Ryan Reagan of Benbrook doesn’t necessarily consider himself an environmental crusader. He understands progress and understands why his city, a growing suburb on the western edge of Fort Worth, would want to add another residential development on wooded land. He just doesn’t get why that development should be built in a floodplain, and he’s not alone.
On July 10, Benbrook’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended rezoning a property between Chapin Road and Veterans Parkway to accommodate a proposed 178-home community called Rowan Ranch. The Benbrook City Council will hear public comments on the rezoning on Aug. 21.
Despite questions, Rowan Ranch developer is confident
For years, the 80-acre Rowan Ranch plot has sat undeveloped, in part because Mary’s Creek, a tributary to the Clear Fork of the Trinity River, flows along its eastern edge, placing a strip of land directly in the floodway.
Corey Waldrop, who owns the property and is developing it under his company Motiv Ventures, plans to reclaim some of that floodway and the adjacent floodplain. Waldrop has vowed to do so safely and has provided engineering reports showing that his efforts would eliminate or mitigate the flood risk for more than 100 existing homes in the larger Mary’s Creek floodplain. Still, neighbors are skeptical.
Reagan owns land along Mary’s Creek, and he’s been an outspoken opponent of the Rowan Ranch development since last September, when Waldrop presented an earlier iteration of his proposal, which the Benbrook Planning and Zoning Commission denied…