City CQ)f WesiwCQ)Jrth Village 31]1 Bm ' ~o:n JHljl1 IRo 'Il '~ VVest-wodh Village, T :g: 76114 817.710.2500 ]Pax ll7.7jlo.2501 ORDINANCE NO. 423 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WESTWORTH VILLAGE AMENDING SECTION 14.4.25 OF THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WESTWORTH VILLAGE, PROVIDING FOR REGULATIONS GOVERNING SCREENING WALL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO PROPERTY OWNERS IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE; REPEALING AND REPLACING CONFLICTING PROVISIONS OF ORDINANCES HEREWITH; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Westworth Village, Texas (the "City") is a Type A General Law city located in Tarrant County Texas; and - WHEREAS, the City has adopted the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, as amended, ("Zoning Ordinance") which Zoning Ordinance regulates and restricts the location and use of buildings, structures, and land for trade, industry, residence, and other purposes; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that current screening wall requirements contained in the Zoning Ordinance are not adequately defined and therefore leave room for a broad interpretation for when and where they are required; and WHEREAS, notice of the public hearings to be held before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council concerning the proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance was published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City; and WHEREAS, the required public hearings to amend the Zoning Ordinance as described herein were held before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council acted, and the Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended that the amendment to the Zoning Ordinance should be adopted; and, WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the amendment to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance as detailed herein fulihers the purpose of the City's Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and is in the best interest of the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Westworth Village; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTWORTH VILLAGE, TEXAS, THAT: Section 1. That Chapter 14 "ZONING", Section 14.4.25, "Fences in Residential Areas" of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance ofthe Code of Ordinances of the City of West worth Village is hereby replaced in its entirety and shall read as follows: "Sec. 14.4.25 Fences in Residential Areas A. Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
1. Build shall mean construct, erect, or place or cause, suffer or allow another to construct, erect or place. 2. Fence shall mean any structure which exceeds eighteen (18) inches in height above the nearest grade and which encloses, partitions or divides any yard as defined in this Chapter. 3. Posts shall mean a piece (as of timber or metal) fixed firmly in an upright position especially as a stay or support. 4. Rails shall mean a bar extending from one post or support to another and serving as a guard or barrier. 5. Residentiallv zoned shall mean propel1y zoned single-family, single-family attached, or any propel1y zoned as a planned development district, where the base zoning within the PD district is one (1) of the foregoing. 6. Zoning ordinance shall mean City Zoning Ordinance, as set out in this Chapter, as amended. B. Height Limitation. No fence shall be built to exceed eight (8') feet in height on any residentially zoned property. C. Measurement offence Height. Fence height shall be measured from the grade adjacent to the fence from the applicant's side of the fence. lfthe fence is constructed on top ofa retaining wall it shall be measured from the top of the retaining wall. D. Permit Requirement. It shall be unlawful for any person to construct or repair a fence that is equal to or greater than twenty-five (25) percent of the total existing linear footage of a fence on any lot without having first obtained a fence permit from the City. A person may not construct or repair less than twenty-five (25) percent ofthe total linear footage of a fence more than once in a consecutive six-month period. Adequate plans and specifications, as determined by the City Administrator or his/her designee, must accompany each application for a permit. 1. Maintenance. All fences constructed under the provisions of this article shall be maintained at all times to comply with the requirements of this article. Fences shall be maintained by the owner or person in charge of the property in as near as possible the condition when installed and accepted as provided herein, and shall be maintained as follows: a) Such fence shall not be out of vertical alignment more than twenty (20%) percent. b) All damaged, removed or missing p0l1ions of such fence shall be replaced or repaired with comparable materials of a comparable color to the remaining portion of such fence. 2. Appeals. a) An appeal from a decision of the City Administrator or his/her designee under the terms of this article shall be made to the Board of Adjustment. b) When in its judgment the public convenience and welfare will be substantially served and the appropriate use of the neighboring propel1y will not be substantially injured, the Board of Adjustment may authorize special exceptions to the regulations provided in this article to
E. Prohibited Materials. permit reasonable development and improvement of property where the literal enforcement of the regulations would result in an unnecessary hardship. 1. No person shall build any fence composed, in whole or in pati, of: a) Barbed wire or razor wire; b) Welded or woven wire such as chicken wire, hog wire, stockade panels and similar agricultural wires; c) An electric fence; d) Galvanized sheet metal, corrugated metal, or corrugated fiberglass (excluding vinyl or fiberglass composite manufactured specifically as fencing materials); or e) Materials not approved for exterior exposure. f) Chainlink fencing with the exception of any building or structure which was completed prior to the date of adoption of this Chapter by the City Council of the City of West worth Village. 2. The following are affirmative defenses to a violation of this section: a) When mandated by state or federal statute. b) When required for public safety for local governmental facilities. F. Placement of Posts and Rails. Posts and rails shall be placed on the inside of the fence so that they are not visible from public property, public roadways, or alleys, unless otherwise approved by the City Administrator. Where fences are adjacent to an arterial or collector road as defined by the City, posts shall be composed of metal or other materials approved by the City Administrator. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, for fences located between adjacent, private land owners and not visible from public property, public roadways, or alleys, the location of posts and rails is permitted to be as agreed to between said private land owners, provided a written consent is submitted to the City with the permit application required by Subsection D herein that is signed by all affected paliies and that clearly articulates the location and placement of the Posts and rails including a description or depiction of the visibility of said posts and rails. G. Not Permitted on Public Propeliy. No fence or any pali of such fence shall be constructed upon or caused to protrude over public propeliy. All fences must be maintained in a plane so as not to overhang public property. H. Within Easements. No newly constructed fence shall be located within any easement except by prior written approval of all agencies having any interest in such easement. Fences within utility and maintenance easements must be constructed with metal posts and removable fence sections. All vertical bars must be a minimum of three (3) inches on center and must not exceed three and fifteen-sixteenths (3-15116) inches on center. The maximum diameter of all vertical and horizontal bars shall be two (2) inches. The minimum clearance between the bottom of the fence and grade is two (2) inches. l. Screening Walls. The purpose of a screening wall is to provide a visual and protective barrier between properties. Where new subdivisions are platted so that the rear or side yards of single-family residential lots
are adjacent to or in close proximity to a public place including but not limited to, thoroughfares, arterial roads, drainage easements and public parks, a screening wall meeting the requirements herein, shall be constructed. Where a new subdivision is a controlled access community, perimeter walls that are adjacent to or in close proximity to a public place shall be considered screening walls and must meet the requirements detailed herein. Screening walls required by this section shall conform to the following: 1. Screening walls shall be solid brick/masonry construction and not less than six feet (6'), nor more than eight feet (8'), in height. 2. Entryway features into subdivisions from an arterial shall be located on private property, and shall be owned and maintained by a private entity. 3. Features shall not extend over public right-of-way, and shall be limited to a height of ten feet (10') above grade unless otherwise approved on the screening/ landscaping plans by the City Council, upon recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission. 4. Screening walls shall be properly engineered, and shall be approved by the City Administrator or his/her designee and by City Council through the site plan review process. J. Front Yard Fencing. No front yard fencing shall be allowed forward of the front building line in the SF R district. For all other districts, no fence shall be built within the required front yard, as defined in the Zoning Ordinance, except for lots that have an area of one and one-half acres (1.5) acres or greater. Front yard fencing shall be limited to four (4) feet in height and shall not be of solid construction, providing that at least fifty (50%) percent of the fence be open. K. Gates Required. 1. Any fence built so as to enclose an area shall provide a gate or other opening in the fence of at least three (3) feet in width and with a minimum headroom clearance of six (6) feet, eight (8) inches in height. 2. Gates for vehicular use must be a minimum of twenty-four (24) feet from the property line for all types of property other than residential. 3. Gates may not open onto alleyways therefor must open inward and swing away from the alley or slide sideways along the fence line parallel to the alleyway. L. Wind Load Requirement. Fences must be able to structurally support fencing materials for a seventy (70) MPH wind speed. M. Sight Visibility. See Section 14.4.35 for sight visibility requirements for fences and screening walls. N. Special Purpose Fencing. Special purpose fencing, such as fencing around tennis com1s, dog runs, etc. is permitted. Special purpose fencing shall comply with the requirements as set forth in this section. Smooth, non-climbable two-inch by four-inch mesh on metal posts will be acceptable behind the building line. Any other materials require approval from the City Administrator or his/her designee. O. Pre-existing Nonconforming Fences. A fence that does not comply with the requirements of this At1icle as of the effective date of this Chapter, shall be allowed to remain on the property. In addition, the owner of property shall be allowed to repair or replace a pre-existing nonconforming fence with identical materials used in the construction of the pre-existing nonconforming fence, or shall use materials authorized by this Chapter. In no event, shall the owner of property be allowed to repair or replace a pre-existing nonconforming fence with different materials prohibited by this section."
Section 2. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of Ordinances of the City of West worth Village, Texas, 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 the conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. Section 3. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and sections 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 COUlt 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. Section 4. Section 5. Section 6. Section 7. Violation of this ordinance shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2000.00. Each day a violation occurs or is allowed to continue shall constitute a separate offense punishable hereunder. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the City from taking such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation. All rights and remedies of the City are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance amended or revised herein, or any other ordinances affecting the matters regulated herein 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 COUlt or not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the COUltS. The City Secretary is hereby authorized if required to cause the publication of the descriptive caption and penalty clauses of this ordinance as an alternative method of publication provided by law. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required by law, and it is so ordained. AND IT IS SO ORDAINED. PASSED AND APPROVED this 12th day of December 2017. By: CITY OF W~STWORTH ;!:%GE??1~1Z. Michael R. Coleman, Mayor -- AP~! VED AS TO FORM AND L..QALlTY: