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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 6786 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 13 OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE (1964) , AS AMENDED, DANCE HALLS AND POOL HALLS, BY AMENDING SECTION 13-36; PROVIDING AGE RESTRICTIONS; MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES AND PROVISIONS OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A SEVERA- BILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That Section 13-36 of Chapter 13 of the Fort Worth City Code (1964) , as amended, is hereby further amended and, after being so amended, shall hereafter read as follows: "Sec. 13-36. Age restrictions. "It shall be unlawful for the operator of any pool hall to permit persons under the age of seven- teen years to engage in or play pool or billiards on the premises of such pool hall unless such per- sons under the age of seventeen years shall be ac- companied by a parent or guardian or shall have obtained written and signed permission to play from a parent or guardian. It shall be unlawful for the operator of any pool hall to allow any persons attending elementary, middle or high school to engage in or play pool or billiards on the prem- ises of such pool hall before such person has com- pleted his last school class of that day." SECTION 2. That this ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964) , as amended, with respect to pool halls in the City of Fort Worth, except in those instances where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such Code, in which in- stances said conflicting provisions of such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 3. That 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 void, ineffective or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or final decree of any court of competent jurisdic- tion, such voidness, ineffectiveness or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sen- tences, paragraphs and sections thereof, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorpora- tion herein of any such void, ineffective or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 4. That any person, firm, association of persons, company or corporation, or their agents, servants or employees who violate, disobey, omit, neglect or refuse to comply with any provision of this ordinance shall be punished by a fine not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), and each day that a violation exists shall be and is hereby declared to be a dis- tinct and separate offense and punishable as such, all as provided for in Section 1-5 of Chapter 1 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1964), as amended. SECTION 5. That this ordinance shall become effective and be in full force ane effect from and after its passage and publication as required by law, and it is so ordained. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGAL/ITY�: City Attorney ^ a City of Dort Worth, Texas LINE Line Mayor and Council Communication 110filar. eMHnM DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT: Revision of Pool Hall PAGE NUMBER Ordinance 2 P. 1/29/73 G-2138 1 of /OHWROE WVG� At the January 22, 1973, Pre-Council discussion, it was requested that the staff and the Department of Law review the existing Pool Hall Ordinance as amended and recommend appropriate changes. Three different items were discussed during the Pre-Council meeting. These included the current requirement for a license fee of $10 per pool table; the provision for students to play prior to 4:00 p.m. ; and the provision that in a pool hall, other games cannot also be played prior to 4:00 p.m. The staff and the Department of Law have reviewed these requirements and prepared a proposed amendment to the ordinance. License Fee The State Law specifically provides that a City may collect a license fee of $10 per table. Representatives from the Pool Hall businesses have indicated a desire that this license fee be lower to be $10 per establish- ment, instead of per table. The staff and the Department of Law see no reason why the fee should be lowered. Student Hours Changes in school hours, including the use of the tri-semester, whereby some students may even be going to school during the summer, as well as the staggered hours whereby some students are out of school as early as noon, perhaps place a different light on the 4:00 p.m. deadline for students to play .pool. This is, however, a policy matter in which the City Council may exercise its discretion. Should the City Council wish to amend the ordinance, the Department of Law has prepared the following amendment for Council con- sideration. That Section 13-36 of Chapter 13 of the Fort Worth City Code (1964) , as amended, is hereby amended, and after being so amended, shall hereafter read as follows: "Section 13-36. Age Restriction. "It shall be unlawful for the operator of any pool hall to permit persons under the age of 17 years to engage in or play pool or billiards on the precise of such pool hall unless such person under the age of 17 years shall be accompanied by a parent or guardian or shall have obtained written and signed permission to play from a parent or guardian. It shall be unlawful for the operator of any pool hall to allow any persons attending elementary, middle or high school, to engage in or play pool or billiards on the premise of such pool hall before such person has completed his last school class of that day." a DATE REFERENCE SUBJECT: Revision of Pool Hall PAGE NUMBER Ordinance 2 2 1/29/73 G-2138 of Other Games The existing ordinance provides that it is unlawful for the operator to permit any persons under the age of 17 to engage in playing pool, billiards, or other games on the premises of a pool hall prior to 4:00 p.m. This pro- vision is included in the same section as the age restrictions and the staff and the Department of Law recommend that the above amendment be adapted which eliminates the restriction on other games. Recommendation It is recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance amending the existing Pool Hall Ordinance by changing Section 13-36 as outlined above. RNL:ms SUBMITTED BY: DISPOSITIO COUNCIL: PRO SSED BY APPROVED ❑ OTHER (DESC�fRIBE) CITY SECRETARY - DATE CITY MANAGER //On