Fort Worth Zoning Ordinance

6.506 Unified Residential Development

1. Legislative Intent
   It is the legislative intent of the City Council, in adopting these Unified Residential Development regulations, to encourage the most appropriate uses of land; to provide larger amounts of usable open space; to consolidate recreational facilities and other community amenities; to reduce the cost of utilities and public services; to recognize building sites where unique topographic or other features preclude the normal building pattern of individual lots and blocks; and to provide criteria for development of land zoned for multifamily dwelling use.
   COMMENTARY:

   See the “CR”, “C” and “D” Districts for maximum units per acre, minimum open space, and other property development standards.

2. Site Plan Approval
   No permit shall be issued for construction, alteration or revision in a Unified Residential Development area unless there has been a site plan approved by the Planning and Development Director or an authorized representative and a subdivision plat approved by the Plan Commission.
   COMMENTARY:

   See also ‘5.303 Accessory Uses in Unified Residential Developments’, Accessory Uses in Unified Residential Development.

3. Summary of Development Regulations
   The following development regulations are intended to be a minimal summation of regulations that will cause compatible development near and adjacent to neighborhoods where a Unified Residential Development is placed.
4. Height and Yard Regulations
   1. Height: The maximum permitted height for buildings or structures in any Unified Residential Development shall be 32 feet as set forth in Section 6.100.
   2. Street Frontage: There shall be a minimum front yard of not less than 20 feet on any portion of the site which has frontage on a public street. The required front yard cannot be paved, except for necessary driveways, and must remain as open space. No parking shall be permitted in the front yard.
   3. Side and Rear Yards.
      • There shall be side and rear yards of not less than five feet on any side except on a street frontage.
      • Structures shall meet the following requirements on any side which is adjacent to a one- or two-family district: The structure shall be set back three feet for every one foot of building height as measured from the slab to the top of the sill plate or set back two feet for each one foot in overall building height when measured from lowest finished grade to top of the peak of the roof, whichever measurement is greater but not less than 30 feet.  For purposes of determining such setback, building height shall be measured from along the building face exposed to the closest property line to the sill plate or the peak of the roof.  A five-foot bufferyard and six-foot screen fence shall be placed on the property line. Paved driveways, parking, and parking with carport are permitted in the side and rear yard.
5. Emergency Access
   1. Emergency access shall be provided to each principal building by:
      • A public street or alley; or by
      • A private way, alley, or paved place, delineated on an approved subdivision plat conforming to the requirements of Chapter 212, Texas Local Government Code. Access may also be provided by an emergency access easement approved by the Plan Commission and recorded in the county deed records.
   2. Emergency access easements shall not be less than 26 feet in width; the boundaries shall be distinctly and permanently marked with not less than one street name sign per intersection, the location of which shall be approved by the Director of Transportation and Public Works. The signs are to be installed and maintained by the developer or homeowners association.  All signs are to be constructed using aluminum sign blanks 6¾ inches wide and a variable length from a minimum of 24 inches to a maximum of 36 inches.
   3. The background of the sign face shall be constructed using green reflective material with a reflective silver-white legend.  The legend shall be printed using four-inch capital letters and three-inch lower case letters and the words “private street” shall be printed in one-half inch letters across the bottom of the sign.
   4. The paved width of an emergency access easement may not be less than 24 feet and the curbs shall not exceed five inches in height; provided that there shall be no obstructions which will interfere with the use of the full 26-foot width of the easement by emergency vehicles and their appurtenances.
   5. All emergency easements shall conform to commonly accepted engineering practices and shall be approved by the Director of Transportation and Public Works.
6. General Site Plan Requirements
   1. Slopes: Contour slopes shall be shown upon the site plan by contour intervals of not more than five feet.  Contours at one-foot intervals may be required when a drainage study is required.
   2. Location of Buildings: All buildings and structures shall be shown on the site plan with dimensions of the buildings and adequate dimensions showing distance from property lines, easements, driveways, parking spaces and other buildings.
   3. Driveways and Parking Spaces: The location of all driveways and parking spaces shall be shown on the site plan, including ingress-egress, and all calculations for required parking.
   4. Landscape and Walkways: Show landscape materials, required and proposed height of perimeter walls, bufferyards, and recreational facilities.  Walkways shall be provided to connect all buildings, parking areas and recreation facilities and shall be shown on the site plan.
   5. Garbage Collection: Garbage collection locations shall be shown on the site plan.  Such locations shall not be placed within 20 feet of adjacent one- or two-family districts.  Dumpsters shall be visually screened, except from the access side, and shall not be placed within the required open space.  Access shall not face upon adjacent properties.
   6. Open Space and Recreational Facilities: All open space and recreational facilities shall be identified on the site plan.  Open space is the ratio of open space to net land area (see 9 ‘Definitions’, Definitions).
      • Open space shall be clustered in areas upon the site to provide views and vistas for a given group of buildings.  Open spaces and recreational amenities shall be designed as functional space with appropriate distribution on the total site plan. Any recreational facilities shall be used primarily by the residents and their guests. No alcohol, beer or wine shall be sold on the premises unless permitted in a district zoned for that use.
      • Except for required front yards, no space or area less than 25 feet in either dimension shall be counted as open space.
      • Patios adjacent to dwelling units, unless enclosed, may be included as part of the open space.
   7. Miscellaneous Requirements.
      • The developer shall submit a site plan which shows the zoning of all adjacent properties.
      • The submitted site plan shall include a location map, north point, scale and date. The face of the site plan shall include a table showing net land area, floor area, open space area, number of parking spaces, maximum units per acre and maximum height.
      • The developer shall prepare and submit a checklist to accompany the submitted site plan which shall constitute an application and include a listing of those basic requirements found in the Zoning Ordinance, the Subdivision Ordinance, and the Plan Commission Rules and Regulations. 
7. Parking Requirements
   One parking space shall be provided for each Bedroom, plus one additional space for each 250 square feet of indoor recreation area; provided that the number of parking spaces required shall not be less than 1½ per dwelling unit and need not exceed 2½ per dwelling unit.  See also 6 ‘Development Standards’, Article 2.
8. Distances Between Buildings

The minimum distances between buildings are as follows:

*  “Face” is any exterior plane of a building that is 60 feet in length or greater, provided, however, if all exterior planes are less than 60 feet in length, the two longest planes shall be deemed to be faces.  All buildings shall be deemed to have at least two faces.

**  “End” is any exterior plane of a building that is not a “face”, as defined above.

Building Separation

9. Signs
   Identification signs shall be permitted, subject to the following provisions:
   1. Signs shall be permitted to identify the use or uses of the property upon which displayed.
   2. A sign or combination of signs shall have a maximum allowable area of exposure on each dedicated street frontage of not more than one square foot of sign area for each ten linear feet of frontage along said street; provided, however, at least one sign shall be allowed having an area of 12 square feet.
   3. Signs may be illuminated, but the source of light shall not be visible and shall not be intermittent or flashing; revolving signs shall not be permitted.
   4. Not more than 50 percent of the total allowable sign area may be located in the required yard space along a dedicated street. However, no individual sign in such required yard space shall exceed 20 square feet in sign area.
   5. Symbols which are designed as an integral part of the building structure and symbols and signs which are not visible or readable from the public street shall not be limited by the above regulations.
   6. Nothing contained herein shall exempt the owner of any Unified Residential building from placing identification signs on buildings as required by the City of Fort Worth Fire Code.
10. Certificate of Occupancy Requirements
    1. No Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued for a Unified Residential Development until a final landscape plan has been approved by the Planning and Development Director or a designated representative and all landscaping required by the plans has been installed. 
    2. During the construction phase where development regulations contained herein have not been met, construction permits may be issued, and construction may proceed, but no Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued until all regulations have been complied with. The City shall refuse any final connection of utilities prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.
11. Deviation from Plan or Construction Without Approval
    It shall be an offense under this Ordinance where it is shown that any person, firm or corporation has deviated from an approved Unified Residential Development plan or plat without approval or has commenced such construction of multifamily dwelling units without approval.
12. Unified Residential Development Site Plan Expiration
    A Unified Residential Development site plan submitted to the Planning and Development Department on or after August 19, 1996 shall expire two years from the date of site plan approval unless a Certificate of Occupancy is issued for a multifamily use building in accordance with the approved site plan.