The city of Fort Worth is taking public comment during the next few weeks on a plan that would help shape the direction "Scary Berry," a development just east of Texas Christian University.
The Berry/University form-based code is posted online and has been available for nearly a week. A form-based code is a land development regulation that tries to take zoning laws to the next level by creating a better overall relationship between the design, function and cohesiveness of a larger area.
The term is defined as a “land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code,” according to the Form-Based Code Institute, a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to the subject.
The area of future development that the Berry/University form-based code would address is generally bounded by Sixth Avenue on the east, Stadium Drive on the west, as far north as Lowden Street on the TCU campus and as far south as Mission Street.
There has been a significant investment in recent years to Berry Street between University Drive and McCart Avenue, near the west side of the Paschal High School campus. That development includes streetscaping, involving trees and native Texas grasses and flowers planted along the sidewalks, as well as the creation of a tree-lined boulevard down the middle of Berry.
That work has not continued farther to the east and people have noticed.
“I think east Berry does not have a very good reputation,” said TCU Senior Michael Chandra. “It’s known for being a little bit more dangerous than this area [near campus].”
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Even in his short time in the area, TCU Freshman Anthony Paradiso has noticed the disparity.
“As soon as you get a little bit down the street it’s a little bit harder to find things that you need, or it might not be as safe as it would be over here,” he said. “I’d say it is a little bit nicer over here.”
Fort Worth resident R.L. Sain routinely walks with his service dog, Rita, along Berry.
“It’s horrendous,” Sain said about his safety concerns about walking in the area near the train crossing at Cleburne Road. “You’ve got everything from road construction signs blocking [the sidewalk]. You’ve gotta actually go out in the street to get around them.”
Among the changes outlined in the proposed form-based code are to the residential zoning on the immediate south side of Berry. Currently that area consists of single family homes and duplexes, many of which are used as rentals for TCU students.
The form-based code elaborates on the general “residential” zoning regulation and would instead allow for various forms of housing on the sites in the future, including zoning that includes townhomes, multi-unit development as well as hybrid development, which would include a mix of residential and non-residential uses on the site of what are homes today.
The goal of the change to that residential area would be to increase density and accommodate for the growth in student population at TCU.
Form-based codes take into account far more than just the purpose of any particular building. They establish how far back from the street any new building must be built, how much of the property should be dedicated to landscaping, how much of the building is comprised of windows and more.
The public comment period is open through Sept. 22, according to city planner Katy O’Melia, who has spearheaded the plan to this point.
Fort Worth’s zoning commission will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Oct. 12, with city council members expected to vote on the plan Nov. 1.
