For Stockyards, giddyup

Developers are in the starting gate, ready to race ahead with a $175 million Stockyards retail-office development.

But a city task force must set design standards first, and that group has barely saddled up.

Tempers flared Wednesday when the task force met with its hired consultants. Together, they are asked to do the near-impossible: Whip up some quick development standards for a Stockyards district of proud and sometimes stubborn entrepreneurs.

To some on the task force, the idea of drawing five “character zones” sounded too much like an idea from City Hall to speed along the 70-acre project for new neighbor Majestic Realty of California, a partner with Fort Worth’s Hickman family.

But when the City Council approved $26 million in tax incentives for the project, council members promised that nearby stakeholders could help write a plan to protect the historical integrity of the Stockyards.

Time is short. The task force must move quickly, settle its differences with City Hall and move on so the hard work of construction can begin.

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "For Stockyards, giddyup."