ARLINGTON HEIGHTS REZONING UPDATE
On February 17 Councilman Carter Burdette formally announced at a public meeting that he would be withdrawing the Council-Initiated Arlington Heights Rezoning case (ZC-09-116) that began early last year. In accordance with city guidelines, the city’s Zoning Commission will hear the case on March 10 2010, where the application will be denied without prejudice*. The case will then go to City Council in April where the ruling will be upheld. Approximately 45 people attended the meeting.
According to Councilman Burdette, he believed at the onset of this zoning case that the initiative would serve to strengthen the Arlington Heights community of 2,500 homes. Other districts within Fort Worth have successfully used council-initiated zoning to align zoning with current land uses. Unfortunately, after many months Burdette believes this rezoning exercise has taken a different direction and elected to withdraw the application.
Burdette, known for his stance on property owner rights, said he is against restrictions and supports property owners’ rights to build as they desire under the guidelines set forth by the City of Fort Worth. He said government restrictions on property rights are not always desirable and warrant a more considerable review.
Burdette stated that Arlington Heights is not a homogenous area and that there is a need for redevelopment in various areas throughout the neighborhood. Many gentrified homes in our neighborhood would probably be torn down in the future, he added.
Property owners interested in continuing to rezone the neighborhood to single family will be encouraged to take action using the block-by-block petition process. There is no charge for the petition-based approach. Property owners can also file individually to the city for a zoning change and pay the requisite fee. As we have over the past seven years, the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association and its Zoning Committee will continue to assist and support residents who wish to rezone on a block-by-block basis.
The Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association sincerely thanks those who helped initiate and support this Council-Initiated rezoning effort; we recognize and appreciate the many months of dedication this effort required of our residents. The Association received countless letters of support, and we expect that our community will continue to step forward in initiating rezoning on a block-by-block basis as we work to preserve the unique character of our Arlington Heights community.
*When a proposal is denied by the City Council or when the applicant has withdrawn a proposal after the giving of public notice, no new applications of like nature shall be accepted by the City or scheduled for a hearing by the Zoning Commission within a period of 12 months of the date of denial or withdrawal unless the proposal is denied without prejudice; provided, however, on receipt of written request by the original applicant describing substantially changed conditions in the community since the prior consideration of the proposal so as to justify an earlier review of this matter, the City Council may waive the mandatory delay period and authorize the acceptance of the new application.