Crystal Wise
The City of Fort Worth is holding off on moving forward with the rezoning of a portion of the Hemphill corridor after area residents expressed concerns over gentrification and the raising of property taxes.
The rezoning would affect the area along South Hemphill Street from West Allen Avenue on the north, down to West Felix Street on the south. It’s currently a mix of various zoning designations, so the city wants to create a more uniform district that is “intended to guide expected growth along the corridor in a contextual manner,” according to a city staff report. The area would be zoned mixed use — that is, for residential and commercial uses — under the name “Near Southside General Urban.”
However, nearby residents — including the group Hemphill No Se Vende (which translates to “Hemphill Is Not for Sale,” a nod to the area’s predominantly Hispanic community) — voiced concerns over the rezoning, saying development could raise property taxes, force out current residents and business owners, and, ultimately, lead to gentrification.
Longtime Hemphill-area residents and brothers Rudy and Ricardo Avitia say they’ve experienced this firsthand. Before moving his barbershop, The Barber, to Hemphill Street about four years ago, Rudy used to be located on Magnolia Avenue. As development grew in the Near Southside, rent went up, and Rudy says he was priced out of the area.
“There were other businesses before me that were on Magnolia for a long time, and they had to move because the same thing was happening to them. They were getting priced out,” Rudy says. “I’m afraid that’s going to happen to the people here on Hemphill that have been here for a long time.”
But Laura Voltmann, senior planner at the City of Fort Worth, says she does not anticipate that happening: “Fairmount and Magnolia are not the same as these neighborhoods at Hemphill. It’s different in character by nature. The length of the corridor is different. It’s not something that’s going to attract a bunch of hospital workers or people from downtown. It’s a different environment. I think they saw that happen there, and they’re afraid. But some of the things that the zoning that’s proposed has also done is deliver those small offices; we’ve also seen buildings built that have small retail spaces. There are some opportunities that the zoning encourages that maybe aren’t easily understood right now.”
Voltmann says this type of zoning, known as a “form-based code,” would only affect new buildings on the land that fronts Hemphill. The proposed zoning pushes buildings up closer to the street (unless they’re next to a historic home) and caps height at three stories to prevent commercial projects from encroaching into the neighborhoods. She also says the new zoning will allow for street vendors, which currently cannot operate on certain parts of Hemphill.
As far as the name “Near Southside General Urban” is concerned, the city is open to changing that name, making Hemphill a separate, specific district and removing the proposed “Near Southside” moniker.
But Ricardo Avitia says he’s not convinced. He says the move to rezone is “racist” and an effort to displace the area’s Hispanic community.
Avitia says he and Hemphill No Se Vende would like to see two things: a racial impact study on the systematic effect of zoning changes and the formation of an independent committee made up of business, residential, and neighborhood association representatives, who can participate in the rezoning conversation and make recommendations on changes, if necessary.
As of press time, Avitia says he has not heard from the city on the next steps to be taken. While Voltmann says no additional meetings have been scheduled, she encourages residents to attend the Hemphill Corridor Task Force meetings held on the fourth Thursday of each month. The Zoning Commission plans to revisit the case in March.
