Neighbors in unincorporated Tarrant get a restraining order against firework stand owner
A district court judge in Tarrant County has signed a temporary restraining order against a fireworks stand and truck lot owner near Mansfield.
Kate Zimmerman and Neil and Laura Foreman, who are being represented by Arlington lawyer Frank Hill of Hill Gilstrap, P.C., asked a judge in the 342nd District Court to halt the operations at Joe Sterling’s truck lot and fireworks stand in unincorporated Tarrant County.
The court filing cited the lights from the lot, the noise from the trucks, and the fire hazard and threat to livestock safety from the possibility that Sterling will allow his customers to shoot off fireworks on the property.
The neighbors have been dealing with the problems arising from Sterling’s lot for months. As county leaders hit walls in their search for a solution, the neighbors have searched for loopholes for relief. One of those loopholes is the loose definition of what a church is in Texas and the line in the fireworks code that says they can’t be shot within 600 feet of a church.
Neighbors Jay Hasbrouck and Neil Foreman set up two churches, both within 600 feet of Sterling’s property.
Zimmerman and the Foremans are seeking actual, mental anguish and exemplary damages in addition to the restraining order.
The restraining order asks that the lights from Sterling’s lot be directed away from Zimmerman’s and the Foremans’ homes, that trucks on the lot not be allowed to idle for more than 30 minutes when not moving or between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and that no fireworks be shot off on Sterling’s property.
When reached Thursday, Hill told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the neighbors’ situation points toward a need for state legislation that will allow counties to protect their constituents in residential areas.
Hill also said that Sterling parking 100 trucks on his lot may also lead to societal problems — ask anyone in the truck parking industry, he says, and you’ll find that drugs come with it.
But Hill said he will look for a solution even without assistance from state lawmakers.
“This is not just a fireworks problem,” Hill said.
Sterling reached out to Foreman Thursday morning and asked for a neighborhood meeting. Hill said they don’t plan to respond — he wants Sterling to see the restraining order first.
Late Wednesday evening, Zimmerman’s security camera caught about a minute’s worth of fireworks being shot off on Sterling’s property. Zimmerman said it “sounded like the world ended.”
Foreman and Zimmerman don’t know who shot them off. Tarrant County rules allow them to be shot in unincorporated areas 24/7, 365 days a year as long as the person shooting them has permission from the property owner.
Foreman thinks it was in response to the Star-Telegram’s coverage of the property dispute in the neighborhood.
When reached Friday, Sterling said he had no comment.
Foreman hopes the legal system does the right thing and helps the people who he says have been hurt by what Sterling has done to the community. Zimmerman said the restraining order was about the neighbors trying to protect themselves, and said she wished it wasn’t necessary.
She called Sterling a “bully.”
“We do not bow down to bullies,” Zimmerman said.
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 12:26 PM.
