HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 18130-06-2008ORDINANCE NO. 18130-06-2008
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, BEING
ORDINANCE NO. 13896, AS AMENDED, CODIFIED AS
APPENDIX "A" OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH
(1986), BY AMENDING SECTION 5.202 OF ARTICLE 2,
CHAPTER 5, "SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES" TO ADD
REQUIREMENTS FOR MEASURING THE DISTANCE FROM A
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION AND A SCHOOL WIN LOCATED
WITHIN A STRUCTURE WITH MULTIPLE SPACES
AVAILABLE FOR OCCUPANCY; PROVIDING THAT THIS
ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE;
PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR
PUBLICATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS the regulations governing sexually oriented business were revised in
September of 2004 to add new requirements to protect and promote the health, safety and
general welfare of the citizens of the City and visitors and to provide reasonable and
uniform regulations to prevent the concentration of sexually oriented businesses
operating within the city limits; and
WHEREAS the 2004 ordinance was amended in September of 2007 (Ordinance
Number 17782) to add an expiration date for the application and to provide that any new
application will be subject to the regulations in affect at the time the new application is
filed; and
WHEREAS the current ordinance, as amended, sets out the requirements for
measuring the distances between protected uses and a proposed sexually oriented
business when the business is located within a structure with multiple spaces available for
occupancy, and
WHEREAS the ordinance does not address how to measure the distance when a
church or school is located within a structure with multiple spaces available for
occupancy; and
WE3~REAS under the current regulations the measurement would be made in a
straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion
of the property line of an existing religious institution, school or sexually oriented
business, and
WHEREAS the method of measurement does not take into account that the
school or church may be one of many uses in a building with multiple spaces available
for occupancy or occupy only a small percentage of the multi-use building resulting in a
measurement that provides a distance setback for unprotected uses; and
WHEREAS, by amending the ordinance, the City Council does not intend to close
Sexually Oriented Businesses that are engaged in conveying erotic messages though dance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council does not intend to prohibit any speech activities protected
by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, but it does intend to adopt revisions
to the current ordinance that are content-neutral; and
WHEREAS, it is not the purpose or intent of this ordinance to restrict or deny lawful
access by adults to sexually oriented materials or to deny access by the distributors and
exhibitors of sexually oriented materials to their intended market; and
WHEREAS, it is the purpose and intent of this Article to regulate sexually oriented
business establishments so as to protect and promote the health, safety, and general welfare of
the citizens of the City and visitors thereto while protecting the rights of individuals to express
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themselves freely in accordance with the guidelines of the Constitution of the United States and
United States Supreme Court rulings pursuant thereto; and
WHEREAS it is advisable to amend the current ordinance to provide an equitable
way of measuring the distance between a sexually oriented business and a church or
school that is located within a structure with multiple spaces available for occupancy
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
Subsection D. of Section 5.202, "Prohibited Locations of Any Type of Sexually
Oriented Business" of Article 2, "Sexually Oriented Businesses" of Chapter 5,
"Supplemental Use Standards", of Ordinance No. 13896, the Zoning Ordinance of the
City of Fort Worth, is amended to add language addressing how to measure the distance
when a church or school is located within a structure with multiple spaces available for
occupancy to read as follows:
5.202 Prohibited Locations of Any Type of Sexually Oriented Business
D. For the purpose of Paragraphs B and C above, measurement of the
distance shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening
structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the property line of an
existing religious institution, school or sexually oriented business, or from
the boundary line of a public park, residential district, designated
historical/cultural district, or areas currently or within the last ten years
were designated as neighborhood empowerment zones, tax increment
finance districts and public improvement districts to the nearest property
line of the property sought to be used as a sexually oriented business.
If the sexually oriented business, school or religious institution occupies
greater than fifty percent (50%) of the total building square footage on a
developed site, parcel, tract or platted lot, then the measurement of the
distance shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening
structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the property line.
If the sexually oriented business, school or religious institution occupies
less than fifty percent (50%) of the total building square footage on a
developed site, parcel, tract or platted lot, then the measurement of the
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distance shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening
structures or objects, from the closest wall.
All other provisions of Section 5.202 shall remain in full force and affect.
SECTION 2.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the
Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), 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 3.
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
unconstitutional 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 unconstitutional
phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
SECTION 4.
Any person, firm, or corporation, who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or
refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this
ordinance shall be fined not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) for each
offense. Each day that a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
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SECTION 5.
All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to
any and all violations of the provisions of Ordinances No. 3011, 13896 and any other
ordinances affecting zoning 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 maybe prosecuted until final disposition by the courts.
SECTION 6.
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 Section 52.013,
Texas Local Government Code.
SECTION 7.
This ordinance shall take effect upon adoption and publication as required by law.
APPRO D AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
Assistant ity Attorney
ADOPTED: June 3 2008
EFFECTIVE: ~ :~ ~ ~ ~ ?_ ~c~~~
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