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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 14713ORDINANCE NO. I l \~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, BEING ORDINANCE NO. 13896, AS AMENDED, CODIFIED AS APPENDIX "A" OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, CONSOLIDATING REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING CONSTRUCTION AND APPROVED MATERIALS FOR FENCES; ESTABLISHING ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS FOR FENCES ADJACENT TO FREEWAYS OR ARTERIAL STREETS; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the zoning ordinance of the City of Fort Worth, Ordinance No. 13896, as amended, requires screening fences for commercial and industrial uses adjacent to one- and two- family residential districts and for certain other commercial and industrial uses; WHEREAS, it is advisable to establish consistent requirements for construction of fences and to consolidate all fence requirements in the zoning ordinance; WHEREAS, it is advisable to establish construction requirements for all fences constructed adjacent to arterial streets or freeways; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 5.304, of Ordinance No. 13896, the zoning ordinance of the City of Fort Worth, "Fences", Subsection A, "Height", is hereby relettered as Subsection B. SECTION 2. Section 5.304, of Ordinance No. 13896, the zoning ordinance of the City of Fort Worth, "Fences", is hereby amended by adding the following Subsections A, C, D, E, F and G A. Fences Required Fences are required as follows: 1. Screening fences shall be provided in the "IP" Industrial Park District in accordance with Section 4.1106(B)(14) and (E). 2. Inoperable automobiles upon which repairs are to be conducted in connection with automotive repair or paint and body shop shall be enclosed by a screening fence in accordance with Section 5.104. 3. Parking areas for bed and breakfast homes shall be screened from view of adjacent residences by a solid screening fence or dense shrubs and vegetation in accordance with Section 5.106. 4. Parking areas for bed and breakfast inns shall be screened from view of adjacent residences by a screening fence or dense shrubs and vegetation in accordance with Section 5.107. 5. Self-service and full-service car washes shall have a screening fence or wall along any property line abutting a residential district in accordance with Section 5.108. 6. Outdoor play areas for day cares shall be enclosed by a fence or wall in accordance with Section 5.111. 7. Newspaper distribution centers shall be screened from adjacent residential districts or properties with a screening fence in accordance with Section 5.124. 8. Permanent outdoor display, sales and storage areas and rear storage areas for large retail stores shall be enclosed by a fence in accordance with Section 5.132A(A)(9). 9. Telecommunications towers and support facilities shall be surrounded by a security fence in accordance with Section 5.135. 10. Motor vehicle junk yards or used automobile junk areas in an "I" Light Industrial, "J" Medium Industrial or "K" Heavy Industrial District shall be enclosed by a screening fence in accordance with Section 5.139. 11. Certain dish satellite antennas shall be enclosed by a screening fence in accordance with Section 5.303. 2 12. Off-site auxiliary parking lots shall have a screening fence or planting on all sides adjacent to a residential district in accordance with Section 6.202. 13. A screening fence shall be constructed between one- or two-family residential districts and adjacent nonresidential districts in accordance with Section 6.300. 14. Refuse handling facilities, mechanical equipment, loading docks and truck berths shall be screened in accordance with Section 6.301(D), which may include an opaque wall or wooden screening fence. 15. A screening fence shall be constructed on property lines of Unified Residential Developments adjacent to a one- or two-family residential district in accordance with Section 6.506(D). C. Screening Fence Specifications All screening fences required by this ordinance shall be constructed in accordance with the following specifications: 1. Screening fences shall be constructed of wood, brick, stone or reinforced concrete products. The Development Director or his designee may approve other materials provided the material is expressly designed for fence installation and is resistant to sunlight and moisture. 2. The following construction specifications shall apply to required screening fences over six feet in height: a. Concrete fences: i. Shall be designed by an engineer licensed by the State of Texas. ii. Shall be either poured in place or lift slab construction. iii. Shall be properly engineered to withstand wind load, special load conditions, and site drainage. b. Wood fences: i. Metal posts shall be used for the vertical fence supports. The posts shall be set in concrete at least three feet into the ground. ii. Boards used in the construction shall be spruce, cedar, redwood, or other durable decay-resistant construction. The lumber grade of boards shall be "Select", #1 or equal. Boards 3 should be spaced 1/8 inch apart and. shall face the residential district, unless the majority of the residents whose property faces the fence request that the finished side face the adjacent commercial or industrial property. The finished sides of all fences constructed adjacent to a freeway or arterial street shown on the Master Thoroughfare Plan shall face the right- of-way. iii. Wood fences using the stockade/picket/slat style fence shall be prohibited. c. Masonry fences i. Masonry fences shall be brick, stone or block. ii. Brick fences shall be of exterior grade brick. iii. Block fences shall be Grade N, Type I. D. Specifications for Other Required Fences Fences required to be constructed pursuant to the zoning ordinance, other than required screening fences, shall be constructed of materials allowed for screening fences pursuant to Subsection C(1) above or from wrought iron, tubular steel or chain link. Wood, concrete, and masonry fences over six feet in height shall be constructed in accordance with the construction requirements set out in Subsection C(2). The finished sides of all fences constructed adjacent to a freeway or arterial street shown on the Master Thoroughfare Plan shall face the right-of--way. E. Specifications for All Other Fences Adjacent to Freeway or Arterial Street Except for screening fences and other required fences, which shall comply with Subsections C and D above, fences that are constructed adjacent to a freeway or arterial street shown on the Master Thoroughfare Plan shall be constructed of wood, brick, stone, reinforced concrete products, masonry, wrought iron, tubular steel or chain link. In addition, the Development Director or his designee may approve other materials provided the material is expressly designed for fence installation and is resistant to sunlight and moisture. The finished sides of all fences constructed adjacent to a freeway or arterial street shown on the Master Thoroughfare Plan shall face the right-of--way. F. Maintenance Maintenance requirements for fences are contained in the Minimum Building Standards Code, Section 7-87(r) of the City Code. The maintenance requirements are set out below for information purposes only. Violation of any of the following 4 requirements shall be a violation of the Minimum Building Standards Code, but not a violation of the zoning ordinance. 1. Fences, retaining walls, decorative walls, and barriers shall be maintained in good condition, and shall not be out of vertical alignment by more than eighteen (18) degrees, unless designed as such. 2. Rotted, fire damaged, or broken wooden slats and support posts shall be repaired or replaced. 3. Broken or severely bent metal posts or torn, cut or ripped metal fencing materials shall be repaired or replaced. 4. Loose brick, stone, rock, mortar or similar materials on masonry walls and barriers shall be rebonded or similarly repaired. 5. The above requirements shall not prohibit a fence, retaining wall, decorative wall or barrier from being removed if it is not otherwise required by law. 6. The above requirements shall only apply to a fence, retaining wall, decorative wall or barrier adjacent to a public right-of--way. G. Indemnification Where a fence is to be placed in an easement containing underground utilities, the owner or occupant shall sign a release indemnifying the City from any damages for removal of the fence and damage to the fence as a result of the need to repair or replace said utilities. SECTION 3. Section 6.300, "Landscaping and Buffers", is amended by repealing Subsections L, M and N, which have been moved to Section 5.304, "Fences", and by amending the last sentence of Subsection D to read as follows: "For construction standards, see Section 5.304C." SECTION 4. Chapter 9, "Definitions", is hereby amended by amending the definition of "Screening Fence" as follows: 5 SCREENING FENCE: A solid fence or wall constructed so that no person can see the area surrounded by the fence (see Section 5.304). SECTION 5. Except as expressly amended, all provisions of the Ordinance No. 13896, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 6. Section 5.304A, "Fences Required", in Section 2 above is intended to make the ordinance more user-friendly by providing a consolidated list of required fences. However, failure to list a fence required under Ordinance No. 13896, as amended, in Section 5.304A does not affect any such requirement, all of which shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 7. 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 8. 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 6 such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 9. 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 10. All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of Ordinance No. 3011, Ordinance No. 13896 or any other ordinances affecting zoning 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 11. This ordinance shall take effect upon passage and publication as required by law. APP OVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: a,~~_ Q~,~eL--. Assistant City Attorney ADOPTED: ~ ~ ~ 2 v C> 1 EFFECTIVE: ~ ~ ~ ~r 7