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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 20382-09-2012 ORDINANCE NO. 20382-09-2012 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, BEING ORDINANCE NO. 17154, CODIFIED AS CHAPTER 31 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, BY AMENDING ARTICLE III, "PLATTING"; SECTION 31-41, "PLAT REQUIREMENTS" TO CLARIFY WHEN A PLAT IS REQUIRED, SECTION 31- 42, "TYPES OF PLANS AND PLATS" AND SECTION 31-63, "REVIEW, APPROVAL AND EXPIRATION" TO CLARIFY WHEN A PRELIMINARY PLAT IS REQUIRED AND WHEN IT EXPIRES; AND BY AMENDING ARTICLE IV, "SUBMISSION REVIEW PROCESS"; SECTION 31-64, AND ARTICLE VI, "SUBDIVISION DESIGN STANDARDS", SECTION 31-104 TO ALLOW VACATION OF PUBLIC OPEN SPACE EASEMENTS BY PLAT; AND BY AMENDING ARTICLE V, "SUBDIVISION GENERAL STANDARDS"; SECTION 31-81, TO REFLECT THAT AN URBAN FORESTRY PERMIT IS OBTAINED IN THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT; AND BY AMENDING ARTICLE VI, "SUBDIVISION DESIGN STANDARDS"; SECTION 31-103, TO CLARIFY LOT SIZE REQUIREMENTS WHEN USING AN ONSITE SEPTIC SYSTEM FACILITY; AND BY AMENDING ARTICLE VI, "SUBDIVISION DESIGN STANDARDS"; SECTION 31-106, TO ELIMINATE SHORT BLOCK REGULATIONS; AND BY AMENDING ARTICLE IX; SECTION 31-171, TO ADD A DEFINITION FOR AN EMERGENCY ACCESS EASEMENT AND REAL PROPERTY; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Chapter 212 of the Texas Local Government Code allows municipalities to adopt rules governing plats and subdivisions of land within the municipality and the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction to promote the health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the municipality and the safe, orderly, and healthful development of the municipality; and WHEREAS, on September 29, 1975, the City Council of the City of Fort Worth ("City Council" adopted Ordinance No. 7234, establishing the "Subdivision Ordinance of the City of Fort Worth to promote orderly, safe and reasonable development of land within the city limits and extratenitorial jurisdiction ("ETJ"); and WHEREAS, on January 17, 1986, the City Council adopted the Plan Commission Rules and Regulations governing the platting, replatting, design standards, vacations, waivers and development standards for the City; the Plan Commission Rules and Regulations were revised in 1991, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2004; and WHEREAS, on September 12, 2006, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 17154 which revised the City Code to combine the Subdivision Ordinance and the Plan Commission Rules and Regulations into Appendix C, "Subdivision Ordinance"; and WHEREAS, on October 30, 2007, the City Council adopted Ordinance No 17851 which repealed the contents of Chapter 31 "Subdivision Regulations", replaced it with the contents of Appendix C, "Subdivision Ordinance" and repealed Appendix C; and WHEREAS, the City Council supports the rights of private property owners and advocates clarity, predictability, and efficiency in the City's regulatory program; and WHEREAS, generally, the right to develop property is subject to intervening regulations or regulatory changes; and WHEREAS, the Texas Legislature altered the general rule, through adoption of Chapter 245, Texas Local Government Code ("Chapter 245"), by requiring that each permit in a series of permits required for a development project be subject to only the regulations in effect at the time of the application for the project's first permit, and not any intervening regulations; and WHEREAS, the City Council strives to reduce instances of regulatory ambiguity, and provide applicants with an increased level of certainty and predictability as to what rules will govern which phases of development projects; and WHEREAS, the owners and developers of projects who have diligently pursued Ordinance No. 20382-09-201.2 Page 2 of 11 completion of the same should not be subjected to new regulations that substantively and substantially alter how the project can be built; and WHEREAS, City staff has worked with the Development Advisory Committee to identify a framework within which property owners and the City can determine which projects are vested under Chapter 245; and WHEREAS, staff has also identified other improvements to the development process which necessitate changes to various sections of the Subdivision Ordinance to effectuate the identified improvements; and WHEREAS, the changes include revisions to the Subdivision Ordinance to clarify when a plat is required, when a preliminary plat application expires and which department issues permits for urban forestry; to delete short block regulations from the Subdivision Ordinance; and WHEREAS, said changes to the Subdivision Ordinance will apply to previously submitted and new applications; and WHEREAS, public hearings concerning such revisions to the Subdivision Ordinance have been held and the proposed revisions have been reviewed by the City Plan Commission which recommends amending the Subdivision Ordinance as proposed; and WHEREAS, the City Council has deten-nined that it is advisable to revise the language of the Subdivision Ordinance to make clear when a project is vested by clarifying when a plat is required, when a preliminary plat application expires in addition to other revisions which improve the development process such as clarifying which department issues urban forestry permits and other changes set out below. Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 3 of 11 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS SECTION 1. Article 111, "Platting"; Section 31-41, "Plat Requirements" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to revise section A. "Platting Required" and B. "Platting Exempt" as follows: A. Platting Required Any owner of a tract of land within the City or its Extra-Tenitoiial Jurisdiction (ETJ), which is to be divided into (2) two or more parts for the purposes of laying out a subdivision of the tract or parcel; laying out lots for building or other land uses; or laying out streets, alleys, parks, public squares, or other parcels and lots intended to be dedicated to the public use or for the use of the purchasers or owners of such lots fronting on or adjacent to the public use must prepare a subdivision plat for the review, approval, and recording by the City. B. Platting Exempt A division of land within the City or the ETJ shall be exempt from the platting regulations where the division of land is into parts all greater than five (5) acres each, each part has access to a public street, and no public improvement is being dedicated. Provided however, if an owner of a tract of land proposes to plat a portion of such tract into a lot consisting of five (5) acres or less and the remainder of such tract would be more than five (5) acres, the owner may (a) submit a preliminary plat for the entire tract; or (b) submit a conveyance plat for the proposed lot. Any parcel requiring a City permit must first be platted and record in accordance with this Chapter, provided however said platting requirement may be waived in accordance with the procedures in Article V111 of this Chapter. No division of land, regardless of size, may be left in a configuration that would prevent it from being platted in compliance with the adopted Subdivision Ordinance. SECTION 2. Article 111, "Platting"; Section 31-42, "Types of Plans and Plats" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to revise subsection B. "Preliminary Plats" to amend subsection (4) to add language clarifying when a plat is required, to read as f6llows: Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 4 of 11 4. A preliminary plat is required if there is: A. dedication or construction of public or private streets, or B. if 5 or more lots are to be platted (see Section D, Minor Plat.); or C. if development of the property is to be platted in phases. SECTION 3. Article IV, "Submission Review Process"; Section 31-63, "Review, Approval and Expiration" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to revise section B. "Preliminary Plat" Subsection 5, "Expiration" to add language to clarify when a plat expires, to read as follows: B. Preliminary Plat 5. Expiration A Preliminary Plat shall expire two (2) years from the date the Plat was approved by the City Plan Commission unless progress towards completion of the project has been demonstrated by the applicant prior to that expiration date, or a request for an extension has been made in accordance with paragraph 6. below. Progress towards the completion of the project shall include any one of the following: (1) an application for a final plat or plan or a portion thereof is submitted; (2) a good-faith attempt is made to file with the City or other regulatory agency for a permit necessary to begin or continue towards completion of the project; (3) costs have been incurred for developing the project, including costs associated with roadway, utility, and other infrastructure facilities designed to serve the project in the aggregate amount of five percent of the most recent appraised market value of the real property of the project; (4) fiscal security is posted; or(5) utility connection fees or impact fees for the project have been paid. A final plat that is not recorded in accordance with paragraph C.2 of this section will not constitute progress. An acceptable demonstration of progress, as determined by the Executive Secretary, will result in the project being extended five-years from the point of progress. Subsequent progress made towards completion of the project, if documented prior to plat expiration, will extend the life of the project for an additional five-years from the point of progress. If a new Preliminary Plat is submitted, a new application and fees will be required and a new maximum two (2) year period shall begin upon the Commission's approval of the newly submitted Preliminary Plat. Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 5 of I I *note: all other sections of subsection B remain unchanged. SECTION 4. Article IV, "Submission Review Process"; Section 31-63, "Review, Approval and Expiration" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to revise subsection E. "Vacation and Abandonment of Public Utility and Drainage Easements" to add public open space easements to the list of easements to read as follows: E. Vacation and Abandonment of Public Utility, Public Open Space and Drainage Easements An application to vacate a public utility, public open space or drainage easement may be vacated by one of the following actions: 1. Vacation By Plat Unless created by separate instrument, a drainage, public open space or utility easement may be vacated by submitting a plat. 2. Vacation By Separate Instrument Drainage, public open space and/or utility easements may be vacated or abandoned by separate deed instrument approved and executed by the City and recorded in the applicable deed records of the county. The procedures shall be as follows: SECTION S. Article V, "Subdivision General Standards"; Section 31-81, "Generally" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to revise subsection 4. to replace the Parks and Community Services Department with the Planning and Development Department, to read as follows: 4. Urban Forestry Plan. Subdivision plats are subject to the tree preservation and planting requirements of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Fort Worth in effect at the time of vesting. Prior to the submission of any plat for review and approval by the City, the applicant shall apply for an Urban Forestry Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 6 of 11 Permit or a waiver from such pen-nit from the Planning and Development Department. SECTION 6. Article VI, "Subdivision Design Standards"; Section 31-103, "Lot Types and Design" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to revise subsection D.1. to delete a reference to individual water wells, to read as follows: D. Lots Served by Conventional Septic or Aerobic Sanitary Disposal Systems. 1. Lots served by on-site wastewater septic disposal systems shall have a contiguous land area not less than one (I) acre (net) in size, exclusive of 100- year flood plain, drainage easements and features, access easements, and street right-of-way. Contiguous gross and net lot area calculations shall be shown on and for each lot on the plat. SECTION 7. Article VI, "Subdivision Design Standards"; Section 31-104, "Easements" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to revise subsection C. to delete requirement that open space easements be vacated by ordinance, to read as follows: C. Intersections of Streets and Alleys with Emergency Access Easement At the intersection of an emergency access easement driveway or turnout section with a dedicated street or alley, a ten by ten foot (10' x 10') triangular public open space easement (POSE) shall be provided on each side at the driveway or turnout at the time the driveway and/or alley is constructed. In all such cases the following full statement of restriction shall be placed on the face of the plat: PUBLIC OPEN SPACE RESTRICTION: No structure, object, or plant of any type may obstruct vision from a height of 24- inches to a height of 1 1-feet above the top of the curb, including, but not limited to buildings, fences, walks, signs, trees, shrubs, cars, trucks, etc., in the public open space easement as shown on this plat. Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 7 of 11. SECTION 8. Article V1, "Subdivision Design Standards"; Section 31-106, "Street Design Standards" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to revise subsection D. as follows: 1. Cul-de-Sac Length and Lot Yield. The following standards apply to both public and private streets: a. Cut-de-Sac Streets c Maximum Street Maximum Number f Length (feet) of Lots or Dwelling Units 2,500 sf. to 4,999 sf. lot size 650 30 5,000 sf. to 7,999 sf. lot size 850 30 8,000 sf. to less than 1 acre lot size 950 30 One (1) acre or greater 1,350 30 Adjacent roadway side slopes exceed 15% 2,000 30 J "Eyebrow" or"Bulb" (ROW to Center Point) n/a 5 I b. Measurement Technique. Cul-de-Sac street lengths shall be measured along the street centerline from the nearest intersecting street ROW line to the radius point of the Cul-de-Sac turnaround. No Residential Street, or series of interconnecting streets, forming a closed circle Cul-de-Sac(s) in which only one outlet to a Collector or higher order street is provided, shall serve more lots than indicated in the Street/Block Length Design Standards Section. 2. Block Face Length. Standard public and private local streets that serve large lots, 150 feet in width and greater, shall have a maximum of 1,950 foot block face. Standard public and Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 8ofII private local streets that serve urban lots, less than 150 feet in width, shall have a maximum block face of 1,320 feet. Limited local streets shall not have a block face that exceeds 800 feet. There is no minimum block face dimension. b. Regulations for Areas Zoned MU or H. Areas zoned for "MU-1", "MU-211 , "MU-1G", and "MU-2G" Mixed-Use Districts, or, "H" Central Business District shall conform to the following block restrictions. To ensure efficient circulation, the maximum distance between publicly accessible streets shall be one thousand (1000) feet. No block may have a perimeter greater than one thousand six hundred (1600) feet, with a maximum block face of 500 feet. Private Streets with adjacent sidewalks that are accessible through a public use easement, or a private walkway, which is accessible thru such public use easement, may serve as a block boundary. *note: subsection 2.c. remains unchanged as does Figure 10 3. Variance/Waiver Considerations to Street and Block Face Length Standards. 1. Proposed streets and blocks that are longer than the allowed maximum lengths described in these regulations shall require a re-design or a waiver issued by the City Plan Commission. In reviewing a waiver request, the Commission shall consider any or all of the following issues relevant to the Subdivision. a. Alternative design considerations that would mitigate the street length issue and provide conformance with the subdivision regulation requirements. b. The effect of the over length street(s) on traffic and pedestrian safety and circulation, land access, traffic congestion, construction and municipal maintenance costs, and the efficient delivery of emergency and support services, both to and within the neighborhood. *note: the remainder of subsection 3 remains unchanged. SECTION 9. Article IX, "Glossary"; Section 31-171, "Glossary of Terms" of Chapter 31, "the Subdivision Ordinance" of the City of Fort Worth, is amended to add the following terms, to read as follows: Easement, Emergency Access —An easement on private property created for the purpose of providing access for emergency vehicles to a property. Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 9 of 1 I Real Property- Land and anything attached to, or erected on it, excluding anything that may be severed without injury to the land. SECTION 10. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), 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 conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 11. 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 pleases, 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 12. All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of Code of the City 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 Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 10 of 11 not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION 13. Any person, firm, or corporation who 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 more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2000.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. SECTION 14. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby directed to publish the caption, penalty clause and effective date of this ordinance for two (2) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Section 52.013, Texas Local Government Code. SECTION 15. This ordinance shall take effect after adoption and publication as required by law. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: t Assistant City Attorney ADOPTED: September 11, 2012 EFFECTIVE: D/4 Ordinance No. 20382-09-2012 Page 11 of 11