Fort Worth Board of Adjustment Meeting Summary - May 20, 2026
Fort Worth Board of Adjustment Meeting Summary - May 20, 2026
The Fort Worth Board of Adjustment held a public hearing on May 20, 2026, beginning with a work session on recent state legislation and lot variance guidance, followed by a public hearing on multiple variance and special exception cases. All 11 board members were present, providing a quorum.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from the previous month's meeting were approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Margaret Jamas (Scenic Fort Worth) spoke in opposition to BAC-26-005 (bank ECC sign), arguing the sign served no hardship and would add visual clutter. She also opposed BAC-26-013 (Target pylon sign), citing the Chisholm Trail Parkway scenic corridor and years of planning to limit signage.
- Dorothy Parks (Chisholm Trail developer) spoke in favor of BAC-26-013, noting a unified sign agreement reduced total signs from 14 to 7.
- Several applicants and neighbors provided testimony on individual cases (detailed below).
Discussion Items
Work Session: Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments
Staff (Denisha London, Trey Qualls) presented changes from Texas legislative session 89:
- SB 840 and SB 2477: Effective September 1, 2025, for cities >150,000 population. Allow multifamily/mixed-use residential where office is permitted by right, with parking limited to 1 space per unit, unlimited density, and height/setback limits tied to office/retail/warehouse standards. Proposed development standards vary by lot size and commercial district zone.
- SB 15 (Small Lot Housing): Allows single-family residential lots 3,000–4,000 sq. ft. on unplatted tracts of 5 acres or more in single-family zones. Development standards include 30 ft min width, 15 ft front yard, 3-story height max, and 1 parking space per unit.
- Lot Size/Width Variance Guidance: Trey Qualls reminded the board that variances for undersized lots are common; denial could lead to takings claims. The board discussed the historical approval rate and staff efforts to streamline ordinances.
Case Deliberations
- BAC-26-005 (Bank OZK ECC sign): Denied 7-4. Board members cited no hardship, potential distraction at a busy intersection, and concern that commercial marketing does not serve the public interest.
- BAR-26-009 (Variance for side yard setback): Denied without prejudice per applicant's request (6-4). The applicant decided to redesign to meet zoning.
- BAR-26-014 (Variance for carport and storage): Approved 8-2 with conditions tied to the submitted site plan. The board found the existing non-conforming garage and neighborhood character supported approval.
- BAC-26-013 (Target pylon sign variances): Denied 7-4 on both width (Variance A) and advertised message area (Variance B). Variance C withdrawn. Board emphasized scenic corridor protections and lack of hardship.
- BAC-26-014 (Gas station freeway sign with ECC): Approved unanimously (10-0). Board noted consistency with other area ECC signs.
- BAR-26-031 (Detached carport variance): Continued to June by unanimous vote to allow applicant to provide accurate drawings.
- BAR-26-027 (Existing carport variance): Approved 10-0. Board noted structure was in line with existing setback and no neighbor opposition.
- BAR-26-032 (Pergola pavilion variances): Denied on both setback (Variance A) and height (Variance B). Board found no hardship; the applicant could relocate or modify the structure.
- BAR-26-024 (Fence variances): Approved unanimously (10-0) as a package. Board noted the design matched neighboring historic property and addressed privacy concerns.
- BAR-26-035 (Storage structure variances): Variance A (size) approved 9-1; Variance B (height) denied 6-4. Board found the size reasonable but height not justified.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: BAR-26-014, BAC-26-014, BAR-26-027, BAR-26-024, BAR-26-035 (Variance A only).
- Denied: BAC-26-005, BAC-26-013, BAR-26-032 (both variances), BAR-26-035 (Variance B).
- Denied without prejudice: BAR-26-009.
- Continued: BAR-26-031 (to June meeting); BAR-26-033 (administratively continued to July).
- Withdrawn: BAR-26-034 (administratively).
- Work session: Board received information on new state laws and lot variance guidance; no formal action taken.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. Notice that this meeting has been posted online for at least seventy-two hours. Staff present today is Trey Calls, Rebecca Reyes, Cynthia. Along with Denisha London. Chair, will you please call this meeting to order? Yes, thank you. Sorry, 26th of May. Oh, I was twenty-fifth of May. I'm sorry. Today is the twentieth day of May twenty twenty-six. I've got an old form here, and I didn't recognize it. This board is a citizen board appointed by the city council. By state law, a minimum of nine members or alternative members must be present to provide a quorum in order to conduct business. Today we have a quorum with ten members present. Today's meeting agenda can be found online at Fort Worth, Texas.gov. Speaker registration forms for cases on today's agenda should have been turned in prior to the start of this session. Today's public hearing is being documented by cable television and video conference recording, which will be available on the city's website. So we will not be distracted during our meeting. Each case will be called in the sequence listed on the agenda unless otherwise directed by me, the chair. And any applicable laws or regulations it may apply. This portion of the discussion is exclusively between city staff and the board members. As your case is being called, we ask that you move to the front row of the chamber. You will have seven minutes to present the facts of your case and why you believe your application meets the criteria for approval. If more than one person is presenting the case, it is necessary to divide the total seven minutes among all parties so that you do not exceed the allotted time. After the applicant has presented their case, I will call for any opposition to come forward. This is their opportunity to express why they believe the variance or special exception should not be approved. The opposition is also allotted a total of seven minutes of time to be shared among all speakers. If opposition is presented to the variants or special exception, the applicant will have an additional three minutes of rebuttal time. The chair may allow a few more seconds in each presentation to ensure a speaker's final point can be made. And we do not have any translation cases, so I'll skip this section. After the parties have presented their positions, the board members will then have the opportunity to speak or to ask questions of the applicant in any opposition. During this time, all speakers must remember that all dialogue be directed to the board of adjustment only. There's no time limit during this period. After the board members have received answers to their questions, I will close the public portion of the hearing. Board members can discuss the case among themselves and see and city staff to determine whether or not an application meets or does not meet criteria for approval. After this discussion, I will ask for a motion to approve, deny, or continue the case. City staff will call for a voice vote from each member. If an application is denied, an applicant will have 10 days in which to appeal to the court of appropriate jurisdiction. For more information on this and additional information on any case on today's agenda, you may contact the Board of Adjustment at 817 392 8026 after this meeting. If necessary, a closed executive session may be held with respect to the posted agenda items to enable the Board of Adjustment to receive advice from legal staff. And the first uh order of business is to approve the minutes from previous month's meeting. Uh we are now open for a motion to approve or deny. Mr. We'll have we'll go into the work session first. Okay, sounds good. Here from City Staff. Good morning. Denisha London Planning Manager. I will be giving the presentation on the zoning ordinance text amendments. Originally, the zoning land use planning manager was scheduled to be here, but this morning he got called into an important meeting, so he wasn't able to be here.
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