Fort Worth launches 'NET Force' crackdown on chronic nuisance properties

Fort Worth launches 'NET Force' crackdown

Fort Worth has launched a new Nuisance Enforcement Team (NET Force) to proactively target chronic problem properties, with a high-crime motel being one of its first major targets.

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth’s new Nuisance Enforcement Team has identified its first targets, including a motel on East Lancaster Avenue that city officials say has generated hundreds of calls for service and long-running concerns from nearby residents.

Fort Worth launches NET Force

What we know:

The new task force, called NET Force, short for Nuisance Enforcement Team, is a pilot program designed to proactively target chronic nuisance properties. Unlike the city’s current complaint-driven model, the task force will conduct its own inspections and seek compliance before problems escalate.

The city is also considering a new ordinance that would expedite enforcement and, if necessary, allow officials to revoke a property’s certificate of occupancy, effectively shutting down businesses that refuse to comply.

Eco Motel becomes first target

Local perspective:

The Eco Motel, located along one of the city’s busiest corridors, recorded 478 service calls between January 2024 and October 2025, according to data presented this week. 

For neighbors like Jazmin Alvarado, who has lived behind the property her entire life, the announcement comes as no surprise.

"Ever since I was a kid it’s always been an issue. A lot of crime and a lot of other stuff," Alvarado said. 

She and members of her family work late shifts, often returning home to the sound of police activity next door.

"They’ve had 400 and something calls in the last two years," she said. "We’ll come home at like three in the morning or four, and it’s just lit up like a party, just all police officers because something’s going on."

"Historically, everything operated in a reactive manner," said Brian Daugherty, a city official who helps oversee the initiative. "You submit a complaint, we go and inspect it. Same thing when someone calls 911. This is more of a proactive approach, we’re going out there and checking, ‘Are you in violation?’"

More Fort Worth properties flagged

Dig deeper:

In addition to the Eco Motel, NET Force has flagged two adjacent convenience stores on Hemphill Street, known by the city as "Rocky 1" and "Rocky 2", and the Sandy Oaks Apartments in east Fort Worth near Sandy Lane and Brentwood Stair Road.

Daugherty said residents living near nuisance properties often feel abandoned, and the city intends to change that.

"They are upset, they don’t want to deal with these issues, and they don’t think it is right," he said. "And they’re right. We need to take a different approach so we can get compliance."

For neighbors like Alvarado, the effort is overdue.

"I’ve never known anything good about it," she said of the Eco Motel. "So if the city is willing to do something, I think it’s for the best."