[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Collinsville as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-12-2015 by Ord. No. 577]
A. 
All exterior property shall be maintained in clean, safe, and sanitary conditions. It shall be unlawful to allow paper, wood, rocks, junk, appliances, furniture, dead grass, branches, trash debris, carrion, improper composting, rubber tires, bottles, scrap metal, vehicle parts, construction materials, fill materials, hazardous; i.e., chemicals, oils, solvents, gasoline, paints, pesticides, cleaners, batteries; and other unwholesome matter to accumulate or remain on any piece of property to include easements so as to create a potential harborage or breeding place for rats, vermin or insects, or in such a manner as to be oppressive or injurious to the public health or unpleasant and disagreeable in sight or odor to persons residing in or occupying the premises or adjacent premises or to persons who may be in a public place or public right-of-way.
B. 
Insect and rodent control. Every owner and every tenant of a building, structure, or property shall prevent any condition which can provide harborage and breeding of insects, rats, ants, vermin, mosquitoes, or other pests which are and create a hazard or a nuisance to said building, structure, or property, or are otherwise detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare.
A. 
All property shall be maintained so as to prevent the accumulation of standing, stagnant, foul, and offensive water thereon, or within or under any structure located thereon.
B. 
No filling or excavation shall be performed or constructed on any property without City determination that there will be no adverse effect on an existing or planned drainage pattern on an adjacent property. If it appears that drainage problems may result from filling, excavation, improvements, or landscaping, the property owner must submit plans sealed by a registered engineer.
C. 
In shall be unlawful to drain swimming pool backwash onto public or private property.
D. 
It shall be unlawful to impede the flow of water into any gutter or drainage ditch.
E. 
All retaining walls shall be maintained in good condition.
A. 
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this article for any person owning, claiming, occupying or having supervision or control of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, within the corporate limits of the City to permit grass, weeds or any other objectionable or unsightly vegetation to grow to a greater height than 12 inches upon any real property within 150 feet of any property line.
B. 
All vegetation not regularly cultivated and which exceeds 12 inches in height shall constitute a nuisance.
Trees, shrubs, bushes, grass or weeds growing at or near the intersections of roadways in a manner as to obstruct the vision of approaching traffic from side to side are hereby declared a nuisance. It shall be unlawful and a violation of this article for any person owning, claiming, occupying or having supervision or control of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, within the corporate limits of the City to permit or allow such condition to exist.
A. 
All fences shall be maintained structurally sound and not be out of vertical alignment more than 20%.
B. 
All damaged, rotting, removed, or missing portions shall be replaced with comparable materials to the remaining portion of the fence and shall be kept free from deterioration.
C. 
A fence that has deteriorated to a condition that is likely to fall shall be repaired, replaced, or removed.
D. 
Fences shall not be externally braced in lieu of replacing or repairing posts, columns, or other structural members.
E. 
All damaged or missing parts of chain-link or metal fences shall be replaced or repaired.
Carports, awnings, patio covers, detached garages, sheds, storage buildings, benches, and other accessory structures shall be maintained structurally sound and free of deterioration. All accessory structures shall be protected from the elements by periodic painting, staining, or other waterproofing or surface protection.
A. 
All animal pens, runs, exercise areas, fenced areas, houses, structures and enclosures shall be kept clean, sanitary, free from odor and excrement, insects, and other unsightly or objectionable matter which constitutes a public nuisance or is otherwise detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare.
B. 
Pens and housing for animals shall be kept in a state of good repair.
Exterior lights placed or erected on private property shall be shielded, placed or erected so as not to create a traffic hazard or a public nuisance; they shall be located so as to not produce direct illumination across the bounding property line.
A. 
Commercial/industrial. All properties located within a commercial development with open storage of materials, equipment, vehicles, etc., shall screen such storage from residential property and from public view.
B. 
Residential. All storage shall be screened from adjacent properties, alleys and streets by a six-foot, solid-wood screening fence. Open storage shall not be permitted on any residential property, including the front yard, driveway, carport, or front porch of any residential dwelling. In residential areas, open storage shall include furniture other than furniture designed for outside use, household items, products of a commercial trade or business enterprise and building materials not currently being used or held for immediate use upon the premises.
A. 
Real property. It shall be the duty of any person owning, claiming, occupying or having supervision or control of any real property within the corporate limits of the City, occupied or unoccupied, to cut and remove all grass, weeds or any other objectionable or unsightly vegetation within 150 feet of any property line or from the curbline next to it, if there is one, and, if not, then to the edge of pavement, or to the center line of the adjacent unpaved street, alley, or easement as often as may be necessary to comply with § 734-9.
A. 
If the owner, occupant, or person in control of the property fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of this article, the City shall give written notice, prior to initiating abatement, to the property owner.
B. 
Notice may be given personally to the previously mentioned person, in writing; by letter addressed to the owner at the owner's post office address; or, if personal service cannot be obtained or the owner's post office is unknown, by publication at least once; by posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which a violation relates; or by posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates, if the property contains no buildings.
C. 
If the City mails a notice to a property owner in accordance with Subsection B above and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as "refused" or "unclaimed," the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered.
D. 
The City may inform the owner or person with care, custody and control of the property in question by certified mail, return receipt requested, that if the mentioned person commits another offense under this article of the same kind or of the same nature that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the first anniversary of the date of the previous notice, the City, without further notice, may correct the violation at the owner's expense and assess the expenses against the property.
E. 
If a violation covered by a notice under this subsection occurs within the one-year time period and the City has not been informed of change of ownership, as described in V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 54.005(b), the City may, without notice, correct the violation at the owner's expense and assess the expenses against the property.
A. 
If any person notified, as provided within § 734-11, fails or refuses to correct or remove the condition specified within the notice within 10 days after the date of notification, the City may do or cause the work to be done, or make the improvements required and pay for the work done or improvements made and charge the expenses to the owner of the property.
B. 
A lien may be placed against the property in which the work or improvement was performed. To obtain a lien in this manner, the Mayor, municipal health authority or the designee of the Mayor must file a statement of expenses with the County Clerk. The lien attaches upon the filing of the lien statement with the County Clerk.
C. 
The lien obtained by the City is security for the expenditures made and interest accruing at a rate of 10% on the amount due from the date of payment for services by the City. The lien is inferior only to tax liens and liens for street improvements.
D. 
The City may foreclose the lien in a proceeding as authorized in V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 342.007.
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in the sum of not more than $2,000 for each offense, and each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. Upon a first conviction, the fine shall not be less than $50. The minimum fine established in this section shall be doubled for the second conviction of the same offense within any twelve-month period and trebled for the third and subsequent convictions of the same offense within any twelve-month period.
Any and all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the terms of this article are hereby repealed insofar as they do not comply with the specific terms of this article.
The City Council of the City of Collinsville, Texas, having determined, for the safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Collinsville, Texas, a necessity exists, and an emergency is hereby declared. This article shall be in full force and effect immediately following passage.
[Adopted 6-11-2018 by Ord. No. 627]
A. 
The possessor and/or owner of property adjacent to a public roadway or a public easement in the City of Collinsville, Texas, shall keep the owner's or possessor's property, and the property within the public right-of-way or public easement abutting the pavement and/or traveled portion of the public roadway or within the public easement, free and clear of high grass and weeds, and other objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary matter of whatever nature. Objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary matter of whatever nature shall include, without limitation, grass, weeds, brush, or other living material in excess of 12 inches in height.
B. 
The possessor and/or owner of property adjacent to a public roadway or a public easement in the City of Collinsville, Texas, shall also be responsible for removal of brush and other objectionable unsightly or unsanitary matter of whatever nature and shall also be responsible for mowing of the grass in a bar ditch or parkway. A "bar ditch" or "parkway" is defined as the area between the edge of the roadway and the property owner's property line or fence, if any, or the side of the bar ditch furthest from the traveled roadway.
C. 
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof in a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $500 for each violation.
The authority to enforce this article adopted by the City of Collinsville and issue citations pursuant to this article shall be vested in any legally authorized Collinsville police officer, Collinsville Code Enforcement Officer or Collinsville Building Official.
Should any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this article be declared unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, it is expressly provided that any and all remaining portions of this article shall remain in full force and effect.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this article are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict only.
The City Council having determined that it is in the best interests of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Collinsville, this article and the fines and charges created by this article shall be established, and therefore, an emergency is declared. This article shall become effective immediately and in full force upon passage and signature by the Mayor and City Secretary.