(a) General. All plats must conform to the stormwater management policy. Any plat for property within or affected by a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated floodplain must show the limits of the FEMA floodplain effective on the date the plat is filed. The FEMA floodplain limits must be geometrically and spatially correct, with a note indicated the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) panel, community number and effective date of the map or the most recent revision for the area.
(b) Storm drainage easements. Easements for storm drainage facilities shall be provided at locations containing proposed or existing drainage ways. The width of the easements shall be substantiated by a drainage study and drainage calculations or other criteria submitted to and approved by the city engineer.
(1) Storm drainage easements of 15 feet minimum width shall be provided for existing and proposed enclosed drainage systems. When the underground system exceeds 36 inches or when the dept of the system or the soil conditions dictate additional width, additional easement width shall be provided.
(2) Storm drainage easements along proposed or existing open channels shall provide sufficient width for the required channel and such additional width as may be required to provide ingress and egress of maintenance equipment; to provide clearance from fences and space for utility poles; to allow maintenance of the channel bank; and to provide adequate slopes necessary along the bank. Such width shall conform with those specifications in the city storm drain policy and/or as determined and required by the city engineer.
(3) Storm drainage easements shall be provided for emergency overflow drainage ways of sufficient width to contain within the easement stormwater resulting from a 100-year frequency storm, less the amount of stormwater carried in an enclosed system of a capacity required by the city storm drain policy, and/or as determined and required by the city engineer.
(c) (1) Floodplain easements. Except as provided for in subsection (d) below, floodplain easements shall be provided along natural or improved drainage ways and lakes or reservoirs. Floodplain easements shall encompass all areas beneath the water surface elevation resulting from a storm whose design frequency is 100 years, plus such additional width as may be required to provide ingress and egress to allow for maintenance of the banks and for the protection of adjacent property, as determined and required by the city engineer. If a floodplain drainage way is proposed, the following full statement of restrictions shall be placed in the dedication instrument on the subdivision plat unless the city council agrees to waive this requirement, or the city engineer agrees to assume maintenance of the floodplain/drainage way.
(2) Floodplain restriction. No construction shall be allowed within the floodplain easement without the written approval of the director of transportation and public works. In order to secure approval, detailed engineering plans and/or studies for the improvements, satisfactory to the director, will be prepared and submitted by the party(ies) wishing to construct within the floodplain. Where construction is permitted, all finished floor elevations shall be a minimum of two feet above the floodplain base flood elevation resulting from ultimate development of the watershed.
(3) Floodplain/drainageway maintenance. The existing creek, stream, river or drainage channel traversing along or across portions of this addition, will remain unobstructed at all times and will be maintained by the individual lot owners whose lots are traversed by, or adjacent to, the drainage ways. The City of Fort Worth will not be responsible for the maintenance, erosion control and/or operation of said drainage ways. Property owners shall keep the adjacent drainage ways traversing their property clean and free of debris, silt or other substances, which would result in unsanitary conditions, and the city shall have the right of entry for the purpose of inspecting the maintenance work by the property owners. The drainage ways are occasionally subject to stormwater overflow and/or bank erosion that cannot be defined. The City of Fort Worth shall not be liable for any damages resulting from the occurrence of those phenomena, nor the failure of any structure(s) within the drainage ways. The drainage way crossing each lot is contained within the floodplain easement line as shown on the plat.
(d) Federal floodway project. Floodplain easements shall not be required from the Tarrant Regional Water District performing any activity in the federal floodway project (however, a note shall be included on plat documents stating that all requirements associated with development in the floodplain will apply to any future owners of the property). The federal floodway project shall mean the flood control levees and channel improvements constructed on the Clear Fork and West Fork Trinity River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) after the severe flood of 1949, with subsequent additions through the 1980s. The project shall extend along the West Fork Trinity River from Beach Street westward to Meandering Road; and on the Clear Fork Trinity River southwesterly from the confluence with the West Fork Trinity River at North Main Street to State Highway 183; or as otherwise determined by the USACE.
(e) Stormwater storage easements.
(1) Stormwater storage easements shall be provided adjacent to a levee’s drainage control structure to provide for the storage of the one hundred-year frequency storm runoff while the drainage control structure is closed due to high floodwater in the river.
(2) If a stormwater storage easement is proposed, the following full statement of restriction shall be placed in the dedication instrument of the subdivision plat:
Stormwater storage easement: Lot(s) ____________ of block(s) ____________ is (are) within a designated sump (stormwater storage area) of the ____________ levee system, and may be subject to flooding whenever the sump’s drainage control structure is closed. |
(3) Stormwater storage area restriction. Construction will not be allowed within a stormwater storage easement without the written approval of the director of transportation and public works. Approval will only be given when engineering studies show that the stormwater’s storage capacity is maintained and the finished floor elevations, of all buildings, will be a minimum of two feet above the floodplain base flood elevation resulting from ultimate development of the watershed. The City of Fort Worth is not responsible for the maintenance or operation of said stormwater storage area and shall not be deemed liable for any flood damages occurring in said area.
(f) Dam and lake easements.
(1) A dam and lake easement shall be provided to encompass the proposed dam and the area of the 100-year frequency impounded lake. No construction, without the written approval of the director of transportation and public works, shall be allowed within the dam and/or lake easement, and then only with approved engineering plans and/or studies for the improvements.
(2) If a dam and lake easement is proposed, the following full statement of restriction shall be placed on the face of the plat:
Dam and lake easement: The owner of any dam or spillway shall comply with all federal, state and local statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations relating to the construction, maintenance, use and location of dams, spillways and the impounding of water caused by said dams. Owner shall be solely responsible for all costs, liability, maintenance and repair of said dam, the spillway, the bed and banks of the lake created thereby, and all appurtenances related thereto, and same shall not be the responsibility or liability of the City of Fort Worth, its officers, agents, employees, contractors or subcontractors. In this connection, owner shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend the City of Fort Worth, its officers, agents, servants and employees, from and against any and all claims or suits for property damage or loss and/or personal injury, including death, arising out of or in connection with the design, construction, maintenance, use or location of said dam or dams, the spillways, the impoundment of waters resulting there from, and the failure of said dam or dams to retain said waters; and owner hereby assumes all liability and responsibility for same.
(3) In addition to the above statement, a separate dam maintenance agreement acceptable to the City of Fort Worth shall be provided by the owner.
(g) A levee easement.
(1) A levee easement shall be provided to encompass the proposed levee with a minimum of 20 feet of additional width from the landside toe of the levee to allow for the operation and maintenance of the levees. No construction, alteration or modification may be made to the levee or its water control structure without the written consent of the director of transportation and public works. A stormwater storage easement may be needed adjacent to the levee’s water control structure (see subsection (e) above).
(2) If a levee easement is proposed, the following full statement of restriction shall be placed on the face of the plat:
Levee easement: The owner of any levee shall comply with all federal, state and local statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations relating to the construction, maintenance, use and location of levees, and the impounding of water caused by said levees. Owner shall be solely responsible for all costs, liability, maintenance and repair of said levee, and all appurtenances related thereto, and same shall not be the responsibility or liability of the City of Fort Worth, its officers, agents, employees, contractors or subcontractors. In this connection, owner shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend the City of Fort Worth, its officers, agents, servants and employees, from and against any and all claims or suits for property damage or loss and/or personal injury, including death, arising out of or in connection with the design, construction, maintenance, use or location of said levee, the impoundment of waters resulting there from, and the failure of said levee to retain said waters; and owner hereby assumes all liability and responsibility for same.
(3) In addition to the above statement, a separate levee maintenance agreement acceptable to the City of Fort Worth shall be provided by the owner.
(h) Trinity River Vision Storm Drain Master Plan. The Trinity River Vision Storm Drain Master Plan as adopted and amended by the city council is hereby incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth in these regulations. All development within Panther Island District, and all other areas that a part of the Trinity River Vision Storm Drain Master Plan, shall conform to the Trinity River Vision Storm Drain Master Plan.
(Ord. 17851, § 1 (App. C, Ch. 6, Art. V), passed 10-30-2007; Ord. 19156-05-2010, §§ 3—6, passed 5-18-2010; Ord. 19336-09-2010, §§ 1, 2, passed 9-14-2010; Ord. 26605-11-2023, § 1, passed 11-28-2023)