HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 14145ORDINANCE NO. ~ ~ I ~ S
AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A 90-DAY MORATORIUM ON
ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS FOR
DEVELOPMENT IN THE "E", "FR", "F" AND "G" COMMERCIAL
DISTRICTS OF RETAIL BUSINESSES EXCEEDING 100,000 SQUARE
FEET IN AREA AND LOCATED WITHIN 1,000 FEET OF PROPERTY
ZONED OR USED FOR ONE-FAMILY OR TWO-FAMILY
RESIDENTIAL USES; PROVIDING AN APPEAL PROCEDURE;
PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the concept of retail sales has changed m recent years with the proliferation
of large retail stores offering a wide variety of goods and services and extended hours of
operation,
WHEREAS, large retail stores are currently allowed in the "E" Neighborhood
Commercial District, "FR" General Commercial Restricted Distract, "F" General Commercial
Distract and "G" Intensive Commercial Distract;
WHEREAS, experience has shown that large retail stores may have significant impacts
on neighboring residential areas, including traffic, noise and lighting;
WHEREAS, rt is advisable to study the effects of large retail stores m order to determine
the appropriate zoning districts m which they should be located and the standards under which
they should be developed,
WHEREAS, the Crty Council anticipates that, within 90 days, the Planning Department
and Development Department could conduct a study of the impacts of large retail stores and the
Council, on the basis of the study, could adopt measures to address such impacts, and
WHEREAS, rt is likely that the City's ability to address issues relating to the
development of large retail stores will be compromised if the City permits development of
additional large retail stores m the "E" Neighborhood Commercial Distract, the "FR" Restricted
Commercial Distract, the "F" General Commercial District and the "G" Intensive Commercial
Distract m proximity to one-family and two-family residential uses and districts before methods
to address these issues are adopted and implemented, and
WHEREAS, the City Council anticipates that applications for plats, site plans, building
permits and other permits for the development of large retail stores m the "E", "FR", "F" and
"G" Commercial Districts maybe filed wrthm the 90-day period, and
WHEREAS, rt appears necessary to apply restrictions on acceptance of applications for
plats, site plans, building permits and other permits for the development of large retail stores m
the "E", "FR", "F" and "G" Commercial Districts m proximity to one-family and two-family
residential uses and districts for 90 days m order to protect against potential adverse impacts on
the health, safety and welfare of residents of the City of Fort Worth and to maintain the status
quo pending action by the Crty Council as outlined above;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, AS FOLLOWS•
SECTION 1 Intent
A. It is the intent of this ordinance to restrict temporarily, except as otherwise provided
herein, the acceptance of plats, site plans, applications for building permits and other
applications relating to development m the "E", "FR", "F" and "G" Commercial Districts
of a retail store with a building footprint exceeding 100,000 square feet wrthm 1,000 feet
of cone-family or two-family residential use. The temporary restriction on such
development is m anticipation of completion of an analysis of large retail stores and
adoption and implementation of methods to address the impact of such businesses. The
intent of this ordinance is to promote the orderly development of the City of Fort Worth
2
and to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Fort
Worth. It is not the intent of this ordinance to deny development rights protected by law
B Further, it is the intent of the City to analyze appropriate use and development regulations
for large retail stores, to adopt and implement methods to address the impacts of such
businesses m an expeditious manner, and to consider any appeals relating to acceptance
of applications for development permits for large retail stores during the term of this
ordinance.
SECTION 2. Definitions
A. "Large retail store" means a retail store operating m a building with a footprint exceeding
100,000 square feet.
B "Permit application" means a preliminary plat, final plat, replat, site plan, application for
construction permit, application for utility service, or application for any other form of
development-related activity
C "One-family or two-family residential use" means any property zoned or developed for
one-family or two-family residential use.
SECTION 3 Limitation on Acceptance of Applications
A. Except as otherwise provided herein, after the effective date of, and extending for the
duration of this ordinance, no employee, officer, agent, department or commission of the
City shall accept for filing any permit application for a large retail store that meets the
following conditions.
1 The permit is for property zoned "E" Neighborhood Commercial, "FR"
Restricted Commercial, "F" General Commercial or "G" Intensive Commercial,
and
9
3
2 The property for which the permit application is submitted is located within
1,000 feet of aone-family or two-family residential use, measured m a straight
line from property line to property line without regard to intervening structures
B The Development Director, building official, or other city official responsible for
reviewing permit applications shall determine whether the application is subject to the
moratorium. If a permit application does not identify the nature of the development
project with sufficient specificity for the official to determine whether the application is
subject to the moratorium, the official may require additional information from the
applicant as a condition of accepting the application. Acceptance of an application for
the hmrted purpose of such review shall not constitute filing of the application. In the
event that the official determines that an application is subject to the moratorium, the
official shall take no further action on the application and shall return the application,
together with any proffered application fee, to the applicant with the notification that the
application will not be accepted for filing or further processing for the duration of this
ordinance and any extension thereof.
SECTION 4 Term of Ordinance
Unless extended by the City Council, the term of this ordinance shall continue m effect
until June 20, 2000, at 11 59 p.m., or until the City Council terminates the moratorium,
whichever occurs first.
SECTION 5. A eals
A. If the Development Director, building official, or other city official refuses to accept an
application, the applicant may appeal the decision to the City Council. The appeal shall
4
be m wntmg and shall be transmitted to the Office of the City Attorney wrthm (10) days
of the date of notification that the application will not be accepted for filing.
B The appeal shall be considered by the City Council wrthm twenty (20) days after the
appeal is received in the Office of the City Attorney, unless the applicant requests a later
heanng. The City Council shall not release the applicant from the requirements of this
ordinance, unless the applicant first presents credible evidence from which the Crty
Council can reasonably conclude
(1) Application of this ordinance to the applicant would be likely to deprave the
applicant of rights protected by law; or
(2) The proposed large retail store would be compatible with the surrounding area
and permitting the development to proceed would not cause adverse effects or be
contrary to the spirit and purpose of this ordinance. In considering whether an
appeal should be granted on this basis, the City Council may consider the
following factors.
(a) whether the proposed site is served by sufficient infrastructure;,
(b) the effect of the proposed development on cone-family or two-family
residential use wrthm 1,000 feet;
(c) the measures proposed to be taken by the applicant to prevent negative
impacts on the area, and
(d) such other factors as the City Council considers relevant.
C The City Council may take the following actions on an appeal
(1) deny the appeal, in which case the application shall not be accepted,
5
(2) grant the appeal, and direct the appropriate city official to accept the application
for filing and processing; or
(3) grant the appeal and direct the appropriate city official to accept the application
for filing and processing, subject to conditions necessary to ensure that the
proposed development would not cause adverse effects to the surrounding area
and to carry out the spent and purpose of this ordinance.
D In no event shall acceptance of a permit application guarantee that the Crty will issue the
permit, unless the permit is m compliance with all applicable codes, laws and regulations.
SECTION 6. Not Applicable to Pending Applications
This ordinance does not apply to applications that have been accepted by the City before
the enactment of this ordinance. Such applications shall be processed m accordance with
applicable policies and procedures and shall not be affected by the enactment of this ordinance.
SECTION 7 Severability
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the Crty 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 void, ineffective or
unconstitutional by the valid judgment or final decree of a court of competent ~unsdiction, such
voidness, ineffectiveness or 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 Crty Council without the incorporation herein of any such void, ineffective or
unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
6
SECTION 8. Effective Date
This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, and it is so
ordained.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY.
~ J
~~-~(~~.
ss stant Crty Attorney
DATE ~~C~/~C-(~- ~. 1 a, O ~~
,--,
ADOPTED I~~~-~-- ~-1 d ~ ~ ° C~
EFFECTIVE l~~-~-~.. ~-1 ~ 02 0 6 C~
c
-- ~o~- wow. -ryas
COUNCIL PROPOSAL
Date 3-i~- ~iie Number Slibject AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A 90-DAY MORATORIUM ON ACCEPTANCE
p OF DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS FOR LARGE RETAIL STORES WITHIN
~- i ~ a (a-- 1 000 FEET OF CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL USES AND DISTRICTS
Proposed by City M ager's Revienw
Silcox, Raskin ~~ 9 ~ ~ Page 1 of 2
Proposal.
It is proposed that the Clty Council adopt the attached ordinance which would
establish a 90-day moratorium on the acceptance of applications for permits for
development of a retail store operating in a building with a footprint exceeding
65,000 square feet within 1,000 feet of property zoned or developed for one-
family or two-family residential use.
Discussion.
Because of the marketing .trend for large "super stores" that offer a wide
varaety of goods and services, the nature of retall sales has changed since the
"E" Neighborhood Commercial District, "FR" General Commercial Restricted
Dlstnct, "F" General Commerclal Dlstnct and "G" Intensive Commerclal
Dlstnct were established. These stores tend to have building footprints
exceeding 65,000 square feet and to offer extended operating hours to serve a
regional customer base. They also tend to cause traffic and noise which may
be incompatible with nearby residential neighborhoods. Large commercial
stores are currently a permitted use in the "E", "FR", "F" and "G" Commercial
Distracts, as well as m all industrial districts.
The Planning Department and Development Department should be directed to
review regulations appropriate for the location, development and operation of
large commercial stores and to propose measures to address adverse impacts
on nearby residential areas. City staff should submit proposed amendments to
the zoning ordinance to the Zoning Commission within 60 days.
The attached ordinance would enact a 90-day moratorium on the accep ~"~ ~ °~~ ~~.!~~~~i~~t.:1
applications for development in the "E", "FR", "F" and "G" Co r ~ ~; ~~,,, ;~,. ,
Districts of large commercial stores within 1,000 feet of property that ' z ~'~w~`~~~~'SU~~~
or developed for one-family or two-family residential use. "Large co i ~}~,`~( ~' y ~j~. ~,
store" is defined as a retail store operating within a footprint exceeding 65,0 ~"
square feet. The moratorium would extend to preliminary plats, final plats,
replats, site plans, applications for construction permits, application for utility
service and applications for any other form ofdevelopment-related activity
^ LEGALITY
O FISCAL NOTE
O CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
^ CITY POLICIES MANUAL
-r~xAs
Date 3-i~- oFiie Number SUbjeCt AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A 180-DAY MORATORIUM ON THE
ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DEVELOP LARGE RETAIL
BUSINESSES IN THE "E" NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
Proposed,by City Manager's Review
Silcox, Raskin Page 2 of 2
The ordinance would provide a right to appeal the refusal to accept an
application to the City Council, on the basis that the developer has a legal right
to submit the application or that the development is compatible with adjacent
uses and served by sufficient Infrastructure. Applications for development
permits submitted before the effective date of the moratorium would be
exempt.
LEGALITY
The Clty has the authority to adopt a moratorium to restrict development for a
reasonable period In order to address a specific development issue. The
appeals process contained in Section 5 of the ordinance provides the Clty
Council with the opportunity to address any legal challenges resulting from the
moratorium.
FISCAL NOTE
The Finance Director certifies that this action will have no material effect on
city funds.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The City Manager's Office has no objection to the proposed moratorium.
~~~ti" ~~~~~b ~(~'u~~j~,~j~
~a Ull`/al''~jlJU~q u~~Uo_
O LEGALITY
^ FISCAL NOTE
O CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
^ CITY POLICIES MANUAL
COUNCIL PROPOSAL