West 7th Street traffic worries delay plans for 600 apartments at Montgomery Plaza

Fort Worth’s Zoning Commission unanimously issued a 30-day continuance on the Montgomery Plaza apartment case after traffic data provided by the developer conflicted with data from a study residents took upon themselves to commission.

Issues with traffic, as well as concerns over displacing existing retail establishments, are at the heart of neighborhood residents’ opposition to the construction plan. The city will have to decide whether or not to build the 595 apartments that will sit in the already dense West 7th Street corridor. Such issues were recently highlighted in a recent Star-Telegram story on the increased density the apartments on West 7th Street could bring.

Concerns over increased traffic brought more than 10 residents in Montgomery Plaza to the Zoning Commission meeting Wednesday afternoon to voice their concerns.

The new development would split the 595 units between two buildings — a five-story building will house 315 units and a seven-story building will contain 280 units.

When built, the apartments will eliminate 90,000 square feet of retail. Shops that will go include Five Below, Office Depot, PetSmart, Dollar Tree and Michael’s. Developers plan to add back 20,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor of one of the apartment buildings, but it’s still unclear if any of the old shops will occupy the new space.

The apartments match the city’s plan for high-density development that creates a more walkable city, but neighbors to the project told the Star-Telegram they were concerned the apartments would add traffic to an already dense area.

Zoning commission member Willie Rankin recognized the pushback ahead of the public hearing, but told the rest of the board at Wednesday’s work session hearing that West 7th was designed for mixed-use developments and the density it brings.

“The density of it is something that’s supposed to go there,” Rankin said.

Zoning manager Stephen Murray told the board that officials with transportation and public works would address concerns about traffic at the public hearing.

Chris Herman with KIMCO Realty, which owns Montgomery Plaza, said developers commissioned a traffic study from engineering consultants Kimley-Horn that looked into the intersections of West 7th Street and Woolery Street and the intersection of West 5th Street, Carroll Street and Mercedes Avenue. The city received the study Sept. 9.

The study indicated traffic would go down 38% if the new apartment buildings were built and that traffic would increase in the morning with residents of the new apartments leaving for the day. The study also showed that traffic would decrease during the weekday afternoons and on the peak Saturday hours.

One Montgomery Plaza Homeowners Association argued the developer’s data is wrong, and said they have their own numbers to prove it.

Residents with the home owners association commissioned a study of their own from engineering consultants WGI Inc. that they say indicates traffic would go up 85% in the morning if the new apartments are built, the association’s treasurer Brian Sinkiewicz told the Star-Telegram following the meeting.

He said all the homeowners association received from the developers was a three-page traffic memo.

“We recommend it’s not prudent to take action on this proposed site plan until all the facts are gathered and analyzed to include a traffic impact assessment,” he told the commission.

As a part of community outreach, Herman told the commission they reached out to seven different neighborhood groups, including One Montgomery Plaza Residence. He stood by the survey’s results in his rebuttal.

Tom Simerly with the city’s development services department told the zoning commission the city had received KIMCO’s traffic study but hadn’t had a chance to review it ahead of the meeting. City officials had not yet seen the results of the study commissioned by residents, he said. Tyson Thompson, the city’s assistant director of development services, said they would get the residents’ study and that 30 days would be enough time to compare numbers.

Sinkiewicz told the Star-Telegram after the hearing that he would like more information that examined the whole West 7th Street area. Another resident, Margaret Demoss, argued before the commission that residents weren’t as informed as they should be.

Jerry Heftler, another resident, worried about the devaluation of his property. He said he wouldn’t have moved into the area if he knew this was going to happen.