An outdoor truck storage site on the western shore of Lake Arlington was rejected as a possible warehouse complex location by Fort Worth zoning commissioners who said the area deserves more.
The nearly 30-acres at 5736 Wilbarger St. was rezoned urban residential in a City Council-initiated effort in 2017 to encourage mixed-used developments on the Fort Worth side of the lake. Chicago-based Outrigger Industrial sought to change the zoning so the company could build three warehouse buildings on the site.
Owner Charles Lawhon, of Tolar, uses the site as a 24-hour outdoor storage for tractor-trailers and other equipment — an industrial use that predates the 2017 rezoning, according to a staff report. S&A Leasing offers truck parking on a daily and weekly basis at the Wilbarger Street location, just east of Interstate 820.
“The property owner has continued to use the property as a nonconforming use for outdoor storage for semi-trucks, trailers and miscellaneous equipment with no intention of improving the property or ceasing the existing use,” developers wrote in their proposal to the city.
Residents and property owners have complained about dust, traffic, gunfire and other noise associated with the truck storage site.
Angela Norwood, president of the Carver Heights East Neighborhood Association, said the area has too many industrial uses, including six gas wells and an electrical plant. The neighborhood, which encompasses most of the west Lake Arlington area, needs “more beautiful things” that are not a detriment to residents, she said.
She pointed out the Arlington side of the lake is filled with nice homes, parks and other community facilities.
Alvin Johnson, vice president of the association, said neighbors are concerned about the environmental impact of industrial uses, especially since some have long-term health issues.
“We’re concerned about air quality,” he told commissioners on Dec. 10.
Outrigger Industrial proposed building warehouses at an outdoor truck storage site on the west side of Lake Arlington. (Courtesy image | City of Fort Worth)
Outrigger Industrial proposed improving the site with landscaping and other amenities as well as improvements to Wilbarger Street.
“The development proposed by Outrigger Industrial will address the discontent of the local residents and business owners in a positive way,” developers wrote in their proposal.
Charles Edmonds, the zoning commissioner for the area, said the proposed project “just doesn’t look like it fits.”
Jeremy Raines, chair of the zoning commission, said dust and runoff from industrial uses at the site is “terrible for the lake.”
“That’s water that ends up in our faucets,” he said.
Tire tracks are impressed in dirt at the site of a proposed three-building warehouse complex at 5736 Wilbarger St. on the western shore of Lake Arlington on Dec. 15, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Zoning commissioners said the waterfront property has a lot of value in today’s market, and they don’t want to replace one bad use with another.
“Things are changing,” Edmonds said. “Time is on our side.”
The project will be considered by the City Council at an upcoming meeting next year.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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