Nearby residents worry the shop will affect their home values and quality of life, bringing potential heavy traffic, noise and pollution, they told City Council members Jan. 6.<\/p>\n
The shop\u2019s operations were initially approved by Fort Worth zoning officials in September, but residents\u2019 outcry prompted city officials to require the owner to go through a rezoning process before opening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just shouldn\u2019t be here right now, but we are,\u201d said Eric Wilhite, a nearby resident who has led the charge to stop the shop from opening. Wilhite has been involved in city planning for 30 years and is an official for the city of Gunter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they get it done here, what keeps them from doing it anywhere else in Fort Worth to try to roll the residents?\u201d Wilhite said.<\/p>\n
Bill Bernick, founder and co-owner of Fifth Gear Automotive, told the Report in an email that he looks forward to working with nearby homeowners to address concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bernick noted that most of his other locations share a boundary with neighborhoods. The company works hard \u201cat being a good neighbor in each community we serve,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Fifth Gear shops only do work indoors and have a single door instead of a series of bay doors, so they do \u201cnot look like a typical auto repair facility,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Fifth-Gear-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Will Bernick listens to a north Fort Worth resident decry his company\u2019s 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)<\/p>\n
Wilhite said that even if Fifth Gear is a responsible neighbor, the rezoning would stay with the land, opening the door for more careless businesses to move in in the future.<\/p>\n
Fifth Gear representatives submitted the rezoning application Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The case is scheduled to appear before Fort Worth\u2019s zoning commission in February, then go to a City Council vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wilhite and his neighbors are attempting to stop the rezoning by gathering signatures from nearby homeowners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re gonna fight like hell to keep this from being there,\u201d said Barbara Brewer, who sits on the board of a nearby homeowners board and spoke about the issue Tuesday during a City Council meeting. \u201cWe will make sure that we show up with everything we need for the zoning meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the past year, Brewer was among residents opposing a prospective tire shop off Timberland Boulevard. The tire shop would have been about 100 feet from the backyards of its neighboring subdivision. City zoning officials ultimately shut down the rezoning necessary for its opening.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you allow zoning to be changed like that, you\u2019re allowing that to be a precedent for the rest of the city,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fifth Gear\u2019s unexpected opening<\/p>\n
Before Fifth Gear moved into the property, the land was used and zoned as a warehouse space for over a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The neighborhood directly behind it to the north was built in 2010, and the subdivision in front of it to the south was built in 2020, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In September, Fifth Gear officials submitted a certificate of occupancy to the city, expressly stating the business would conduct auto repair, according to city documents reviewed by the Report.<\/p>\n
The property\u2019s zoning classification, PD-894, allowed for uses including warehouse, outdoor storage, retail sales and office space but not automotive use, Fort Worth zoning officials wrote in a November email to Wilhite, which was obtained by the Report.<\/p>\n
In emails to Wilhite obtained by the Report, city staff initially defended the decision to allow Fifth Gear. They argued the automotive operations would only cover 34% of the property and was therefore an accessory to the warehouse that would not require rezoning.<\/p>\n
After continued pushback from residents, officials walked back on the decision and required Fifth Gear to apply for rezoning.<\/p>\n
Fort Worth code bars automotive repair operations in residential neighborhoods<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been completely mishandled and wrong, and (the city) needs to clean it up,\u201d Wilhite said.<\/p>\n Fort Worth Development Services<\/a> officials, which oversees zoning, issued a statement on Tuesday after the council\u2019s public comment meeting. They noted staffers saying they are aware of residents\u2019 frustrations and the rezoning case will move forward through the process.<\/p>\n \u201cOthers interested in the matter will have ample time to weigh in at the zoning commission hearing and at the council zoning meeting,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n Department officials declined to answer the Report\u2019s specific questions on the issue.<\/p>\n City Council member Alan Blaylock, who represents much of far north Fort Worth, referred the Report to the city\u2019s statement and added that he respects constituents\u2019 input on the issue.<\/p>\n Brewer said she feels sympathy for Bernick, the shop owner, as his recent investments into renovating the property would go to waste if the rezoning request is denied.<\/p>\n \u201cThis should have never gotten as far as it has,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Bernick wrote he wasn\u2019t surprised by the pushback from homeowners or the need for a zoning change. Fifth Gear wants to be a member of the community, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that our planned physical investments in the facility and property should be considered a significant improvement for the neighborhood to alleviate some of the concerns they might have had in the past over its use,\u201d he wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n