1999-440NOTE Amended and superceded by Ordinance No 99-473
44o
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, ESTABLISHING A
MORATORIUM PENDING THE ADOPTION OF INTERIM STANDARDS FOR APPLYING
POLICIES OF THE ADOPTED COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO REQUESTS FOR ZONING
AMENDMENTS AND CERTAIN SPECIFIED DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS PRIOR
TO ADOPTION OF A REVISED LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, PROVIDING FOR
EXEMPTIONS, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE
WHEREAS, the City of Denton has enacted by ordinance, a new Comprehensive Plan for
the C~ty of Denton on December 7, 1999, whmh supercedes the Denton Development Plan, and
WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Plan contmns policies, goals and strategies related to
resldentml land use, growth management, housing and open space prov~mon, and
WHEREAS, the City intends to comprehensively amend its Code of Ordinances,
lnclu&ng ~nter aha its zoning and subdivision regulations, in order to implement such pohces,
goals and strategies, and
WHEREAS, it appears that substantial applications for approval of residential
developments is likely to occur in the lntervemng time period, and
WHEREAS, it further appears that approval of such development apphcatlons
mconsmtent with the new Comprehenmve Plan is contrary to the intent and purposes of the plan,
and
WHEREAS, a joint public heanng of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City
Council concerning the adoptmn of Interim regulations was held on December 7, 1999, and
WHEREAS, at the December 7, 1999 joint meeting the City Council was unable to adopt
such interim regulatmns, and
WHEREAS, it appears that It would be appropriate and In the public interest to establish
a moratorium on the acceptance and processing of certmn residential development apphcat~ons
until the City Council is able to adopt such ~ntenm regulaUons,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS HEREBY ORDAINS
SI~CTION 1 Moratorium Estabhshed
Except as otherwme prowded here~n, from and after the effective date of this
ordinance and dunng the Moratorium Period as specffied ~n Section 4 of th~s
ordinance, no City employee, officer, agent, bureau, department or commission of
the City shall accept for fihng any residential development apphcation, nor take
any action to process such application, including but not hmlted to acceptance of
fees, review or evaluation of the apphcat~ons, scheduling for public review or
heanng, formulation of conditions or issuance of prehmlnary or final approvals of
such appheatlons
In the event that an application for a residential appheatlon is submitted to the
City, the application shall be returned, together with any proffered application fee,
to the applicant with notification that the application will not be accepted for
fihng or further processing for the duration of this Moratorium Ordinance
(c)
Any action taken by any City employee, officer, agent, bureau, department or
commlssxon of the City to accept for filing or to further process an application for
a residential development application after the effective date of this ordinance is
deemed void of no effect
SECTION 2 Exemot~ons This orchnance does not apply to the following types of
development appheatlons
(A) an application for a bmkhng permit for a single-family or two-family dwelling,
(B)
an application for approval of a detmled plan for residential use that has been
accepted for filing prior to December 15, 1999,
(c)
an apphcatlon for approval or amendment of a final plat for a single-family or
two-family subdivision, where a preliminary plat has been accepted for filing
prior to the effective date of this ordinance or an application for approval or
amendment of a prehmmary or final plat for a single-family or two-family
subdivision, where a detmled plan has been approved or accepted for filing prior
to December 15, 1999,
(D)
an application for approval of a building permit for a multi-family dwelling,
which is subject to a detmled plan approved or accepted for fihng prior to the
December 15, 1999,
an apphcatlon for approval or amendment of a prehmlnary plat for a s~ngle-famfly
or two family subdivision, where the application was accepted for filing prior to
the effective date of tins ordinance or which is subject to a general development
plan approved prior to such date,
(F) an application to approve non-residential development
(G) any concept plan or detmled plan that was remanded by the City Council to the
Planmng and Zomng Comm~sslon prior to the effective date of this ordinance
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any apphcatlon for approval of a specffic use permit for residential use pending
for decision on the City Council agenda for December 7, 1999 and any
subsequent application for residential use sublect to a special use permit approved
on such date
~ ~ For purposes of this ordinance the following terms are defined
to mean
~ means the status of a residential development application
following submission and acceptance as complete by the Director of all
apphcation materials and documents reqmred by the City Code of Ordinance
City means the City of Denton, Texas
~ means a general concept plan as provided for ~n Chapter 35, Article
IV of the Code of Orchnances of the City
Density means the maximum number of dwelhng units allowed under the zoning
classfficatlon per trait of land
Detailed plan means a detmled plan as provided for m Chapter 35, Article IV of
the Code of Ordinances of the City
~ means a development plan as provided for in Chapter 35,
Arhele IV of the Code of Ordinances of the City
D~rector means the Director of Planning and Development or his designate
Final plat means a final plat as defined in SecUon 34-11 and as provided for ~n
Sectaon 34-15 of the Code of Ordinances of the City
Mult~-famflv means multiple-family dwelling (apartment) as defined in Section
35-76 of the Code of Ordinances of the City
~tl~[~[~L~]llg~ means a planned development district as defined in Chapter
35, Artmle IV of the Code of Ordmances of the City
prehm~narv plat means a prehmlnary plat as defined in Section 34-11 and as
provided for in Section 34-18 of the Code of Ordinances of the City
Pronertv owner means an owner as defined in Section 34-11 of the Code of
Ordinances of the City
Res~dentlal develooment aopbcatlon means a request to establish the use of the
property for residential purposes or a request to grant a permit for such purposes,
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mcluthng the establishment or approval of single-family attached or detached,
two-family, or multi-family dwellings Residential develonmem aanheatmn
includes a request to zone or rezone land for residential use, or request to approve
or amend a concept plan, development plan, or detailed plan for a planned
development district, a request to approve or amend a preliminary or final plat for
residential use, or a request to approve a building permit for a multi-family
dwellxng Res,dentlal development anphcatlon refers to the application form,
together with all documents and exhibits required of the applicant by the City for
development review purposes
R?sldential zoning district or residential uses means multi-family dwelling, two-
family dwelling, one-family dwellings, attached, and one-family dwelling,
detached uses
Rezomn~ means an apphcatlon for amendment, supplement or change to zoning
as prowded for in Section 35-7 of the Code of Ordinances of the City
~ means one-family dwelling (attached) as defined in
Section 35-76 of the Code of Ordinances of the City
~ means one-family dwelling (detached) as defined in
Section 35-76 of the Code of Ordinances of the City
~.'~llLE~e~gg means a two family dwelling as defined in Section 35-76 of
the Code of Ordinances of the C~ty
Zonm~ means an apphcatlon for the first zoning classification and land use
conchtlons applicable to real property as provided for in Chapter 35 of the Code of
Ordinances of the City
~ means zoning dastnct map as defined in Section 35-3 of the Code of
Ordinances of the City
~ Rehef From Moratorium
A Rehefreauests
The applicant may petition the City Council for relief from the
moratorium by requesting such relief in writing
2
The City Council shall not relieve the applicant from the requirements of
this ordinance, unless the applicant first presents credible evidence from
whxch the City Council can reasonably conclude that the imposition of the
moratorium deprives the applicant of a vested property right or deprives
the applicant of the economically viable use of his land
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B
In demdlng whether to grant rehefto the applicant, the City Council shall
take into consideration the following
(a)
whether granting relief from the moratorium jeopardizes the City's
best interests in implementing resldentml density limitations or
other development standards contaned in the proposed interim
development regulations,
Co)
the suitability of the proposed remdentlal uses in light of land uses
allowed m the zomng districts on property adjacent to the proposed
site,
(c)
the impact of the proposed residential use on the transportation
and other public facilities systems affected by the development,
(d)
the measures proposed to be taken by the applicant to prevent
negative impacts of the proposed use on the neighborhood,
(e)
the likelihood that sufficient relief will be provided to the apphcant
following adoption of the ~ntenm regulations,
(f)
the total expenchtures made in connection wlth the proposed
residential development m reliance on prior regulations, including
the costs of installing infrastructure to serve the project,
(g) any fees reasonably prod in connection with the proposed use,
any representations made by the City concerning the project and
reasonably relied upon to the detriment of the applicant
4 The City Council may take the following actions
(a) deny the rehef request,
(b) grant the relief request, or
(c)
grant the relief request subject to conditions consistent wlth the
criteria set forth in flus section
~ Any relief granted by the City Council shall be the mlmmum
deviation from ordinance requirements necessary to prevent deprivation of a
vested property right
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~ Moratorium Period The moratorium estabhshed by th~s ordinance shall
commence on the effective date of this ordinance and expire on February 2, 2000 The C~ty
Council reserves the right to extend the moratorium ~f the ~ntenm regulations do not become
effective on or before smd date Should the ~ntenm regulations be adopted before smd date, the
ordinance adoptmg the interim regulaUons will contmn a clause terminating the moratorium as of
the date of such adoption
~ ~ The fin&ngs and remtat~ons contmned ~n the preamble
of thru ordinance are substantive and are hereby incorporated into the body of th~s ordinance
SE T___~C~I_QI:~ Severabthtv If any provm~on of thru ordinance or the apphcataon thereof
to any person or c~rcumstance ~s held ~nvalld by any court, such ~nvalld~ty shall not affect the
vahd~ty of other prows~ons or apphcat~ons, and to th~s end the provisions of thru ordinance are
severable
~ ~ Th~s ordinance shall become effective ~mmedmtely upon
the date of ~ts passage and approval
PASSED AND APPROVED th~s the 8th day of December, 1999
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY
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