoke said, referring to areas like Ryan Place, which have also been caught in the crosshairs of TCU’s growth.
“It is rare that a zoning case represents legacy residents building something for the neighborhood, rather than a project imposed on us,” Snoke said at the City Council meeting.
Martinez told the Star-Telegram that some real estate developers had concerns about the new zoning, but overall, the measure is popular in her district.
“During our community meetings, we had a handful of developers that expressed their reservations,” Martinez wrote in a text. “It simply stemmed from concerns of the neighborhood.”
Martinez said that there would not be any new council initiated rezoning in the area in the near future.
This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM.
