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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 16196ORDINANCE NO. ILL 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, AMENDING `SIGNS AND BANNERS" OF THE DOWNTOWN URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 4.1200D `DOWNTOWN URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS ADOPTED" OF CHAPTER 4, `DISTRICT REGULATIONS OF ARTICLE 12 `URBAN DESIGN DISTRICTS, AMENDING SECTION 6.402 `EXEMPT SIGNS" OF ARTICLE 4, `SIGNS" OF CHAPTER 6 `DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS" TO EXCLUDE SIGNS LOCATED IN THE DOWNTOWN URBAN DESIGN DISTRICT FROM THE REGULATIONS OF THAT CHAPTER, 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, m December 2001 the Crty Council created the Downtown Urban Design Distract to encourage high quality pedestrian-oriented development in Downtown, adopted Sections 2 through 5 of the Downtown Urban Design Standards as part of the City's Zoning Ordinance; and established the Downtown Design Review Board to administer those design standards; and, WHEREAS, the present sign regulations of the Zoning Ordinance create conflict and nnconsnstency with the desired goals of the Downtown Design Standards, and WHEREAS, the Downtown Design Review Board requested that Section 5 Signs and Banners, of the Downtown Urban Design Standards be amended so as to provide downtown business owners with additional guidance for designing creative signs that contribute to attractive streetscape, assist in reducing vnsual clutter and to provide the board with a more objective basis for decision making, while still allowing flexibility and discretion, and, WHEREAS, downtown property and business owners provided input on the proposed amendment to the Downtown Sign Standards, and the Downtown Design Review Board and the Downtown Fort Worth Inc. Board of Directors endorsed the proposed standards, and WHEREAS, rt is advisable to amend Section 5 `Signs and Banners" of the Downtown Urban Design Standards to provide business owners a clearer understanding of signage requirements and the Downtown Design Review Board an improved framework for decision making; and WHEREAS, Section 4 1200D of the Zoning Ordinance entitled `Downtown Urban Design Standards Adopted" requires that any revisions to the Design Standards must be considered by the Zomng Commission and approved by the City Council. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, AS FOLLOWS SECTION 1 Section 5 `Signs and Banners" of the Downtown Urban Design Standards is hereby amended as set out in .Exhibit A attached and hereby incorporated into the Zomng Ordinance by reference, to provide downtown business owners with additional guidance for designing creative signs that contribute to attractive streetscapes, help reduce visual clutter and to provide the Downtown Design Review Board with a more objective basis for decision malang. 2 SECTION 2. Section 6.402 `Exempt Signs" of Article 4 `Signs" is hereby amended to add the following subsection 17 to read as follows. 17 All signs located v~ntlun the boundaries of the Urban Design Disfict Downtown as set out m Section 4 1200 `Urban Design Distract - Downtown SECTION 3. 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 m 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. It is hereby declazed to be the intention of the Crty Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance aze severable, and, if any phrase, clause, sentence, pazagraph or section of this ordinance shall be declazed unconstitutional by the vahd~udgment or decree of any court of competent~unsdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, pazagraphs 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, pazagraph or section. SECTION 5. 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 3 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 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 Ordinance No. 13896 which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this orchnance and, as to such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending m court or not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but maybe prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION 7 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 m the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Section 52.013 Texas Local Government Code. SECTION 8. This ordinance shall take effect upon adoption and publication as required by law APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY ssistant C' Attorney ADOPTED• G ~~a~D `~ EFFECTIVE ~ ~ ~~`~ 4