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Council approves MU-2 planned development with height cap for Montgomery Street parcel
Summary
Fort Worth council approved zoning for a roughly 3-acre property near Montgomery Street with an MU-2 planned development, a five-story/85-foot height cap and a required site plan after applicants and neighbors negotiated omitted uses and concessions.
FORT WORTH — The Fort Worth City Council on March 25 approved a planned-development zoning for a roughly 3-acre parcel near Montgomery Street, adopting an MU-2-based development with an 85-foot (five-story) maximum height, excluded uses and a requirement that a site plan be submitted before development proceeds.
Darren Norman, representing Mazur Capital, described the property as “the only lot of that size platted to 3 acres on the West Side Of Montgomery” and said the applicants seek MU-2 zoning to allow a mix of hotel, multifamily and restaurant uses shown in concept plans. Norman said the owners and applicants had met multiple times with the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association and were offering concessions, including omitting certain uses and agreeing to a height restriction.
Council and staff discussed technical constraints: Norman and project representatives cited a 30-foot stormwater/stormline easement that bisects the site, significant topographic changes across the parcel and development requirements for areas newly designated as city flood-risk zones. Those factors, they said, mean the project requires additional engineering and a formal site plan before specific building footprints and finished-floor elevations can be finalized.
Clay Mazur, who spoke during the hearing, acknowledged neighborhood concern but urged council to approve the zoning and allow site-plan review at a later stage. Council members raised questions about parking, traffic circulation and the project’s relationship to Dickies Arena across Montgomery Street; project representatives said they would meet minimum parking requirements of the MU-2 category and not rely on curb parking in adjacent neighborhoods.
The council adopted a motion to approve the zoning with the agreed-upon limitations: an 85-foot height cap (five stories), removal of specific uses of concern (such as short-term rentals, event center/rental hall, service station and pawn shop) and a requirement that a site plan be submitted and approved before development moves forward.
Why it matters
The approval clears a land-use hurdle on a complicated site with topography, an existing 30-foot utility easement and proximity to an entertainment district. Council and applicants framed the land-use decision as allowing further design work while protecting the adjacent neighborhood from certain intensive uses.
What council said
Councilmembers asked staff and the applicant about traffic and parking and emphasized the need for a site plan. In response, the applicant team said parking calculations will conform to MU-2 standards and that access would be directed to Montgomery and other adjacent thoroughfares rather than into neighborhood streets.
Next steps
The zoning approval requires a site plan before permits; staff and applicants will continue engineering and stormwater studies to determine finished-floor elevations and to design around the stormwater easement.
