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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 4571 OFFICIAL RECORD CITY SECRETARY ORDINANCE NO. `7` FT. WORTH, TEX. AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A CIVIL DEFENSE FALLOUT SHELTER BOARD AND ESTABLISHING MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR FALLOUT SHELTERS IN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH; DEFINING TERMS; AU- THORIZING THE BOARD TO PROMULGATE REASONABLE REGULATIONS; REQUIRING THAT PLANS BE SUBMITTED; PROVIDING FOR APPEALS; PROVIDING FOR RIGHT OF ENTRY BY CITY OFFICIALS; MAKING VIOLATIONS UNLAWFUL; PROVIDING PENALTIES; EXEMPTING THE CITY FROM LIABILITY; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF ALL ORDINANCES NOT EXPRESSLY REPEALED HEREBY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this ordinance, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: Civil Defense Fallout Shelter: The term "Civil Defense Fallout Shelter" shall mean any building or structure which is designed to be used primarily for the purposes of providing pro- tection to the occupants thereof from the effects of fire, heat, and radiological fallout resulting from a disaster. Disaster: The term "Disaster" shall mean actual or threat- ened enemy attack, sabotage, extraordinary fire, storm, epidemic, riot, earthquake or other similar public calamity. In the case of a nuclear attack, the disaster situation will be anticipated to last for a two (2) week period. SECTION 2. CIVIL DEFENSE FALLOUT SHELTER BOARD There is hereby established a Civil Defense Fallout Shelter Board, which shall consist of one representative each from the Fire Department, the Building Division of the Department of Pub- lic Works, and the Civil Defense Office. The members of said Civil Defense Fallout Shelter Board shall be appointed by the City Man- ager. The Civil Defense Fallout Shelter Board is hereby au- thorized to establish minimum standards as specified by this or- dinance for the design and use of Civil Defense Fallout Shelters and to promulgate such regulations as are reasonable and neces- sary for the interpretation and enforcement of this ordinance and of the regulations and recommendations of the Office of Civil Defense, Department of Defense, concerning Fallout Shelters. SECTION 3. PLANS FOR CIVIL DEFENSE FALLOUT SHELTERS The applicant for a building permit for a Civil Defense Fallout Shelter shall submit plans and specifications to the Building Inspection Division of the Public Works Department for its approval under the Building Code of the City of Fort Worth and all applicable ordinances prior to commencing construction thereon. For single-family shelters, such plans may be those pre- pared by the Office of Civil Defense, Department of Defense, or by manufacturers of shelters, and approved by the Civil Defense Fall- out Shelter Board. The preparation of plans and specifications for larger than standard single-family shelters conforming to plans and specifications of the Office of Civil Defense shall be subject to the provisions of Paragraph i, Section 301 of the City of Fort Worth Building Code. -2- SECTION 4. APPEALS Any person affected by a decision of the Building Offi- cial in the enforcement of the various provisions of the Build- ing Code as applied to shelter construction may appeal such de- cision to the Building Code Board of Appeals of the City of Fort Worth under the applicable rules and regulations of said appeal board. SECTION 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR CIVIL DEFENSE FALLOUT SHELTERS Each Civil Defense Fallout Shelter constructed in the City of Fort Worth shall be subject to the following minimum standards and regulations: 1. Any use of fallout shelters other than for disaster protection shall be incidental to the disaster pro- tection, and shall not be allowed to interfere with the primary protective function of the shelter. 2. Civil Defense Fallout Shelter sanitary facili- ties shall not be connected directly to the Fort Worth sanitary sewer system or to any sept.3.c tank sewer system. Each Civil Defense Fallout Shelter shall have a chemical toilet facility or an ade- quate supply of plastic bags or closed containers adequate to serve the number of persons to be housed in the Civil Defense Fallout Shelter dur- ing a disaster situation. 3. Storage of fresh water within the Civil Defense Fallout Shelter shall be provided on a basis of one-half gallon per person per day. 4. Civil Defense Fallout Shelters having a manually or mechanically operated ventilation system shall provide a flow of three (3) cubic feet of fresh filtered air per minute for each person occupying the Civil Defense Fallout Shelter. Civil Defense Fallout Shelters without forced ventilation systems (either manually or mechanically operated) shall provide five hundred (500) cubic feet of space per occupant. Any Civil Defense Fallout Shelter using a mechanical ventilating system shall have an -3- auxiliary power source, and said auxiliary power source shall meet all requirements of the local Fire and Electrical Codes. Each Civil Defense Fallout Shelter shall have a filtering system for its ventilating equip- ment. Reasonable protection shall be provid- ed above ground for the air filter vent so as to reduce the possibility of damage to the air filter vent. The air filter vent shall extend at least thirty-six (36) inches above the ground. 5. Civil Defense Fallout Shelters shall conform to the requirements of the City of Fort Worth Zoning ordinance No. 3011 as it now exists or as it might be from time to time amended, and such shelters shall be so located on a lot as to meet the minimum yard requirements of that ordinance for the district in which a Civil De- fense Fallout Shelter is located. For the pur- poses of this ordinance, a Civil Defense Fallout Shelter not attached to the residence shall be treated as an accessory building. 6. Civil Defense Fallout Shelters shall be posted with an appropriate sign showing the capacity thereof as determined by the Civil Defense Shelter Board. 7. Civil Defense Fallout Shelters shall be main- tained in a safe and sanitary manner and shall not be used for the storage of material other than those considered desirable equipment or pro- visions for use as a Civil Defense Fallout Shelter. 8. Civil Defense Fallout Shelters shall have a min- imum amount of floor space, as follows: Sq. Ft. Living Area Per Sq. Ft. Person Storage Rated (Based on Space Minimum Capacity Stacked Per Sq. Ft. in Persons Bunks) Person Required 1 24 2 26 2 12 2 28 3 10 2 36 4 (or more)10 2 -- -4- 9. Single-family Civil Defense Fallout Shelters shall have at least one means of access and egress which may be entered from within the main dwelling if constructed as an addition to the main dwelling or from the outside of the shelter if treated as an accessory structure. Stairs and exits for Civil Defense Fallout Shelters must meet all exit requirements of municipal and state fire codes. Placement of the stairway shaft or entranceway for single- family or community Civil Defense Fallout Shel- ters shall provide at least one ninety degree turn in the stairway shaft or entranceway be- fore an entrance is made into the main shelter. 10. The walls and floor slabs of all above-ground Civil Defense Fallout Shelters shall be water- proofed, and the roof, walls and floors and slabs of all underground shelters shall be waterproof, using either a plastic membrane, mopped on as- phaltum, or integral mixed waterproofing. 11. Civil Defense Fallout Shelters and all parts thereof shall be of sufficient strength to sup- port the estimated or actual dead and live loads to which subjected, in addition to their own proper dead load, without exceeding the maximum stresses allowed for various materials by the ap- plicable provisions of the Building Code; pro- vided that no part thereof shall be designed for live loads less than the following: (a) For an above-ground shelter with a roof elevation including shielding material of more than six feet above the highest elevation of the adjacent yard, the roof shall be designed for a minimum live load of 25 pounds per square foot. (b) For above-ground shelters with a roof elevation including shielding materials of less than six feet above the highest elevation of the adjacent yard, the roof shall be designed for a minimum live load of 100 pounds per square foot; provided, further, that special provi- sions shall be made for possible concen- trated loads, such as those which would be imposed by loaded trucks. -5- (c) The walls of shelters constructed par- tially or wholly below the adjacent ground grade shall be designed to re- sist the lateral pressure of the re- tained adjacent earth in accordance with good engineering practice. Where the walls retain only well-drained earth, they may be designed for pressure equivalent to that exerted by fluid weighing not less than 50 pounds per cubic foot and having a depth of that of the retained material, including surcharge. (d) Floors of Civil Defense Fallout Shel- ters shall be designed to withstand the hydrostatic pressure to which they may be subjected, without exceeding allow- able maximum stresses as specified for various materials in the Building Code. (e) Civil Defense Fallout Shelters shall be designed to withstand displacement which might be caused by buoyancy produced by the surrounding fluid materials. (f) Family Civil Defense Fallout Shelters or group Civil Defense Fallout Shelters may be constructed of masonry, reinforced concrete, steel, plastic or other approved materials. The following table shows in inches materials sufficient to give a radi- ation reduction factor of 1 - 1,000, if constructed below ground level: Concrete (Inches) Earth (Inches) 18 plus 0 15 plus 5 12 plus 9 10 plus 12 8 plus 15 6 plus 18 4 plus 21 0 plus 27 -6- SECTION 6. RIGHT OF ENTRY BY CITY OFFICIALS Representatives of the Office of Civil Defense, representa- tives of the Building Inspection Division and of the Fire Depart- ment, and the Civil Defense Shelter Board may enter, upon presen- tation of proper credentials and between the hours of 8:00 A. M. , and 6:00 P. M., any building, structure or premises of the City of Fort Worth for the purpose of inspecting any Civil Defense Fall- out Shelter erected, constructed and maintained under the provi- sions of this ordinance. SECTION 7. VIOLATIONS It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert, demolish, equip, use or occupy or maintain any building or structure which is designed primarily as a Civil Defense Fall- out Shelter, or cause or permit the same to be done, without wholly complying with the provisions of this ordinance and other applicable codes or ordinances of the City of Fort Worth. SECTION 8. PENALTY Any person, firm or corporation which violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with, or who resists the enforcement of, any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be fined not less than Five Dollars ($5.00) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for each offense. Each day that a vio- lation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. -7- SECTION 9. EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY All of the regulations provided in this ordinance are here- by declared to be governmental and for the health, safety and wel- fare of the general public. Any member of the City Council or any city official or-7employee charged with the enforcement of this ordinance, acting for the City of Fort Worth in the discharge of his duties, shall not thereby render himself personally liable, and he is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that may accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or permitted in the discharge of his duties. SECTION 10. SAVINGS CLAUSE If any provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application of same to any per- son or set of circumstances is for any reason held to be uncon- stitutional, void or invalid, or for any reason unenforceable, the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance or their ap- plication to other persons or sets of circumstances shall not be affected thereby, it being the intent of the City Council of the City of Fort Worth in adopting this ordinance that no portion hereof or provision or regulation contained herein shall become inoperative or fail by reason of any unconstitutionality or inva- lidity of any other portion, provision or regulation, and to this and all provisions of this ordinance aro declared to b@ ®evssalble. me- SECTION 11. ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE This ordinance shall repeal every prior ordinance in direct conflict herewith but only insofar as the portion of such prior ordinance shall be in direct conflict herewith, and as to all other sections of ordinances not in direct conflict herewith, this ordinance shall be and is hereby made cumulative. SECTION 12. EFFECTIVE DATE This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and ef- fect from and after February 1, 1962, and it is so ordained. APPRQSJED AS TO FORM AND LEG ALIT _ Sew S. G. Johndroe, Jr. City Attorney -9-