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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 12812ORDINANCE NO ~ ~/~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 12767, WHICH AMENDED THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, BEING ORDINANCE NO. 3011, AS AMENDED, CODIFIED AS APPENDIX "A" OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (1986), AS AMENDED, BY AMENDING SECTION 1, "DEFINITIONS" TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "ACCESSORY USE" AND TO ADD A DEFINITION OF "PREMISES"; AMENDING SECTION 17B, "ON-PREMISE SIGNS", SUBSECTION B 1 TO PROVIDE THAT ON-PREMISE SIGNS ON LAND SUBJECT TO A UNIFIED SIGN AGREEMENT MUST BE AT LEAST 300 FEET APART, AMENDING SECTION 17B BY ADDING A NEW SUBSECTION 17B.G PROVIDING FOR THE EXECUTION OF A UNIFIED SIGN AGREEMENT WHEREBY LOTS THAT ARE ADJOINING OR SEPARATED ONLY BY RIGHT-OF- WAY WILL BE CONSIDERED AS A SINGLE PREMISES FOR APPLICATION OF ON-PREMISE SIGN REGULATIONS; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE, PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Fort Worth enacted Ordinance No 12767 on November 12, 1996, which amended the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to provide for the execution of Unified Sign Agreements, whereby lots that are adjoining or separated only by right-of-way will be considered as a single premises for application of on-premise sign regulations, WHEREAS, Ordinance No 12767 authorized the Director of Development to approve Unified Sign Agreements and provided a procedure for interested parties to appeal such approval to the Board of Adjustment; WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to amend Ordinance No 12767 to repeal -1- provisions for appealing Unified Sign Agreements to the Board of Adjustment and to provide that all Unified Sign Agreements shall be submitted to the City Council for approval, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS THAT ORDINANCE NO. 12767 BE AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1 Section 1, "Definitions", of Ordinance No 3011, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of the City of Fort Worth, as amended, is hereby amended by amending the definition of "accessory use" and adding a definition of "premises", as follows ACCESSORY USE A use which is clearly incidental to the use of the principal building or the primary use of the property and which is located on the same premises as the primary use PREMISES A single tract or. platted lot. In addition, multiple adjoining tracts or platted lots under common ownership will be deemed to be a single premises if they meet the following requirements (1) lots or tracts are not separated by intervening streets, alleys, utility or railroad rights-of-way or other interruption, (2) property contains a single .primary use, and (3) property is not used for one- or two-family residential purposes Tracts or platted lots that are at cross corners or that are connected by narrow strips of land too small to serve as emergency access easements shall not be considered to be "adjoining" SECTION 2. Section 17B, "ON-PREMISE SIGNS", of Ordinance No 3011, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of the City of Fort Worth, as amended, Subsection B 1, is hereby amended to read as follows -2- B Detached Signs 1 One detached sign may be erected on each platted lot or on property which is subject to a Unified Sign Agreement executed in accordance with Subsection G Additional signs may be erected under the following circumstances a) on corner lots and through lots and on corner tracts and through tracts that are subject to a Unified Sign Agreement, one sign shall be allowed on each street on which the property has frontage, b) on lots having more than 100 feet of street frontage, more than one detached sign may be installed provided that such signs are at least 100 feet apart and the total area of all signs does not exceed the maximum allowable sign area set forth in paragraph 2 below; and. c) on property subject to a Unified Sign Agreement having more than 300 feet of street frontage, more than one detached sign may be installed provided that such signs are at least 300 feet apart and the total area of all signs does not exceed the maximum allowable sign area set forth in paragraph 2 below SECTION 3. Section 17B, "ON-PREMISE SIGNS", of Ordinance No 3011, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of the City of Fort Worth, as amended, is hereby amended to add a new Subsection G to read as follows G Unified Sign Agreements 1 Two or more adjoining lots or two or more lots that are separated only by right-of-way will be considered to be a single premises for the purpose of erecting on-premise signs pursuant to this Section 17B, if a Unified Sign Agreement is approved by the City Council and executed in compliance with this section -3- 2 Lots Eligible for Unified Sign Agreement In order to be considered to be adjoining, lots must be immediately adjacent to each other and not at cross corners or connected by narrow strips of land too small to serve as emergency access easements Lots separated by right-of-way must be directly across the right-of-way and, except for the right-of-way, must be adjoining and not at cross corners or connected by narrow strips of land too small to serve as emergency access easements 3 Criteria for Approval In considering whether to approve consideration of multiple lots as a single premises, the City Council shall consider the following criteria. a) All areas to be combined in the Unified Sign Agreement must be part of a clearly defined unified commercial or industrial development constructed as a single destination point for customers and visitors Attributes of a unified commercial or industrial development include (i) common name identification to the public, (ii) shared parking provided throughout the development; (iii) sign structures utilized for shared signage, including identification of the common name of the development; (iv) physical layout of the development results in a cohesive development; and (v) the area should not be the combination of disparate premises joined solely for the purpose of initiating a Unified Sign Agreement b) The signage proposed pursuant to a Unified Sign Agreement must demonstrate an overall reduction in sign clutter as evidenced by a reduction in the number, size, and height of detached signs that would be allowed in the -4- absence of a Unified Sign Agreement. c) A Unified Sign Agreement shall be authorized only in an "E" or less restrictive zoning district. d) Property can be subject to only one Unified Sign Agreement. 4 Allowed Signage a) Upon approval of a Unified Sign Agreement, all existing signs shall be removed or brought into compliance with this Subsection 17B G All new signs constructed pursuant to the agreement and all existing signs remaining on the property shall comply with Subsection 17B G Existing signs shall not be considered to be legal nonconforming as a result of erection of signs in accordance with the agreement b) Within the area of the Unified Sign Agreement, spacing between detached signs shall be a minimum of 300 feet c) The allowed size and height of signs shall be calculated as provided for in Subsection 17B B, "Detached Signs", except that the length and width of any right -of- way separating lots within the area shall not be counted toward allowable sign square footage 5 Sign Plan Required a) A sign plan covering the entire area included in the Unified Sign Agreement shall be submitted to the City Council for approval The sign plan shall contain the following information i) The location, size, and height of all existing and proposed signs, including signs required to be permitted under Section 17A "Off-Premise Signs", and Section 17B, "On-Premise Signs", ii) Description of development within the area of the Unified Sign Agreement demonstrating the attributes of a unified commercial or industrial development as described in Subsection G 3(a) above, and -5- iii) Demonstrated compliance with Subsection G 3(b) above showing an overall reduction in sign clutter as evidenced by a reduction in the number, size and height of detached signs b) A copy of the sign plan shall be attached to the Unified Sign Agreement and may be amended only with the approval of the City Council, upon compliance with the requirements set out in Subsections G 4, "Allowed Signage", and G 5, "Sign Plan Required" 6 Notice of Decision Upon review of a Unified Sign Agreement or an amendment of a Unified Sign Agreement by the Development Director, notice shall be sent by regular United States Mail to all property owners within 300 feet of the boundaries of the area included in the agreement, as indicated on the most recently approved municipal tax roll Such notice shall provide a description of the Unified Sign Agreement and the location of the area included in the agreement The notice shall be mailed no later than 30 days prior to consideration of the agreement by the City Council 7 Execution, Amendment, Termination and Filing of Unified Sign Agreements a) The Unified Sign Agreement shall i) Contain the names and addresses of the owners and the legal descriptions of all properties within the Unified Sign Agreement, ii) State that all parties agree that the properties covered by the agreement may be collectively treated as a single premises for the limited purpose of determining the number, size and location of on-premise signs permitted in accordance with this Section 17B, iii) State that the agreement constitutes a covenant running with the land with respect to alf properties subject to the agreement, -6- iv) State that all parties agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City of Fort Worth from and against ~~ all claims or liabilities arising out of or in connection with the agreement; v) State that the agreement will be governed by the laws of the state of Texas, vi) State that the agreement may be amended or terminated in only in accordance with Subsection (b) below; vii) Be approved by the City Council and approved as to form by the City Attorney; viii) Be signed by all owners of the properties included in the agreement, and ix) Be signed by all lienholders, other than taxing entities, that have either an interest in the lots covered by the agreement or an improvement on those properties b) A Unified Sign Agreement may be amended or terminated as follows i) The amendment or termination agreement shall be executed by all owners of the properties included in the Unified Sign Agreement, and all lienholders, other than a taxing entity, that have an interest in land covered by the agreement or an improvement on such land ii) A termination agreement shall be approved by the City Council if all signs on the property governed by the agreement are in compliance with City sign regulations, as if no Unified Sign Agreement had been executed Any signs that are not in compliance shall be removed or brought into compliance prior to approval of the agreement by the City Council iii) In considering whether to approve an amendment to a Unified Sign Agreement,. the City Council shall -7- consider the criteria for approval of Unified Sign Agreements set out in Subsection G 3 above c) A Unified Sign Agreement or an agreement to amend or terminate such an agreement is not effective until the agreement is approved by the City Council and approved as to form by the City Attorney, the agreement is filed in the deed records in the county in which the property is located, and two file-marked copies of the agreement are delivered to the Director of Development. SECTION 4. 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 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 -8- 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 is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense SECTION 7. 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 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 8. 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 in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Section 52 013, Texas Local Government Code SECTION 9 This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and -9- publication as required by law, and it is so ordained APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY Assistant City Attorney Date ~- ~ ~',~ ~ q g ADOPTED 1 '~Z ~ 1 ~ -10-