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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 7933 ORDINANCE NO. �3 AN ORDINANCE FINDING AND DECLARING A STATE OF EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF GASOLENE; DEFINING CERTAIN TERMS INCLUDING "DEALE;R," "GASOLINE" AND "MOTOR VEHICLE"; REGULATING THE SALE OF GASOLINE UPON CERTAIN DAYS TO CERTAIN VEHICLES AND PERSONS IN CERTAIN QUANTI- TIES; PROVIDING FOR DEALERS TO DISPLAY SIGNS AND FLAGS INDICATING THE AVAILABILITY OF GASOLINE; PROHIBITING THE PURCHASE OR ATTE14PT TO PURCHASE MORE OR LESS GASOLINE THAN AUTHORIZED; PROHIBITING LINE JUMPING OR THE OBSTRUCTING OF ROAD14AYS BY QUEUES; PROVIDING CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS AND DEFENSES; PROVIDING FOR AUTOMATIC REPEAL; PROVIDING FOR THE CUMULATION AND SUSPENSION OF OTHER ORDINANCES; PROVIDING A SAVINGS AND PENALTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, on May 29, 1979, the President of the United States signed an Executive Order delegating the Governors of the fifty States and the chief executives of the District of Columbia and U. S. possessions and territories, certain authority he now has under the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 (15 U.S.C. 751, et seq.) to adopt any combination of the following measures to prevent or reduce gasoline lines: 1. A minimum gasoline purchase requirement; 2. An odd/even license plate plan for gasoline purchases; or 3. Regulation of the hours of gasoline pumps; and WHEREAS, on June 20, 1979, William P. Clements, Jr. , Governor of the State of Texas, issued his amended Executive Order WPC-7A establishing guidelines for motor gasoline end-user allocation in the counties of Dallas, Harris and Tarrant because of serious shortages of motor gasoline that endanger the public health, safety and welfare; and WHEREAS, premises considered, there does now exist within the City of Fort Worth a State of Emergency necessitating the exercise of the City's powers to adopt such ordinances as may be expedient for maintaining and promoting the peace, good government, welfare and security of the City and its inhabitants; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION I. That for purposes of this ordinance, the following terms shall have the following meanings, in addition to their ordinary and usual meaning: A. "DEALER" shall mean any person, or any employee or agent of any person, who sells, supplies or offers to sell or supply gasoline or gasohol to the general public upon a retail basis at a particular location. B. "PERSON" shall mean natural persons, partnerships , associations, and corporations. C. "EVEN NUMBERS" shall include the numeral zero and all numbers divisible by two. D. "ODD NUMBERS" shall include all numbers not even. E. "GASOLINE" shall include all grades of gasoline, including gasohol. F. "VEHICLE" shall not include vehicles having only two wheels such as motorcycles and mopeds. SECTION II. That the following regulations shall apply to dealers: A. No dealer shall supply gasoline to any vehicle: 1. having a Texas license plate number ending in an even number or ending in a letter among the first thirteen letters of the alphabet (A-M) upon any odd-numbered day of the month, federal holidays and the thirty-first day of any month having thirty-one days being excepted; or 2. having a Texas license plate number ending in an odd number or ending in a letter among the last thirteen letters of the alphabet (N-Z) upon any even-numbered day of the month, federal holidays excepted. -2- B. No dealer shall, during the periods he is open for gasoline sales, refuse to sell gasoline to any person demonstrating ability to pay for same, except to conform with State law, federal law, City ordinance, State or federal regulation or executive order. Specifically, no dealer shall: 1. Require the purchase of other goods, services, or both as a condition precedent to the sale and dispensing of gasoline; or 2. Dispense gasoline on a preferential or discrimina- tory basis. C. No dealer shall dispense for retail sale: 1. More than two gallons of gasoline into any separate container other than the fuel tank of a vehicle: 2. More than twenty (20) gallons of gasoline to any customer in any single transaction; or 3. A quantity of gasoline having a total price of less than six ($6.00) dollars UNLESS the vehicle into which the gasoline is to be dispensed has a maximum fuel capacity when empty of ten (10) gallons or less. D. No dealer shall fail to display at his service station in a location clearly visible from the street; 1. A sign giving the days of the week and hours of the day that gasoline will be dispensed if gasoline is available to the dealer: 2. An appropriately colored flag at least 18 inches by 18 inches in size, signifying his gasoline supply condition pursuant to the following code: (a) green flag - gasoline available for sale to the general public as provided herein; (b) yellow flag - gasoline available for sale to emergency vehicles only; (c) red flag - no gasoline available for sale; and 3. At any time any grade of gasoline usually available is unavailable, a sign stating same. -3- SECTION III That no person shall: A. Purchase or attempt to purchase more or less gasoline than a dealer is authorized to dispense to such purchaser. B. Place or attempt to place their vehicle, including any two-wheeled vehicle, in a line or queue of vehicles waiting to obtain gasoline ahead of any attended vehicle that was waiting in such line or queue of vehicles at the time of their arrival. C. Stop, stand or park a vehicle, including any two- wheeled vehicle, upon any public roadway as part of a line or queue of vehicles waiting to obtain gasoline in such a manner or position as to block or obstruct access to private property, fire lanes, intersections or in any other fashion to impede the orderly flow of traffic. SECTION IV. That the following exceptions and defenses shall apply: A. The following vehicles are eligible to purchase gasoline any day but must meet all other require- ments: 1. Public transportation vehicles regularly used to transport passengers such as busses, taxis and vehicles rented for less than 30 days. 2. Vehicles which, in the judgment of the gasoline retailer are used for commercial purposes. (In this connection the following guide- lines are furnished to aid in determining whether a vehicle is used for commercial purposes: a. Vehicles which by their design, size, or recognizable company identification are obviously being used for commercial pur- poses. b. Vehicles which are owned and operated as a part of a company vehicle fleet as may be determined by company marking or the vehicle's registration. -4- C. Individually owned vehicles used for commercial purposes, as evidenced by the presence of specialized equipment, instruments, tools of trade or profession, supplies or other material which cannot be readily carried by the vehicle operator on public transporta- tion or any other evidence that it is necessary to use the vehicle for commercial purposes. d. Doctors and Nurses: No blanket exemption is made for doctors and nurses. However, when they are using their vehicles for professional purposes (such as special calls) their vehicles should be considered as those being used for commercial purposes and when using their vehicles for emergency calls then they should be considered emergency vehicles. Physicians and nurses are expected to do the same planning in fueling their vehicles for private use as are other citizens. In extreme emergency situations,they can call upon taxis, ambulances, or the local law enforcement agency) . 3. Vehicles operated by handicapped persons as designated by a state issued license or license plate sticker. B. The following vehicles are exempt from all provisions in this ordinance: 1. Emergency vehicles as are defined in Article 6701d Section 2(d)[Texas Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways] , Revised Civil Statutes. 2. Other emergency repair and service vehicles, whether public or private, used for functions directly related to the protection of life, property or public health. 3. Vehicles operated in an unusual emergency situation in the judgment of the gasoline retailer. SECTION V. That this ordinance shall be automatically repealed and become invalid and void upon the expiration, termination, or recision of either: A. The Executive Order of the President of the United States of May 29, 1979, entitled "Delegation of Authorities Relating to Motor Gasoline End-User Allocation"; or -5- B. The Executive Order WPC-7A of the Governor of the State of Texas of June 20, 1979. Provided, however, that if such automatic repeal shall occur, any accrued civil or criminal violation, whether pending in court or not, shall not be affected, but may be filed and prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION VI. That all of the declarations and findings contained in the preamble of this ordinance are made a part hereof and shall be fully effective as part of the ordained subject matter of this ordinance. SECTION VII. That this ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions or ordinances and the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1964) , as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event, such conflicting provisions of such ordinances and Code are hereby suspended for the period during which this ordinance is in effect. SECTION VIII That all rights or remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1964) , as amended, and of any other ordinance which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance; and, as to such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such Code and/or other ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposi- tion by the courts. SECTION IX. That any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance is committed, continued, or permitted, and each violation shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00). -6- SECTION X That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared void, in- effective or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such voidness, ineffectiveness or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the in- corporation herein of any such void, ineffective or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION XI. That the City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to publish the caption, penalty clause and effective date of this ordinance for five (5) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, as authorized by Article 1176b-1, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas. SECTION XII. That the City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the caption and penalty clause of same in the minutes of the City Council of Fort Worth and by filing the ordinance in the ordinance records of said City. SECTION XIII. That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as above specified and it is so ordained. APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Attt5rney ADOPTED: EFFECTIV :(:L&/- -7-