2001-035 O r CENO f
AN O~CE ~G CH~TER 14 "HEALTH A~ H~ SERVICES" OF
THE CITY CODE BY EST~LISH~G A ~W ~TICLE VI "~IG~O~OOD
EMPO~ENT PROG~" TO EST~LISH A ~IGHBO~OOD EMPO~ENT
PROG~ TO E~CE ~ IMPROVE ~IGHBO~OODS THROUGHOUT THE
CITY OF DENTON, C~AT~G A ~IGHBO~OOD EMPO~ENT ~VISORY
BO~, EST~LISH~G C~TE~ A~ GU~EL~ES FOR THE ~PROV~ OF
MATCH~G CONT~BUTIONS ~ER ~PLICATIONS BY ELIG~LE PERSONS
~ER T~ PROG~, SETT~G FORTH ~DITIONAL DETAILS ~ ~LATION TO
THE PROG~, PROVID~G A SEVE~ILITY CLAUSE, PROVID~G A SAV~GS
CLAUSE, ~ PROVID~G ~ EFFECTIVE DATE
~E~AS, ~e health, economic con&t~on, pubhc welf~e ~d safety of a city ~s
affected by the quahty ~d viability of ~ts neighborhoods, ~d
~E~AS, neighborhood projects which promote long te~, pubhc benefit to
ne~borhoods ~d to c~t~zens of Denton as a whole by ~mprovmg the appellee of ~e
neighborhoods, estabhsh eo~lty pride ~n the neighborhoods by involving neighborhood
residents more &reetly m all phases of ~e neighborhood development, promote mmnten~ee ~d
e~cem~t of ~e nea~borhood, ~prove pubhc safety by estabhshang traffic consol devices,
mon~ents ~d other ~mprovem~ts, increase ~e nelghborhood's ~d adjacent ne~ghborhood's
prope~ value by ~mprovlng the appellee of the neighborhood, ~mprove pubhc health by
prese~mg ~d e~emg ~e enmro~ent promote ~e pubhc health, welf~e ~d safety ~d
conmtute a vahd public p~ose, ~d
~E~AS, the City M~ager has reco~ended ~d ~e City Co.ell has dete~ned
that a Ne~borhood Empowe~t Pm~ whereby the C~ty prowdes ceaam qualified
neighborhood org~zat~ons ~d ~oups matching funds or conmbut~ons of m-kind semites to
aeeomphsh one or more of ~e above-mentioned pu~oses ~s deemed to be an ~e pubhc interest,
NOW, THE~FO~,
THE CO~CIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HE.BY O~A~S
SECTION 1 ~at Chapter 14, "Health ~d H~ Semites" of the Code of Or&n~ces
of ~e C~W of Denton ~s hereby ~ended by enacting a new ~mle VI, "Nexghborhood
Empowe~ent Pro~" w~th Subsections 14-119 - 14-123 ~nelus~ve whmh shall read as
follows
~mle VI Neighborhood Empowe~ent Progr~
Seetmn 14-119 Estabhs~ent ~d Pu~ose
Th~s hereby estabhshed a Neighborhood Empowe~ent Pro~ (NEP) to provide
matting C~ ~ds or ~n-hnd semites to help ~mprove the quahty of hfe ~n ~e C~ty's
neighborhoods The goal of the NEP ~s to encourage and select prepared projects which
meet the program guidelines set forth herein that foster self-help, neighborhood pride,
and enhance and beautify the City's neighborhoods The NEP will provide matching
ftmds or in-kand services which are to be awarded on the bases of ment A maximum of
$10,000 will be available per project The total available funding will be established m
each budget year based on the amount budgeted for the NEP as approved by the C~ty
Council In the annual budget
Sectton 14-120 Neighborhood Empowerment Program Advisory Board
a There is hereby created a Neighborhood Empowerment Board wtuch shall be
composed of seven members The Cay Manager shall designate one member of
the Board from the Parks & Recreation, Englneenng, and Community
Development Departments Four members of the Board shall be chosen from a
neaghborhood association or representative group from each of the four City
Council chstncts The neighborhood representative shall serve for two-year terms
provided, however, the first two representatives appointed to the Board will serve
one-year terms, allowing twO new neighborhoods to be represented on the Board
each subsequent program year Appointments of the nexghborhood assomatIon or
group members will be randomly selected from each of the four council districts
b The Board will evaluate each apphcation to participate xn the NEP based on the
following criteria
1 Repheabflity - the ease In which the project can be successfully replicated
m other nexghborhoods
2 Self-evaluation - based on criteria that will be specified by the Board to
evaluate the success of the project
3 Project quahty - to evaluate whether the project ~s well articulated,
planned, and ready to proceed including whether there is a demonstrated
need for the project, whether the budget ~s reasonable, cost-effective, and
wIttun the scope of the NEP
4 Neighborhood match - whether the match meets the minimum
reqmrement, ~s secured, and ready to be expended Projects will be
evaluated on a shdmg scale Low to moderate income neighborhoods will
receive additional consideration and selection and a reduction m necessary
neighborhood match to the extent this can be accomphshed in accordance
with the law
5 Neighborhood involvement - ~nclusiveness, participation and cost/benefit,
projects will be evaluated to determine If they promote the neighborhood,
bmld relationsbaps and cooperation among neighborhoods, whether a
signfficant number of people will be Involved and will benefit from the
program, how the program will enhance not only the neighborhood but
adjacent neighborhoods and the City as a whole, whether the program is
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not controversial, has no neighborhood opposltaon, and whether daverse
interests are ~nvolved
c The Board wall act as an advisor to the Caty Council an adm~mstenng the NEP It
will make reeommendatxons to the C~ty Council with regard to changes ~n the
NEP gmdellnes, the success of the NEP, and the funding level of NEP whach
respons~bthtaes shall anelude, without hmltat~on
1 Malong recommendations to the City Council w~th respect to annual
budget appropriations for the NEP
2 Making penothe reports to the City Council wath regard to the status and
effectiveness of the NEP
3 Admmlstenng the NEP to ensure that the successful appheants comply
w~th the terms and conditions of the NEP
4 Promulgate rules and estabhshang procedures to md the Board in
performang ~ts functions
Section 14-121 EhgWle Program and ProJects
Individuals from five or more separate households and hwng within the city hmlts may
submit an apphcatxon to the Commumty Development D~rector (Director) The Director
shall estabhsh, wath the approval of the Board, ad&tlonal gmdehnes to make sure that
appheatxons are approved on the basas of merit and are consastent w~th NEP gmdelmes
Any project whach promotes the pubhc health, safety or welfare of the Caty by
aeeomphshmg one or more of the pubhc purposes set forth in Section 14-119 above and
the preambles to the ordmanee which enacts the NEP by enhancing the appearance and
lmprowng the quahty of hfe m Denton's neighborhoods is ehglble Such projects must
include the following
a All projects are reqmred to have a c~t~zen project coordanator to be a lamson
between the C~ty and the neighborhood during project development
~mplementatlon
b Matching fund awards will be made only to groups of five or more separate
households who can be identified with a particular Denton neighborhood
Awards will not be made to ~nd~wduals, s~ngle businesses, unlverstues, hospitals,
~nstltut~ons, foundations, poht~cal, fraternal, or rehglous orgamzat~ons
Government and pubhe agencies, socml services d~stnct councils, eatywlde
groups, and caty developments are also not ehg~ble for the program Eligible
apphcants may form partnerships wath any of these ~nehg~ble groups to plan and
~mplement the project But the ehg~ble appheant must retain the primary role in
the partnershap and remmn responsible for performing the project
c Ehg~ble projects must
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1 Provide long-term, public benefits to the neighborhood
2 Be located on public access (right-of-way, neighborhood, common area, or
other public access property)
3 Have demonstrated neighborhood support
4 Be compatible with adjacent properties
5 Involve neighborhood residents directly in all phases
6 Have goals which can normally be accomplished within twelve months or
less
7 Must demonstrate appropriate long-term mmntenance programs
8 Be within the City's legal authority as determined by the City's legal
department and comply with existing City of Denton's codes, regulations
and pohcles
All projects shall fall within one of the following six categories
1 Youth improvements wluch may ~nclude, without limitation, small play
area, basketball court/hoops
2 Neighborhood Identity which may include slgnage, entrance
beautlficatmn, or other neighborhood landmarks
3 Public art or amemtms which may include, benches, sculptures, gardens
4 Traffic safety which may include, speed bumps and traffic calming
devices
5 Capital equipment purchase which may include neighborhood bulletin
boards and neighborhood picnic areas
6 Environmental improvement which may include nde-shanng, LINK
shelter, compostmg, tree planting, trml head enhancements
In order to obtmn matching City funds or services from the Neighborhood
Empowerment Program, the neighborhood must identify matched items of equal
value of the amount requested Matched items that can be donated, include
professional services, donated material or supplies, volunteer labor or cash The
value of the neighborhood match must equal or exceed the amount requested from
the neighborhood requested matching NEP funds The type of the match must be
appropriate to the needs of the project The proposed match must be extended
dunng the hfe of the project or after completion and meet the following
guldehnes
1 Assistance from other C~ty funds cannot be counted as part of the match
2 At least 25% of the neighborhood's match must come from the
neighborhood itself as opposed to other funding ent~tms such as the DISD,
non-profit corporations other than the neighborhood group or assocmtlon,
or another governmental entities All volunteer labor will be valued at $10
per hour Professional services, ~f needed for the project, are to be valued
at the reasonable and customary rate prevmhng in the profession and the in
the community The neighborhood match must be pledged and secured
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Secured means that the donor has to specffically describe the contributions
m the NEP matclung fund contract (contract) to confirm the commitment
Individuals who donate professional serwees or slalled labor as part of the
neaghborhood match cannot also receive compensation from the C~ty's
match money
Sectmn 14-122 Apphcatmn for Neighborhood Empowerment Program Matching Funds
a Apphcatmns for Neighborhood Empowerment Program matching funds under
tins chapter must be filed with the C~ty's Commumty Development Department
upon forms described by the Board and the department for that purpose
b The apphcatlon shall include all reformation indicated by th~s Article VI along
w~th any addmonal mfonnat~on that the Board deems necessary ~n order to
perform ~ts functions as set forth m Section 14-120
c All apphcat~ons shall be verified by the applicant as to the truth and correctness of
all facts and mformat~on presented
d All successful apphcants shall be reqmred to execute a contract on a form
approved by the City Attorney and to execute such other forms as the Community
Development Department and the Board deem necessary to ~nsure the approved
projects completion
Section 14-123 Review and Approval by the Board
a If the D~rector determmes the apphcat~on ~s consistent w~th the reqmrements of
this Article VI, the D~rector shall forward the appheatlon to the Board for its
evaluatmn The Board shall review the apphcat~on based on a matchmg fund
project evaluation form developed by the Director and approved by the Board
wbach takes into consideration all the criteria for evaluation set forth ~n th~s
Article
b If an appheat~on ~s approved or demed by the Board, the successful apphcant will
be notffied w~than 30 days afier the apphcat~on submission ~s forwarded to the
Board by the Director Authorization to begtn the project will be g~ven atler the
apphcant executes the contract The apphcant must begin the project w~thm three
months of tins anthonzatlon and follow the project schedule t~mehne that has
been approved by the Board
c Apphcants who the Director determanes have submitted apphcatlons which are
incomplete will be notffied of this w~thm two weeks of the submission of the
apphcat~on The Dtreetor and the Board shall have the right to request addltaonal
mformatmn from the apphcants as deemed necessary to adequately evaluate the
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apphcat~on and the project Dunng any such period of submxsslon of additional
reformation the t~mehne for reviewing the apphcatlon shall be tolled
SECTION 2 That save and except as amended hereby, all the remmmng sections,
sentences, clauses, and phrases of Chapter 14 of the City of Denton Code of Ordinances shall
remain m full force and effect
SECTION 3 That xf any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or
word in th~s orrhnance, or apphcat~on thereof to any person or circumstance ~s held ~nval~d by
any court of competent jurisdiction, such holdxng shall not affect the vahdlty of the remmmng
portions of tbas ordinance, the C~ty Council of the City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares that
they would have enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity
SECTION 4 That tlus ordinance shall become effective ~mmed~ately upon ~ts passage
,
PASSED AND APPROVED this the day of ,200~
EULINE BROCI~['fAY(~
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY
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