Commonly Asked Questions
Q1: What’s being built over there?
A: Guess what? There’s an app for that! OK, not really an app but a tool. Go to the following link to look at the City of Forney’s interactive map to see what’s being built within the city.
http://forney.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html…
Q2: Will my recycling be picked up this week?
A: https://www.forneytx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4796/2020-FORNEY-HHW—RECYCLING-CALENDER
Q3: Does the city owe the Gateway developers $45,000,000?
A: No. The developers of the Gateway are repaid by property values generated within the Gateway that are created by their development of the Gateway. The only reason the city would issue bonds to pay the developers would be to pay them back earlier and ONLY if the property taxes entering the TIF covered the yearly bond payment. Again, the city owes them nothing.
Q4: What happened to the mall they said they were going to build?
A: Remember the market crash of 2008-2010? The developers of the Gateway had an agreement with an entity that was to build said mall in the same time-frame as the market crash. As a result of that crash, they backed out of the deal. Since then the retail world has changed. Amazon is taking over, big box retail stores are struggling and in many cases closing. That said, there is a lot going on in the Gateway and Forney. Stay tuned for news on any new development.
Q5: Why doesn’t the city stop attracting nail salons, dentists, and donut shops?
A: We don’t. None of these entities come before city council for approval. They lease from the developers and owners of existing or incoming developments. Developments are what comes before city council. Our job is to make sure developers are building in accordance to our codes and ordinances. If a nail salon was to come in and buy land and submit plans to build a nail salon on that property, then they would come before council. Not if they are leasing space from another owner. Clear as mud?
Q6: Why don’t you just build a bridge over or under the railroad tracks at 548 & 80?
A: It’s expensive. Very expensive. At minimum the project will cost $35,000,000. On top of that, the short distance between the highway 80 bridge and the 548/1641 intersection is close enough that it may not work. The same issue is caused by the proximity of the railroad crossing just to the east and west of 548 and 80.
Q7: Why doesn’t the city widen 80, 548, 1641, 740, or 741? This traffic is ridiculous!
A: Because they are controlled by TXDOT, not the city of Forney. However, TXDOT does have future plans to widen 80, 548, and 1641. They are currently in the funding and/or engineering process.
Q8: Why is the city not building any roads?! This traffic is getting out of hand!
A: We are! Plus, we recently approved the thoroughfare plan (see link below) in Forney which shows our current plan for roads to be built within the city. Currently under construction is the Reeder Road alignment north of Hwy 80 in the Gateway. The southern portion of Reeder will be realigned to connect to an existing bridge on hwy 80. This will give everyone in the Gateway apartments a new option to get to hwy 80 without having to use the 548/80 intersection. Also in progress is the addition of Trailhouse Road behind Kroger that will connect Kroger dr with hwy 80. This will give residents on the north side another option to get to hwy 80 without having to go through the 548/80 intersection. You will be hearing about more road addition plans soon as it relates to the following thoroughfare plan. Also, below you can access the city’s Capital Improvements Map for details on ongoing and upcoming road construction projects.
https://www.cityofforney.org/858/Traffic-and-Transportation
http://forney.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=e6b948a66c544ab498c2f7876e30b4e9
Q9: Who’s the best city councilman of all time in Forney?
A: Clearly Shaun Myers. I mean, dude is awesome!
Q10: What happened to the water park (Splash Kingdom) to be built in the Gateway?
A: They were delayed at first by extensive construction delays at the Greenville site. Shortly after that location was completed, a building at the Canton location caught on fire. Shortly after that, a tornado came through Canton and caused more damage to that location. So, they decided not to press their luck for now and backed out of coming to Forney.
Q11: What’s that horrible smell over by Lowe’s?
A: It’s actually not Lowe’s, it’s the paper recycling plant across the highway from Lowe’s. Don’t worry, they are doing the earth favors and happen to be one of our largest employers in Forney.
Q12: I heard the city approved a tire factory in the Gateway where the world’s largest mall was planned that will fill our skies with black smoke, add five million trucks to our roads, make everyone’s homes worth nothing, and the city gave all of our tax dollars to them to make it happen. Is that true?
A: No. All of that is false, and I may or may not have added a bit of sarcasm to it. The city council approved a 1.2m square foot distribution center to be built for Good Year Tires at the southwest corner of hwy 80 and Gateway. This area is right next to the railroad tracks, an area that is not only ideal for light industrial development, but has been planned for light industrial for as long as I can remember. There was never a mall or retail planned for that section of land and residential development isn’t ideal next to railroad tracks. Now, while the approved ordinance allows for manufacturing, on that section of land, that is only as an option in the future for the owner of the building in case Good Year vacates the building at some point after it’s initial lease. So, there will be no smoke filling our skies. Also, there will be approximately 100 trucks running through the facility per day or 3-4 trucks per hour. This will add minimal traffic to our roads and part of that traffic already exists as trucks travel today from the distribution center in Terrell that will move to this location. As far as home values go, this facility will look great and will be surrounded by landscaping. It will be located just under a mile from the Gateway Parks development, will sit three football fields away from Gateway Blvd, over a football field from the hwy 80 frontage, and over a football field away from CR 212. Lastly, while the city council has participated in incentive negotiations, the final agreement has not been signed, and I can assure you, the county, city, and ISD will benefit greatly from the taxes generated from this development.
Q13: I have a Forney address but do I live within city limits?
A: Believe it or not this is a valid question and one I hear a lot. There are many developments with a Forney address that aren’t actually within Forney city limits. If you are curious where you sit on the map, the area within the red boundary on the following map is within city limits. The area outside of the red boundary but within the cyan boundary are within the Forney ETJ.
Q14: Can we get a Texas Roadhouse in Forney?
A: The EDC met with Texas Roadhouse in May of 2019 about bringing a location to Forney. Their issue with doing so is their location in Mesquite is their most successful location in Texas. They feel that opening one in Forney will make that location much less viable.
Q15: Can we get a HEB in Forney?
A: The answer is complicated. See below.
Q16: Do we have severe weather warning sirens in Forney? If so, what triggers them?