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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 4333 Y- ORDINANCE NO. : 33 OFFICIAL RECORD CITY SECRETARY AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 98 OF CHAPTER 25 OF THE FT. WORTH. 0. CODE OF THE CITY OF FOR WORTH, 1950, BEING A PROVISION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MARKING OF LOADING ZONES IN SAID CITY; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; MAKING THIS ORDI- NANCE CUMULATIVE OF OTHER ORDINANCES WITH RESPECT TO LOADING ZONES; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HERE- WITH; PROVIDING A PENALTY; AND NAMING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, it is deemed..wise and expedient by the City Council that adequate provision be made for the establishment of loading zones in said City of Fort Worth in order to lessen congestion on streets and thoroughfares and adequately provide for the orderly flow of traffic; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That Section 98 of Chapter 25 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, 1950, be and the same is hereby amended so that hereafter same shall be and read as follows: Sec. 98. Loading zones in metered and unmetered areas - Establishment; Marking. The City Traffic Engineer, or such officer or employee as he may designate, is hereby authorized to establish such loading zones as are necessary for the conduct of business and to properly sign and mark such zones. The charges for maintenance and regulation of such loading zones shall be as follows: For loading zones located within metered areas $7.00 per linear foot per annum For loading zones in all other areas $4.00 per linear foot per annum SECTION 2. Should any part, section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase contained in this ordinance be held to be unconstitutional, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion thereof, but in all respects said remaining portion shall be and remain in full force and effect; and the City Council hereby declares that it would not have passed the unconstitutional part had it known it was invalid and that it would have passed the remaining part that is not invalid. SECTION 3. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, 1950, with respect to loading zones, except in those instances where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct con- flict with the provisions of such Code, in which instances said conflict- ing provisions of such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 4. Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be punished as provided in Section 5 of Chapter I of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, 1950, the same being designated as Ordinance No. 2870 and said Section 5, Chapter I thereof being as follows: "Whenever in this Code or in any ordinance of the city an act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, or whenever in such Code or ordinance the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such pro- vision of this Code or any such ordinance shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding two hundred dollars; provided, however, If the maximum penalty provided by this Code for any such offense is greater than the maximum penalty provided for the same or a similar offense under the laws of the state, then the maximum penalty for violation as provided by state statute shall be the maximum penalty under this Code. Each day any violation of this Code or of any ordinance shall continue shall constitute a separate offense." SECTION 5. This ordinance shall become effective and be in full force and ef- fect from and after its passage and publication as required by law. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: 67e City Attorney c-Mr. Cookingham TEXAS Mr. Morphia T. s qr- OF FORT` WORTH Mr. Hightower ? '" ( LC �� Mr. Buchan JU TEXAS AND V;s.s�-%K f: - OFFICIAL RECORD —C ITY. Communication to Mayor and Coun 1rRl:l FUI 1 ,,.0 1=7 - i. ."221T , TFX. City S^crecary July 22, 1960 Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Re: Loading Zone Policy and Fees City of Fort Worth Mrs. McKnight and Gentlemen: This communication is in response to the request of the City Council on June 3, 1960, and at earlier meetings, that the administrative staff study present fees 'and policy in regard to loading zones. At the same time, the Council requested development of a uniform policy in regard to fees for private usage of areas under public streets, sidewalks, and right-of-ways. This project will be submitted to the Council for its consideration sepal- rately in -the near future. Loadi:ng Zone Policy Chapter 25, Section 98, of the City Code provides that the City Traffic Engineer is authorized to establish loading zones as Is necessary for the conduct of business. However, in 1926, the City Council adopted a resolu- tion providing bat no loading zones would be permitted on Main and.Houston Streets between Weatherford Street on the North and Thirteenth Street on the South. in 1939, this policy was revised to prohibit loadino zones on Main and Houston Streets between Weatherford and Tenth Streets. Because of the policy adopted by the Council, the City Traffic Engineer does not -act on requests for loading zones in this area himself. These requests are referred to the City Council, and the Council has made a number of excep- tions to the policy by allowing loading zones. This matfor is brought to the attention of the City Council because of the requests from S. H. Kress & Company for a loading zone in the 500 Block of Main Street. Several years ago a similar request was denied, but through an agreement with the Police Department, meters have been rented on a half- day basis in order that the company might have space for loading and un- loading on Main Street during the morning hours. Thus, the store is carrying on the same operation as would be carried-on-,.In a loading zone, and. the purpose of prohibiting a loading zone -for the Kress store -.is de-r feated. In addition, the store is paying a greater -amount for use of the meter space for half a day than a loading zone installation for a full day would cost under the present loading zone rates. Since the policy of prohibiting loading zones on Main and Houston Streets between Weatherford and Tenth Street has no practical effect, it Is recom- mended that the policy be rescinded. The Traffic Engineer would then per- form the responsibility assigned to- him by the City Code in designating loading zones as needed, based on a study of traffic engineering factors involved in each case. -s M&C TE 0-4 July 22, 1960 Page 2 Loading Zone Fees In making a study of parking meter average income and rates now being charged for loading zone spaces, it has been found that the two are not comparable. The present charge for loading zones is $4 per foot per year, with the majority of loading zones being 20 feet in length. The average annual income per foot from parking meters is approximately $7.29. 'While neither loading zone nor parking meter fees constitute a rental of the streets, but are regulatory devices designed to make the streets most useful to the citizens and for the conduct of business, there is a considerable equity in keeping the rates for these two streets uses on a somewhat compar- able basis. Some cities charge a considerably higher rate for loading zones that is in effect in Fort Worth, while other cities make no charge at all . The cities making no charge generally install loading zones mid-block and they are, used on a community basis, with no individual business having a`designated load- ing zone. Other cities do not permit loading zones in the downtown section for daytime use, but restrict all loading and unloading to after normal business hours. If it is desired to eliminate the inconsistency between loading zone and parking meter charges, metered areas should be Increased from the present $4 annually per foot to $7. It is suggested that the loading zone rate outside the metered areas should remain at $4 annually per foot. Summary Modification of loading zone policy and fees, as outlined above, can be accomplished by adoption of the ordinance attached. Further information will be provided on this subject upon request. Respectfully submitted, L. Ca n City Manager 1 Pr-