Fort Worth to vote on land use change reversing motel approval near Basswood Elementary

The Fort Worth City Council will vote Oct. 15 on whether to change the land use rules that made it possible for a motel project that was opposed by parents at Basswood Elementary.

Most of the land surrounding the Basswood Elementary is zoned for industrial uses, but the council vote would change that to commercial.

The change will ensure whatever goes in that area would more closely align with being in close proximity to a school, said council member Charlie Lauersdorf, whose district includes Basswood Elementary.

The Keller school district built Basswood Elementary in 2007 at a time when most of the land in the area was vacant , save for a pair of auto-body shops and a Home Depot. Several of the lots have now been filled in with fast food restaurants.

None of the existing businesses would be affected by the change, but the change would undo an October 2023 vote that allowed for a Super Motel 6 to break ground at 3044 Clay Mountain Trail — across the parking lot from Basswood Elementary.

That project was quickly halted after parents raised concerns about safety at a February 2024 town hall meeting .

The Keller school board voted unanimously at its April 25 meeting to buy the land from Sanger-based developer Basswood Investments LLC after previously threatening to use the power of eminent domain .

The only reason the motel project was scrapped was because it was within 1,000 feet of a residential area, Lauersdorf said.

That proximity required the project to go through a special city zoning process, which notified residents of the change.

Lauersdorf is pushing for new rules that would require hotel or motel projects built within 1,000 feet of any K-12 school to go through the special zoning process before moving forward.

The council meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at the old city hall building at 200 Texas St.