HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006/10/03-Minutes-City Council CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
Present
Mayor Mike Moncrief
Mayor Pro tem Kathleen Hicks, District 8
Council Member Salvador Espino, District 2
Council Member Chuck Silcox, District 3
Council Member Daniel Scarth, District 4
Council Member Donavan Wheatfall, District 5
Council Member Jungus Jordan, District 6
Council Member Carter Burdette, District 7
Council Member Wendy Davis, District 9
City Staff
Charles Boswell, City Manager
David Yett, City Attorney
Marty Hendrix, City Secretary
With a quorum of the City Council Members present, Mayor Moncrief called the regular
session of the Fort Worth City Council to order at 7:02 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3, 2006, in the City
Council Chamber of the Fort Worth City Hall, 1000 Throckmorton Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102.
Agenda Item H The invocation was given by Dr. Moises Rodriguez, Primera Baptist Church.
Invocation
Agenda Item III The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Pledge
Agenda Item IV Upon a motion of Council Member Silcox, seconded by Council Member
Approval of Wheatfall, the minutes of the regular meeting of September 26, 2006, and
Minutes amended minutes of the regular meeting of September 12, 2006, were approved
unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Agenda Item V Ms. Barbara Donnici, representing Fort Worth Sister Cities International
Special introduced the following members of a delegation from Reggio Emilia, Italy:
Presentations Mayor Graziano Delrio, President of the City Council Nando Rinaldi, and
Council Member Marco Elboli. Council Member Davis presented each of the
members with a Molly pin. Mayor Delrio expressed his appreciation to the
City for the hospitality and for the long history of sport and cultural exchanges
between the two cities. He presented the City with the Italian flag and Mayor
Moncrief accepted it on behalf of the City.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 2 of 50
Council Member Burdette presented a Proclamation for Physical Therapy
Month to Renee Trotter and Mari Pyle, Physical Therapists from Harris
Methodist Hospital.
Council Member Espino presented Certificates of Recognition to the following
former Boards and Commissions members:
Ms. Juanita Ornelas, for her service on the Fort Worth Commission for Women
from September 9, 2003, through March 28, 2006.
Ms. Wendy Vann, for her service on the Building Standards Commission, from
February 27, 2001, through July 11, 2006.
Mayor Moncrief also acknowledged the following individuals for their service
on boards or commissions as indicated and who were not present:
Fort Worth Commission for Women
Linda Metcalf July 22, 2003, through February 7, 2006
Grace Breeze September 9, 2003, through March 28, 2006
Marcy Paul September 9, 2003, through March 28, 2006
Joni Hagler January 11, 2005, through March 28, 2006
Board of Adjustment and Fort Worth Alliance Airport Board of Adjustment
Brian Bentley November 19, 2002, through October 1, 2006
Aviation Advisory Board
Gary Martin October 17, 2000, through July 13, 2006
Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission
Sally Allsup October 29, 2002, through July 11, 2006
City Plan Commission
Elizabeth A. Tindall January 15, 2002, through July 18, 2006
Animal Shelter Advisory Committee
Bryan K. Stevens November 29, 2005, through October 1, 2006
Disciplinary Appeals Board
Bettie Herring March 21, 2006, through August 15, 2006
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 3 of 50
Fort Worth Art Commission
Janet Tyson September 3, 2004, through May 29, 2006
Ms. Kate Lovelady, Kids Who Care Resident Company Manager, introduced
former Mayor for the Day Ms. Taylor O'Toole. Ms. O'Toole personally
presented invitations to the Council to attend their concert, "Deep in the Heart"
on Friday, October 13, 2006.
Agenda Item VI Council Member Burdette announced that he attended a dinner on September
Announcements 28, 2006, hosted by the Fort Worth Council of the Navy League of the United
States and the guest of honor was Assistant Secretary of the Navy B. D. Penn.
He stated Secretary Penn's duties included overseeing the continuation and
closure of military bases and that he spoke at length about the Joint Naval
Reserve Base in Fort Worth. He added that Secretary Penn was very interested
to find that Council Member Silcox and himself served on the Joint Land Use
Study Committee which was currently reviewing base operations and the
relationship between the base and the City. He continued by stating that the
committee would make recommendations to the Council with the hopes that
policies could be designed for the future that would ensure the continued
operation of the base in the City. He further stated that it was a great honor to
meet the Secretary and that he was a great advocate of the base and would do
all he could to keep the base in Fort Worth.
Council Member Burdette also announced that last week the U.S. Congress
approved the compromise on the continuous Wright Amendment. He
commended the Mayor and the team he worked with for all the hard work and
leadership on getting this accomplished.
Mayor Moncrief stated that one of the reasons they were able to move the
negotiations forward in the manner they did with the short fuse they had, was
because of the confidence that the Council showed in him to be able to
negotiate on behalf of the City. He added that it was a team effort and
acknowledged City Attorney Yett and City staff in action with some of the
finest lawyers in the business. Mayor Moncrief credited the Council with the
team effort adding that it was the unity and strength of purpose that moved the
team forward. He further stated that the bill was on its way to the President's
desk and that he had indicated he had every intention of signing the bill.
Council Member Espino announced that a meeting on the I-35 Improvement
Study for the portion of I-35 and Spur 280 to Loop 820 would be held on
October 5, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. at the Region 11 Education Service Center and at
3001 N. Freeway and invited everyone to attend.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 4 of 50
Council Member Jordan invited everyone to attend a Police Forum on October
24, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. at Great Commission Baptist Church on McCart Avenue.
He stated that Police Chief Ralph Mendoza and other Fort Worth Police
Officers would host the forum.
Council Member Davis announced that the FitFuture Kids Fest would be
conducted on October 7, 2006, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Will Rogers
Memorial Center. She added there would be various activities to enjoy and
invited everyone to attend.
Council Member Silcox announced that Acme Brick would have their ground
breaking ceremony on October 6, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. He stated that Acme
Brick was the first company to be moving in to the SH 121 TIF and encouraged
everyone to attend the ground breaking on Bryant Irvin Road south of Vickery
Boulevard.
Mayor Moncrief expressed appreciation to the Council in advance for their
support of a resolution that would be presented at the October 10, 2006,
Council meeting to name the new Fire Station 8 in honor of Vince Genovese.
Mayor Moncrief stated that Mr. Genovese's generosity had made a difference
in the City, having given personal fund expenditures for protection vests for the
Police Department and thermal imaging systems for the Fire Department. He
added that Mr. Genovese had also personally funded cancer treatment and
accommodations for a firefighter sent to New York for treatment and had
cooked meals at City fire stations on various occasions. Mayor Moncrief
regretfully announced that Mr. Genovese was now in a hospice facility
diagnosed with terminal cancer and that he could not think of a more fitting
honor than to name Fire Station 8 after him.
Agenda Item VII There were no items withdrawn from the consent agenda.
Withdrawn from
Consent Agenda
Agenda Item VIII There were no items continued or withdrawn by staff.
Continued/
Withdrawn By
Staff
Agenda Item IX Upon a motion made by Council Member Silcox, seconded by Council Member
Consent Agenda Espino, the Council voted nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays to approve and adopt
all items on the Consent Agenda as recommended and as follows:
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 5 of 50
OCS-1578 M&C OCS-1578 - from the Office of the City Secretary recommending that the
Claims City Council refer notices of claims regarding alleged damages and/or injuries
to the Finance/Risk Management Department.
G-15428 M&C G-15428 - Adopting Appropriation Ordinance No. 17222-10-2006
Ord. No. 17222- increasing estimated receipts and appropriations in the Information Systems
10-2006 Capital Projects Fund in the amount of $233,499.00 based on a three-year
Ord. No. 17223- repayment from the Information Systems Fund, for the purpose of funding the
10-2006 purchase of computer technology equipment and maintenance services for the
Inter-Fund Loan Engineering Department; authorizing Inter-Fund loan financing for the
Financing for purchase of computer technology equipment and maintenance services for the
Purchase of Engineering Department; and adopting Supplemental Appropriation Ordinance
Computer No. 17223-10-2006 increasing appropriations in the Engineering Fund in the
Technology amount of $54,804.00 and decreasing the unreserved, retained earnings by the
Equipment and same amount, for the purpose of funding the purchase of computer technology
Maintenance equipment and maintenance services for the Engineering Department.
Services
G-15429 M&C G-15429 - Approving an extension of injury leave-of-absence pay
Extend Injury benefits for Police Officer Larry Carrell through March 7, 2007.
Leave-of-Absence
Pay Benefits for
Police Officer
Larry Carrell
G-15430 M&C G-15430 - Approving an extension of injury leave-of-absence pay
Extend Injury benefits for Police Officer Eduardo Mendoza through February 17, 2007.
Leave-of-Absence
Pay Benefits for
Police Officer
Eduardo Mendoza
G-15431 M&C G-15431 - Authorizing travel and approving expenditures from the Fort
Approval Travel Worth Commission for Women budget for travel to the Texas Conference of
and Travel Women in Austin, Texas, October 11-12, 2006.
Expenses for Fort
Worth
Commission for
Women
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 6 of 50
P-10461 M&C P-10461 - Authorizing a purchase agreement for roofing materials with
Roofing Materials Guardian Building Products for the City of Fort Worth based on sole bid
received, with payments due 30 days from an invoice date; authorizing this
agreement to begin October 3, 2006, and expire October 2, 2007, with options
to renew for three additional one-year periods; and authorizing the City
Manager to execute Interlocal Agreements allowing other government entities
to participate in this bid award in accordance with the Local Government Code
271.102, "Cooperative Purchasing Program".
P-10462 M&C P-10462 - Authorizing the purchase of a rapid deployment kit system
Rapid Deployment package, software, accessories, on-site training and service agreement from
Kit System BST Technologies for the Fire Department based on sole bid received, for an
Package, amount not to exceed $126,686.00. The shipping cost is included and the
Software, invoice will be paid 30 days from the date of the invoice.
Accessories, On-
Site Training and
Service Agreement
P-10463 M&C P-10463 - Authorizing a sole source purchase agreement with Mapsco,
Street Guides Inc., for street guides for the City of Fort Worth with shipping included in unit
prices and payment due 30 days after receipt of invoice; and authorizing this
agreement to begin October 3, 2006, and expire October 2, 2007.
C-21750 M&C C-21750 - Authorizing the City Manager to execute a written consent to
Cliff Millican Deed of Trust Lien by Cliff Millican in favor of Southwest Bank for Lease Site
E-12 at Fort Worth Spinks Airport.
The motion carried. End of Consent Agenda.
Agenda Item X Council Member Scarth made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro tem Hicks,
Presentations by that Mr. Jerry Tinkle be appointed to Place 4 on the Board of Adjustment —
City Council Residential, effective October 3, 2006, and with a term expiring October 1,
Appointments 2008. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Council Member Silcox made a motion, seconded by Council Member Espino,
that Cindy Tristan be appointed Place 3 on the Youth Advisory Board effective
October 3, 2006. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0)
nays.
Mayor Moncrief recognized former District 4 City Council Member Becky
Haskin in the Council Chamber.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 7 of 50
Mayor Pro tem Hicks recognized Constable Sergio DeLeon in the Council
Chamber.
Agenda Item XI There were no presentations or communications from boards, commissions
Committee and/or City Council Committees.
Presentations
Agenda Item XIII There was presented a resolution honoring Cyrus Rowlett Smith upon his
Res. No. 3415-10- induction into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor.
2006
Honor Cyrus Council Member Davis made a motion, seconded by Council Member Silcox,
Rowlett Smith for that Resolution No. 3415-10-2006 be adopted. The motion carried
Induction into unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Texas
Transportation
Hall of Honor
Res. No. 3416-10- There was presented a resolution creating a Fort Worth Mayor's Advisory Task
2006 Force on Qualify Affordable Housing and outlining duties of the Task Force.
Create Fort Worth The City Council hereby appoints the following people to the Mayor's
Mayor's Advisory Advisory Task Force on Affordable Housing:
Task Force on
Quality Council Member Sal Espino, District 2
Affordable Council Member Kathleen Hicks, District 8
Housing Madelyn Gibbs, Council Aide, District 6
Tom Struhs, Residential Developer
Ken Eberling, Downtown Fort Worth, Inc.
Alex Jimenez, Chairman, Fort Worth Housing Authority
Doug Guilliland, Fort Worth Homebuilders Association
Kelly Allen-Gray, United Riverside Rebuilding Corporation
Matthew Hudson, President, League of Neighborhoods
Prentice Gary, Carleton Residential Properties
Valerie Williams, Senior Vice President, Bank of America
Val Wilkie, Sid Richardson Foundation
Estrus Tucker, Chairman, Human Relations Commission
Marty Martinez, Toro Realty, LLC
Dale Erwin, Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors
James Harris, James Harris Partners
Ed Ipser, Market Analyst and Appraiser
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 8 of 50
The City Council hereby approves the appointment of Sal Espino to serve as
Chair of the Task Force and Alex Jimenez to serve as Vice Chair of the Task
Force.
Council Member Jordan expressed appreciation to the Mayor, Jerome Walker,
Housing Department Director, and City staff for their work on this issue. He
added that it was a very critical issue and was an area where the City could take
a leadership role.
Council Member Davis made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro tem Hicks, that
Resolution No. 3416-10-2006 be adopted. The motion carried eight (8) ayes to
one (1) nay, with Council Member Silcox casting the dissenting vote.
AGENDA ITEM XIV—REPORT OF THE CITY MANAGER
G-15432 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15432 from
Res. No. 3417-10- the City Manager recommending that the City Council adopt a resolution
2006 designating the Audit and Finance Advisory Committee, approving initial
Designate and members of the Committee; and approving the initial Chair and Vice Chair of
Appoint Audit and the Committee as reflected below with terms expiring September 30, 2007:
Finance Advisory
Committee, Mike Moncrief
Approve Initial Jungus Jordan
Members, Chair Wendy Davis
and Vice Chair Kathleen Hicks
Garland P. Asher
That the City hereby approves the appointment of Jungus Jordan to serve as
Chair of the Committee and Wendy Davis to serve as Vice Chair of the
Committee, both for terms expiring September 30, 2007.
Mayor Pro tem Hicks made a motion, seconded by Council Member Espino,
that Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15432 be approved and
Resolution No. 3417-10-2006 be adopted. The motion carried unanimously
nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 9 of 50
G-15433 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15433 from
Ord. No. 17224- the City Manager recommending that the City Council adopt an ordinance
10-2006 establishing a moratorium until January 16, 2007, on the acceptance of
Establish applications for salt water disposal wells within the City limits pending
Moratorium on consideration of revised regulations regarding salt water disposal wells in the
Acceptance of current Gas Drilling Ordinance.
Applications for
Salt Water Mayor Pro tem Hicks expressed appreciation to the staff for moving forward
Disposal Wells with the moratorium, stating that it was very important that everyone
understand this issue and look at the wells within the City limits before going
any further.
Council Member Burdette explained the premise behind the moratorium and
added that the Council and City staff determined additional study was needed
on this issue.
Mayor Pro tem Hicks made a motion, seconded by Council Member Burdette,
that Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15433 be approved and
Ordinance No. 17224-10-2006 be adopted. The motion carried unanimously
nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
G-15434 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15434 from
Pay Relocation the City Manager recommending that the City Council authorize the payment of
and Moving relocation and moving expenses to Brown Bag, up to $20,000.00, as a displaced
Expenses for business, from 3503 West Vickery Boulevard, Fort Worth, in the Vickery
Right-of-Way of Corridor, Parcel No. 53-PT1-A2, for right-of-way for the Southwest Parkway
Southwest Project(DOE 3777).
Parkway
Council Member Davis made a motion, seconded by Council Member Burdette,
that Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15434 be approved. The
motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
G-15435 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15435 from
Ord. No. 17225- the City Manager recommending that the City Council adopt an ordinance
10-2006 amending the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended, by the
Amend Chapter amendment of Chapter 12.5, "Environmental Protection and Compliance",
12.5,Article VIII, Article VIII, "Solid Waste and Recycling", Division 4, "Deposits, Rates and
Division 4, Section Collection"; amending Section 12.5-841.1 "Residential Collection Fees"; and
12.5-841.1 of City approving the following rates effective October 1, 2006:
Code
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 10 of 50
CART SIZE CURRENT BASE RATE NEW BASE RATE
(Plus Texas Sales Tax) (Plus Texas Sales Tax)
32 gallon $11.45 $12.75
64 gallon $16.45 $17.75
96 gallon $21.45 $22.75
Optional Yard Cart Purchase: One time fee of $75.00 includes assembly and
maintenance of cart but does not include replacement if cart is lost or stolen.
Council Member Davis made a motion, seconded by Council Member Burdette,
that Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15435 be approved and
Ordinance No. 17225-10-2006 be adopted. The motion carried seven (7) ayes
to two (2) nays, with Council Members Silcox and Jordan casting the dissenting
votes.
G-15436 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15436 from
Ord. No. 17226- the City Manager recommending that the City Council adopt an appropriation
10-2006 ordinance increasing appropriations in the Environmental Management
Ord. No. 17227- Operating Fund in the amount of $27,000.00 and decreasing the unreserved,
10-2006 undesignated fund balance by the same amount, for the purpose of transferring
Transfer Fund for said funds to the Environmental Management Project Fund to apply for a
Administrative Municipal Setting Designation in support of the Trinity Uptown Project;
Costs and approve the transfer of$27,000.00 in undesignated funds to the Environmental
Application Fees Management Operating Fund to the Environmental Management Project Fund
to Receive a (R101); and adopt an appropriation ordinance increasing appropriations in the
Municipal Setting Environmental Management Project Fund in the amount of $27,000.00 from a
Designation for transfer from the Environmental Management Operating Fund for the purpose
Trinity Uptown of applying for a Municipal Setting Designation in support of the Trinity
Project Uptown Project.
Council Member Espino made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Wheatfall, that Mayor and Council Communication No. G-15436 be approved
and Appropriation Ordinance Nos. 17226-10-2006 and 17227-10-2006 be
adopted. The motion carried eight (8) ayes to one (1) nay, with Council
Member Silcox casting the dissenting vote.
L-14252 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. L-14252 from the
Acquire Property City Manager recommending that the City Council authorize the payment of
for Southwest $668,364.50 to Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, a Texas nonprofit corporation,
Parkway (S.H. formerly known as Texas Health System, a Texas nonprofit corporation,
121) located in the Vickery Corridor, to acquire real property for right-of-way of the
Southwest Parkway (S.H. 121) (DOE 3777) and estimated closing costs of
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 11 of 50
$4,783.00; and authorize the appropriate City representatives to execute the
documents necessary to complete the purchase located on Harris Parkway, Fort
Worth, Texas, Parcel 102, described as 2.012 acres, more or less, situated in the
J.F. Heath Survey, Abstract No. 641, City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County,
Texas.
Council Member Jordan stated that this M&C and M&C L-14253 reflected the
properties as being located in District 6 and advised that the properties were
actually in District 3.
Council Member Silcox made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Wheatfall, that Mayor and Council Communication No. L-14252 be approved
as amended. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
L-14253 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. L-14253 from the
Acquire Property City Manager recommending that the City Council authorize the payment of
for Southwest $61,726.50 to Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, a Texas nonprofit corporation,
Parkway (S.H. formerly known as Texas Health System, a Texas nonprofit corporation,
121) located in the Vickery Corridor, to acquire real property for right-of-way of the
Southwest Parkway (S.H. 121) (DOE 3777) and estimated closing costs of
$1,354.00; and authorize the appropriate City representatives to execute the
documents necessary to complete the purchase located on Harris Parkway, Fort
Worth, Texas, Parcel 107, part 1 and 2, described as 0.172 acres, more or less,
and being out of Lot 2 and out of Lot 1, Block 1 of Harris Parkway Medical, an
addition to the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas.
Council Member Silcox made a motion, seconded by Council Member Davis,
that Mayor and Council Communication No. L-14253 be approved as amended.
The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
C-21749 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. C-21749, dated
Texas Clean Cities September 26, 2006, from the City Manager recommending that the City
Coalition Council approve membership by the City of Fort Worth in the Texas Clean
Cities Coalition (the Coalition); authorize the City Manager to execute a
participation agreement governing the City's membership in the Coalition; and
appoint Brian Boerner to represent the City of Fort Worth's interests at
Coalition meetings, with authorization for such representative to designate a
substitute, if such representative is unable to attend any Coalition meeting.
Council Members Scarth and Burdette requested Council consideration to
abstain from voting on this issue.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 12 of 50
Council Member Jordan stated that there were words in the resolution that
indicated there was a possibility the Coalition would bring litigation and
intervention in the case of the electric generating plants and also to assess the
City of Fort Worth for the cost of that litigation. He added that he fully
supported the Clean Air movement and the City's participation in the group, but
that he had been assured that the City could withdraw from the group if the
Council did not appropriate funds or disagreed with any litigation action that
might be brought.
City Attorney Yett stated that because Council Members Scarth and Burdette
had no legal conflict of interest, the Council needed to vote to allow them to
abstain from voting.
Council Member Silcox made a motion, seconded by Council Member Espino,
to allow Council Members Scarth and Burdette to abstain from voting on
Mayor and Council Communication No. C-21749. The motion carried
unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Council Member Davis clarified that the Texas Clean Cities Air Coalition was a
group made up of a number of municipalities and other entities that was formed
for the purposes of asking the Texas Commission on Air Quality to review the
permit applications that were put in front of them by utility companies. This
process requires that utility companies show whether their emissions would
have an impact on the area's attainment or non-attainment. She added it was a
fact-finding request that sought information with regard to whether the City's
air quality would be impacted by the creation of a particular utility generating
plant.
Mayor Pro tem Hicks made a motion, seconded by Council Member Davis, that
Mayor and Council Communication No. C-21749 be approved. The motion
carried seven (7) ayes to zero (0) nays, with Council Members Scarth and
Burdette abstaining.
Mayor Moncrief recognized Cub Scouts in the audience and asked them to
introduce themselves. Eric Anderson, Den Leader stated that the Cub Scouts
were from Troop 48 Weblos, Longhorn Council. He introduced the Weblos
and his assistant Den Leader.
C-21751 There was presented Mayor and Council Communication No. C-21751 from the
City of Benbrook City Manager recommending that the City Council authorize the City Manager
to execute a one year agreement with automatic one year renewal with the City
of Benbrook for automatic and mutual aid fire protection.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 13 of 50
Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Silcox, that Mayor and Council Communication No. C-21751 be approved.
The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Agenda Item XV It appeared that the City Council set today as the date for a second public
Second Public hearing for a proposed City initiated full purpose annexation and service plan
Hearing for approximately 533 acres of land in Tarrant County, located west of US Hwy
City Initiated Full 377 and south of Westport Parkway (AX-05-023 Sunset Circle and Oak Haven
Purpose Drive Enclave). Mayor Moncrief opened the public hearing and asked if there
Annexation was anyone present desiring to be heard.
(AX-05-023 Sunset
Circle and Oak Ms. Allison Gray, Senior Planner, Development Department, appeared before
Haven Drive Council and gave a staff report.
Enclave)
Mayor Moncrief stated that this public hearing and the one following dealt with
a similar annexation and exactly the same language as just presented and asked
City Attorney Yett if it were necessary to read all of the information into the
record.
City Attorney Yett responded by stating that it would not be necessary if Ms.
Gray could verify that the same standards would be applied with the annexation
area.
Ms. Gray stated that the only difference in the two areas was that the property
annexed in the public hearing following this hearing was that it would be served
by a different beat of the Police Department, but that all the services remained
the same. She stated that the Council would consider full purpose annexation
between December 2008 and January 2009.
There being no one present desiring to be heard in connection with the second
public hearing, Council Member Espino made a motion, seconded by Council
Member Davis, that the public hearing be closed. The motion carried
unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Second Public It appeared that the City Council set today as the date for the second public
Hearing hearing for a proposed City initiated full purpose annexation and service plan
City Initiated Full for approximately 178 acres of land in Tarrant County, located west of US Hwy
Purpose 377 and south of Keller Hicks Road (AX-05-024 Keller Hicks Road and Pine
Annexation Tree Estates Enclave). Mayor Moncrief opened the public hearing and asked if
(AX-05-024 Keller there was anyone present desiring to be heard.
Hicks Road and
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 14 of 50
Pine Tree Estates The report by Ms. Allison Gray, Senior Planner, Development Department, was
Enclave) passed over as it was the same as the previous annexation except for the Police
beat.
There being no one present desiring to be heard in connection with the second
public hearing, Council Member Espino made a motion, seconded by Council
Member Davis, that the public hearing be closed.
Public Hearing It appeared that the City Council set today as the date for a public hearing on
Proposed Changes proposed changes to multi-family dwelling rental units and a proposed City
to Multi-Family ordinance regulating one and two family dwelling rental units. Mayor
Dwelling Rental Moncrief opened the public hearing and asked if there was anyone present
Units and desiring to be heard.
Proposed
Ordinance Mr. Carl Smart, Code Compliance Department Director, appeared before
Regulating One Council and gave a staff report.
and Two Family
Dwelling Rental The following individuals appeared before Council in opposition of the
Units proposed ordinance:
Sue Ann Slay Ms. Sue Ann Hester Slay, 2901 Sandy Lane, stated that she had been a property
manager in Fort Worth for 15 years and that a vote for rental registration was a
vote of lack of confidence in the Code Compliance Department. She asked
what the Council had done for the low income residents and that she was very
sensitive to their budgets and their struggle to pay their bills. She further stated
that the high gas prices and high utility bills had really impacted the residents,
plus she has had to increase her rents because her property taxes were increased
by 184 percent. She stated that increase would just be passed down to the
people who could least afford it and sometimes even a $5.00 increase hurt
them. She stressed that the good landlords kept their property maintained and
in compliance as her property was her retirement and that the bad landlords do
not keep their property up and that this registration would not change anything
as the bad landlords would still not be in compliance.
Francisco Mr. Francisco Hernandez, 2108 Alston Avenue, stated that the fee was actually
Hernandez a tax and that he could not see any valid reason for the ordinance. He added
that the properties he owned were also his retirement, but that it appeared most
of his retirement was going to the City as Fort Worth residents paid one of the
highest taxes on rental property and that the only thing that was needed was to
enforce current ordinances and not create more ordinances. He further stated
that this was taxation without representation.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 15 of 50
Genevieve Brown Ms. Genevieve Brown, 901 Oak Crest Court, Burleson, Texas, stated that she
was a property manager and that she had a lot of out-of-state property owners
who brought revenue and tax money to the City and that the ordinance was one
more reason for them not to come to the area. She added that property managers
did a good job and they looked forward to taking care of people and that she
saw this as a detriment to her business.
Kay West Ms. Kay West, 5404 Collinwood Avenue, President of the Greater Fort Worth
Realtors Association, stated that as realtors they were committed to maintaining
Fort Worth's reputation as a wonderful place to live and do business. They also
believed that one of the keys to improving quality of life was the effective Code
enforcement of all properties. She added that the association was opposed to
the creation of a new rental registration program for single and duplex
properties as the fees would be a selective property tax on rental property and
would increase the cost of living in and owning rental units. She suggested that
instead of creating a new program, that the money allocated for rental
registration in the budget be applied toward improving current Code
enforcement. She referred to the issue of contacting the small percentage of
problem rental property owners that were not acting responsibly and stated that
it was unlikely that they would participate in the registration process. She
pointed out City staff's estimation that only 80 percent of single-family owners
would register and stated that the vast majority of responsible property owners
would be burdened with registration while those that the ordinance was
designed to address would not. She proposed that instead of creating a new
bureaucracy to collect fees from responsible owners, why not have a Code
Compliance unit created to specifically target those problem properties and
locate the owners. She offered the association's assistance to work with the
staff to improve the enforcement of ordinances; however, they believed that
laws should be enforced fairly and that a rental registration ordinance for single
family and duplex properties was unduly burdensome, unenforceable and not an
efficient use of City resources.
Keith Charles Mr. Keith Charles, 6473 Waverly Way, congratulated the Council for creating a
welcoming environment for corporations to remain in the City, but that the
proposal tonight was just one of the many examples of how this Council's focus
on big corporations and development had turned its back on citizens who
already invested in Fort Worth. He stated that many of the people affected by
the proposal invest in the neighborhoods where they live and raise their
children. He added that the four rental properties that he and his wife owned
were within two miles of where he was raised and that the City provided no
incentive to invest, but that they did it because they believed in their
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 16 of 50
community. He advised that because they received no exemptions for
investment property, they paid more taxes than the owner-occupant unit next to
them. He pointed out that investors buying property in Fort Worth at the
current market value were guaranteed to lose money because of one of the
highest municipal tax rates in the country. He asserted that the realtors present
would inform the Council that many people from out of state had taken their
investment dollars elsewhere because, even at the low cost of housing in Fort
Worth, it was virtually impossible to have cash flow with the City's high tax
rate. He further stated that the financial cost and the time required to comply
with the inspections were at the very least unreasonable and intrusive and to
threaten fines and criminal charges to those on whom the Council should be
thankful was shameful. He added that this was a bad proposal and undue
burden on small investors who were struggling to buy and maintain affordable
rental property. He asked that the Council not make it harder to do business in
the City.
Anna Harrison Ms. Anna Harrison, 4321 Lovell Avenue, expressed concern with various
sections of the proposed ordinance as follows:
a. Section 1: Registration. She stated that the registration was already on
file with Tarrant Appraisal District and asked why citizens had to repay
to register property once again.
b. Section 2: Posting of Certificate of Occupancy. She pointed out that
the property was not an office or storefront, but someone's home.
c. Section 3: Registration providing a site plan was pretty excessive for a
small business person.
d. Section 5c: The inspections were excessive and discriminatory to the
small business owner and stated that if large complexes were only
inspected every two years and small businesses every year, she found
that to be excessive.
e. Section 7: Crime Prevention Sign. She stated that this was already
provided in the tenant handbook and that it would be a duplication and
eye-sore on a residence.
f. Section 8: Criminal Enforcement. She found this extremely offensive
to be considered should she not be able to comply with a timeframe due
a contractor, that she could become a criminal.
Pat Tipton Mr. Pat Tipton, 4321 Lovell Avenue, stated that his point had already been
made by previous speakers.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 17 of 50
Ronald Popham Mr. Ronald D. Popham, 4428 Cockrell Avenue, stated that landlords got the
brunt end of the situation when the tenant moved out as the landlords were
faced with additional costs. He added that once a contract was signed, the
tenant owned the property and the landlord did not have any rights over the
property, and if there was a plumbing problem, the landlord could not access
the unit without the tenant's permission. He explained that if the tenant was
gone for two weeks and there was a plumbing problem the landlord had a
destroyed property to repair. He stated to have an extra fee where Code
Compliance had to be involved was a burden on the landlord and Code
Compliance. He added that Code Compliance was under staffed and to assess
fees or have landlords become criminals for not complying was too
burdensome. He stated that the fee could not be lowered because the City had
to pay for staffing or education to make the process work. He pointed out that
evidently the problem started in the Texas Christian University (TCU) area and
suggested the program be isolated to that area instead of penalizing landlords
overall.
Mayor Moncrief clarified that the issue was City-wide and not just with the
TCU area. He added that the City was growing and rental properties were
always going to be a part of business in the City and the Council was trying to
discuss a problem that continued to grow.
Barbara Ms. Barbara Debenport, 7009 Tumbling Trail, stated that she was a realtor
Debenport specializing in single family property management for over 30 years. She
added that single family home management and single family home residents
were very different from the control and management of a multi-family
community. She continued by stating her opposition was based on a number of
issues that were driven by the fact that the current Code on the books covered
the landlords' responsibility to maintain and repair the rental property and if
enforced would solve the problems of non-residential ownership and slum
landlords. She stated that she drove around five neighborhoods, took pictures,
made notes and then accessed County records on properties that had high weeds
and appeared to have Code issues. She added that these properties were owner-
occupants, but that the properties she managed stood out because they were
well maintained. She advised that many of the out-of-state investors who had
brought millions of dollars to the City within the last few years were
disillusioned with the high taxes and low rental rates and often moved their
investments to escape highly regulated housing loss. She indicated that this did
not mean they were slum lords, and for the most part they hired respected
managers and looked for a healthy business environment. She added that most
of them were losing money on a monthly basis while hoping to experience a
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 18 of 50
profit in the revitalization and appreciation of the Fort Worth area. She
emphasized that adding to the cost of doing business in Fort Worth would only
encourage them to leave because at this place and time the rental rates would
not bear the increased costs everyone would experience by this program. She
stated that the City needed the affordable housing inventory these investors had
brought to the City as well as individual owners in the City and that investors
needed to be nurtured and helped. She wanted to leave a legacy of a Fort
Worth that was not overburdened by Codes and restrictions and levels of
bureaucracy, but one of fiscal responsibility and respect for the personal
property rights of the citizens and equal taxation.
Paul Weisblatt Mr. Paul Weisblatt, 4412 Tangueray Place, stated that the few houses he owned
were his retirement also and nothing that had been said tonight showed him
what the benefits of this new program were. He added that Code Compliance
did a good job and suggested enhancing their work force if needed, but not to
make it any worse on property owners than it already was.
Marvin Tinsley Mr. Marvin Tinsley, 4116 Corral Circle, stated that he represented the National
Association of Property Managers, Fort Worth Mid-Cities Chapter owners and
tenants. He advised that the association's main thrust was single-family
duplexes, tri-plexes and four-plexes and they believed that not only was the
proposed registration program unacceptable, it was unenforceable as well. He
added that it would be physically impossible to administer; would delay the
inspection of substandard properties by causing unneeded inspections of good
properties; was not economically feasible for the City, owners, managers and
tenants and most importantly was a defacto tax on a select group of citizens
who were already over-taxed. He stressed that they believed this proposal
would affect current growth in the City and prevent available affordable
housing. He maintained that adequate inspection tools were present in the City
Code to protect both the tenant and landlord and appearance of the City. He
suggested that income currently derived from fines received from the small
number of substandard properties be diverted to stricter enforcement of the
problem properties. He added that penalizing the owners and managers of well
maintained properties would only create an adversarial relationship between the
owners and the City. He further stated that as landlords, business people and
most importantly tax payers of the City, he urged the Council to look seriously
at the financial burden this proposal would have on every party involved, the
City, property owners, management companies, and the tenants. He
emphasized that some may call this a registration fee, Code inspection fee, or
whatever was politically correct; however, in reality it was no more than a tax
levied on a targeted group which ultimately would not receive a beneficial
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 19 of 50
affect for the City. He recommended that the Council reject this proposal and
added he and others would welcome an opportunity to work with the staff and
Council to determine a more effective way to address the problem properties
within the City.
David Claire Mr. David Claire, 4809 El Campo, referred to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram
article from today that inferred the problems started in the TCU area where he
used to own a party house. He stated he had used Police and Code
Enforcement to control the partying students who paid fines for their misdeeds.
He added that working with a system that was already in existence, the situation
was controlled. He continued by stating the newspaper article indicated a City
task force proposed keeping closer tabs on rental property throughout the City
and asked if the task force did not trust Code Compliance to do their job. He
advised that the City already had a system in place to deal with problem
properties - Code Compliance. He stated that Code Compliance did not
discriminate; if a person did wrong, they paid. He informed the Council that
when he had been cited he corrected the problems and Code Compliance was
polite and professional and worked with him, not against him. He offered that
if the City had a problem property, let Code Compliance handle it; if the owners
did not comply, warn them; if they still do not comply, ticket them; if they still
do not comply, put a lien against them; and if they still do not comply, take it,
raise it, or resell it, or do eminent domain. He pointed that if a City could take
property to build a private football stadium, surely they could take a trash
property and scrape it to make the City a better place to live in. He added that
the Council had an opportunity to control this problem without turning it into
another governmental quagmire. He suggested going after the "bad apples" and
not penalizing the City for the actions of a few. He apologized to the lawyers
on the Council and asked how they would feel if because of a few bad lawyers,
the City regulated them by charging a $25.00 fee for the first client and an
$8.00 fee for every client thereafter, on a yearly basis.
Tony Recchia Mr. Tony Recchia, 11694 Alborada Drive, San Diego, California, offered his
perspective as an investor from California where he believed this would impact
the landowner and tenant and also owner-occupied units in the area. First, he
said one looks at the return on investment on the property and capitalization
rates. He added you get increased fees and the bureaucracy that goes along
with it and having to pay people to go out and do these inspections. He stated
this impacted the owner's cost and as an investor he had to determine if he
should absorb the cost or pass it on to the tenant. If he absorbed the cost, he
may look at surrounding cities that do not have such fees and regulations where
he may want to place his investments. He added that the investor had to
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 20 of 50
consider fees in determining where to invest and how it would affect his tenant
financially. He provided an example from his experience and stated his tenants
were generally in a new home or one that was a few years old and who were
marginally on their credit, repairing their credit by renting from him a year or
two to rebuild their credit. He further stated on the owner-occupied side in the
area, investors have to look at what was happening in the housing market. He
stated there was a large supply of housing at the moment, and that if the
Council deterred investment into Fort Worth housing, the City would only
exacerbate the problem in the City and the owner-occupied property would
suffer because when they want to sell a house there would be more competition
because investors would not come in and potentially buy the house.
Cindy Hoover Ms. Cindy Hoover, 2242 Forest Park Boulevard, stated that she had managed
property for over 23 years and that one of the reasons that prices were not
decreasing in the TCU area was because there was good rental property in TCU
and it had raised the value of the homes in the TCU area. She added that the
landlords in the area also paid higher property taxes than any homeowner
because they did not have any exemptions.
Don Mick Mr. Don Klick, 8450 Trace Ridge, stated that everyone here tonight invested
their time in Fort Worth, but that for the many of the citizens and investors at
the meeting tonight it was not only their time, but their savings for retirement.
He added they all wanted better neighborhoods and they all wanted problem
properties either owner-occupied or rental, resolved or fixed up. He further
stated that he opposed any more properties going to a Code Enforcement staff
unable to keep up with the properties under the current ordinance. He instead
asked the Council to consider a top 10 list; prioritize the worst problems; and
stay with the complaint-driven program. He added that the staff should list the
top 10 of the oldest substandard structures by date on the first of each month for
each Council District. He advised that some might want to get off the
substandard list and stated this suggestion would also provide information for
the Council on a regular basis and other investors and neighborhood activists
that want to see progress on the problem properties. He added that citizens
could find restaurant scores and sex offenders on the City's website, but what
information did the City provide to protect new residents from slum lords. He
further stated that he opposed the changes on privacy rights and referred to one
of his meetings with a retired lady in her 70s who lived near Camp Bowie and
Montgomery; her retirement income was her income from the other three units
— she lived in a four plex. He asked if the Council was going to increase the
taxes on the elderly and search their home. He stated that most of the property
he managed belonged to people in their 70s and 80s; the remainder of the
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 21 of 50
property he managed belonged to people that were saving for their retirement.
He advised that the City of Garland lost the federal lawsuit when they tried to
inspect single-family homes. He added that Fort Worth could do better; the
solution of self-inspection was likely to be a failure as most of the good owners
would comply. He asked which of the Council Members would go on record
predicting the compliance by the problem property owners. He offered that
there must be many reasons no major cities in Texas have rental registrations
proposed today, not Austin, not Houston, not Dallas, not San Antonio and again
stated that Fort Worth could do better on this proposal. He asked that there be
separate task forces in separate Council Districts as residents may have a lot
better ideas that would work in their areas than in another Council District.
Ronald Olman Mr. Ronald Olman, 6513 Meadow Lakes C-1, North Richland Hills, Texas,
stated that previous speakers had already addressed his concerns.
A. D. Toten Mr. A. D. Toten, 816 Northwood Road, stated the proposal did not do anything
for him, but hurt him. He suggested adding one supervisor and ten field
officers to Code Compliance to work on the problem areas. He added that this
would help Code Compliance follow the Code Enforcement Division's
pamphlet "What To Do and What Not To Do". He stated that if the City had
judges that would impose the fee at the time of the court appearance, instead of
giving offenders a two to six-month delay to pay their fines because they did
not have the money to pay the fine, Fort Worth would be a lot better.
Brian Bentley Mr. Brian Bentley, 2528 Jamestown Lane, Denton, Texas, stated that he was
actually undecided on this issue and that he had rental properties in Fort Worth
and served on the Board of Adjustment. He added that his wife was also
Director of Code Compliance for the City of Denton and he was familiar with
both sides. He asked that the Council postpone making a decision on this issue
for at least 90 days to educate the landlords in the City. He suggested that the
issue was being rushed with the October 10, 2006, deadline. He added that to
him the self inspections were a tax as the City was not doing anything for the
two unit landlords; the landlords were doing everything and presenting it to the
City.
Brett Reeve Mr. Brett Reeve, 6207 Tiffany Park Court, Arlington, Texas, and asked that the
Council allow Code Compliance do their job and stated that he owned single-
family rentals in Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas, and added that he would
never buy a house in Garland because of these fees.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 22 of 50
Genna Banta Ms. Genna Banta, 3210 Green Avenue, stated that she owned nine properties in
the Blue Bonnett Hills Addition, where she also resided. She stated she felt this
proposal was government interference and that it would put a chill on business.
She stated that she saw an over-supply of rental properties in the TCU area and
that this had never happened. She added that if the Council continued with this
proposal then people who owned rental properties would put their rental
properties on the market and then all home values would go down because of
supply and demand. She continued by stating she agreed with previous
presenters and that as a lawyer, the market place should dictate supply and
demand. She added that she knew what she had to do as a landlord or she was
subject to liability. She suggested that the group doing this should have a
paradigm shift; place ads in the newspaper to make people more aware of Code
Compliance and rental rules. She stated that fines on the property managers for
police citations or code violations should be more directed to the people who
were causing the problems. She added that the intent was good that everyone
wanted Fort Worth to be a good place but this would in no way promote that.
Gary Hogan Mr. Gary Hogan, 2117 Rolling Creek Run, stated that he was a rental property
owner and that it seemed to him that the fee was more of a tax on the smaller
property investors in the City; another fee that they would have to pay. He also
stated that his property was his investment and retirement and he had a good
purpose for wanting to take care of the property. He added that he saw the City
offering incentives to companies to move to the City and he saw a lot of multi-
family stock on the west side of Fort Worth and it seemed that if punitive
measures were placed on them, it would probably make their investment in Fort
Worth less attractive.
Sean Sullivan Mr. Sean Sullivan, 2225 Carleton Avenue, stated he was a real estate broker
and builder in Fort Worth and managed his own properties and stated that he
did not feel the small investor should carry the burden, that it was an
inconvenience for a property owner to walk through a property and fill out a
report, send it in to the City and pay a fee to the City and not get anything in
return. He advised that he would be in favor of this if there was some sort of
credit or tax incentive.
Stephen Keith Mr. Stephen Keith, 4716 Springwillow, stated that he was a real estate broker
and property owner and felt that this proposal was a tax. He provided
photographs of three properties in the Arlington Heights area, one owner-
occupied and the other two investment properties. He added that two
investment properties were superior to the owner-occupied property. He
advised that if the Council was going to impose this on single family, duplexes
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 23 of 50
and tri-plexes, then it needed to be enforced on single-family homeowners and
some were also in violation. He stated that he had lived in Fort Worth all his
life, but that many things like this discouraged people from investing in the
City. He favored stronger enforcement of current laws.
Wanda Powell Ms. Wanda Powell, 2900 Bird, stated that the rental property business had
gotten harder over the years and added that she would have to go up on her
rental properties because of the high taxes. She stated that the Council was
creating another bureaucracy and she was against it.
The following individuals provided Citizen Presentation Cards to reflect their
opposition of this issue and were either not in the Council Chamber at this time
or did not wish to address the Council:
Melanie Sullivan, Ms. Melanie Sullivan 2225 Carleton Avenue
Brock Hargrove, Mr. Brock Hargrove 3900 Regan Drive
Michael Banta, Mr. Michael Banta 3210 Green Avenue
Landry Buroine, Mr. Landry Buroine 120 W. 34d Street#212
Shawn Wolfe, Mr. Shawn Goodwin Wolfe 2324 Winton Terrace West
Katherine Speairs, Ms. Katherine C. Speairs 3881 South Hills Circle
Robert Gleason, Mr. Robert Gleason 2650 Parkview Drive
Kaye Bradford, Ms. Kaye Bradford 4420 Bloomfield Terrace
Delfina Herrera, Ms. Delfina Herrera 1131 St. Louis Avenue
Reyond Herrera, Mr. Reymond Herrera 1113 St. Louis Avenue
Marcelino Mr. Marcelino Camargo 3424 Wayside Avenue
Camargo, Mr. L. Crowder P.O. Box 790
L. Crowder, Mr. A. R. Clarice P.O. Box 471011
A.R. Clarice, Mr. Daniel Staples 5020 Pershing Avenue
Daniel Staples, Mr. David Robinson 1923 6th Avenue
David Robinson Mr. Jason Brantley 4315 Segura Court South
Jason Brantley
The following individuals appeared before Council in support of the proposed
ordinance:
Fred Harper Mr. Fred Harper, 2248 5th Avenue, President of the Fairmount Neighborhood
Association, referred to a recent Fort Worth Weekly Best of 2006 Edition where
the Fairmount Neighborhood received two awards; the first for Best Historic
Preservation Group in the City; the other for Best Place to Find a Paid Escort at
1800 Hemphill, a rental property in the area better known as the Victorian Inn.
He added that location had 2,176 calls for Police service over the previous four
years. He continued by stating a criminal pursuit of the location in July resulted
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 24 of 50
in an inspection of the property because of the numerous violations found
within the property to include no working fire or smoke alarms, standing water
or sewage in the basement, and bathroom floors and walls with gaping holes.
He pointed out that in several areas inside the building City inspectors were
afraid to venture into and despite the efforts of one very determined Police
Officer, the Fire Department, Code Compliance and City Engineering, this
property was still in business and using the City Code as it stood today to stay
in business and continue to rent rooms to folks who just were not aware. He
further stated that Fairmount had about 40 percent of its neighborhood
classified as multi-family and there were several multi-family owners that took
great pride and care of their properties; however, they also had the classic 10 to
20 percent of the landlords who knew that the current City Code was not
effective and would not address any abuse of the system that they cared to
impose on it—the Victorian Inn was a case in that point. He stated that to take
care of those issues, Fairmount did its own thing; several members of the
neighborhood were members of Citizens on Patrol to control the crime that
occurred on the rental properties, 11 Fairmount neighbors performed their own
Code control and input data into the new Code Compliance website which was
very effective, and regularly competed amongst themselves on who could find
the tallest curb pile at the end of the month. He added that the proposed
ordinance had the tools that would allow Code Compliance to stop the abuse of
violators who wasted the City's money and use the current Code as a free ride
to abuse the system. He stressed that the City and Fairmount had needed this
ordinance for a long time, and they, like everyone else in the Council Chamber,
had a very limited amount of time they could call their own. They would like
to spend that time either with their families or rehabilitating their homes. He
maintained that there were other issues that they would much rather deal with
including tax inequality issues with Tarrant Appraisal District, zoning issues
and Historic Preservation; however, instead they spend their weekends and
evenings making Citizens on Control tours and Code Compliance runs. He
emphasized that they would much rather see the City spend their money on
more patrol officers, better parks, or more equipment; anything that would
benefit the City rather than the 2,176 police calls made on one rental property in
their neighborhood. He pointed out that the proposed ordinance placed the
responsibility of business ownership precisely where it belonged —in the hands
of the landlord and recognized that the landlord was the same as any other
business owner and should meet the same requirements whether they run a
bakery, barbershop, or rental property. He added that there were laws and
codes that the City used daily to protect the health and well being of its
consumers and the retail and wholesale world of business, and the landlord
should not be an exception. He concluded by stating the Fairmount Association
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 25 of 50
requested that the City put the ordinance in place as presented at the earliest
opportunity.
Tracey Smith Mr. Tracey Smith, 2300 W. Magnolia Avenue, stated he was a real estate
broker and basically everything he knew about this issue was from reading the
newspaper today, listening to the comments of the speakers, and talking to a
gentleman with the Board of Realtors who handled government relations. He
added that it was misleading to say that he favored this ordinance because it had
reached a stage of the process that the Council was determined to pass some
sort of fee on the landlords. He asked that the ordinance be amended to require
that the landlord/tenant walkthrough inspections not be mandatory as it was just
a piece of paper that would be filed with the City, go into a file folder and not
be seen again because all those inspections would show properties that have no
problems. He further stated that he thought the free market would reveal who
the bad landlords were because the tenants would complain and when those
complaints came in, Code Compliance could go out and inspect those
properties. He emphasized that those violators should pay the $24.00 fee and
the other fines that went along with violating City Code. He stated that it
would be less of a burden on the landlords who ran good properties and also
require fewer Code Compliance officers.
Dwain Scott Mr. Dwain Scott, 3205 Cockrell Avenue, stated that he owned several
properties not in Fort Worth and out of state and that he would have no
problems on any of his properties with this process. He added that he walked
his neighborhood regularly and he was bothered that some landlords do not take
care of their homes. He further stated that it appeared that rental properties
seem to have the biggest problems.
Debra Nyul Ms. Debra Nyul, 2012 Wilshire Boulevard, representing the Berkeley Place
Association, stated that the association supported the proposed changes to the
rental registration ordinance and that it was their understanding the proposed
changes would require many more IDs from the landlords and that the proposed
changes would make it easier for neighbors to find and contact the landlords on
any type of situation to address questions or concerns on the property. She
stated that their neighborhood did have recent problems with single-family
owners; one which attracted 100 people to a meeting at the Fort Worth Zoo
involving an owner of a property whose adult son was there and allowed
numerous people to be present, some of which resulted in arrests.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
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Greg Hughes Mr. Greg Hughes, 2594 Stadium Drive, stated this was a very divisive issue and
that as someone very interested in preserving the neighborhoods, he appreciated
the need for additional regulation. He added that as a rental property owner
both in Fort Worth and outside the City, he did not want frivolous regulation of
his property; however, he did not think this was frivolous, but minimal. He
pointed out that he had to be ready to write a check quickly and call someone to
do a repair when needed, and he did not think he could do that and take care of
the properties properly if $24.00 was going to make a difference to him. He
admitted that it was an additional cost; however, the cost of operating rental
property was significant and this cost was trivial. He stated that if it made the
City able to more properly take care of the relationship between tenants who are
customers, there was nothing wrong with the City injecting itself and requiring
a landlord to walk through their property once a year. He questioned what kind
of property management would ignore property for more than a year; that was
not property management, it was neglect. He pointed out that the City needed
to carefully consider the proposed ordinance and did not think the Council was
doing anything to harm the good landlords. He added however, if the ordinance
made it possible to find the bad landlords and it was an effective way based on
staff and a cross section of the community's recommendation, it was certainly
worth considering and passing.
Walter Barber Mr. Walter Barber, 2900 Goldenrod Avenue, representing the Fort Worth
League of Neighborhoods Association, stated the association did a survey and
distributed the proposed ordinance to each neighborhood in text format. He
added that each neighborhood was allowed to vote one time and out of 94
neighborhood associations, there was 100 percent participation and that 69
neighborhoods were in favor of the ordinance and 25 against the ordinance.
Randell Means Mr. Randell P. Means, 1941 Berkeley Place, stated that he was puzzled why the
proposed ordinance was such a concern or burden because all it did was level
the playing field between owner-residents and non-owner residents. He added
that if he owned the property and someone had a problem with the property and
wanted to find what was going on, knock on the door. However, with a rental
property a person could knock all day long and may find the person who lived
there who may or may not have information on how to contact the owner of the
property other than by an address. He added that even the information on the
Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) website for the property may only reflect a
post office box number. He asked why it was that rental property owners could
hide in the shadows and owner-residents could be reached at any time. He
pointed out that the proposed ordinance would bring the rental property owners
forward by having them register. He added that most of the landlords present in
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the Council Chamber were there because they paid attention and were
responsible people who took care of their property; yet he still heard one
individual who thought it would be a burden to walk through his property once
a year and fill out an inspection form. He further stated that another person
stated how proud he was that he jumped on his Code violations and got them
fixed as soon as he was cited. He advised that getting a Code violation was not
easy and something significant had to be wrong with the property to receive a
Code violation. He questioned why it took a Code violation for that property
owner to finally do something about it and why some people stated that $2.00
per month was just too much. He advised that if$2.00 per month was too much
for them to be concerned about their property, then that told him a lot of how
much attention they were paying to the current condition of their property and
what the City could expect from them. He concluded by stating that if that
small fee drove somebody like that out of business, he did not have a problem
with it.
Bryan Livingston Mr. Bryan Livingston, 25367 Waits Avenue, advised that most of his points had
been made; however, he wanted to compliment the staff and Council for taking
up this issue. He added that there had been a lot spoken about transparency in
terms of what the database would do for the City and whether or not Code
Compliance's resources were or were not adequate to deal with the problems.
He pointed out that transparency was really what this issue was all about, that
information from TAD was not enough, Code Compliance was overworked,
and that the people that would really be most substantially affected by the
passage of the ordinance, were the faceless and nameless and the people who
were not in the position to protest and take care of their own situation because
they were occupying substandard housing because that was all that was
available to them. He added that was one of the issues that brought this
initiative forward on the Unrelated Task Force and one of the reasons the task
force set aside all the other issues and said this was one of the most important
things they could do.
Sergio DeLeon Mr. Sergio DeLeon, 4521 Diaz Avenue, Constable for Precinct 5, stated he had
a great education this evening as he dealt with a lot of tenants and landlords on
a daily basis because they did evictions practically on a daily basis. He added
that he was in favor of something being in place that set standards. He advised
that the opposition raised a few good points and he thought the City might need
to listen to their ideas and perhaps incorporate some in the ordinance. He added
that as his perspective as Constable, writs had been executed on some houses
that were literally falling apart and where people actually were living. He
stressed that no one should have to live in that type of environment as it bred
crime and environmental issues.
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Melissa Wade Ms. Melissa Wade, 2700 Waits Avenue, stated that the opponents of the
proposed ordinance provided minimal self-serving reasons for their opposition.
She pointed out the minimal requirements, especially for one or two-family
units, were $24.00 a year — one application for everything owned. She added
that the existing ordinances were not sufficient and that there was not a level
playing field for tenants. She emphasized that the proposed ordinance would
place the burden on the people who were asking for the money and operating
the businesses. She asserted that as is, ordinances leave the burden on the
tenants who had problems who, in many situations, were disadvantaged,
students, poor, uneducated or minimally educated, young, old and had language
and cultural barriers. She advised that if the minimal burden was placed on the
person who ran the rental businesses that already had few regulations, the
burden was placed on the person asking for the money. She continued that the
person asking for the money got to choose their situation; the tenants did not
get to choose their situation as they were living there because they had to. She
concluded by stating that if there was a person owning one rental unit that was
not contiguous to other rental units, it would never be regulated except for the
provisions reflected in the proposed ordinance. She asked that the Council
adopt the ordinance.
Shealynn Walker Ms. Shealynn Walker, 1319 6th Avenue, advised that her points had already
been made by previous presentations.
John Ladd Mr. John Ladd, 1315 5th Avenue, stated that the more the neighborhoods
developed, the more it had pushed the crime to substandard housing towards
Magnolia where there was so much potential. He added that some opponents
stated that they did not have any tax incentives; however, they did have tax
incentives on their own property such as tax exemptions on their personal
homes. He pointed out that there needed to be some accountability for who was
living in these homes and added that he was not in favor of big government, but
he was in favor of knowing who lived or owned these properties. He stated that
it might be prudent to pass the ordinance and make revisions and not wait until
October 10, 2006. He concluded by stating that he was not for the punishment
process but for the benefit process.
Cleveland Harris Mr. Cleveland Harris, 1037 Colvin Street, stated he was shocked with what he
had heard. He stated that he lived in a community that had been neglected for
20 years and that the community had gathered a petition to change the way of
living and equity of life. He added that out of 950 homes, 400 belonged to
renters and the remaining to investors and that they had been neglected for 20
years; if it was not bulldozed down, the grass had not been cut; if the shingles
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on the roof of the houses had not been fixed, the trim on the house was falling
off. He referred to the issue with TCU and emphasized that people should be
grateful with the proposed ordinance as it would protect TCU. He pointed out
that if it ever turned out to be like southeast Fort Worth, he promised the
opposition they would not be at the meeting opposing the proposed ordinance.
Glenn Redding Mr. Glenn Redding, 1319 6th Avenue, advised the Council that his points had
already been made by previous presentations.
Torchy White Ms. Torchy White, 1813 Bunche, stated that it was a pleasure to be the
President and Model Blocks Chair of the Historic Carver Heights
Neighborhood Association. She added that the proposed ordinance, as they
understood it, was to monitor and track rental units in the City and protect the
health, safety and welfare of the tenants of residential rental units and
surrounding neighborhoods. She stressed that the association wholeheartedly
supported the ordinance to support the City's Police and Code Compliance
Departments. She pointed out that the number of unrelated persons in a
household continued to be a contributing factor to the concerns of pockets of
drugs, prostitution and Code violations in their community. She added that
some of the dwellings had been identified as flop houses for drug use which
contributed to the community's crime statistics. She concluded by stating the
association was in favor of this extra layer of protection and appreciated all the
help they could receive to resolve some of the problems in their community.
She encouraged the Council to approve the ordinance.
The following individuals provided Citizen Presentation Cards to reflect their
support of this issue and were either not in the Council Chamber at this time or
did not wish to address the Council:
Andy Bradshaw, Mr. Andy Bradshaw 6448 Rosemont Avenue
Marsha Cowdin, Ms. Marsha A. Cowdin 4317 Del Ridge Road
Barbara Diehl, Ms. Barbara Diehl 2216 Lipscomb
Patti Randle, Ms. Patti Randle 1716 South Adams
David VanGorder, Mr. David VanGorder 2230 College
Peter Miller, Mr. Peter Miller 2216 Lipscomb
Frances Look, Ms. Frances Look 1024 Lilac Street
Cordelia Owings, Ms. Cordelia Owings 2533 Cockrell Avenue
George Scoggins, Mr. George Scoggins 2615 Greene Avenue
Judy Scoggins. Ms. Judy Scoggins 2615 Greene Avenue
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
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Mayor Moncrief advised that he had received more citizen presentation cards in
opposition of the proposed ordinance as follows:
Steve Lipsett Mr. Steve Lipsett, 715 Page, stated that there was plenty of owner-occupied
substandard property in the City and asked why all residential property was not
included in this program instead of just rental property. He added that he
looked at the fee as a tax, that it was unfair taxation, and that everybody should
be taxed the same, owner-occupied or rental property.
Carolyn and Bob Ms. Carolyn Merrithew and Mr. Bob Merrithew, 4400 Springbranch, advised
Merrithew the Council that their points had already been made by previous presentations.
Kathleen and D.R. Ms. Kathleen Bales and Mr. D. R. Bales, 9101 Bellechase Road, advised the
Bales Council that their points had already been made by previous presentations.
Council Member Davis expressed her appreciation to everyone who spoke this
evening and stated that there were certainly legitimate points on both sides of
the issue. She added that she and a number of other people served on the
committee that looked at this and forwarded recommendations to the Council
and a lot of hours were spent on the issue. She apologized for the fact that the
issue did eminent from some issues in the TCU neighborhood that were real
and legitimate problems that some home owners experienced by virtue of rental
properties in the neighborhood that were not properly managed by the persons
who owned them. She pointed out that one speaker mentioned that the lawyers
on the Council should pay a fee. She emphasized they do pay a fee every year
to the State Bar of Texas, who monitors them and if someone complains about
them, they know who they are, where they are, the kind of law they are
practicing and they have the opportunity to oversee them as lawyers and fine
them and remove their license if they are not operating in the way they should
be in accordance with the law. She continued by stating the City asked
restaurants to be inspected to ensure the community was safe by virtue of the
food that was being served there; people who cut hair had to be licensed by the
state to ensure they were conducting themselves in a way that was safe. She
referred to a speaker who questioned the difference between an owner and a
person who lived in a single-family residence who happened to be renting the
property. She stated the issue was that the person who owned their own
property and chose to keep it in a particular condition, if it was unsafe, the only
person they were placing at risk was themselves. She added if they were
renting that property to someone else, they were putting another human being at
risk and profiting from the person who was renting that property. She
maintained that there were properties in the City being excellently managed and
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that the vast majority of the people in opposition of the ordinance in the
audience fell into that category of very good property owners and managers.
She stated that she represented a district that was very diverse and did not just
have the problems of TCU, but a lot of neighborhoods that had low income
residents and many residents who were renting properties. She pointed out as a
Council representative, she had received many complaints on a number of
properties throughout the district and there were many times the owners of the
property could not be located. She offered that sometimes it was the tenant
creating the problem, not the owner, but that the City had very limited control
of what the City could do to an occupant of a house versus the owner of the
house. She added that this was about making the owner accountable for what
they own and for the people who they choose to rent their property to because
sometimes those people created problems. She further stated that she had seen
some very deplorable conditions with regard to what people live in within the
City of Fort Worth and that some speakers had stated that if there was a
problem with a property, a person could complain. However, it was her
experience that not everyone would complain because some people did not
want to bring attention to themselves. She emphasized that Code Compliance
could only do things based on the condition of the outside of the house and in
order to do anything about the condition, they first had to find the owner of the
house and that was a substantial part of what registration was all about. She
further stated that the City had no way through that system of making sure that
what people were living in on the inside of the house was in good condition.
She added people who paid rent to a person who profited from a person who
paid rent should live in a condition that was safe. She offered the example of
when a person moved into a new house, it was inspected and there was a
Certificate of Occupancy issued and that was the owner's one chance to look at
the inside of the house. She added that if a person owned their own home from
that point forward that person put themselves into the risk that may be created
by not maintaining that property, but if that person was a landlord, they were
putting someone else at risk. She further stated that she did not see any other
way the Council could assure the safety of the tenant and the accountability of
that tenant through the owner and the City's ability to locate the owner, and
stated that TAD records were not the venue to locate the owner. She continued
by stating that because she was invested in this process by virtue of the amount
of time she spent on the issue, she did not want to be closed minded about what
the solution was. She offered that $24.00 or $2.00 a month for a person who
was making a profit to rent the home, was a very small price to pay to be in the
business of owning that home. She asked that everyone listen to what the
problems were that were presented tonight, and to please listen to the situations
she was suggesting as they were very real problems from the district she
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represented, and also help her understand a better solution. She asked that
citizens please not just say to "enforce the present codes" because that was not
addressing the issue, and not to say to "just leave citizens alone" as this was not
addressing the issue either. She asked that the public hearing be closed and
another public hearing be rescheduled for November 7, 2006, to receive public
comment and consider adoption of the proposed ordinance. She asked that in
the interim, citizens provide constructive input to her, Carl Smart in Code
Compliance, or Assistant City Attorney Matthew Wallis, to assist them in
devising a better solution if they were not satisfied with the current solution.
She concluded by stating that she was leaning heavily in favor of supporting the
ordinance exactly as proposed as she believed it was very thoughtful in its
process, staff had been very thoughtful in constructing it, and she did not think
it was over burdensome to walk a property once a year with the tenant to make
sure it was safe.
Council Member Wheatfall stated that this had been a very enlightening process
to listen to citizens from both sides of the issue. He added that when he
considered a public policy, he looked at three particular criteria: was it legally
sound in terms of its structure, was it enforceable, and ultimately was it fair and
equitable. He further stated that there would probably be some legal tweaking
at what had been presented to the Council but not to a great extent. He advised
that the enforceability had been built into the ordinance itself and into the City's
budget process of providing the Code Enforcement staff to enforce this type of
ordinance. He referred to Council Member Davis' previous comments of
whether the process would be fair and equitable, and stated that over the next
month the Council would work with both sides in a continual process to make
sure the product was fair and equitable. He pointed out that this affected
business owners, small business owners who were renting, people who were
renting those properties and the neighbors, and the Council had to weigh all
those concerns. He added that he heard a lot about rights and property rights
and whenever he thought about the word "right", he also thought about the
word "responsibility" and what the Council was trying to obtain in the
ordinance was a reasonable level of responsibility that came from the right to
rent property. He continued by stating that a delicate balance had to be sought
so the rights of the individuals who lived in those properties were also protected
and as the Council looked at the checks and balances of what was in place, the
cost, the requirements, and the fines associated it, he thought the Council had
reached the delicate balance of protecting the rights of the land owners,
protecting the rights of the tenants inside those properties, and protecting the
rights of the neighbors that were sometimes subject to "slum landlords". He
pointed out that the City did have "slum landlords" who did business in the
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community and coming from a district that had a lot of slum landlords that
never checked on their property and who never cleaned up their property, the
Council needed a tool to go after those slum landlords to enforce the City's
ordinances and to find and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the laws and
ordinances of the City. He asked that as the Council continued the dialog,
citizens needed to keep in mind that the Council wanted to find and prosecute
those slum landlords and help the Council find a way that was economically
feasible, that was not over burdensome, of how to go after the slum landlords
and bring them to justice.
Council Member Silcox referred to interior inspections and asked how the City
got inside the home; whether it was at the request of the tenant or was the City
going to demand they be let inside.
Mr. Carl Smart, Code Compliance Director, stated that there were two primary
ways of getting onto private property, one was by consent of the resident, tenant
or person that lived there; the other way was to do it by search warrant issued
by a judge based on having probable cause that a possible violation existed.
Council Member Silcox stated that back in 1996 when the original ordinance
was passed, there were tenants having problems with landlords and the
ordinance allowed them the opportunity to call the City if they had electrical
wiring problems, plumbing problems, etc., that the landlord would not fix. He
expressed concern that if a property owner needed to access the unit and the
tenant did not want the property owner inside, what constituted probable cause.
City Attorney Yett stated that the City had to follow the Constitution whenever
an ordinance was passed or enforced and asked Assistant City Attorney
Matthew Wallis address the Constitutional issues related to search.
Assistant City Attorney Wallis stated that a speaker had mentioned the Garland
ordinance that was challenged in court and added that the ordinance actually
required an inside inspection be allowed by the government official, which was
an intrusion of a government official and violation of the 4th Amendment. He
stated that in this case, if the tenant and landlord got into a dispute about
whether the tenant wanted to allow the landlord to go inside, there would not be
a government official that would go in and look at the property, and therefore it
was not a government intrusion and not a 4th Amendment violation.
Council Member Silcox clarified that if the tenant agreed to the inspection that
was one thing, but if the tenant did not agree he was within his rights.
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Assistant City Attorney Wallis agreed with Council Member Silcox's
clarification and offered that if a Code Compliance Officer came by and asked
to look at the property as a government official and the tenant did not give
consent, the Code Compliance Officer would have to obtain a search warrant.
Council Member Silcox referred to the 1996 ordinance where two concepts
were recommended, one with search warrants and one without. He added that
the concept stemmed from an apartment complex on I-35 whose tenants had
paid their bills, but the owner did not pay the City for the water bill and shut off
the water, and that worked into the idea of having some protection for tenants
from the non-caring landlords, and gave the tenants some place to call if the
landlord did not maintain the property. He further stated that the ordinance was
set up only for outside common area inspections and the City could only go into
an apartment when it was vacant or the tenant agreed to provide access. He
expressed concern if the City was trying to devise a way to get inside
someone's residence if the tenant was not interested in having an inspection
inside.
Assistant City Attorney Wallis assured Council Member Silcox that was not the
case and Code Compliance was not going inside properties and inspecting. He
added that the original ordinance stated with regard to eight units and above,
dealt with landlords and tenants going annually to inspect the interior of the
property and the Code Compliance officers inspected common areas or vacant
units absent of consent or search warrant.
Council Member Silcox stated that he had some concerns and did not support
the ordinance. He added that he would like to see some modifications made
before he would support passing the ordinance.
Council Member Espino stated that he found today's public hearing to be
instructive and that it was always good to hear from stakeholders in the process.
He added that he wanted to correct some statements that were made and
referred to the comment that the City did not provide incentives to small
businesses and the City only gave incentives to large companies and that was an
unfair criticism. He provided an example where in the Central City, there were
Neighborhood Empowerment Zones (NEZs) and if people wanted to invest in
the NEZs they could get municipal property tax abatements, fee waivers and
release of City liens, and added the City was always happy to speak to investors
that wanted to rehabilitate existing apartment stock. He further stated that the
City's Housing Department had various ways of assisting investors, and
advised that the Economic Development Department acted as the City's gate-
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keeper on the criteria for municipal tax abatements such as employment
numbers, economic benefits to the City, and Minority/Women Business
Enterprise requirements. He also clarified that a homestead exemption was
only available to a person who actually lived in the house that was owner-
occupied. He stated that the rental registration ordinance was an attempt by the
Unrelated Persons Rental Registration Task Force to deal with an issue of
substandard rental property. He advised that based on the comments he had
heard tonight, the City did not have the final product for the proposed
ordinance. He pointed out that the City did not want to discourage good
investors from coming to the City and stated that not everyone could own a
home; that there would always be a number of people in the population that
would need to rent property. He stated that as an attorney he was very sensitive
to the issues of privacy, of constitutionality, of probable cause and added that
he took much from the discussion this evening.
Mayor Pro tem Hicks stated that when she started out as a Council Aide in
1997, the biggest issue they dealt with in District 8 was the issue of crime. She
added that today the biggest issue was Code compliance and referred to
comments by Mr. Cleveland Harris relative to problems his community had
dealt with for over 20 years and stated that later on the agenda the Council
would vote on a historic district for that area in an attempt to work on trying to
turn that neighborhood around. She continued by stating that in the Near
Southeast community, before she became a Council Member, the Council voted
to zone that neighborhood single-family to deal with the problem of four-plexes
and all the issues with Code Compliance in that area. She added that she was
reminded by the fact that every day as she passed by some apartments in her
area and saw illegal dumping at those apartments of everything from mattresses
to commodes to couches and that Code Compliance received almost daily e-
mails from her about the situation. She pointed out that the current policy was
not working, at least not in Southeast Fort Worth, and she would support and
second Council Member Davis' motion for a month's delay and echoed her
request to please help the Council over then next month to find some solutions.
Mayor Moncrief expressed appreciation to everyone who attended the Council
meeting in regard to this matter. He also thanked Council Member Davis for
the many long hours that she and the City staff and task force members put into
this effort. He added that although the problem may have started in the TCU
area it certainly did not totally lie in that one segment of the City. He pointed
out that members of the Council had expressed the differences in their districts
and what was in TCU was far different from that in southeast Fort Worth or the
northside. He added that this was an issue where the Council wanted to try and
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build quality; that the Council was sensitive and had heard everyone's concerns
and that last thing the Council wanted to do was to over reach or be over
burdensome. He made the observation that the vast majority of the people in
the Council Chamber probably ran a pretty good business and kept up their
properties; however, there were others that were not present and did not live in
the City or cared about who lived in their properties, or what condition the
properties were in because all they were interested in was a rent check. He
added that the Council was trying to find a middle ground and that the month
delay would serve the City well and encouraged citizen input. He further stated
that as the City grew this problem would grow with the City. He referred to an
earlier statement that was very obvious to everyone— Code Compliance did not
have the resources necessary to enforce what was already on the books, much
less whatever the City was trying to enhance, and that could not been done by
just writing a check, there had to be a means to pay for that enforcement. He
emphasized that one thing he had learned in 30 years of public service and as
12 years as the City's Senator, was laws were only as good as the ability to
enforce them, otherwise they were totally useless. He concluded by stating the
term "That will do" was not acceptable in Fort Worth any longer and that the
Council wanted to work with landlords to do better, to help them with their
income and retirement, but to do so with quality affordable rent housing in the
City.
There being no one present desiring to be heard in connection with the second
public hearing, Council Member Davis stated that City Attorney Yett had
reminder her that the first Tuesday of November was election night and also a
zoning meeting evening which would make for a very long meeting for
everyone and made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro tem Silcox, that the
public hearing be closed and another public hearing be scheduled for November
14, 2007 to receive public comment and consider adoption of the proposed
ordinance. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Recessed/ Mayor Moncrief recessed the meeting at 10:15 p.m. and reconvened the
Reconvend meeting at 10:27 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM XVIA — ZONING HEARINGS: CASES RECOMMENDED FOR
APPROVAL
ZC-05-286 It appeared that the City Council, at its meeting of September 5, 2006,
SP-05-054 continued the hearing of the application of Juan Acosta for a change in zoning
Approved of property located in the 3500 block of McClure Street from "B" Two-Family
Residential to "PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for all uses in "A-
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5" One-Family Residential; with a maximum of 14 personal horses allowed on
the property, stables and arena will be for sole use of the owner, any
commercial uses or sales are prohibited, and with site plan required, Zoning
Docket No. ZC-05-286 and Site Plan No. SP-05-054. Mayor Moncrief opened
the public hearing and asked if there was anyone present desiring to be heard.
Chris Bonilla Mr. Chris Bonilla, 3204 S. Main, representing the applicant, Juan Acosta,
appeared before the City Council and presented to the Council two copies of an
amended Planned Development/Specific Use (PD/SU) Site plan for Zoning
Docket No. ZC-05-286 and Site Plan No. SP-05-054. He stated that the
amended zoning change would read from the existing "B" Two Family District
to "A-5" Single Family Residence plus Horses, Stables/Private, with Arena;
with a maximum of 14 horses allowed on-site, and the site would be for
personal use only. He stated that this would eliminate and restrict all
commercial uses of the site and requested favorable consideration.
Charles Sorrels Mr. Charles Sorrels, 1328 Britton, appeared before the City Council and
expressed opposition of the Neighborhood Association to the original proposed
zoning. He advised Council that since the use was restricted for family and
friends and not for commercial uses that he could agree with the proposed
amended zoning and site plan.
There being no one else present desiring to be heard in connection with the
application of Juan Acosta, Council Member Davis stated that no one was
present from the Brentmore Neighborhood Association would like to meet with
them to make sure that everyone was in agreement with the proposed changes
and made a motion, seconded by Council Member Wheatfall, that the Zoning
Hearing and Zoning Docket No. ZC-05-286 and Site Plan No. SP-05-054 be
continued until November 7, 2006.
Mayor Pro tem Hicks requested that during the meeting with Mr. Bonilla and
the applicant that Council Member Davis also include Ms. Ida Piper, who is on
the border line of this property.
The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-171 It appeared that the City Council, at its meeting of September 5, 2006,
SP-06-032 continued the hearing of the application of Lucy Pham for a change in zoning
Continued for One of property located at 1222 and 1224 Clinton Avenue from "FR" General
Week Commercial Restricted to "PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for all
uses in "E" Neighborhood Commercial; excluding the following uses: pawn
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shop, tattoo parlor, massage parlor; beer and wine sales only; hours of operation
are Monday through Thursday 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Friday through Sunday
5:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.; a seven foot masonry screening wall fence shall be
placed at the rear of the property with a gate and knox lock; any lighting to be
directed away and downward from single-family residences, and with site plan
required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-171 and Site Plan No. SP-06-032. Mayor
Moncrief opened the public hearing and asked if there was anyone present
desiring to be heard.
There being no one present desiring to be heard in connection with the
application of Lucy Pham, Council Member Espino made a motion, seconded
by Council Member Davis, that the Zoning Hearing be closed and that Zoning
Docket No. ZC-06-171 and Site Plan No. SP-06-032 be continued until October
10, 2006. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Zoning Hearing It appeared to the City Council that the Notice of Special Hearing set today as
the date for the hearing in connection with recommended changes and
amendments to Zoning Ordinance No. 13896 and that notice of the hearing had
been given by publication in the Commercial Recorder, the official newspaper
of the City of Fort Worth, on August 23, 2006. Mayor Moncrief opened the
public hearing and asked if there was anyone present desiring to be heard.
ZC-06-181 Council Member Jordan made a motion, seconded by Council Member
SP-06-021 Wheatfall, that the application of John Q. Melcher et al., for a change in zoning
Approved of property located at 7801 Crowley Road from "E" Neighborhood Commercial
to "PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for all uses in "E"
Neighborhood Commercial; plus: mini-warehouse; excluding the following
uses: tattoo and massage parlors, retail liquor stores, stand alone bar and
lounge; hours of operation for the office are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.,
electronically controlled security gate 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, and with
site plan required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-181 and Site Plan No. SP-06-021,
be approved. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-183 It appeared that the City Council set today as the date for a Zoning Hearing for
Ord. No. 17228- Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-183, Text Amendment for tree preservation. Mayor
10-2006 Moncrief opened the public hearing and asked if there was anyone present
Approved desiring to be heard.
Mr. Bob Riley, Director of the Development Department appeared before City
Council and presented a brief history of the tree preservation ordinance.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
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OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 39 of 50
The following individuals appeared before the City Council in support of the
tree preservation ordinance:
Margaret DeMoss, Margaret DeMoss 3451 Green Arbor Court
Judith Harman, Judith Harman 2222 Winton Terrace E.
Esther McElfish, Esther McElfish 7112 Martha Lane
Becky Meadows, Becky Meadows 6901 Pleasant Run Road
Renee Walter, Renee Walter 6700 Meadow Haven
Lee Nicol Lee Nicol 3882 South Hills
Mayor Moncrief stated that the following citizens also signed speaker cards in
favor of the tree preservation ordinance, but did not wish to speak:
Linda Hanratty, Linda Hanratty 4236 Oak Park Ct.
Elizabeth Hedden, Elizabeth Hedden 3200 Overton Park W.
Marty Craddock, Marty Craddock 4904 Dexter
Elaine Petrus, Elaine Petrus 3736 Country Club Circle
Patti Crabree, Patti Crabree 3900 White Settlement Rd., #93
Gary Hogan, Gary Hogan 2117 Rolling Creek Run
Marsha Cowdin, Marsha Cowdin 4317 Del Ridge Road
James Toal, James Toal 500 W. 7th Street
Barbara Baker, Barbara Baker 4104 Harlanwood Drive
and Sheila Hill Sheila Hill 4130 Rawleigh Drive
Council Member Burdette expressed his position on the tree ordinance advising
that he was a lover of trees just as many others were, but that freedom was more
important. He stated that with the passage of this ordinance, it would go
against the rights of the property owners.
Mr. Bob Riley, Development Department Director, appeared before the City
Council and advised Council that the rules and regulations and establishment of
the Urban Forestry Board would be coming forth; that the fee table would also
require amendments; and that the landscape information would be captured in
this ordinance.
Various members of Council shared their positions on the tree ordinance.
Council Member Davis expressed a special thanks to former Council Member
Haskin for representing the people seated in the audience with her.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
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OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 40 of 50
City Attorney Yett stated that Section 10(e) of the ordinance, relative to the
appeals process would go before the Board of Adjustment and stated that
Assistant City Attorney Sarah Fullenwider would advise the Council of the of
the addition of paragraph 12 entitled"Enforcement".
Assistant City Attorney Fullenwider read the following language into the
record:
"12. Enforcement. Any Code Enforcement Officer, the City Forester or his/her
designee shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this ordinance."
There being no one else present desiring to be heard in connection with the
Text Amendment, Council Member Scarth made a motion, seconded by
Council Member Wheatfall, that the Zoning Hearing be closed, Zoning Docket
No. ZC-06-183 be approved, and the following ordinance be adopted as
amended:
ORDINANCE NO. 17228-10-2006
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 BY AMENDING SUBSECTION K
"PRESERVATION OF TREES", OF SECTION 6.301, "LANDSCAPING' OF
ARTICLE 3, "LANDSCAPING AND BUFFERS", TO ADD REGULATIONS
ON THE REMOVAL OF PROTECTED TREES EQUAL TO OR GREATER
THAN SIX INCHES IN DIAMETER ON A PARCEL OF LAND GREATER
THAN ONE ACRE; TO AMEND CHAPTER 9, "DEFINITIONS", TO ADD
DEFINITIONS RELATED TO TREE PRESERVATION; PROVIDNG A
SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING
FOR PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER; AND PROVIDING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
The motion carried seven (7) ayes to two (2) nays, with Council Members
Silcox and Burdette casting the dissenting votes.
ZC-06-190 Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Approved Silcox, that the application of Sztamentis Family, LTD., for a change in zoning
of property located at 127 Roberts Cut Off Road, 5306, 5320, 5328 and 5336
White Settlement Road from "B" Two-Family Residential, "E" Neighborhood
Commercial and "I" Light Industrial to "PD/SU" Planned Development/
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 41 of 50
Specific Use for all uses in "MU-1" Low Intensity Mixed Use as described
below, traffic study is required at site plan submittal, and with site plan
required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-190, be approved:
Crystal Springs Mixed-Use Planned Development District
A. Purpose and Intent
It is the purpose and intent of the Crystal Springs Mixed-Use Planned
Development District to provide areas in which a variety of housing
types exist among neighborhood-serving commercial and institutional
uses.
B. Uses
In the Crystal Springs Mixed-Use Planned Development District, no
building or land shall be used and no building shall be herein erected,
reconstructed, altered or enlarged, nor shall a Certificate of Occupancy
be issued, except in accordance with the Low Intensity Mixed-Use
District uses in the use table in Chapter 4, Article 8, and the
supplemental standards of Chapter 5, and allowing the following uses:
hotel, motel or inn less than 1,000 feet from any residential district.
In the Crystal Springs Mixed-Use Planned Development District,
residential, commercial and institutional uses may occupy the same
building and lot. All projects much comply with the mix of use
requirements described in Section E.
C. Property Development Standards
In the Crystal Springs Mixed-Use Planned Development District, the
dimensions of yards, the maximum height of buildings, the maximum
residential density, and the required open space shall be as follows:
1. General yard development standards: Same as Low Intensity
Mixed-Use ("MU-1")District.
2. Front yard: 20 feet maximum setback, with the following
provisions:
a) Campus developments: Interior buildings constructed as part of a
campus development may be set back from the property line more
than 20 feet if at least 50 percent of the public street frontage on
each block face within the development contains buildings within
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 42 of 50
the maximum setback of 20 feet. Interior buildings set back
farther than 20 feet may be constructed prior to this 50 percent
requirement having been satisfied.
b) Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1")District.
3. Rear yard: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1")District.
4. Side yard: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1")District.
5. Maximum Height: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1")
District.
6. Maximum residential units per acre: Same as Low Intensity
Mixed-Use ("MU-1")District.
7. Open space: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1")District
D. Other Development Standards
Development in the Crystal Springs Mixed-Use Planned Development
District shall be subject to the Low Intensity Mixed-Use
District pertinent development standards in Chapter 6, and the following
provisions.
1. Off-Street Parking and Loading: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-
Use ("MU-1")District.
2. Landscaping and Buffers: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use
District
3. Signs: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1") District.
4. Residential Design Standards: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use
District.
5. Outdoor Storage or Display: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use
District.
6. Entrances: Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1")District.
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OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 43 of 50
7. Fences and Gates: In order to promote pedestrian-orientated
developments, exterior security fences and gates that are located
along public streets, along private streets or walkways that are
publicly accessible through a public use easement, or along publicly
accessible open space shall not extend beyond building facades, i.e.,
these fences shall not be located in the area between building
facades and the property line.
Fences not exceeding 4 feet in height, however, may extend beyond
the building facade of attached or detached one- and two-family
residential dwellings in mixed-use zoning districts (see Section
5.305.13.2 for fence development standards).
Walls composed of the same or similar finish materials as the
building facade used to create exterior courtyards that have
closed perimeters and that are located along public streets,
along private streets or walkways that are publicly accessible
through a public use easement, or along publicly accessible open
space are allowed to extend beyond building facades, i.e., these
walls are allowed to be located in the area between building
facades and the property line.
8. Fagade Design Standards for New Construction: Same as Low
Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1") District.
E. Administrative Review Requirements
Same as Low Intensity Mixed-Use ("MU-1")District
The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-195 It appeared that the City Council set today as the date for a Zoning Hearing for
Continued until Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-195, Text Amendment for Trinity Uptown District
November 7, 2006 standards. Mayor Moncrief opened the public hearing and asked if there was
anyone present desiring to be heard.
There being no one present desiring to be heard in connection with the Text
Amendment, Mayor Pro tem Hicks made a motion, seconded by Council
Member Espino, that the Zoning Hearing for Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-195 be
continued until November 7, 2006. The motion carried unanimously nine (9)
ayes to zero (0) nays.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 44 of 50
ZC-06-198 It appeared that the City Council set today as the date for a Zoning Hearing for
Continued until Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-198, Text Amendment for Trinity Uptown District
November 7, 2006 regulations. Mayor Moncrief opened the public hearing and asked if there was
anyone present desiring to be heard.
There being no one present desiring to be heard in connection with the Text
Amendment, Mayor Pro tem Hicks made a motion, seconded by Council
Member Espino, that the Zoning Hearing for Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-198 be
continued until November 7, 2006. The motion carried unanimously nine (9)
ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-199 It appeared that the City Council set today as the date for a Zoning Hearing for
Continued until Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-199, Text Amendment for Down Design Review
November 7, 2006 Board to increase membership and expand powers and duties. Mayor Moncrief
opened the public hearing and asked if there was anyone present desiring to be
heard.
There being no one present desiring to be heard in connection with the Text
Amendment, Mayor Pro tem Hicks made a motion, seconded by Council
Member Espino, that the Zoning Hearing be closed, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-
199 be continued until November 7, 2006. The motion carried unanimously
nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-200 Council Member Davis made a motion, seconded by Council Member Espino,
Approved that the application of Juan Sancen for a change in zoning of property located at
4212 Fairpark Boulevard from "E" Neighborhood Commercial to "A-5" One-
Family Residential, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-200, be approved. The motion
carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-201 Mayor Pro tem Hicks made a motion, seconded by Council Member Silcox,
Approved that the application of the City of Fort Worth for a change in zoning of property
located north of Baker Street, east of South Freeway, south of Ramsey Avenue
and west of the Union Pacific Railroad from "A-5" One-Family Residential,
"B" Two-Family Residential, "E" Neighborhood Commercial, "ER"
Neighborhood Commercial Restricted and "CF" Community Facilities to "A-
5/HC" One-Family Residential/Historic and Cultural, "B/HC" Two-Family
Residential Historic and Cultural, "ER/HC" Neighborhood Commercial
Restricted/Historical and Cultural, "E/HC" Neighborhood Commercial/Historic
and Cultural and "CF" Community Facilities/Historic and Cultural Landmark,
Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-201, be approved. The motion carried unanimously
nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 45 of 50
Juna Allen Harris Ms. Juna Allen Harris, 1037 Colvin Street, appeared before the City Council
and expressed appreciation to Fernando Costa and Julie Lawless of Planning,
Council Members Silcox and Wheatfall and the entire Council as a body, Eileen
Boyd, and the Morningside Neighborhood Association for this historic and
cultural designation.
ZC-06-202 Council Member Scarth made a motion, seconded by Council Member Davis,
Approved that the application of Emerging Properties 1, LTD., for a change in zoning of
property located at 6750 Fossil Bluff Drive from "G" Intensive Commercial to
"PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for all uses in "R-2"
Townhouse/Cluster Residential, with rear entry garages and with site plan
required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-202, be approved. The motion carried
unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays. {See subsequent action taken on
Page 46.1
SP-06-028 Council Member Espino made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Approved Wheatfall that the application of Alex Guevara, Jr., for site plan of property
located at 1217 Grand Avenue to amend "PD-116" to expand existing medical
clinic, Site Plan No. SP-06-028, be approved. The motion carried unanimously
nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-203 Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Approved Silcox, that the application of Owen BCR Partners, LTD., for a change in
zoning of property located at 6318 Ten Mile Bridge from "A-5" One Family
Residential and "E" Neighborhood Commercial to "E" Neighborhood
Commercial, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-203, be approved. The motion carried
unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-205 Council Member Scarth made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Approved Wheatfall, that the application of TRBP, LTD., for a change in zoning of
property located in the 2600 through 3050 blocks of Northern Cross Boulevard,
2600 through 3100 blocks of Northeast Loop 820, 5000 North Freeway and
5050 North Sylvania Avenue from "G" Intensive Commercial and "J" Medium
Industrial to "I" Light Industrial, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-205, be approved.
The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-208 Mayor Pro tem Hicks made a motion, seconded by Council Member Silcox,
SP-06-033 that the application of Diversified Capital for a change in zoning of property
Continued for One located at 1401 South Main Street, 1290 Bryan Avenue and 1317 Calhoun
Week Street from "CF" Community Facilities to "PD/SU" Planned
Development/Specific Use for all uses in "MU-2" High Intensity Mixed Use,
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 46 of 50
with site plan required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-208 and Site Plan No. SP-
06-033, be continued for one week. The motion carried unanimously nine (9)
ayes to zero (0) nays.
Reconsideration of Council Member Scarth made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro tem Hicks,
ZC-06-202 that Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-202 be reconsidered at this time. The motion
carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-202 Mr. Eugene Middleton, 6750 Hillcrest Boulevard, #100, Dallas, Texas,
Continued until appeared and requested that the City Council continue the application of
November 7, 2006 Emerging Properties 1, LTD., 6750 Fossil Bluff Drive from "G" Intensive
Eugene Middleton Commercial to "PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for all uses in "R-
2" Townhouse/Cluster Residential, with rear entry garages and with site plan
required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-202 until November 7, 2006.
Council Member Scarth made a motion, seconded by Council Member Davis,
that the application of Emerging Properties 1, LTD., for a change in zoning of
property located at 6750 Fossil Bluff Drive from "G" Intensive Commercial to
"PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for all uses in "R-2"
Townhouse/Cluster Residential, with rear entry garages and with site plan
required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-202, be continued until November 7, 2006.
The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-209 Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
SP-06-031 Silcox, that the application of Marc B. Smith, Jr., for a change in zoning of
Approved property located at 4517 and 4519 Bryce Avenue from "I" Light Industrial" to
"PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for office/warehouse, no outside
storage, no freestanding signs, and with site plan required, Zoning Docket No.
ZC-06-209 and Site Plan No. SP-06-031, be approved. The motion carried
unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Randy Lockhart Mr. Randy Lockhart, 1803 Chisec Court, Granbury, Texas, appeared before the
ZC-06-210 City Council and requested that Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-210 be continued
Continued until until December 5, 2006.
December 12, 2006
City Secretary Hendrix informed Council that the City Council meeting of
December 5, 2006 had been cancelled and that the hearing would need to be
considered at the Council meeting of December 12, 2006.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 47 of 50
Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Silcox, that the application of Hayco Realty, LTD., for a change in zoning of
property located in the 6100 block of Bowman Roberts Road and the 5100
block of Cromwell Marine Creek Road from "C" Medium Density Multi-
Family Residential, "CR" Low Density Multi-Family Residential, "D" High
Density Multi-Family Residential and "E" Neighborhood Commercial to "A-5"
One-Family Residential, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-210, be continued until
December 12, 2006. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0)
nays.
Catherine Griffin Catherine Griffin, 4621 Pershing Avenue, appeared before the City Council in
ZC-06-212 favor of the zoning change. She advised Council that this neighborhood had a
Approved little of everything in it from single-family to duplexes and stated that approval
of this zoning case would be more in line with the Comprehensive Plan.
L. Craig Johnson, Mr. L. Craig Johnson, I, 4600 Pershing Avenue, appeared before the City
I Council and expressed opposition to the proposed zoning of all of the homes in
the 4600 block through 4637 block of Pershing becoming "A-5" One-Family
Residential. He stated that it would be a neighborhood of non-conforming use
and a financial hardship to the residents. He further stated that this would be
illegal to require such and requested the zoning case be denied.
Sean and Melanie Mr. Sean Sullivan and Ms. Melanie Sullivan, 2225 Carleton Avenue, appeared
Sullivan before the City Council and expressed opposition to the propose zoning change
of the 4600 to 4637 block of Pershing Avenue. Ms. Sullivan stated that there
were many duplexes in this area, and that some of the duplexes had individual
owners on each side and that Council should look at some other avenues in
order to preserve the history in this community. They spoke about the issue
that if the duplexes burned down, the could not be rebuilt under the proposed
zoning.
Council Member Burdette spoke about the present uses on the lots and that the
"A-5" zoning reflected those uses.
Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Wheatfall, that the application of the City of Fort Worth for a change in zoning
of property located in the 4600 through 4637 block of Pershing Avenue from
"B" Two-Family Residential to "A-5" One-Family Residential, Zoning Docket
No. ZC-06-212, be approved. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to
zero (0) nays.
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REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 48 of 50
ZC-06-213 Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Approved Espino, that the application of the City of Fort Worth for a change in zoning of
property located in the 1900 through 2021 block of Hillcrest Avenue from "B"
Two-Family Residential to "A-5" One-Family Residential, Zoning Docket No.
ZC-06-213, be approved. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to
zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-214 Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Approved Silcox, that the application of the City of Fort Worth for a change in zoning of
property located in the 4000 through 4037 block of Bryce Avenue and 2021
Clover Lane from "B" Two-Family Residential to "A-5" One-Family
Residential, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-214, be approved. The motion carried
unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
AGENDA ITEM XVIB—ZONING HEARINGS: CASES RECOMMENDED FOR DENIAL
ZC-06-072 Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Council Member
Denied Without Silcox, that the application of Mellisa Stewart for a change in zoning of
Prejudice property located in the 1700 block of Avondale Haslet Road from "A-5" One-
Family Residential to "E" Neighborhood Commercial, Zoning Docket No. ZC-
06-072, be denied without prejudice. The motion carried unanimously nine (9)
ayes to zero (0) nays.
ZC-06-192 Mr. Ottis Lee, III, 1192 Boling Ranch Road, N., Azle, Texas, appeared before
SP-06-027 the City Council and expressed opposition to the denial of Zoning Docket No.
Denied Without ZC-06-192 and SP-06-027.
Prejudice
Ottis Lee, III Council Member Burdette stated that the other property owners had a 30 foot
setback and with this property was supposed to only have a 10 foot setback was
a concern to the neighbors and he made a motion, seconded by Council
Member Silcox, that the application of Zood, L.P., for a change in zoning of
property located in the 7700 block of Trailridge Drive from "A-5" One-Family
Residential to "PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for all uses in "A-
5" One-Family Residential; with a front building setback of 10 foot, and no
garage doors shall face or be less than 30 feet from the street right-of-way, and
with site plan required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-192 and Site Plan No. SP-
06-027, be denied without prejudice. The motion carried unanimously nine (9)
ayes to zero (0) nays.
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REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3, 2006
PAGE 49 of 50
ZC-06-206 It appeared that the City Council, at its meeting of September 19, 2006,
Continued until continued the hearing of the application of Waterview Estates North, L.P., for a
November 14, change in zoning of property located in the 5100 through 5200 block of East
2006 Loop 820 South from "MH" Manufactured Housing to "R-1" Zero Lot
Line/Cluster Residential, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-206. Mayor Moncrief
opened the public hearing and asked if there was anyone present desiring to be
heard.
There being no one else present desiring to be heard in connection with the
application of Waterview Estates North, L.P., Council Member Wheatfall made
a motion, seconded by Council Member Espino, that the Zoning Hearing be
closed and that Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-206 be continued until November
14, 2006. The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Chris Bonilla Mr. Chris Bonilla, 3204 S. Main, representing the applicant, Epoch Homes,
ZC-06-207 appeared before the City Council and advised Council that there was a
SP-06-030 misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the intent of Epoch Homes. He
Continued until requested that Council continue this zoning case to allow his client to meet with
November 7, 2006 Council Member Burdette.
Melanie Sullivan Ms. Melanie Sullivan, 2225 Carleton Avenue, appeared before the City Council
in support of Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-207. She stated that building standards
were needed in the City.
Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro tem Hicks,
that the application of Epoch Homes for a change in zoning of property located
at 4515 and 4533 Harley Avenue from "A-5" One-Family Residential to
"PD/SU" Planned Development/Specific Use for all uses in "A-R" One-Family
Restricted Residential, with site plan required, Zoning Docket No. ZC-06-207
and Site Plan No. SP-06-030, be continued until November 7, 2006. The
motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
There being no one else present desiring to be heard in connection with the
recommended changes and amendments to Zoning Ordinance No. 13896,
Council Member Burdette made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro tem Hicks,
that the hearing be closed and that the following ordinance be adopted:
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 3,2006
PAGE 50 of 50
ORDINANCE NO. 17229-10-2006
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE
OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, BEING ORDINANCE NO. 13896, AS
AMENDED, SAME BEING AN ORDINANCE. REGULATING AND
RESTRICTING THE LOCATION AND USE OF BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES,
AND LAND FOR TRADE, INDUSTRY RESIDENCE AND OTHER PURPOSES,
THE HEIGHT, NUMBER OF STORIES AND SIZE OF THE BUILDINGS AND
OTHER STRUCTURES, THE SIZE OF YARDS AND OTHER OPEN SPACES,
OFF-STREET PARKING AND LOADING, AND THE DENSITY OF
POPULATION, AND FOR SUCH PURPOSES DIVIDING THE MUNICIPALITY
INTO DISTRICTS AND THE BOUNDARIES THEREOF UPON "DISTRICT
MAPS"; PURPOSE AND CONFLICT; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE
SHALL BE CUMULATIVE OF ALL ORDINANCES; PROVIDING A SAVINGS
CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY
CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION AND NAMING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
The motion carried unanimously nine (9) ayes to zero (0) nays.
Item XV Mr. Keith White. 3227 Greentee #132, Pantego, Texas, appeared before the
Citizen City Council and advised Council that the Greater Southwest Model Airplane
Presentations Club was discriminating against patrons who did not have the right model
Keith White plane. He stated that he was asked to leave because he had electric-motor
airplanes instead of gas airplanes. He requested that the City Council place a
noise restriction on the Club..
Agenda Item XVII There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:10 a.m.
Adjournment
These minutes approved by the Fort Worth City Council on the 10th day of
October, 2006.
Attest: Approved:
Marty He drix Michael J. Moncrie
City Secretary Mayor