HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 26205-06-2023ORDINANCE NO.26205-06-2023
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 12.5, "ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AND COMPLIANCE," ARTICLE III "STORMWATER
PROTECTION," DIVISION 4 "MUNICIPAL DRAINAGE UTILITY
SYSTEM," OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (2015), AS
AMENDED, BY AMENDING SECTIONS 12.5-336, 12.5-340, AND 12.5-343
TO REVISE DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS
CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING
A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, in 2019, the City Council amended Section 12.5-336 and Section 12.5-340
of the City Code to increase the Stormwater Utility fee ("2019 Amendment");
WHEREAS, in order to simplify the billing categories, the 2019 Amendment changed
the names of the definition of Nonresidential Property to Non -Single Family Residential Property,
changed the name of the definition of Residential Property to Single Family Residential Property
and deleted the definition of Multifamily Residential Property in its entirety;
WHEREAS, although the names of the defined terms were changed, the 2019
Amendment did not revise the meanings of the defined terms;
WHEREAS, the City Council finds it necessary to further clarify the defined terms and
the use of the defined terms in Chapter 12.5 of the City Code;
WHEREAS, this clarification will not increase fees or apply new fees to properties that
would not have been subject to the fees previously and is simply a clarifying measure to ensure
the meanings of each defined term accurately reflects the new definitions themselves.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS THAT:
SECTION 1.
Section 12.5-336, "Definitions" of the City Code of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as
amended, is hereby amended as follows:
The term NON -SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY and its subsequent definition
shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:
HIGH OCCUPANCY RESIDENTIAL/NON-RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. All
developed properties within the city that do not fall under the definition of Low
Occupancy Residential Property, generally consisting of commercial, industrial,
institutional, and apartment type land uses.
Ordinance No. 26205-06-2023
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The term SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY and its definition shall be deleted in
its entirety and replaced with the following:
LOW OCCUPANCY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. Any property platted, zoned or
used for one -family or two-family residential purposes including manufactured
homes, or any triplex or quadplex used for residential purposes.
SECTION 2.
Section 12.5-340, "Categories of Drainage Utility Rates" of the City Code of the City of Fort
Worth (2015), as amended, is hereby amended in its entirety to be read as follows:
SECTION 12.5-340 CATEGORIES OF DRAINAGE UTILITY FEE RATES.
(a) The City Council finds that impervious cover increases runoff and associated
pollutants. For the purposes of calculating the drainage utility fee, an ERU
shall be the established standard billing unit. One ERU shall be billed at $5.75
per month. Each benefitted property shall be categorized as one of the
following:
(1) Low Occupancy Residential Property. A Low Occupancy Residential
Property shall be placed in one of four billing tiers based on residential
square footage, identified below, with building permits or the most recent
appraisal district data used as a means of estimating the total amount of
impervious area on the property. The median single-family residential
parcel in Fort Worth has been determined to have approximately 2,600
square feet of impervious area or surface or one ERU.
(2) High Occupancy Residential/Non-Residential Property. Fees for High
Occupancy Res idential/Non-Residential Properties shall be based on the
total estimated impervious area on each parcel, with building permit
information, aerial photography, or actual measurement used as a means
of estimating the total amount of impervious area on the property,
divided by 2,600 square feet to determine the number of ERUs or billing
units.
(b) The City Council finds that it is equitable to assess the drainage utility fee to
each Low Occupancy Residential Property user on the basis of four Low
Occupancy Residential Property billing tiers and such rates are hereby
established.
Low
Billing Unit—
Billing Basis
Proposed Monthly Rate,
Occupancy
Equivalent
Effective January 1,
Billing Tier
Residential
2020
Units (ERU)
Ordinance No.26205-06-2023
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Tier 1
0.5 ERU
Up to 1,300
$2.88
square feet
Tier 2
1.0 ERU
1,300 to 2,475
$5.75
square feet
Tier 3
1.5 ERU
2,476 to 3,394
$8.63
square feet
Tier 4
2.0 ERU
3,394+ square
$11.50
feet
(c) The City Council finds that it is equitable to assess the drainage utility fee to
each High Occupancy Residential/Non-Residential Property on the basis of
the number of ERU's in a parcel, which shall be obtained by dividing the
estimated impervious area or surface by 2,600 square feet. The calculated
number of ERU's will be rounded to the nearest whole integer other than zero,
to determine the monthly fee.
(d) The City Council finds it equitable to provide for funding of future
construction of the drainage utility system through a contribution from the
drainage utility fee.
(e) The City Council may review the schedule of rates at any time and may, by
ordinance, increase or decrease said rates within the schedule, upon a
reasonable determination that said increase or decrease is warranted.
SECTION 3.
Section 12.5-343, "Administration; Rules." of the City Code of the City of Fort Worth
(2015), as amended, is hereby amended in its entirety to be and read as follows:
SECTION 12.5-343 ADMINISTRATION; RULES.
(a) The director shall administer this Division 4.
(b) The director shall promulgate rules necessary to administer this Division 4.
(c) The director may take into consideration those High Occupancy
Resident ial/Non-Residential Properties on which stormwater runoff
management techniques are being used and may grant credits on their monthly
billings for such techniques.
SECTION 4.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of the
City of Fort Worth, Texas (2015), as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in
Ordinance No. 26205-06-2023
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direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event conflicting
provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed.
SECTION 5.
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 unconstitutional by the valid judgment or
decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such 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 incorporation in this ordinance of any such
unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
SECTION 6.
All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and
all violations of the provisions of the Code of Fort Worth 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 ordinances, same shall not be affected
by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts.
SECTION 7.
This ordinance shall take effect upon adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
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Thomas R. Hansen
Assistant City Attorney
ADOPTED: June 13, 2023
Ordinance No.26205-06-2023
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ATTEST:
Jannette S. Goodall, City Secretary
City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE: 06/13/23 M&C FILE NUMBER: MSC 23-0474
LOG NAME: 20SWM ORDINANCE AMEN DEMENT -BILLING POLICY 2023
SUBJECT
(ALL) Adopt Ordinance Amending Chapter 12.5, "Environmental Protection and Compliance," of the City Code, Sections 12.5-336, 12.5-340, and
12.5-343, "Definitions, Categories of Drainage Utility Rates, and Administration; Rules," Respectively, to Replace Outdated Definitions for
Different Categories of Properties to Ensure Correct Stormwater Utility Rates are Charged to Each Respective Property Within the Municipal
Drainage Utility System
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending Chapter 12.5, "Environmental Protection and Compliance," of the
City Code, Sections 12.5-336, 12.5-340, and 12.5-343, "Definitions, Categories of Drainage Utility Rates, and Administration; Rules,"
respectively, to replace outdated definitions for the different categories of properties to ensure correct stormwater utility rates are charged to each
respective property within the Municipal Drainage Utility System.
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of this Mayor and Council Communication (MSC) is to request that the City Council adopt an ordinance to revise and clarify the
definitions for the types of property subject to a stormwater utility fee for the Municipal Drainage Utility System within Chapter 12.5 of the City
Code. The updates do not change how properties are billed or the current fee structure and rates but make it more clear what types of properties
are subject to the current rate structures already in place.
In 2019, M&C 19-0242 amended Section 12.5-336 and Section 12.5-340 to increase the Stormwater Utility fee. In addition to the fee revisions,
the definitions of non-residential and residential properties were revised and the definition of multi -family residential was deleted in order to
simplify the billing categories. When the property names were updated, the definitions for the respective property names were not.
This M&C revises both the property names and their respective definitions so that it is easier to determine which type of property is subject to the
billing categories under the ordinance.
"Non -Single -Family Residential Property" will be revised to be called "High Occupancy Residential/Non-Residential Property" which will now be
defined as "All developed properties within the City that do not fall under the definition of Low Occupancy Residential Property, generally consisting
of commercial, industrial, institutional, and apartment type land uses." This type of property is billed based on the total estimated impervious area
of each parcel under the ordinance.
"Single Family Residential Property" will be revised to be called "Low Occupancy Residential Property" which will now be defined as "Any property
platted, zoned or used for one -family or two-family residential purposes including manufactured homes, or any triplex or quadplex used for
residential purposes. This category of property assigns rates based on residential square footage under the ordinance.
These updated definitions will not change any fee for a respective property as currently defined under the Code and will be changed throughout
Division 4 of Chapter 12.5 of the Code where needed. These changes to the definitions are made strictly to clarify the original intent of the
updates that were made back in 2019 and simply make it more clear what properties are subject to the associated fees adopted in 2019 under
M&C 19-0242.
This project is located in ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
A Form 1295 is not required because: This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity.
FISCAL INFORMATION / CERTIFICATION:
The Director of Finance certifies that approval of this recommendation will have no material effect on City funds.
Submitted for City Manager's Office by: William Johnson 5806
Originating Business Unit Head: Lauren Prieur 6035
Additional Information Contact: Monty Hall 8662