HomeMy WebLinkAbout(0008) IR 21-10603 - Home Occupation - Private Swimming and Water Safety LessonsINFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
No. 21-10603
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council June 22, 2021
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SUBJECT: HOME OCCUPATION — PRIVATE SWIMMING AND WATER SAFETY
rrA LESSONS
The purpose of this report is to provide the City Council with requested information concerning
the regulation of home occupations and private swimming lessons.
The City of Fort Worth regulates home occupations in the Zoning Ordinance. A home occupation
is an accessory use of a dwelling unit for gainful employment that is conducted by a member of
the family residing in the dwelling unit, is clearly an incidental use of the dwelling as a residence,
and does not alter the exterior of the property or affect the residential character of the building.
The Zoning Ordinance sets forth a number of development regulations that must be met for the
home occupation to be permissible. Those regulations include a requirement that the home
occupation be conducted entirely within the principal dwelling unit and attached garage or one
accessory building. This requirement does not allow the use of a pool for private swimming and
water safety instructions conducted in the backyard of a dwelling unit because the business
activities are outdoors.
According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, 87 children under the age
of 17 died in 2020 from drowning incidents, with approximately half of those deaths in home or
apartment pools. Private swimming and water safety instructions provide children and adults on
opportunity to learn water safety skills that can save lives.
The home occupation ordinance could be amended to allow for the use of a pool in the backyard
for private swimming and water safety instructions with additional development standards such as
limiting the number of students allowed in attendance and the number of classes per day.
For more information on the ordinance, please contact Melinda Ramos, Senior Assistant City
Attorney, at 817-392-7631 and Sevanne Steiner, Senior Planner, Development Services, at 817-
392-8012.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS