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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1617 CHILD CARE ORDINANCE NO. 1617 ARTICLE 1 PURPOSE The purpose of this Article is to provide minimum standards for the operation of Child Care Centers in the City of North Richland Hills, to protect the health, safety and welfare of the occupants and patrons. ARTICLE 2 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH MINIMUM STANDARDS ADOPTED There is hereby adopted the "Minimum Standards for Day Care Centers" as published and promulgated as Department of Human Resources of the State of Texas, a copy of which shall be kept on file in the office of the City Secretary. The provisions of the "Minimum Standards for Day Care Centers shall apply as though such regulations were copied at length herein, except where specific other provisions are expressed within this Ordinance. ARTICLE 3 DEFINITIONS - Section 3.01 Child Care Facility: A facility where child care occurs. The term "child care" shall be applied where: A. care, training, education, custody, treatment or supervision is provided for more than six (6) children, exclusive of persons who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the owner or operator of the facility excluding "registered family homes" as defined by Chapter 42 of the Human Resources Code; and B. care, training, education, custody, treatment or supervision is provided for all or part of a twenty-four (24) hour day on a regular basis at least four (4) days a week; and C. the facility is intended to provide child care at least twenty-six (26) weeks per year; and D. more than one-quarter (1/4) of the children cared for at the facility are under eleven (11) years of age. Section 3.02 The term "child care" shall not apply to: Page 1 Section 4.01 A. an educational facility that operates solely for educational purposes in grades Kindergarten through at least Grade 2, that does not provide custodial care for more than three (3) hours during the hours before or after the customary school day and that is a member of an organization that promulgates, publishes and requires compliance with health, safety, fire and sanitation standards equal to standards required by State, county and municipal codes; B. an educational facility that is integral to and inseparable from its sponsoring religious organization or an educational facility, both of which do not provide custodial care for more than three (3) hours maximum per day and that offers educational programs for children age five (5) and above in one (1) or more of the following: Kindergarten through at least Grade 3, elementary or secondary grades; C. For purposes of this Ordinance, "religious organization" shall be defined as a church, synagogue or other religious institution whose purpose is to support and serve the propagation of truly held religious beliefs. D. Fee schedule applicable: fee set by the City Council of North Richland Hills. ARTICLE 4 PERMITS Administration: Permit Issue, Inspection, Compliance, Enforcement. A. The Environmental Health Officer or his/her designee is hereby authorized to issue a Child Care Facility permit in the City of North Richland Hills when he/she finds that the permit applicant has complied with the requirements of this Ordinance and other applicable sections of the City Code. He/she shall cause the Child Care Facility to be inspected not less frequently than semiannually to ensure that the facilities, grounds and equipment are maintained in compliance with this Ordinance and in a safe and sanitary condition for the welfare of the occupants and patrons of the Child Care Facility. He/she shall cause reports of inspections to be kept on file in the Environmental Service Department and issued to the Child Care Page 2 Section 4.02 Section 4.03 Section 4.04 Facility along with appropriate directives to resolve deficiencies observed in the inspections. He/she shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this Ordinance and to issue citations for violation of any of its provisions. B. The operator of the Child Care Facility shall operate the facility in compliance with the provisions of this Ordinance and other applicable sections of the City Code, and shall respond within the specified schedule of time when any deficiency or violation has been identified by the Environmental Health Official or his/her designee. Permit Required: No person, firm or corporation shall operate a Child Care Facility in the City of North Richland Hills unless and until a permit for such purpose has been issued by the Environmental Health Official or his/her designee. No permit shall be required of a "Family Home" as that term is defined in Chapter 42 of the Human Resources Code of the State of Texas, however every Family Home providing care for one or more children, in excess of the caretaker's children, must register with the State of Texas. Permit Application: A. Application for a permit to operate a Child Care Facility shall be submitted by the operator on a form specified by the Environmental Services Department. B. The permit application shall state the name, address and telephone number of the permit applicant. C. The permit application shall indicate the name, street, and mailing address of the Child Care Facility. New Child Care Facilities shall also provide the current zoning of the property as well as submit a site plan drawn to an accurate scale, indicating the legal description of the property and showing the indoor and outdoor areas to be used for the Child Care Facility. D. The permit application shall affirm that a Certificate of Occupancy has been applied for with the Building Inspection Department, its issuance contingent, in part, on the successful application for Child Care Facility Permit. Permit Duration and Renewal: The permit shall be renewable on October first (1st) of each calendar year. Page 3 Section 4.05 Section 4.06 .... Permit Fee: The fee for the annual permit shall be one hundred and fifty dollars ($150.00). Permit Suspension and Revocation: A. The Environmental Health Official or his/her designee is hereby authorized to suspend or revoke, on the authority of the City Manager, a Child Care Facility permit for a violation of any provision of this Ordinance. Suspension or revocation of a permit shall be effected by notice in writing, setting forth the reasons therefor, and specifying any requirements or schedules of time for further action related to the suspension or revocation. The City Manager shall advise the City Council of permit suspensions and/or revocations. B. The following actions shall constitute cause for suspension: 1. failure to respond within specified limits of time regarding violations observed during Health Official's inspection of the premises and operation; 2. violation by the operator or any employee or staff member of the requirements for permit as contained in this Ordinance. 3. any violation of this Ordinance which poses a danger to any child entrusted to the care of the Child Care Facility; C. The following actions shall constitute cause for revocation. 1. failure to correct a violation for a period of six (6) months following suspension of the permit; 2. knowingly submitting false information, or allowing false information to be submitted, in the application for a permit. D. A permit that has been suspended may be reac~ivated after an Environmental Services Department inspection has confirmed that the condition causing the suspension has been corrected. Request for reactivation shall be made to the Environmental Health Official or his designee and shall be evaluated as if for the initial application. Page 4 Section 4.07 Section 4.08 Section 4.09 Section 4.10 E. A permit that has been revoked shall not be reissued. Display of Permit: The Child Care Facility permit shall be conspicuously posted on an inside wall of the main facility and shall be continuously displayed in public view. Permit Non-Transferable: No permit issued under this Ordinance shall be used for any purpose other than the intent for which it was issued nor be transferred or assigned to, or in any manner used by, any person, firm or corporation other than the one to whom issued by the Environmental Health Official. Responsibility of Employer: A. No Child Care Facility shall employ any person who has been convicted of any offense, felony or misdemeanor protecting the health, safety or welfare of a child for causing bodily harm to any person or of any offense contained in Chapters 6, 25 or 43 of the Texas Penal Code. B. Notification: 1. When the operator of a Child Care Facility has been advised that an indictment or criminal complaint has been filed with the County or District Attorney's Office against any person working at the facility alleging that such person has committed one of the offenses specified in Section 4.09, the operator shall notify the Environmental Health Official not later than the next workday. 2. When the operator of a Child Care Facility has been advised that a person has been indicted as specified in this Ordinance, the operator shall ensure that such person does not come in contact with the enrolled children until the charges are resolved. Permit Refusal or Revocation: Upon finding that the necessary permit may not be issued or that said permit should be suspended or revoked or has expired, the Environmental Health Official or his/her designee shall, within ten (10) days of the finding, notify the applicant in writing specifying the result of the finding and the reasons therefor. The applicant's appeal shall be to the Board of Appeals within ten (10) days. The Board of Appeals shall act upon the appeal within fifteen (15) days and it shall Page 5 Section 4.11 Section 5.01 Section 5.02 have the power to affirm, reverse or modify the order from which the appellant appealed. The decision of the Board of Appeals shall be final unless appealed to the District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, within twenty (20) days of the order of said Board. Food Service in Child Care Facilities: A Child Care Facility in which food is prepared for human consumption shall comply with the pertinent food service regulations in City Ordinance #1489. The fees set forth in Ordinance #1489 for Food Service Establishments shall not be required for the food service portion of a Child Care Facility, however, those employees handling food or food containers shall be required to obtain Food Handler or Food Manager Certificates as set down in Ordinance 1489. ARTICLE 5 FACILITIES Safety and Sanitation A. The number of persons regularly occupying the building shall not exceed one person (child or adult) for each 35 square feet of building area as determined by the North Richland Hills Building Code. B. A fire evacuation diagram shall be conspicuously posted in corridors in a Child Care Facility. All employees and staff members shall be instructed in fire emergency procedures. C. A Child Care Facility and/or Registered Family Home shall not be located in a mobile home or in any part of a building other than the ground level. D. Permanent signs shall be conspicuously posted in restrooms and food areas so as to be noticed by normally observant individuals reminding all persons to wash hands before eating and after using the toilet. Employees and staff members shall wash hands before and after changing a diaper and before feeding a child. Permanent signs, including pictorial messages, shall be posted for communication with children unable to read. Inspections: City inspections shall be limited to facility, safety, sanitation and building code compliance. Page 6 ARTICLE 6 SEVERANCE; REPEALER; PENALTY Section 6.01 Severance: That it is hereby declared that the sections, articles, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this ordinance are severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection, article, or section of this ordinance shall be declared void, ineffective, or unconstitutional by a valid judgment or final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction such voidness, ineffectiveness, or unconstitutionality shall not effect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, subsections, article, or sections of this ordinance since the same would have been enacted by the City Council with the incorporation herein of any such void, ineffective, or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection, article or section. Section 6.02 Repealer: All ordinances or parts of ordinances not consistent or conflicting with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed; provided that such repeal shall be only to the extent of such inconsistency and in all other respects this ordinance shall be cumulative of other ordinances regulating and governing the subject matter covered in this ordinance. Section 6.03 Penalty: Any person, firm, association of persons, company, corporation, or their agents, servants, or employees,c violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be fined upon conviction not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200.) and each day any violation of noncompliance shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. The penalty provided herein shall be cumulative of other remedies provided by state law and the power of injunction as provided in Vernon's Ann. Civ. St. Art. 1175(f), (1) to (8) and as may be amended may be exercised in enforcing this article whether or not there has been a complaint filed. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from the date of passage and approval and publication as required by law: Passed and approved this 28th day of August, 1989 '-- /~~J~ Tommy Brown M~or Page 7 ATTEST: /l /} , '''--.¿'¿µ-;r¿~ ¡¿Ü¿L<-~ J~nette Rewis City Secretary , APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: / , </~ .'<-~_/:'¿.~:-/':~-j . 1/ ....-1. ....... ( _ ./ ( ./~. ,...... --- '., Rex McEntire Attorney for the City Page 8 · LEGAL AFFIDAVIT THE STATE OF TEXAS: COUNTY OF TARRANT Before me, the undersigned authority on this day personally ap- peared Vir gin i a Ran kin known to me to be a credible person, who first being sworn, deposed and upon her oath said: That she is the C AM of the Mid r. i tip ¡:; N p 'iii ¡:; ,a newspa- per which has been regularly and continuously published and of general circulation in the City/Town ofN. R i c h 1 and Hill s ,'Pfor a period of more than one year next preceding the first publication of the attached Legal and that he caused said notice to be published in said newspaper on the following date(s). 9 /3 ATTACH LEGAL COPY HERE ORDINANCE NO 1617 ~~n~::~ance proĊ¸iding Child C operation of N are Centers in orth Richland wi, Texas; adopting "M' Sl mum Standards for ¿~'- Care Centers" of th D Y part(TIent of Hu e e· ~ourtes of the '"St~7e R;; exas; defining term . ~~g.u'ating permits; pr~: t .Idlng safety and sanita. Ion standards f facilities' seW or providing Ing !ees; I a savings cause and prOviding f a fine t· \" or 5200 f nC? In. excess of or vIolation Passed and apprôved b ~~r City CounCil of th~ ! Y of North Rich/and Hills, Texas the 28th d of August 1989 ay APPROVÉD' . ISITommy Ei"rown Mayor ATTEST' I~I Jeane'tte Rewis City Secretary ~PPROVED AS TO ORM AND LEGALITY. ISIRex MCEntire . Rex MCEntire Attorney for the C"t MCN CPN 516 I Y PUB: 9/3/89 That the attached is a true and correct copy of said notice as published on said date(s) in said Ne~sp {)er A· /;: - . . ;;¿;t!:~.d'~ 6_~~~ Sworn to and subscribed before me, this the 1..nL day of ...s..E..E,TEHBER 19....8.9..... ~ì} í.. ¿~. .'/' I ./ -' _,' '1- ) , ',0' .,/ I ~ t~I.)¡4v' )/ltZO--tt_L"tf{!- ~. ( Notary Public, County, Texa.