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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 14234ORDINANCE NO AN ORDINANCE GRANTING TO COWBOY CAB COMPANY, INC, THE PRIVILEGE TO USE THE STREETS, ALLEYS AND PUBLIC THOROUGHFARES OF THE CITY IN THE CONDUCT OF ITS TAXICAB BUSINESS, WHICH SHALL CONSIST OF THE OPERATION OF ONE HUNDRED (100) TAXICABS, FOR A PERIOD BEGINNING ON JUNE 20, 2000 AND ENDING ON DECEMBER 31, 2005, SPECIFYING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE GRANT, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF ALL ORDINANCES, PROVIDING FOR WRITTEN ACCEPTANCE BY COWBOY CAB COMPANY, INC, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, Cowboy Cab Company, Inc. has applied for the privilege to furnish taxicab service on the public streets, alleys and thoroughfares of the City; and WHEREAS, the City of Fort Worth, pursuant to Section 34 -114 of the Code of Fort Worth (1986), as amended, has made inquiry and investigation into the application of Cowboy Cab Company, Inc, and WHEREAS, upon such inquiry, and investigation and after thorough consideration of all the facts made available to it, the City Council finds 1 That the public necessity and convenience require the operation in the City of Fort Worth of one hundred (100) taxicabs by Cowboy Cab Company, Inc., 2 That Cowboy Cab Company, Inc. is qualified and financially able to efficiently conduct such business to render such service to the public, consisting of the operation of one hundred taxicabs upon the public streets, alleys and thoroughfares of the City of Fort Worth, 3 That the general welfare of the citizens of Fort Worth will best be served by the operation of one hundred (100) taxicabs by Cowboy Cab Company, Inc., and 4 That all other requirements of Chapter 34 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended, have been complied with by Cowboy Cab Company, Inc., 1 X r NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS SECTION 1 That the Cowboy Cab Company, Inc., a Texas corporation, with its principal place of business and its headquarters in the City of Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, hereinafter referred to as "Company ", is hereby granted the privilege to use the present and future streets, alleys and public thoroughfares of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, in its business of providing public taxicab service within the said City's municipal limits with one hundred (100) taxicabs for the period beginning June 20, 2000, and expiring December 31, 2005 SECTION 2 That the findings and recitations contained in the preamble hereof are expressly incorporated into and made a part of this ordinance as the findings of the City Council SECTION 3 That the Company, as holder of the grant, and the Company's operations hereunder shall be governed at all times by the provisions of Chapter 34 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended SECTION 4 That the privilege herein granted shall be and remain subject to said Company's full, complete and satisfactory continuing compliance with all federal, state and local laws and ordinances, including but not limited to the Charter of the City of Fort Worth, and all relevant provisions of Chapter 34, Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, and such other ordinances as may be adopted from time to time by the City Council governing and regulating the operation of taxicabs in the City of Fort Worth SECTION 5 That the Company acknowledges that the City of Fort Worth assumes no liability or responsibility in making this grant, and that by acceptance of this ordinance and grant, Company hereby agrees to indemnify, hold harmless and defend the City of Fort Worth, its officers, agents and employees, from and against 2 1 J 11 any and all claims or suits, expense or liability, for any and all property damage or loss and /or personal injury, including death, to any and all persons, of whatsoever kind or character, arising out of or in connection with any acts or omissions by Company, its officers, agents, employees, drivers, licensees, invitees and passengers, in the exercise of the privileges granted herein, and Company shall assume all liability and responsibility for same SECTION 6 That the Company acknowledges that its drivers, property and operations shall be and remain subject at all times to such reasonable .regulation by the City as is or may be necessary to protect the interests of the general public. As such, the Company understands and acknowledges that during the term of this ordinance and grant, the City of Fort Worth may adopt such ordinances which further regulate the operation of the Company's service within the City of Fort Worth, including the amount of street rental fees to be paid, and that upon the adoption thereof, the Company shall begin conducting its operations in compliance with the provisions of such ordinances In the event the terms and conditions of this ordinance are in conflict with the provisions of any such ordinance adopted by the City, the provisions of such ordinance shall supersede the terms and conditions of this ordinance to the extent they are in conflict. SECTION 7 That the Company acknowledges that payment of an annual "street rental" fee, as specified in Section 34 -119, Chapter 34 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, is a requisite to exercising the privileges granted herein SECTION 8 That the Company shall be obligated to discharge any claim or judgment against it finally established by law, and the failure so to do for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days shall, ipso facto, terminate all authority under this grant. SECTION 9 That pursuant to Section 34 -116 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, (1986), as amended, the Company shall not sell, convey or transfer this 3 3 r: grant of privilege to any other person, firm or corporation without the prior formal consent and approval of the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, nor shall it sell, transfer, assign or otherwise encumber its taxicab operation without the consent of the City Council of the City of Fort Worth SECTION 10 That nothing herein contained shall be held or construed to confer upon the Company exclusive rights or privileges of any nature whatsoever SECTION 11 That any suspension or revocation of the privileges granted herein may be accomplished under the applicable provisions of Chapter 34 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended SECTION 12 That the terms and provisions of this ordinance are severable and shall be governed by Section 1 -4 of Chapter 1 of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended SECTION 13 That the provisions of this ordinance shall be and are hereby declared to be cumulative of all provisions of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, with respect to the regulation and operation of public taxicab service within the City's municipal limits, and, in the event of conflict between the provisions of this ordinance and such Code, the provisions of the City Code shall govern and prevail SECTION 14 That within ten (10) days after adoption of this ordinance, Company shall file with the City Secretary written acceptance of the terms and provisions hereof Such acceptance of and agreement to the provisions of this ordinance and grant shall be evidenced by the signature of the Company's authorized representative on the final page of this ordinance SECTION 15 That this ordinance shall be full force effect from the date of its adoption and acceptance as hereinabove provided 4 r APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY Assistant City Attorney Date � .�. /`r" ADOPTED 0/ `2 0 _Q 0 EFFECTIVE 6 — 2 a —0 0 5 ACCEPTED BY COWBOY CAB COMPANY, INC By 2�7 a Mostsafa Rafie President Date _ %r2 DATE "agor City of Fort Worth, Texas and council communication = - REFERENCE NUMBER LOG NAME PAGE 6/20/00 G -12946 I 02COWBOY I 1 of 3 SUBJECT CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATION OF COWBOY CAB COMPANY, INC TO OPERATE 100 TAXICABS WITHIN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council 1 Consider and adopt the findings and opinions of the City staff as presented herein, and 2. Find that the public necessity and convenience require the operation of one hundred (100) additional taxicabs upon the City streets, alleys and thoroughfares; and 3 Adopt the attached ordinance granting privilege to Cowboy Cab Company, Inc. and authorizing the operation of one hundred (100) taxicabs upon the city streets, such ordinance being subject to and conditioned upon Cowboy Cab Company, Inc. complying with all requirements of Article IV, Chapter 34, of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended DISCUSSION On February 18, 2000, Cowboy Cab Company, Inc. (Cowboy Cabs) submitted to the City an application to operate a taxicab service with a fleet of 25 taxicabs within the City of Fort Worth. On May 26, 2000, Cowboy Cabs increased the number of taxicabs in its application to 100 The City-Council, in considering - Cowboy Cab Company's application-pursuant to Section 34 -11 + o`-the -- - - -City Code, must determine whether or not the public necessity - -and convenience require the - operation -� _. -of such taxicabs; and - whether or not-the applicant-is -qualified _and financially - able -to efficiently _conduct such business and to render such service to the public. In determining whether or not the grant should - be made, the City Council shall consider, among other things, the following items. — a) Probable permanency and quality of the service-offere d by the applicant; the -experience the applicant has had in rendering such service in the City or similar service elsewhere, and the past _- - -__ -- ...record and _experience of the _applicant in a_djustin_g- claims and paying judgments, if any, to -_ claimants; and b) The financial ability of the applicant to provide the service described, and to respond to claims or -- - judgments arising by -reason of business operations, -injury to persons or- damage to- property resulting from operation of a taxicab service, and - - -� - -- c).-The character- and - condition of the taxicabs to be-used, and _ d) The fitness of the officers, directors and _persons with economic interest making such application, _ and each of the above enumerated items as applied to each of the stockholders, officers and directors, and e) The character and past record -of the applicant's officers, directors and stockholders; and City of Fort Worth, Texas "avow and Council Communication DATE REFERENCE NUMBER I LOG NAME PAGE 6/20/00 G -12946 02COWBOY 2 of 3 SUBJECT CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATION OF COWBOY CAB COMPANY, INC TO OPERATE 100 TAXICABS WITHIN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH f) Such other information as presented during any public hearing that may bear on the public need and necessity Pursuant to Section 34 -114 of the City Code, if the City Council finds that the public necessity and convenience do not require the operation of any additional taxicabs or taxicab companies or that the applicant is not qualified to conduct such business for any reason, or that the interest of the general public in the City will best be served by the refusal of such application, then it shall refuse the application If the City Council finds that the public necessity and convenience require the operation of the number of taxicabs applied for, or a lesser number, and that the applicant is qualified and financially able to conduct the business, and that the general welfare of the citizens of the City will best be served by the addition of more taxicabs, and that all other requirements have been fully complied with by the applicant, the City Council shall, by ordinance, grant to the applicant the privilege to operate the number of taxicabs specified by the City Council, otherwise the City Council shall deny the application In making its findings, the City Council also may consider as evidence the findings or opinions of the City staff authorized to investigate the subject application In this connection, the following are the findings and opinions of the City staff derived from the review of Cowboy Cab Company's application and from the staffs independent investigation a) Cowboy Cab Company is qualified and financially able to conduct a taxicab service within the City; and b) Cowboy Cab Company has complied with the requirements of Chapter 34 of the City Code with the following exceptions, and • Cowboy Cab Company does not have a fixed place of business within the city limits as required by Section 34 -128, and • Cowboy Cab Company does not have the minimum insurance coverage required by Section 34 -147, and c) Cowboy Cab Company presented facts showing the demand, need and necessity for 100 additional taxicabs. Studies by City staff indicate that the number of taxicabs a city the size of Fort Worth will support is in the range from 404 to 577, and d) Yellow Checker Cab Company of D /FW currently holds a grant of privilege to operate 150 taxicabs within the City of Fort Worth, and e) The number of taxicabs requested by Cowboy Cab Company added to the number of taxicabs currently authorized is below the minimum number in the range of the number of taxicabs which staff has determined that a city the size of Fort Worth can support; and City of Fort Worth, Texas "avow and C ounci( Communication DATE REFERENCE NUMBER LOG NAME PAGE 6/20/00 G -12946 02COWBOY 3 of 3 SUBJECT CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATION OF COWBOY CAB COMPANY, INC TO OPERATE 100 TAXICABS WITHIN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH f) The general welfare of the citizens of the City will best be served by the addition of 100 taxicabs upon City streets. A public hearing on the application of Cowboy Cab Company, Inc. is scheduled to be held by the City Council prior to its consideration of and action on this Mayor and Council Communication so that the City Council may receive testimony and other evidence from all parties interested in this matter FISCAL INFORMATION /CERTIFICATION The Finance Director certifies that this action will have no material effect on City funds. CB:I Submitted for City Manager's Office by: Charles Boswell 8511 FUND ACCOUNT CENTER AMOUNT gITY SECRETARY (to) d M'ROVED CITY COUNCIL JUN 20 2000 of the City f F� o Rh, TQXU Originating Department Head: Charles Boswell 8511 (from) Additional Information Contact:�J Danny Reed 6145 Adonted Ordinance ryQ, '1,23,y '1,23,y Li