City Council members shot down an auto repair chain’s attempt to open a new location less than 30 feet from some north Fort Worth backyards.
The 10-0 vote to deny the shop’s rezoning request came after months of pushback from residents and zoning commissioners. Council member Chris Nettles was absent.
“This property is adjacent to residential on both sides — automotive uses shouldn’t be,” said Eric Wilhite, a nearby resident who led the charge against the shop’s opening.
Wilhite attended the 11 a.m. meeting with about 15 other north Fort Worth residents who voiced concern that the shop would hurt their home values and quality of life.
In 2025, city officials mistakenly greenlit Fifth Gear Automotive’s plans to open a shop off Loddick Lane, a residential street between two north Fort Worth neighborhoods, staff told the Report in early March.
Wes Hoblit, a consultant speaking on behalf of Fifth Gear, said before the vote that the company “got off on a wrong foot” with residents because of the complications with the city’s permission. Hoblit reemphasized Fifth Gear’s argument that the shop would work with neighbors by improving the property by planting trees, limiting hours and mitigating noise.
“We’re all in a bad spot,” said Hoblit, a former Fort Worth zoning commissioner who stepped down in 2025. “A lot of zoning cases, there’s a winner, there’s a loser. This one, we feel, we’re in a bad position.”
Wes Hoblit, managing director at Masterplan Consultants, listens to residents speak during a City Council meeting on March 31, 2026, at Fort Worth City Hall. Hoblit was representing Fifth Gear Automotive. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Fifth Gear, which operates eight locations across North Texas, started renovating the warehouse this fall after that initial approval. City staff has since called the mistake “an oversight” that stemmed from “an issue” with the geographic information systems that led to staff providing the wrong information.
After officials admitted the mistake, Fifth Gear sought the formal rezoning process, which ended with Tuesday’s vote of denial.
The city’s revocation of approval “has resulted in significant financial damages to Fifth Gear Automotive,” Bill Bernick, founder and co-owner of the business, said in an email.
Bernick declined to comment “under the advice of our attorney” on how Fifth Gear might proceed following the City Council’s rejection.
“This is not good use of this land,” Rusty Fuller, president of the North Fort Worth Alliance neighborhood association, said before the vote. “Sufficient logical, reasoned opposition to this petition has been presented by the residents.”
While the shop didn’t receive support from zoning commissioners, city staff previously recommended allowing it to open, arguing that the property could appropriately hold a commercial repair shop.
Speaking to zoning commissioners on March 11, city planning manager Stephanie Scott-Sims noted that Fifth Gear’s owner does not plan to expand or change the existing warehouse itself.
Bernick, the shop’s co-owner, said before Tuesday’s vote that Fifth Gear “addressed the residents’ concerns regarding traffic, noise, safety and security” during meetings with homeowners.
Representatives of the shop previously said repairs would be conducted inside behind closed doors to mitigate noise. They also said they’d offer customers shuttle services to mitigate traffic on the two-way, residential Loddick Lane.
“We asked: ‘What else can we do to make you more comfortable with our zoning request?’” Bernick said before the vote. “Their answer was: ‘There is nothing you can do, and if you really want to be a good neighbor, leave.’”
Bill Bernick listens to a north Fort Worth resident decry his company’s move to open a shop among single-family neighborhoods during a City Council public comment meeting on Jan. 6, 2026. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)
Before voting to deny the rezoning request, council member Alan Blaylock, who represents the area, said the zoning case has been “such a challenge” for residents. Blaylock’s seat is on the ballot May 2 as he steps down to run for a Texas House seat.
Joshua Allison, another nearby resident, emphasized that, regardless of Fifth Gear’s efforts, an auto shop of its size — with a planned capacity to serve nearly 100 cars a week — would interrupt their daily lives.
“I would actually probably go a little bit stronger and say it would be irresponsible to put all the kids in the community right here and the residences at risk with that much traffic and that many vehicles,” Allison said.
The property will continue to hold its same zoning classification, PD-894, which allows for uses such as warehouse, outdoor storage, retail sales and office space — but not automotive uses.
City legal officials at the March 11 zoning commission meeting declined to comment on whether Fort Worth’s rescinding of permission to the auto business opens the city up to litigation.
Wilhite, a city planner of 30 years and official for the city of Gunter, was the first to email Fort Worth staff about the auto shop’s opening after he noticed Fifth Gear moving in. He said his “back and forth” with staff went on for over six weeks before city officials admitted that they had made a mistake and rezoning would be required.
Eric Wilhite, a north Fort Worth resident and official for the city of Gunter, speaks to City Council members at a March 31, 2026, meeting at City Hall. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Wilhite pointed out that Fort Worth code explicitly bars automotive repair operations in residential neighborhoods — a rule Fifth Gear later asked the city to waive.
“Our persistence, and our drive and our knowledge probably made a difference,” Wilhite said of the residents’ efforts.
Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.orgor @shawlings601.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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