Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout28123-11-2025 - City Council - OrdinanceORDINANCE NO. 28123-11-2025 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 35, "WATER AND SEWERS," ARTICLE VI "LAWN AND LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION CONSERVATION," OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS (2015). AS AMENDED, BY AMENDING SECTION 35-155 TO RENAME THE SECTION AND REVISE REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO ENFORCEMENT AND AMENDING SECTION 35-157 TO RENAME THE SECTION AND REVISE REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO THE RESTORATION OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM OR METER SERVICE; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Fort Worth ("City") seeks to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of its residents; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that conservation of water and protection of water supplies are in the best interest of the residents of the City of Fort Worth; and WHEREAS, on December 4, 2007, the City Council adopted Ordinance 17901-12-2007 which imposed year-round watering and irrigation restrictions and provided for administrative remedies for certain violations; and WHEREAS, on April 17, 2014, the City Council adopted Ordinance 21194-04-2014 which imposed permanent, year-round, twice per week watering and irrigation restrictions, and a variance procedure; and WHEREAS, on April 23, 2024, the City Council adopted a water conservation plan through the adoption of Resolution No. 5943-04-2024; and WHEREAS, the water conservation plan proposed a water usage goal of 150 gallons per capita per day by 2029 and 146 gallons per capita by 2034; and WHEREAS, in an effort to increase water conservation efforts, staff recommends amending Chapter 35, Article VI "Lawns and Landscape Irrigation Conservation," to clarify the process by which the City may impose administrative fees, and place locking devices on irrigation systems or meters; and WHEREAS, in an effort to preserve the health, welfare, and safety of Fort Worth residents, the City desires to authorize the director of the Water Department to shut off water service to a Irrigation Ordinance Amendment Ordinance No. 28123-11-2025 Page 1 of 6 customer's irrigation system or meter when there is significant risk to the City's water supply or public health, or in situations causing unsafe conditions or excessive or continuous water loss that causes flooding, infrastructure damage, or waste; and WHEREAS, to ensure compliance with the City's irrigation ordinance before removing a locking device from an irrigation system or meter, or restoring water service to a customer whose service was terminated due to a previous violation of the irrigation ordinance, the City desires to require verification that the conditions which led to the system lock out or service shut off have been remediated, and, if the Director of the Water Department determines necessary, perform additional inspections; and WHEREAS, to recover the City's costs in locking out or shutting off water service to irrigation customers, the City desires to assess an administrative fee, when necessary; and WHEREAS, securing future water supplies will require proving to state permitting agencies that existing water supplies are being used efficiently; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS THAT: SECTION 1. Chapter 35, "Water and Sewers," Article VI "Lawn and Landscape Irrigation Conservation," Section 35-155 "Administrative Fee," of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (2015), as amended, is hereby amended in its entirety to be and read as follows: S i LM ADMINISTRATIVE FEE The dife taf of the dife tef's dey.grcc may a,.,.essaft ;3c, iY. a.iditi ft to'- ftw orimit� pat�t (1) T1-.o Jr tie .alte,, system fatind t b orating in vi la4i ,,, f this ai4i le and shall (2) Neti-ez-dhall be left a the e the fief- re -ate - that the ,aatible e4e&, has been ter -tied eff, sent,(3) Nefiee shall also be Ixy L*r t aeen tiHio,a pa A,,,a lAr-,ke-4 The-11 0 G&D Coa-tAto fl:o A „t Af too t1Ti� t117�� Irrigation Ordinance Amendment Ordinance No. 28123-11-2025 Page 2 of 6 (1) T1r.,z jir-eeter;,.o1 mis in-Aala+ienf ocauyg wstr-ietiens and may assess an {'" a shall alga be sent by United States postal se e t the per-sen o a -de a&4he—c4t f' z watereustemer fietifying that per-sen of the assessmeat f pay date€ the fees and the t a ha-ii, , nt st the assessment e f the (e) Loek4RgLdc iee. It shall ba unlci»f44a any parser to tamper- . it e damage to OF & 35-155 ENFORCEMENT The director or the director's designee mav enforce violations of this ordinance in his or her discretion. The director or the director's designee mav assess administrative noncompliance fees, lock -out fees, and lock tampering fees in addition to anv criminal penalty assessed for a violation of this article. Each day that a violation occurs shall constitute a separate violation. La) Except as provided in subsection (b), the director mav: (44 provide written warnings to customers, (24 after vrovidin4 a written warnin4, assess administrative noncompliance fees as approved by City Council for violations of this article: (34 notifv the responsible party, includin4, but not limited to, the owner or operator of the irrigation system, that the irrigation system mav be locked -out if subseauent violations occur after the assessment of administrative noncompliance fees: (4) place a lockin4 mechanism on an irrigation system if continued violations occur after notifvina the responsible party that their irrigation system mav be locked - out: and (�) terminate water service to irrigation systems found to be overatin4 in violation of this article after a lock -out has occurred and service has been restored. Immediate enforcement for e-rezious or hazardous conditions. The director or the director's designee mav not order the immediate lock -out of an irrigation system for the first violation of this article unless it is necessary to prevent: (4) Excessive or continuous water loss creatin4 floodin4 or infrastructure damage: (2) Unsafe or unsanitary conditions: or (3-) Anv other condition determined by the director or the director's designee to pose a significant risk to public health, public safety, or the Citv's water supply. Notice of the action taken and the reason for the immediate lock -out of an irrigation Irrigation Ordinance Amendment Ordinance No. 28123-11-2025 Page 3 of 6 system pursuant to this section shall be provided to the customer as soon as practicable. Lc) Irritation Svstem Lock -out 04 The director or the director's designee may install a lockin4 device on a double check valve to the irrigation Svstem, or at the meter for systems with a dedicated meter, found to be operating in violation of this article and may assess a lock -out fee as approved by the citv council. (2) Notice of the lock -out shall be left on the premises to advise the individual responsible for the irrigation system. (4) Notice shall also be sent by United States postal service to the person identified as the citv's water customer notifvina that person that the irrigation system has been locked -out. The notice shall indicate the amount of the lock -out fee and the restoration fee. The notice shall provide the procedures for payment of the fees and the procedure to request a hearing to contest the assessment of the fees. (4) It shall be unlawful for anv person to tamper with, cause damage to, or remove a locking device placed by the director or the director's designee on a double check valve or a meter. i3easible fe o irriza ion systefn that the i)ef:,,-- i wGo in vial r fees and advi5inz the ro f the r o,aufes 4b j3aymeant othe adfflinistf-c6vc SECTION 2. Chapter 35, "Water and Sewers," Article VI "Lawn and Landscape Irrigation Conservation," Section 35-157 "Re -Establishment of Service to Double Check Valves That Have Been Locked Off," of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (2015), as amended, is hereby retitled and amended to be and read as follows: & 35-157 VALVES TIIAT I RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF SERVICE TO LOCKED OR SHUT OFF IRRIGATION SYSTEMS OR METERS The locking device will be removed by the director or his or her designee within three working days after the customer provides payment and verification that the violation has Irrigation Ordinance Amendment Ordinance No. 28123-11-2025 Page 4 of 6 been remedied is feeeived f em eustemef. If the director or his or her designee reasonablv determines additional inspections of the irrigation system or meter after service is restored are reauired to ensure compliance with this article, the account holder or individual responsible for the irrigation system or meter shall allow Citv staff to enter the premises to perform such inspections. SECTION 3. 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 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 4. 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 not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. 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. 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 ($2,000.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. SECTION 7. 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 two (2) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas as authorized by Section 52.013(a) of the Texas Local Government Code. Irrigation Ordinance Amendment Ordinance No. 28123-11-2025 Page 5 of 6 SECTION 8. This ordinance shall take effect upon adoption and publication as required by law. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: M. Kevin Anders, II Assistant City Attorney ADOPTED: November 11, 2025 EFFECTIVE: November 26, 2025 Irrigation Ordinance Amendment U Jannette S. Goodall City Secretary Ordinance No.28123-11-2025 Page 6 of 6 City of Fort Worth, Texas Mayor and Council Communication DATE: 11/11/25 MSC FILE NUMBER: M&C 25-1059 LOG NAME: 60IRRIGATION ORDINANCE ENFORCEMENT SUBJECT (ALL) Adopt Ordinance Amending Chapter 35, "Water and Sewers," Article VI, "Lawn and Landscape Irrigation Conservation," of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (2015), as Amended, to Revise Regulations Pertaining to Enforcement of Lawn and Landscape Irrigation Violations and Re -Establishment of Irrigation Service RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending Chapter 35 - Water and Sewers, Article VI — Lawn and Landscape Irrigation Conservation of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (2015), as amended, to revise regulations pertaining to enforcement of lawn and landscape irrigation regulations and re-establishment of irrigation service. DISCUSSION: The Lawn and Landscape Irrigation Conservation ordinance ("Irrigation Ordinance") was established in 2007 (Ordinance 14901) and subsequently amended in 2014 (Ordinance 211194-04-2014) to establish lawn and landscape irrigation restrictions, allow for administrative fees, allow for an administrative appeals process, and re-establish water service to irrigation systems or meters that were locked or shut-off due to non-compliance with the Irrigation Ordinance. Under the current version of the Irrigation Ordinance, fees and shut -offs are available enforcement tools that had not been utilized until 2025. Instead, the emphasis had been on outreach and education to achieve voluntary compliance with the Irrigation Ordinance. Beginning in March 2025, fees were introduced to commercial and residential customers for repeated Irrigation Ordinance violations. While somewhat successful, these enforcement measures did not result in the behavioral changes needed to achieve the level of compliance required for sustainable conservation goals, or reducing overall gallons per capita per day consumption. Summer peak demands from irrigation remain extremely high, while average daily use remains well above winter baseline levels, underscoring the need for further action to meet conservation goals. Therefore, the Fort Worth Water Utility ("Utility") now desires to amend the Irrigation Ordinance to: • Clarify how the Water Director or the Director's designee may enforce the Irrigation Ordinance; • Allow the Water Director to lock or shut off water service to irrigation systems or meters in situations which jeopardize public safety, health, or welfare; • Require customers provide verification to the Water Director or the Director's designee that the Irrigation Ordinance violations have been remedied (e.g., providing a photograph of the controller panel on the irrigation system showing that the system will only water on the correct days, as applicable to the customer). These amendments to the Irrigation Ordinance will enable the Utility to further smooth out water demand and reduce per -capita water use that is essential to system reliability and achieving the goals set forth in the City Council -adopted 2024 Conservation Plan. 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 Citv Manaaer's Office bv: Jesica McEachern 5804 Oriainatina Business Unit Head: Chris Harder 5020 Additional Information Contact: Jan Hale 8438 Expedited