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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 12548~ .~ ~~. ORDINANCE NO. ~"T AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A MORATORIUM ON ACCEPTANCE OF CERTAIN APPLICATIONS FOR ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT OF MULTI-FAMILY LAND USES; ESTABLISHING DEFINITIONS FOR MULTI-FAMILY LAND USES; ESTABLISHING AN APPEALS PROCEDURE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR EXEMPTIONS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, approximately 15~ of the City of Fort Worth, consisting of 44.25 square miles, is zoned for multi-family use; WHEREAS, approximately 2$ of the City is currently developed for multi-family use, with approximately 67,000 multi-family dwelling units in the City; WHEREAS, development of the remaining 13~ of the land zoned for multi-family use at an average density of 20 units per acre would result in 566,400''multi-family dwelling units in the City; WHEREAS, at two persons per unit, the population living in such multi-family units would be 1.13 million persons; WHEREAS, there are at least 12 areas in the City in which there are large concentrations of multi-family units, as shown on records of the Department of Development; WHEREAS, the City's multi-family development regulations permit substantially denser development of multi-family housing than do other cities; WHEREAS, it appears that the City's zoning and development regulations regarding multi-family land uses are not adequate to regulate the location, quantity, density and design of multi-family land uses; .~.~' a ~: WHEREAS, it appears that the City's zoning and development regulations regarding multi-family land uses do not adequately regulate the compatibility of such uses with single-family and other adjacent uses; WHEREAS, the regulation of multi-family land uses has been identified as a critical issue by the City Council; WHEREAS, a study evaluating existing and potential multi- family housing conditions within the City has been prepared by the City's Department of Planning and Growth Management and Department of Development; WHEREAS, the City Council has directed the Department of Planning and Growth Management and the Department of Development to study methods to address problems concerning the concentration, density and design of multi-family land uses and to propose revisions to the City's zoning and development regulations to address these issues; WHEREAS, the City reasonably anticipates that applications for the development of multi-family projects may be filed within the foreseeable future and prior to the time that the City adopts and implements revised regulations relating to the location, quantity, density, and design of multi-family land uses and compatibility with adjacent uses; WHEREAS, it is likely that the City's ability to address issues relating to multi-family uses will be compromised if multi- family zoning applications and development permit applications are accepted during the adoption process for such policies; 2 WHEREAS, it appears necessary to apply restrictions on multi- family development permit and zoning applications during such interim period; WHEREAS, the City intends to conduct public hearings and to take all steps necessary to enact regulations which implement policies relating to the location, quantity, density and design of multi-family land uses and compatibility with adjacent uses; and WHEREAS, the City finds that the development of additional multi-family land uses prior to adoption and implementation of policies relating to multi-family land uses and compatibility with adjacent uses will compromise the City's ability to regulate potential adverse impacts on the health, safety and public welfare of its citizens; and WHEREAS, it appears that the continuation of multi-family development prior to implementation of policies relating to the location, quantity, density and design of multi-family land uses and compatibility with adjacent uses may result in undue concentration and density of such dwelling units; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. Intent. (1) It is the intent of this ordinance temporarily to limit, except as otherwise provided herein, the acceptance for filing of multi-family zoning applications and applications for multi-family development permits, in anticipation of adoption of new regulations implementing policies relating to the location, quantity, density 3 and design of multi-family land uses and compatibility with adjacent uses, in order to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Fort Worth. It is not the intent of this ordinance to deny development rights protected by statute or constitution. (2) It is the further intent of the City to enact new regulations relating to the location, quantity, density and design of multi-family land uses and compatibility with adjacent uses in the most expeditious manner, and to consider any appeals to establish a multi-family land use for the duration of this ordinance on the basis of criteria contained herein. SECTION 2. Definitions. (1) "Multi-family dwelling" means a building or buildings containing or aggregating three or more single-family dwellings. (2) "Multi-family land use" means use of land which includes multi-family dwellings. {3) "Dwelling" means an enclosed building or portion thereof having accommodations for only one family or occupied by one family . (4) "Application for a multi-family development permit" means an application for a use or uses that includes multi-family dwellings, including an application for an area development concept plan, subdivision plat,, building permit or license, certificate, approval, registration, consent, permit, or other form of authorization required by law, rule, regulation, or ordinance that must be obtained by a person in order to perform an action or 4 initiate a project for which the permit is sought. (5) "Project" shall mean an endeavor over which the City of Fort Worth exerts jurisdiction and for which a permit is required before initiation of the endeavor. (6) "Multi-family zoning application" shall mean an application to zone property as "C-R", "C", "D", "D-HR1" or "D-HR2", including any plans or documents required to be submitted with such application, including but not limited to site plans. SECTION 3. Limitation on Acceptance of Applications. (1) Except as otherwise provided herein, after the effective date of, and extending for the duration of this ordinance, no City employee, officer, agent, bureau, department or commission of the City shall accept for filing any multi-family zoning application or application for a multi-family development permit, except as hereinafter may be provided for. (2) The Director of Development, building official or other city official responsible under City regulations for reviewing the multi-family zoning application or application for multi-family development permit shall first determine whether the multi-family zoning application or multi-family development permit application is for establishment or development of a multi-family land use for which no exemption is provided pursuant to this ordinance. Acceptance of a multi-family zoning application or multi-family permit application for the limited purpose of such review shall not constitute filing of the application. In the event that the application is for establishment or development of a multi.-family 5 land use for which no exemption is provided pursuant to this ordinance, the official shall take no further action on the multi- family zoning application or multi-family development permit application and shall return the application, together with any proffered application fee, to the applicant with notification that the application will not be accepted for filing or further processing for the duration of this ordinance. SECTION 4. Term of Ordinance. Unless extended by the City Council, this ordinance shall continue in effect for ninety (90) days from the date of passage, or until the City Council declares that amended policies and regulations relating to the location, quantity, density and design of multi-family land uses and compatibility with adjacent uses have been enacted and implemented, whichever date occurs first. SECTION 5. Appeals. (1j An applicant for a multi-family zoning application or multi-family development permit subject to this ordinance, who is aggrieved by the City's decision not to accept such application for filing, may appeal for relief to the City Council. The appeal shall be in writing and shall be transmitted to the Office of the City Attorney within ten (10) days of the date of notification that the permit application will not be accepted for filing for the duration of this ordinance. (2 ) The appeal shall be considered by the City Council within twenty (20) days of the date the appeal is received in the Office of the City Attorney. The City Council shall not release the 6 applicant from the requirements of this ordinance, unless the applicant first presents credible evidence from which the City Council can reasonably conclude that the delay in processing his or her application for multi-family zoning or multi-family development permit under this ordinance is likely to substantially deprive the applicant of property rights protected by statute or constitution. In making this decision, the Council may consider the nature of the use of the land proposed, other authorized uses permitted outright or conditionally under the zoning designation, whether the applicant has a vested property right in development of the land for multi-family use and the likelihood that such factors will not be adequately addressed in subsequently enacted zoning regulations. If the Council determines that such potential deprivation outweighs the potential harm to the public health, safety and general welfare resulting from development of the multi-family use prior to implementation of revised policies relating to multi-family land uses and development, it may grant authorization to proceed with the application based on the following considerations: (a) the suitability of the proposed multi- family land use in light of land uses allowed in the zoning districts on property adjacent to the proposed site; (b) whether the proposed site is served by sufficient infrastructure to serve the development of the proposed multi-family land use; (c) the supply of multi-family dwellings in 7 the neighborhood of the site on which the proposed multi-family land use is to be established; (d) the effect of the proposed multi-family land use on the neighborhood of the proposed site; (ej the measures proposed to be taken by the applicant to prevent negative impacts of the proposed multi-family land use on the neighborhood of the site; and (f) the design and density of the proposed multi-family project. (3) The City Council may take the following actions: (a) deny the appeal, in which case the application shall not be accepted or further processed; (b) grant the appeal, and direct that the Director of Development, building official or other official responsible for reviewing the application accept the application for filing; or (c) grant the appeal subject to conditions consistent with the criteria set forth in this section, and direct that the Director of Development, building official or other official responsible for reviewing the application accept the application for filing. 8 SECTION 6. Exemptions. This ordinance shall not apply to the following applications: (1) any application for multi-family development permit or multi-family zoning application that was accepted for filing by the City on or before the effective date of this ordinance; (2) any subsequent application for a multi-family development permit or multi-family zoning application following approval of an initial application for a multi-family development permit that was accepted for filing by the City on or before the effective date of this ordinance; (3) any amendment to a multi-family development permit existing on or before the effective date of this ordinance; and (4j multi-family housing developments in the Central Business District, as defined in Section 12 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of the City of Fort Worth, Ordinance No. 3011, as amended, as the area bounded by Bluff Street on the north, Henderson Street on the west, I-35 on the east and Vickery Boulevard on the south. SECTION 7. Declarations and Findings. All of the declarations and findings contained in the preamble of this ordinance are made a part herepf and shall be fully effective as part of the ordained subject matter of this ordinance. SECTION 8. Cumulative Effect This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of 9 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 such conflicting provisions of such ordinances and Code are hereby suspended for the period during which this ordinance is in effect. SECTION 9. Severability. 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 void, ineffective or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, 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 City Council without the incorporation herein of any such void, ineffective or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. SECTION 10. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, and it is so ordained. 10 APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: ~.~~- A istant City Attorney Date : ~..5 ~. ~ f ~ 1 ~ ~ ADOPTED : _ ~ ~~`^ti-~ 1 2 ~ t 9 9 lp EFFECTIVE : J ~ I ~ (~?~ 9 11 City of Fort Worth, Texas Mayor and Council Communication DATE 06/11 /96 REFERENCE NUMBER G-11499 LOG NAME 12REZONE PAGE 1 of 1 SUBJECT ADOPTION OF MORATORIUM ON ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR REZONING OR DEVELOPING MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance which would establish .a 120 day moratorium on the acceptance of applications to rezone or develop multi-family housing projects DISCUSSION The Facilities and Infrastructure Committee of the City Council has raised concerns about the proliferation of multi-family housing in the City of Fort Worth The committee has expressed its concerns about concentration of mufti-family housing in certain areas of the City and problems caused by the City's multi-family design standards concerning such matters as density, open space and building setbacks On the instructions of the committee, City staff members from the Department of Planning and Growth Management and the Development Department have analyzed multi-family housing patterns in the City and have suggested possible methods to address such concerns for further study In order to maintain the status quo concerning construction of multi-family dwellings while City staff is studying these issues further, it is recommended that the Council enact a moratorium on the acceptance of applications to rezone property to "C-R", "C", "D", "D-HR1 " and "D-HR2" multi-family zoning~listric s and on the acceptance of applications for permits to develop multi- family project or 120 days In ordpr~ comply with state law, the attached ordinance would exempt applications or mu i-fa" rily`~~~eve°PS~ient approval for projects for which a development permit application has already been filed Because the definition of development "permit" is quite broad under state law, applications would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine exemptions It would also provide for a right to appeal refusal to accept a development application to the City Council Applications for rezonings, unified residential site plans, subdivision plats and building permits accepted prior to the effective date of this moratorium would continue to be processed CB a , Submitted for City Manager's FUND ACCOUNT CENTER AMOUNT CITY SECRETARY Office by: (to) Ramon Guajardo 6191 APPROVED Originating Department Head: i ^~~~/ COUNCI T ~J !~ L `/ Wade Adkins 7623 (from) `^''° °Jt1~ ~~ ~9s6 For Additional Information ~. , l~•~~~ Contact: ~F Marcella Olson 7631 ~~ ~ ~~• Adopted Ordnance NQ.