Draft 2023 Comprehensive Plan

The Comprehensive Plan is the City of Fort Worth’s official guide for making decisions about growth and development. The Plan is a summary of the goals, objectives, policies, strategies, programs, and projects that will enable the city to achieve its mission of focusing on the future, working together to build strong neighborhoods, develop a sound economy, and provide a safe community. 

The Texas Local Government Code establishes the legal basis for the comprehensive plan. The code states that a municipality may adopt a comprehensive plan for long-range development. If a city adopts a comprehensive plan, it must be used as the basis of subsequent zoning amendments. The comprehensive plan is described as a plan for the orderly growth and development of the city and its environs. The plan should “facilitate the movement of people and goods, and the health, safety, and general welfare for the citizens of the city.” 

The City uses the Comprehensive Plan as a guide for decisions when:

• Creating functional plans, such as the Citywide Historic Preservation Plan, the Gateway Park Master Plan, and the Public Art Master Plan
• Identifying budget priorities 
• Preparing the capital improvement program 
• Informing the annexation program 
• Establishing development standards 
• Reviewing zoning and subdivision cases 

The Future Land Use Map determines appropriate locations for future uses, establishing the City’s vision for the placement of housing, employment, social activities, and protection of natural areas. Currently, 17 land use designations and three growth centers types, provide guidance for new development and redevelopment, describing the typical mix of land uses and design characteristics that are desirable to create distinct areas of the city.

The map does not establish zoning district boundaries or regulations, nor guarantee that individual properties are suitable for the full range of design characteristics described within each designation. Land use decisions on individual properties should consider not only the Future Land Use Map, but also other Comprehensive Plan policies, the context of the surrounding area, and other individual site considerations that cannot be evaluated as part of the high-level policy guidance of the Comprehensive Plan. 

The Future Land Use (FLU) Map determines appropriate locations for future land uses, establishing the City’s vision for the placement of housing, employment, retail and services, schools, recreation, social activities, and protection of significant natural areas such as floodplains.  The Future Land Use Map is a plan intended to inform development decisions.

Zoning is how the City regulates the land based on building height, parking requirements, landscape standards, etc. Zoning is a regulatory tool intended control the development and use of land.  Zoning helps to implement the Future Land Use Map and the Comprehensive Plan for growth and development. 

The City of Fort Worth typically updates portions of the Comprehensive Plan annually. Planning & Data Analytics (P&DA) Department staff works with other City departments, partner agencies, and stakeholders (typically through other adopted plans and completed planning processes) to identify potential amendments across multiple chapters and appendices of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. 

P&DA staff, in consultation with Development Services staff and others, reviews the Future Land Use Map on a regular basis to identify map amendments that may be needed to reflect new opportunities or plans, especially in newly developing areas or in locations where a new area plan has been adopted.  P&DA staff also recommends amendments to the Future Land Use Map where needed to reflect approved zoning changes or development that already exists and is unlikely to change in the next 20 years.

The process for updating the Comprehensive Plan starts in the summer and culminates with the City Council’s adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, typically in early March of each year.

Proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan are presented at a City Plan Commission work session in December in preparation for a January public hearing before the Commission on the draft Comprehensive Plan. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Plan Commission votes on a recommendation to the City Council.  The recommendation of the City Plan Commission is conveyed to the City Council in February through an Informal Report, which briefly describes the amendments proposed to the current Comprehensive Plan.  The City Council holds a public hearing, typically in early March and votes on the proposed Comprehensive Plan.

City staff is currently in the process of selecting a consultant to assist staff in the community engagement process.  The community engagement process is expected to kick-off in Fall 2023 and last a little over one year.  The purpose of the community engagement process is to engage the Fort Worth community in 1) determining a new vision of Fort Worth’s future, 2) identifying key goals and objectives for attaining that future, and 3) documenting an implementable suite of strategies, policies, and actions intended to bring the community’s desired future about.  This project will result in a community-supported draft of key plan components that will be used by City staff to prepare the draft 2050 Fort Worth Comprehensive Plan.