The ordinances embraced in this and the following chapters and sections shall constitute and be designated the “Code of Ordinances, City of Euless, Texas” and may be so cited.
(Code 1974, § 1-1)
In the construction of this Code, and of all ordinances and resolutions passed by the city council, the following rules shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the city council:
Generally.
Words shall be construed in their common and usual significance unless the contrary is clearly indicated.
Charter.
The word “Charter” shall mean the Charter of the City of Euless printed in part I of this volume.
City.
The word “city” shall mean the City of Euless in the County of Tarrant and State of Texas.
City boards, committees, commissions, etc.
Whenever reference is made to a board, committee, commission, officer, employee or department, etc., it shall mean the same as if it were followed by the words “of the City of Euless, Texas.”
City manager, city secretary, chief of police or other city officers.
The words “city manager,” “city secretary,” “chief of police” and other city officers or departments shall be construed to mean the city manager, city secretary, chief of police or such other municipal officers or departments, respectively, of the City of Euless, Texas. Reference to an officer or employee by title shall include his duly authorized assistants or representatives.
Code.
The word “Code” shall mean the Code of Ordinances of the City of Euless.
Computation of time.
Whenever a notice is required to be given or an act to be done a certain length of time before any proceeding shall be had, the day on which such notice is given or such act is done shall be counted in computing the time, but the day on which such proceeding is to be had shall not be counted.
Council.
Whenever the words “council” or “city council” are used, they shall mean the city council of the City of Euless, Texas.
County.
The term “county” shall mean the County of Tarrant, Texas.
Gender.
A word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships, associations and corporations as well as to males.
Month.
The word “month” shall mean a calendar month.
Number.
Any word importing the singular number shall include the plural and any word importing the plural number shall include the singular.
Oath.
The word “oath” shall be construed to include an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such cases the words “swear” and “sworn” shall be equivalent to the words “affirm” and “affirmed.”
Official time standard.
Whenever certain hours are named herein, they shall mean standard time or daylight saving time as may be in current use in the city.
Owner.
The word “owner,” applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of the whole or of a part of such building or land.
Person.
The word “person” shall extend and be applied to associations, corporations, firms, partnerships, fiduciaries, representatives and bodies politic and corporate as well as to individuals.
Preceding, following.
The words “preceding” and “following” mean next before and next after, respectively.
Signature or subscription.
The word “signature” or “subscription” shall include a mark when a person cannot write.
State.
The word “state” shall be construed to mean the State of Texas.
Street.
This term shall have its commonly accepted meaning, and shall include highways, sidewalks, alleys, avenues, recessed parking areas and other public rights-of-way including the entire right-of-way.
Tense.
Words used in the past or present tense include the future as well as the past and present.
V.T.C.A.
The abbreviation “V.T.C.A.” shall mean and refer to the latest edition or supplement of Vernon’s Texas Codes Annotated.
Vernon’s Ann.
Civ. St. The abbreviation “Vernon’s Ann. Civ. St.” shall mean the latest edition or supplement to Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes.
Written or in writing.
The term “written” or “in writing” shall be construed to include any representation of words, letters or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.
Year.
The word “year” shall mean a calendar year.
(Code 1974, § 1-3)
The catchlines of the several sections of this Code printed in boldface type are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the section and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such sections, nor as any part of the section, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such sections, including the catchlines, are amended or reenacted.
(Code 1974, § 1-2)
The history notes appearing in parentheses after sections of this Code are not intended to have any legal effect, but are merely intended to indicate the source of matter contained in the section.
(Code 1974, § 1-4)
The references and editor’s notes appearing throughout the Code are not intended to have any legal effect, but are merely intended to assist the user of the Code.
(Code 1974, § 1-4)
(a) 
Nothing in this Code or the ordinance adopting this Code shall affect any offense or act committed or done, or any penalty of forfeiture incurred, or any contract or right established or accruing before the effective date of this Code.
(b) 
The adoption of this Code shall not be interpreted as authorizing or permitting any use or the continuance of any use of a structure or premises in violation of any ordinance of the city in effect on the date of adoption of this Code.
(Code 1974, § 1-4)
(a) 
Any and all additions and amendments to this Code, when passed in such form as to indicate the intention of the city council to make the same a part of this Code, shall be deemed to be incorporated in this Code, so that reference to the Code shall be understood and intended to include such additions and amendments.
(b) 
All ordinances passed subsequent to this Code which amend, repeal or in any way affect this Code may be numbered in accordance with the numbering system of this Code and printed for inclusion therein. When subsequent ordinances repeal any chapter, article, division, section or subsection or any portion thereof, such repealed portions may be excluded from the Code by omission from reprinted pages.
(c) 
Amendments to any of the provisions of this Code may be made by amending such provisions by specific reference to the section number of this Code in substantially the following language: “That section __________ of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Euless, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows: ....” The new provisions shall then be set out in full as desired.
(d) 
If a new section not heretofore existing in the Code is to be added, the following language may be used: “That the Code of Ordinances, City of Euless, Texas, is hereby amended by adding a section to be numbered __________, which section reads as follows: ....” The new section may then be set out in full as desired.
(e) 
All sections, divisions, articles, chapters, or provisions desired to be repealed must be specifically repealed by section, division, article or chapter number, as the case may be.
(Code 1974, § 1-4)
(a) 
By contract or by city personnel, supplements to this Code shall be prepared and printed whenever authorized or directed by the city council. A supplement to the Code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances passed by the city council or adopted by initiative and referendum during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the Code, and shall also include all amendments to the Charter during the period. The pages of a supplement shall be so numbered that they will fit properly into the Code and will, where necessary, replace pages which have become obsolete or partially obsolete, and the new pages shall be so prepared that, when they have been inserted, the Code will be current through the date of the adoption of the latest ordinance included in the supplement.
(b) 
In preparing a supplement to this Code, all portions of the Code which have been repealed shall be excluded from the Code by the omission thereof from reprinted pages.
(c) 
When preparing a supplement to this Code, the codifier, meaning the person, agency or organization authorized to prepare the supplement, may make formal, nonsubstantive changes in ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the supplement, insofar as it is necessary to do so to embody them into a unified Code. For example, the codifier may:
(1) 
Organize the ordinance material into appropriate subdivisions;
(2) 
Provide appropriate catchlines, headings and titles for sections and other subdivisions of the Code printed in the supplement, and make changes in such catchlines, headings and titles;
(3) 
Assign appropriate numbers to sections and other subdivisions to be inserted in the Code and, where necessary to accommodate new material, change existing section or other subdivision numbers;
(4) 
Change the words “this ordinance” or words of the same meaning to “this chapter,” “this article,” “this division,” etc., as the case may be, or to “sections __________ to __________” (inserting section numbers to indicate the sections of the Code which embody the substantive sections of the ordinance incorporated into the Code); and
(5) 
Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original meaning of ordinance sections inserted into the Code; but, in no case, shall the codifier make any change in the meaning or effect of ordinance material included in the supplement or already embodied in the Code.
(Code 1974, § 1-4)
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the city council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this Code are severable and, if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this Code shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this Code, since the same would have been enacted by the city council without the incorporation in this Code of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
(Code 1974, § 1-5)
(a) 
Whenever in this Code or in any ordinance of the city an act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, or whenever in this Code or such ordinance the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, and no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such provision of this Code or any such ordinance shall be punished by a fine:
(1) 
Not to exceed $500.00;
(2) 
Not to exceed $2,000.00 if the provision violated governs fire safety, zoning or public health and sanitation, including vegetation and litter violations and the dumping of refuse; or
(3) 
Fixed by state law if the violation is one for which the state has fixed a fine.
(b) 
Unless otherwise specifically set forth in this Code or in state law, as adopted, allegation and evidence of a culpable mental state is not required for proof of the violation of any provision of this Code.
(c) 
Notwithstanding subsection (b) herein, a culpable mental state of intentional, knowing, or reckless must be alleged in the charge of an offense if the offense is punishable by a fine exceeding $500.00.
(d) 
A person violating a provision of this Code or of any ordinance is guilty of a separate offense for each day, or part of a day, during which the violation is committed, continued or permitted, unless otherwise provided.
(e) 
The owners of any building or premises, or part thereof, where anything in violation of this article shall be placed or shall exist, and who may have assisted in the commission of any such violation, shall be guilty of a separate offense and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in this section.
(f) 
The penalties provided in this section shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any other rights and remedies the city may have.
(Code 1974, § 1-6; Ordinance 1077, 5-12-92; Ordinance 2021, § 1, 2-11-14)