HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 9020r ,,, :,
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ORDINANCE NO.`~ .p
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 15, "FIRE CODE," OF THE CODE
OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, BY PROVIDING FOR ANNUAL INSPEC-
TION OF ALL COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS BY THE CITY OF FORT WORTH
FIRE PREVENTION BUREAU; INSTITUTING A SCHEDULE OF FEES TO
BE CHARGED FOR INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS BY THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH FIRE DEPARTMENT FIRE PREVENTION BUREAU;
CHANGING THE POSSIBLE FINE FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE FIRE
CODE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; MAKING THIS ORDI-
NANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES AND REPEALING ALL
ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT OF THIS
ORDINANCE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING A
PENALTY CLAUSE AND FOR PUBLICATION.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH,
TEXAS:
SECTION 1.
That Section 15-17 of Article I of Chapter 15 of the Code of
the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1964), as amended, be and is hereby
amended by substituting the following language in lieu thereof, to
wit:
"Sec. 15-7. Penalty for violation of chapter.F
"Any person who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or
refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of
any of the provisions of this chapter shall be fined not
less than five dollars nor more than one thousand dollars
for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted
to exist shall constitute a separate offense."
SECTION 2.
That Section 15-17 of Article II of Chapter 15 of the Code of
the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1964), as amended, be and is hereby
amended by substituting the following language in lieu thereof, to
wit:
"Sec. 15-17. Same -- Duty of bureau.
"It shall be the duty of the bureau to inspect all build-
ings and premises, except residential dwelling units, as
defined below, to ascertain conditions which might cause
fires or be hazards to life and property. Inspectors shall ~
be charged with detecting violations of this Code or other `
City ordinances or regulations affecting fire hazards and
to give orders for the correction thereof. Inspections
shall be conducted at approximately 12-month intervals. A
'residential dwelling unit' is defined as a residential
unit providing complete, independent living facilities for
one family, including permanent provisions for sleeping,
cooking, eating and sanitation."
SECTION 3.
That Article II of Chapter 15 of the Code of the City of Fort
Worth, Texas (1964), as amended, be amended by adding Sections
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15-17.1 through 15-17.4, to follow Section 15-17, and the said
Sections 15-17.1 through 15-17.4 shall read and be as follows:
"Sec. 15-17.1. Certificate of Inspection; Violation; Notices.
a) Such inspection shall be performed by duly authorized mem-
bers of the Fort Worth Fire Department. If no hazardous condi-
tions or other violations of the Fire Code are detected at the
time of the inspection, the occupant of the inspected building
shall be issued a certificate of inspection.
b) The occupant of every commercial establishment (defined as
all buildings, facilities and structures except residential
dwelling units) shall be required to have a valid certificate
of inspection. Unless otherwise specified in this Code, the
Certificate of Inspection shall be valid until a subsequent
inspection takes place; provided, however, that possession of a
Certificate of Inspection shall not exempt a building from
reinspection or citation for violations occurring during the
period of time between inspections.
c) If at the time of inspection, a building is found to be
not in compliance with this Code, a certificate of inspection
will not be issued. After notification of the violations which
were detected, the occupant shall be required to remedy the
conditions of violation, and a citation may be issued. The
occupant shall be notified to remedy the violation and shall be
notified of a time at which reinspection will occur. The date
for reinspection shall not be more than 30 days from the time
of the original inspection.
d) Failure to correct hazardous conditions after notice shall
constitute a violation of this Code, which may result in issu-
ance of citation at the time of reinspection.
Sec. 15-17.2. Inspection Fee
a) The following two elements shall be used in determining an
inspection fee to be charged:
I. Number of Square Feet in Building
II. Number of Stories in Building.
b) The inspection fee shall be developed according to the
following formula:
Number of square feet of floor space plus a fee for the number
of stories in the building
I. Charge per square foot of floor space of inspected
structure:
Number of Square Feet Base Fee
1) Less than 5,000 $ 20.00
2) 5,001 - 10,000 $ 25.00
3) 10,001 - 25,000 $ 30.00
4) 25,001 - 50,000 $ 45.00
5) 50,001 - 75,000 $ 70.00
6) 75,001 - 100,000 $ 95.00
7) More than 100,000 $120.00
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II. Multiple Story Char e: An additional charge of $5.00
per floor in excess of one floor shall be charged for
inspection of multi-story buildings.
III. Shopping malls shall be assessed an inspection fee
based on total floor area of the public areas within
the structure plus the per story charge. The indi-
vidual tenant spaces will be assessed on the basis of
the square footage of the individual space.
Sec. 15-17.3. Permit Fees
A permit fee of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) shall be
charged for permits required under this Code.
Sec. 15-17.4. Special Fees
A special fee shall be charged for those items listed
below, according to the following schedule:
a) Standpipe testing $150.00
b) Official photograph $ 7.00
c) Official fire report $ 5.00
d) Fire alarm registration $ 5.00."
SECTION 4.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordi-
nances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1964), as
amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct
conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in
which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code
are hereby repealed.
SECTION 5.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council
that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of
this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence,
paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitu-
tional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the
remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of
this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City
Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such un-
constitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
SECTION 6.
Any person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits,
neglects or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of
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any of the provisions of this penalty shall be fined not more than
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) for each offense. Each day that a vio-
lation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
SECTION 7.
All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are
expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of
the Fire Code or any other ordinances affecting fire safety which
have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance;
and, as to such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both
civil and criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such
ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be
prosecuted until final disposition by the courts.
SECTION 8.
The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby
authorized to publish this ordinance in pamphlet form for general
distribution among the public, and the operative provisions of this
ordinance as so published shall be admissible in evidence in all
courts without further proof than the production thereof, as pro-
vided in Chapter XXV, Section 3, of the Charter of the City of Fort
Worth, Texas.
SECTION 9.
The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed
to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the caption, penalty
clause and effective date in the minutes of the City Council and by
filing the ordinance in the ordinance records of the City.
SECTION 10.
The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby
directed to publish the caption, penalty clause and effective date
of this ordinance for two (2) days in the official newspaper of the
City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Art. 1176b-1, Revised
Civil Statutes of Texas.
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SECTION 11.
This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and
after its passage and publication as required by law, and it is so
ordained.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
V~
City Attorney ,(,
Date: ~ _Z~ ' ~ `I
ADOPTED: ,'~ZC{-~~
EFFECTIVE: ~~
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ATSD'!+f•4 REFERENCE SUBJECT Fire Inspection Fees PAGE
NUMBER
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1/24/84 G-5892 1 ~f--
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Background-
On May 10,'1983 (M&C G-5621), the City Council established several new user fees
and authorized increases in numerous other fees These fee adjustments were pri-
marily based upon a comprehensive study conducted by the consulting firm of David
M Griffith and Associates, Ltd Included within the final recommendations of the
M&C were directives to the City Manager to develop fee proposals for fire
inspections,
The consultant recommended that the City initiate a fee to recover the costs of
conducting fire inspections
This proposal has been analyzed by the Fire Department and the Budget Office
The budget reflects $150,000 in revenue from this program The fee proposal
requires a Certificate of Inspection for every commercial establishment (defined
as all buildings, facilities and structures except private 1 or 2 family resi-
dencies ) The inspection will be required on approximately 12 month intervals
Financing
The 1983-84 budget reflects the addition of two terminal operator positions t0
assist with the operation of the program An accountant position is authorized for
the City Treasurer's office to assist in the billing of inspections
Fees for inspections will be charged on a square footage basis ranging from a
minimum of $20 to a maximum of $120 An additional charge of $5 per story in
excess of one story will be charged for inspection of a multi-story building
The fee proposal also includes a permit fee of $25 for any permit required by the
Fire Code A special fee will be charged for official photographs ($7), fire
reports ($5), fire alarm system registration ($5), and for testing of fire
standpipe systems ($150)
The owner/operator of a commercial establishment will be sent a bill after the
fire inspection report has been completed and entered in~o the
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CITY COUNCiI
The attached ordinance, amending Chapter 15, "Fire Code," of the City Code, has
been prepared in order to institute the fee program outlined her~e~~-~
4 1984
Recommendation
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It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attachea ~.,e~~4'd~.
Chapter 15, "Fire Code," of the Code of the City of Fort ~~'~~;eta. der to
institute a fire inspection fee program CitpofFortWprth~7expe
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SUBMITTED FOR THE
CITY MANAGER'S
Y
DISPOSITION BY COUNCIL.
PROCESSED BY
nFFICE BY ^ APPROVED
ORIGINATING [ OTHER (DESCRIBE)
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Chief McMillen
CITY SECRETARY
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMAT,lON L Peaco ~
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CONTACT
V "' DATE