(a) Definitions. When used in the section, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
BUILDING PERMIT. A permit required by the city for the construction of any new dwelling or building.
COMMERCIAL. Any customer served by a single meter or meters that is engaged in any type of business, except the processing, fabrication or manufacturing of any goods or products and any type of dwelling unit.
COMMERCIAL-MULTIPLE UNIT. Any customer that has a single meter or meters serving more than one business per meter and/or three or more dwelling units per meter.
DIRECTOR. The director of the water department of the City of Fort Worth, or his or her authorized representative.
GENERAL BENEFIT FACILITY. Wastewater facilities that provide utility services and benefits common to all customers of the utility; this includes wastewater treatment plants, control systems and appurtenances, and all major collectors and interceptors that are 18 inches and greater in diameter.
INDUSTRIAL. Any customer served by one or more water meters whose sewage contains wastewater from a product fabricated, processed or manufactured by the customer.
INDUSTRIAL-MONITORED CLASS. Any customer determined by the director to be a producer of any sewage having a suspended solids or B.O.D. content which is significantly in excess of that found in normal sewage, but is otherwise acceptable into the city sanitary sewerage system.
INITIAL WASTEWATER SERVICE. The first wastewater service to be provided at a specific property location.
INITIAL WATER SERVICE. The first water service to be provided at a specific property location.
LIVING AREA. The enclosed area of a dwelling that does not include garages, carports and outside patios or porches.
METER. A device that measures the quantity of water used. The types of meters used herein are those described in the American Water Works Association C700 through C703 and M6 Standards.
PUBLIC UTILITY. Any person, firm, corporation, cooperative corporation or any combination of these persons or entities including a municipal corporation, water supply or sewer service corporation or other political subdivision of the state, or their lessees, trustees and receivers, owning or operating for compensation equipment or facilities for the provision of potable water to the public or for the collection and treatment of sewage for the public, but does not include any person or corporation not otherwise a public utility that furnishes the services only to itself or its employees or tenants as an incident of that employee’s service or tenancy when that service is not resold to or used by others.
RESIDENTIAL. Any customer living in a dwelling having the necessary living facilities for one unit that is served by a single water meter. This class also includes a duplex dwelling where no more than two living units are supplied water through a single meter.
(b) System facility access fee.
(1) No person, firm, corporation or other entity shall be entitled to initial wastewater service until payment of the appropriate system facility access fee as set forth in subsection (c) hereof. Payment of the system access fee is required as a condition precedent to establishing initial wastewater service. All other conditions for initiating service, such as deposit requirements, tap fees, extension agreements and service charges are covered elsewhere in the city code and are in addition to the system access fee.
(2) Prior to the initial connection of any building, structure, premises or lot after the effective date of this section to the city’s wastewater system, the owner of that building, structure, premises or lot shall pay the system facility access fee as established in subsection (c) below, such fee to be paid in cash prior to the issuance of the building permit.
(c) Schedule of fees.
(1) The system facility access fees for the residential class using a five-eighths-inch by three-fourths-inch water meter shall be those as set out in Table I.
Table I | |
Living Area (sq. ft.) | Wastewater System Access Fee |
Table I | |
Living Area (sq. ft.) | Wastewater System Access Fee |
Under 1,000 | $88 |
1,001—1,200 | $102 |
1,201—1,400 | $116 |
1,401—1,600 | $130 |
1,601—1,800 | $144 |
1,801—2,000 | $158 |
Over 2,000 | $172 |
(2) The system facility access fees for all other customer classes and the residential class using a water meter larger than the five-eighths-inch by three-fourths-inch meter shall be those as set out in Table II below.
Table II | |||||||||||
Wastewater System Facility Access Fees | |||||||||||
Meter Size and Type | 5/8 × 3/4 in. Simple | 1 in. Simple | 1-1/2 in. Simple | 2 in. Simple | 2 in. Turbine | 3 in. Simple | 3 in Turbine | 4 in. Turbine | 6 in. Turbine | 8 in. Turbine | 10 in. Turbine |
Table II | |||||||||||
Wastewater System Facility Access Fees | |||||||||||
Meter Size and Type | 5/8 × 3/4 in. Simple | 1 in. Simple | 1-1/2 in. Simple | 2 in. Simple | 2 in. Turbine | 3 in. Simple | 3 in Turbine | 4 in. Turbine | 6 in. Turbine | 8 in. Turbine | 10 in. Turbine |
Equivalent meter factor | 1 | 2.5 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 24 | 42 | 92 | 160 | 250 |
Residential | See Tbl. I | $324 | $649 | $1,038 | $1,297 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Commercial | $409 | $1,022 | $2,044 | $3,270 | $4,088 | $6,131 | $9,810 | $17,168 | $37,606 | $65,402 | $102,190 |
Comm. multi-unit | $481 | $1,202 | $2,403 | $3,845 | $4,807 | $7,210 | $11,536 | $20,188 | $44,222 | $76,908 | $120,168 |
Industrial | $194 | $485 | $969 | $1,551 | $1,938 | $2,907 | $4,652 | $8,142 | $17,832 | $31,011 | $48,455 |
Indust.-monitored class | $2,740 | $6,849 | $13,698 | $21,917 | $27,396 | $41,094 | $65,751 | $115,064 | $252,044 | $438,338 | $684,902 |
(3) The full amount of the fees set out in this section, as amended from time-to-time through cost-of-service based studies, will be phased-in gradually as specified below:
Percentage of System Facility Access Fee in Effect During Fiscal Year to be Charged | |
For City of Fort Worth Fiscal Year Beginning October 1 | Wastewater |
1986 | 20% |
1987 | 40% |
1988 | 60% |
1989 | 80% |
1990 | 100% |
(d) Private and public facilities.
(1) If any property within or without the city’s corporate limits utilizes a water well, a septic tank or an individual waste disposal system and the property owner requests to be connected to the city’s wastewater system, the customer shall be assessed the fee established by this section before the property is connected to the city’s wastewater system. Should the property owner request only a wastewater connection while retaining a private water well, the appropriate fee to be assessed will be determined by the director of the water department.
(2) A system facility access fee will not be assessed to any property which is receiving service from a wastewater treatment plant owned by a public utility when such public utility is acquired by the city and connected into the city’s wastewater system.
(e) Clarifications and determinations. When a question arises as to the classification of a customer’s service class and/or the appropriate meter size, the director shall make the determination in accordance with the existing city code as of the date the question arises. Any customer shall have the right to request in writing from the director an interpretation or clarification of the basis upon which a system facility access fee was assessed.
(f) Increasing size of meter.
(1) If a customer requests an increase in meter size to an existing service, the customer shall pay the fee difference between the new level of service and the existing level of service as set out in subsection (c) hereof. The additional fee shall be paid prior to the installation of the enlarged meter service.
(2) A request for additional sewer connections for improved property shall not result in the assessment of an additional system facility access fee so long as no increase in the size of the water meter is made.
(g) Dedicated funds.
(1) The system facility access fees together with all interest derived therefrom that are generated by this section shall be deposited into a dedicated fund account to be used solely for the financing of the construction, design, inspection and other related expenses of general benefit wastewater capital improvement projects.
(2) A separate dedicated fund shall be established for receipt of proceeds from wholesale sewer customers of the city. This dedicated fund shall not be commingled with fee proceeds from the retail customer class except to the extent funds may be combined for expenditure on general benefit capital facilities. Such funds collected from wholesale customers shall be used solely for the purposes set out in the contracts between Fort Worth and its wholesale customers.
(h) Timely utilization of fees. It is intended that the fees collected by this section will be utilized in a timely manner to provide additional capacity of general benefit facilities. For purposes of this section, timely utilization of fees is determined to mean the encumbrance of funds for general benefit contracts within five years from the date of the receipt of a fee. In the event that such proceeds are not encumbered within five years of date of receipt, such fees will be refunded to the present property owner upon written request.
(i) Waiver of fee. No system facility access fee shall be assessed an application for initial wastewater service provided:
(1) All approach and on-site mains and facilities are in place and final inspection has been conducted and accepted by the water department;
(2) Such application for the initial wastewater service is presented to the city on or before May 1, 1987; and
(3) The application for a building permit for the same property as the initial wastewater service application is presented to the city on or before September 30, 1987.
(Ord. 9721, §§ 1—10, passed 9-23-1986; Ord. 9805, §§ 1—10, passed 1-27-1987; Ord. 9853, §§ 1—9, passed 3-31-1987)
Cross-reference:
Water and wastewater impact fees, see §§ 35-66
et seq.
Editor’s note:
Ord. 9721, adopted Sept. 23, 1966, added provisions designated as § 37-26.2 to the 1964 Code. Inclusion of the substantive provisions of said ordinance as § 35-58.1 hereof has been at the editor’s discretion. The effective date of § 35-58.1 is May 1, 1987. Also it should be noted that Ord. 10601, § 1(3.06), adopted June 5, 1990, as codified at § 35-80.1, provides for the replacement of access fees for new development, etc. See § 35-80.1.