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Issues > Private Card Room in Willow Park 2021

Latest update: Saturday, 15 April, 2023

Supporting pages: Private Card Rooms Texas, The Fort Card Room

Hash Tags: #FortCardRoom, #CommercialAmusementOrdinance

Mid-September 2021, Willow Park citizens learned from their neighbors about preparations for a 24/7, private club, card room to be opened in Willow Park. Below is a reverse chronological journal of the public information about this card room.

2023

 

• April 2023 Fort Card Room was awarded

business of the year by the East Parker 

County Chamber. 

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• Article: Analysis: Texas would see windfall if state legalized gaming, The Centery Square, 12 January 2023

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• Article: Speaker Dade Phelan Open to ‘High-quality’ Casinos That Contribute to Economic Development, The Texan, 12 January, 2023. Texas 88th Legislative Session 

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2022

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  • 01 April 2022, The Community News, in .pdf, public announcement of Ordinance NO. 855-22 Updated Records Management Policy and Ordinance NO. 853-22 Commercial Amusement Ordinance with Special Use Permit

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  • 08 February 2022 Council Meeting  

    • Agenda Item 4:  A notice of public hearing to be held by the City Council of the City of Willow Park on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. at the Municipal Complex located at 516 Ranch House Rd., Willow Park, Texas 76087, to receive input regarding text amendments to the City of Willow Park Zoning Ordinance regarding commercial amusement uses.#FortCardRoom 

      • A. Sec.14.06.014 — COMMERCIAL DISTRICT USE REGULATIONS > (a) Use Regulations. The "C" Commercial District will be limited to the following uses, residential uses are not permitted in this district / Commercial Amusement — Indoor (Special Use Permit SUP Required)  / Commercial Amusement — Outdoor (Special Use Permit SUP Required)

      • B. Sec.14.06.015 — LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT USE REGULATIONS > (a) USE REGULATIONS. The "LI" Light Industrial District will be limited to the following uses. Residential uses not permitted in this district / Commercial Amusement — Indoor (Special Use Permit SUP Required) Commercial Amusement — Outdoor (Special Use Permit SUP Required)

    • AGENDA ITEM: Discussion/Action: PUBLIC HEARING to consider amending the Zoning Ordinance to classify Commercial Amusement-Indoor and Commercial Amusement-Outdoor as permitted uses (Special Use Permit Required) in the C-Commercial District and LI-Light Industrial District.

    • BACKGROUND: The City of Willow Park Zoning Ordinance currently permits these uses in the C — Commercial District and LI — Light Industrial District. This amendment will require a Special Use Permit for these use.

    • Public Hearing Comments: One Willow Park citizen requested the following three restrictions be placed in this ordinance.

      • Adult or adult-only amusement or entertainment activity or similar activities are prohibited in commercial or light industrial zoned property in Willow Park.

      • “Private” card room activity or similar activities are prohibited in commercial or light industrial zoned property in Willow Park.

      • These and similar activities are prohibited in all commercial and light industrial zoned property in Willow Park, including but not limited to, property that is owned, leased, rented, etc.

      • [The council passed the ordinance without these additional restrictions.]

    • A motion was made by Councilman VanSant to adopt an ordinance providing for an amendment to Chapter 14 "Zoning Regulations"; Article Sec. 14.06.014(a) "C" Commercial District and Article Sec. 14.06.015(a) "LI" Light Industrial District Use Regulation Commercial Amusement — Indoor Special Use Permit Required and Commercial Amusement — Outdoor Special Use Permit Required of the City of Willow Park Zoning Ordinance; as amended providing for publication; and an effective date. Councilman Contreras seconded the motion. The vote to approve the motion as unanimous.

  • At the 18 January 2022 Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting, ​

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  • The Fort Card Room website  (in .pdf) is still active and ​has several interesting comments. 

    • ​"Honestly, Fort is probably doomed before they even open. A few other places have opened, they are basically empty and failing. There is one room in Dallas that is the hotspot, that is the way it goes in most cities/areas. Players are going to go where the most tables are operating for table selection/+ ev situations." 04 January 2022

    • "Not a word from the owners management. Take this off the atlas already. Northern fort worth does not want poker. Lets get this off the atlas now. Move on with our lives. Heard many different stories of the management hiring staff and left them stranded. Thats not very cool at all." 10 December 2021

    • "Managers hired a bunch of dealers told them they have the operating license. Told them it was ok to move up to the area. Now they are stranded in the middle of no where. Left to front all of the money to break there lease..." 04 December 2021

    • "They were supposed to open on 11/1, but have gone radio silent." 01 November 2021

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November 2021

  • Current update on status of The Fort Card Room: As of Tuesday, 30 November, 2021, according to their website — https://www.pokeratlas.com/poker-room/the-fort-card-room-willow-park — the The Fort Card Room is still planning to open on Willow Bend Drive in Willow Park. This is in contraction to the  01 October 2021 edition of The Community News, “The  owners of a prospective card room in Willow Park reversed course on Wednesday [29 September, 2021] after a room full of Willow Park and area residents spoke out against it at Tuesday night’s Willow Park City Council meeting.” Blog Post

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October 2021

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  • 12. During the 19 October special council meeting, The Fort Card Room appeared on the agenda as “Executive Session, A. 551.071 (consultation with attorney): Chapter 380 and Fort Card Room.” (Private Executive Sessions during a council meeting are allowed by Texas Open Meeting Act.) There was one citizen speaker who asked for clarification about the relationship between the Chapter 380 economic development agreement and The Fort Card Room; the council explained there was no connection between the two issues.

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  • 11. During the next regular city council meeting on 12 October, the card room and the new Commercial Amusement Ordinance were not on the agenda. There were two citizen speakers who asked why the city was still not discussing The Fort Card Room, either in open session or with the city lawyer in closed, executive session. 

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  • A letter, dated 12 October 2021, was sent from the the City of Willow Park lawyer, to Burt Parnell [The Fort Card Room] at 243 Willow Bend Drive #103, Willow Park, Texas 76087, indicating the following.

    • ​"It was the City's understanding, as reflected in the newspaper article that appeared in the Community News on September 29, 2021, that BBWR was no longer pursuing the remodeling of the building at the Property for the operation of the Fort Card Room. However, a representative of BBWR, Trey Neville, has subsequently informed the City that BBWR stands ready to start the remodeling for the Fort Card Room and has requested if they are clear to proceed with the remodel."

    • ... but to obtain a certificate of occupancy for the Fort Card Room, BBRW will be required to amend the allowed uses for the Planned Development District in which the Property is located. The allowed uses for the Property were established by Planned Development Ordinance (the "PD Ordinance") adopted by the City on or about August 16, 2018. The PD Ordinance provides that Commercial/Retail/Office uses, as allowed in Section 14.06.012, 14.06.013 and 14.06.014.[City of Willow Park Code of Ordinances] ... Therefore, a playing card room is not permitted on the Property located within the PD Ordinance. The PD Ordinance provides that any change to the uses as provided in the Conceptual Site Plan shall require the developer to submit a new Conceptual Site Plan and Final Site Plan, and that any changes to the Conceptual Site Plan must be approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council, using a specific use permit. Please understand that the approval of the new permitted use for the PD Ordinance and/or a specific use permit will be at the discretion of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council."

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  • 10. As promised, a front page article in the 08 October, The Community News continued to pursue facts about the card room and how it related to the new Commercial Amusement Ordinance. However, after several attempts to obtain further information from the city, at the last minute before publication, the newspaper was given only a terse statement from a city representative that no additional information would be forthcoming because of a potential lawsuit. As the article so aptly and succinctly concluded, “When optics are bad, it is incumbent on a government body to explain. So far, no one at the City of Willow Park has found it necessary to do so.”

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  • 9. In the 01 October edition of The Community News, there was an excellent front page article that covered both sides of The Fort Card Room issue and promised to continue the investigation. The article started, "The owners of a prospective card room in Willow Park reversed course on Wednesday [29 September 2021] after a room full of Willow Park and area residents spoke out against it at Tuesday night’s Willow Park City Council meeting."

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September 2021

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  • Example of social media thread, late September 2021

    • Speaker 1. You are against potentially the 3rd largest employer coming to Willow Park, paying their taxes and having a business that could be enjoyed by adults who enjoy the fun and competition of playing cards. I would be willing to bet your have NO idea what a legal poker room entails —the potential loss of a great business in our area makes me sick. People who support this were not given the right to speak last night. I hope that changes in 2 weeks, Give them a chanc

    • Speaker 2. This subject was very much more about the City of Willow

    • Speaker 3. I support businesses opening via approved uses as outlined in agreements and approved plans. I understand that you may be unaware of these things, but the building owned by Morrison Group was approved for 5 retail tenants within a Planned Development based on specific uses complementing the conceptual site plan. The site plan did not include adult entertainment, which is what an adult only private poker room is considered to be.

  • 8. At the 28 September regular city council meeting, The Fort Card Room and the new Commercial Amusement Ordinance were not on the agenda. While over fifteen people stood at the podium and spoke on the card room during general Public Comments, there were over fifty people at the meeting. And those citizens represented many more who could not attend the evening council meeting, especially on such short notice. [One neighborhood] alone had six people present and four spoke. At the end of the meeting, one council member thanked those who spoke, and another council member requested the issue of the card room and the Commercial Amusement Ordinance be put on the council agenda. And directly after the council meeting and for a few days afterwards, several of the council communicated with several of the citizens assuring them the issue would be addressed. 

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  • On 24 September, Willow Park citizen and former council, Marcy Galle, sent a message (text in .pdf) to the council and city indicating, "The development of a majority of the land along Willow Crossing Drive and Willow Bend Drive is covered by a Planned Development Agreement between the city and The Morrison Group, Bryce Pool. A poker room is an unapproved use of the space.... That City staff knowingly allowed any permit application to move forward with an unapproved zoning use is cause for further concern."

    In addition, Galle requested a copy of the city building permit (approved on 22 September, attachment below) for the Fort Card Room. In the accompanying communication from a city administrative employee, he explained the building permit and The Fort Card Room were allowed by the new Commercial Amusement Ordinance. "Ordinance 834–21 was passed by the city Council on July 13, 2021, which amended zoning regulations. This ordinance allows indoor and outdoor amusement in Commercial and Light Industrial zones."

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  • Willow Park citizens contacted the city to gather information about the card room and were told the Commercial Amusement Ordinance, passed by the city council in July 2021, gave the card room the right to open in Willow Park. [editorial comment: This information is incorrect. The the July 2021 Commercial Amusement Ordinance did not include adult amusement as an accepted use; in addition, the location of the card room was covered by a Planned Development Agreement, which also did not include adult amusement. Both the Ordinance and the PD require a Special (Specific) Use Permit, approved by the P&Z Commission and the City Council.]

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  • 7. On 23 September, a small group of citizens discovered The Fort Card Room had signed a lease in June to operate in the mall across from the Parker County Ice House. And we shared that information as widely as we could because that is what good neighbors do. And we made sure our neighbors knew one of the most effective ways to communicate to our elected officials was to speak in person at a council meeting. 

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July 2021

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  • 5. By mid-July, the city council had not publicly shared any information about The Fort Card Room or about how the new Commercial Amusement Ordinance would specifically allow the following, according to The Fort Card Room website 

    • a private card room 

    • adult-only

    • seven days a week, rumored to be open until 4 a.m. or 7/24 hours. [Sorry, but rumor always fills the vacuum left by a dearth of information.] â€‹

    • sixteen (16) tables, with a maximum 160 players (standard ten (10) players per table)

    • needing an estimated 100 parking places 

    • that would occupy two of the six (6) stores in a small, retail mall, with a dozen parking spaces on the same block as over fifty eight (58) townhomes.

      However, according to the direct quote in the 01 October 2021 edition of The Community News, from Burt Parnell, one of the owners of the card room, “‘… And then with the city, with law enforcement, with city council, mayors, whomever, to see if they would allow it in Willow Park, and they said yes,’ " (See Point 1 below for source.)

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  • 4. During the 13 July regular city council meeting, Agenda Item 5 indicated a public hearing, discussion, and action on Ordinance 834-21 to consider amending the city zoning  ordinance to include definitions for Commercial Amusement. A city employee introduced the new ordinance with the examples of a theater and batting cages, and one council member asked for clarification about outdoor amusement activities. Discussion on this agenda item took less than five minutes and the council voted unanimously to approve the new Commercial Amusement Ordinance. 

    • See full ordinance in Agenda Packet linked above.​

    • 1. SEC. 14.04.001 DEFINITIONS Commercial Amusement — Indoor. An operation which is conducted within an enclosed building, including bowling alleys, video arcades, dance halls or theater, auditoriums, and recreational facilities with or without fixed seating. / Commercial Amusement — Outdoor. An operation including miniature golf courses, driving ranges, swimming pools, skateboard parks, water parks and associated facilities.

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June 2021

 

  • 3. The agenda for 15 June Planing and Zoning Commission evening meeting indicated, “Public Hearing to consider and act on text amendments to the City of Willow Park Zoning Ordinance to provide definitions for Commercial Amusement... “ In the proposed Commercial Amusement Ordinance was one page of information, which had the following definitions “Commercial Amusement — Indoor: An operation which is conducted within an enclosed building, including bowling alleys, video arcades, dance hall or theater, auditoriums, and recreational facilities with or without fixed seating. Commercial Amusement — Outdoor: An operation including miniature golf courses, driving ranges, swimming pools, skateboard parks, water parks and associated facilities.”

    As a factual aside, a city employee “designated as staff liaison by the city administrator” is responsible for managing the agenda and agenda information packet and for providing expert advice to the P&ZC members, (City Ordinance Sec. 14.16.006a). P&ZC meetings are recorded by the city employee, and although these recordings are not posted for the public, [a Willow Park citizen] attended that P&Z Commission meeting and recorded it and will be glad to share. 

    During the 15 June P&ZC meeting, one of the commissioners asked what precipitated this agenda item that had not been on any previous agenda; the commissioners were told a movie theatre had approached Willow Park for a location “over by the [Parker County] Ice House” but lost interest when they found Willow Park had no ordinance to allow amusement in commercial or light industrial zoned districts. What followed was a robust twenty minute discussion, including other examples of commercial amusements; assurances that indoor adult amusement was covered under another ordinance; using specific use permits to manage commercial amusement; creating a more detailed definition of what was to be considered appropriate commercial amusement, to eliminate loopholes that might be used by businesses not appropriate to an area close to residential zoning; and buffering commercial amusement from residential zoning. Based on the facts presented to them, the P&ZC voted unanimously to approve the Commercial Amusement Ordinance.  Please note, Willow Park Civics] is in no way suggesting or implying any questionable actions or wrong doings by the city employee who assists the P&Z Commission; she was sharing information as she knew it, information provided by the city administration and elected officials. 

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  • * On 15 June 2021 BBWR Investment LLC was incorporated in Texas with the alternative name THE FORT CARD ROOM (trading name, 2021-06-28) by agent Burton W. Parnell. [source: Texas Secretary of State, OpenCorporates.]

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  • 2. “The owners of the club signed their lease in June,” according to the same article. A lease was signed June 2021 for a private card room that could not have legally opened in the City of Willow Park at that time, since there was no city ordinance for commercial amusement until 13 July, 2021. 

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  • 1. According to a direct quote, in the 01 October 2021 edition of The Community News, from Burt Parnell, one of the owners of the card room, “‘… and so I came back and started the process here in the county. And then with the city, with law enforcement, with city council, mayors, whomever, to see if they would allow it in Willow Park, and they said yes,’ Parnell said. ‘And we then tried to find a building, found it, and we got a lease.’”

    As a factual aside, it is against the Texas Open Meetings Act for elected officials to discuss city issues with each other outside a council meeting. 

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