The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Antique auto
means a passenger car or truck that is at least 35 years
old.
Collector
means the owner of one or more antique or special interest
vehicles who collects, purchases, acquires, trades, or disposes of
special interest or antique vehicles, or parts of them, for personal
use in order to restore, preserve and maintain an antique or special
interest vehicle for historic interest.
Demolisher
means a person whose business is to convert a motor vehicle
into processed scrap or scrap metal or to otherwise wreck or dismantle
a motor vehicle.
Junked vehicle.
Any motor vehicle that is self-propelled and:
(1)
Is:
a.
Wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, or discarded; or
b.
Inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than:
1.
Seventy-two consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property;
or
2.
Thirty consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private property.
(2)
For purposes of this article, “junked vehicle” also
includes a motor vehicle, aircraft or watercraft and applies only
to:
a.
A motor vehicle that displays an expired license plate or does
not display a license plate;
b.
An aircraft that does not have lawfully printed on the aircraft
an unexpired federal aircraft identification number registered under
Federal Aviation Administration aircraft registration regulations
in 14 C.F.R. Part 47; or
c.
A watercraft that:
1.
Does not have lawfully on board an unexpired certificate of
number; and
2.
Is not a watercraft described by section 31.055, Parks and Wildlife
Code.
(Code 1974, § 7-75; Ordinance 1956, § 1, 6-12-12; Ordinance 2067, § 1, 6-9-15)
(a) A junked
vehicle that is located in a place where it is visible from a public
place or public right-of-way is detrimental to the safety and welfare
of the general public, tends to reduce the value of private property,
invites vandalism, creates fire hazards, constitutes an attractive
nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and
is detrimental to the economic welfare of the state by producing urban
blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the
city, and is a public nuisance.
(b) A person
commits an offense if that person maintains a public nuisance as determined
under this article.
Any person who shall fail to abate or remove any public nuisance defined in this article upon the expiration of ten days from receipt of the notice herein provided for or within the period provided by any order of the municipal judge of the city following hearing as herein provided for shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined as provided in section
1-12 of this Code for violations of provisions governing public health and sanitation. Each such violation shall be deemed a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder. The court, upon determination of guilt of maintaining a public nuisance as defined in this article, shall further order removal and abatement of the public nuisance if it shall not have been theretofore abated or removed.
(Code 1974, § 7-79; Ordinance 1077, § XIII, 5-12-92)
The procedures in this article shall not apply to a vehicle
or vehicle part that is completely enclosed within a building in a
lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public
or private property; a vehicle or vehicle part that is stored or parked
in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business
of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard; or an unlicensed, operable,
or inoperable antique or special interest vehicle stored by a collector
on the collector’s property, if the vehicle and the outdoor
storage area are maintained in a manner so that they do not constitute
a health hazard and are screened from ordinary public view by means
of a fence, rapidly growing trees, shrubbery, or other appropriate
means.
(Code 1974, § 7-76)
For such a nuisance on private property, the city shall require
that the nuisance be abated within ten days. The notice shall state
the nature of the public nuisance on private property, that it must
be removed and abated within ten days, and that a request for a hearing
must be made before expiration of the ten-day period. The notice must
be mailed, by certified mail, with a five-day return requested, to
the last known registered owner of the junked motor vehicle, any lien
holder of record, and to the owner or occupant of the private premises
on which the public nuisance exists. If the post office address of
the last known registered owner of the motor vehicle is unknown, notice
to the last known registered owner may be placed on the motor vehicle,
or, if the last known registered owner is physically located, the
notice may be hand delivered. If any notice is returned undelivered
by the United States Post Office, official action to abate the nuisance
shall be continued to a date not less than ten days after the date
of the return.
(Code 1974, § 7-77)
For such a nuisance on public property, the city shall require
that the nuisance be abated within ten days. The notice shall state
the nature of the public nuisance on public property or on a public
right-of-way, that the nuisance must be removed and abated within
ten days, and that a request for a hearing must be made before expiration
of the ten-day period. The notice must be mailed, by certified mail,
with a five-day return requested, to the last known registered owner
of the junked motor vehicle, any lien holder of record, and to the
owner or occupant of the public premises or to the owner or occupant
of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way on which the public
nuisance exists. If the post office address of the last known registered
owner of the motor vehicle is unknown, notice to the last known registered
owner may be placed on the motor vehicle, or, if the last known registered
owner is physically located, the notice may be hand delivered. If
any notice is returned undelivered by the United States Post Office,
official action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date
not less than ten days after the date of the return.
(Code 1974, § 7-77(b))
The written notice provided for in this article to the occupant
of the private or public premises whereupon such public nuisance is
claimed to exist, or the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent
to the public right-of-way whereupon such public nuisance is claimed
to exist, as well as to the registered owner and all lien holders
of record, shall be given by the chief of police of the city or his
duly authorized representative.
(Code 1974, § 7-77(c))
(a) If
requested, before the removal of the vehicle or vehicle part as a
public nuisance, a public hearing will be held. The hearing shall
be held before the municipal judge. The addressee may request a public
hearing prior to the removal of such vehicle or part thereof as a
public nuisance by the city, provided a formal request for such public
hearing is made by the addressee within such ten-day period provided
for in such notice to the clerk of the municipal court of the city.
Such clerk shall set upon the docket of the municipal court a time
for hearing upon the request of such addressee and shall advise the
addressee thereof. Such hearing shall be a public hearing before the
judge of the municipal court of the city for the purpose of determining
whether or not such junked vehicle or part thereof which is the subject
of such notice shall be within the provisions of this article and
subject to abatement or removal.
(b) Upon
hearing, the judge of the municipal court of the city shall issue
an order indicating whether or not such junked vehicle or part thereof
which was the subject of such notice is a public nuisance and, if
this is so found, he shall order the removal and abatement of such
public nuisance. In such event, the order requiring the removal or
abatement of such nuisance shall include a description of the vehicle
or part thereof and the correct identification number and license
number of the vehicle or part thereof, if available from inspection
of such vehicle or part thereof at the site of its location.
(c) At
the hearing it is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner,
that the vehicle is inoperable.
(Code 1974, § 7-77(a), (b))
Notice shall be given to the state department of highways and
public transportation not later than the fifth day after the date
of removal. The notice shall identify the vehicle or vehicle part.
The department shall immediately cancel the certificate of title to
the vehicle pursuant to the certificate of title act, Vernon’s
Ann. Civ. St. art. 6687-1.
(Code 1974, § 7-78)
The junked vehicle may not be reconstructed or made operable
after it has been removed.
Vernon’s Ann. Civ. St. art. 4477-9a, § 5.09(d).
(Code 1974, § 7-77(b))
If the junked vehicle or part thereof, which is the subject of the notice provided for in sections
46-140 and
46-141, is not abated or removed within the time period provided by the notice in such sections and a hearing is not requested, or, if the junked vehicle shall be ordered removed by the municipal judge following public hearing as provided in section
46-143, the police department may take the junked vehicle into custody and dispose of it in the manner and pursuant to the procedures provided for in section
46-147.
(Code 1974, § 7-78)
A junked vehicle or vehicle part may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard, demolisher, or any suitable site operated by the city for processing as scrap or salvage. The process of disposal must comply with the provisions of section
46-145. The city may make final disposition of the vehicle or vehicle parts, or may transfer the vehicle or vehicle parts to another disposal site if the disposal is only as scrap or salvage.
(Code 1974, § 7-78)
Any Euless Police Officer, and any other Euless employee whose
duties include enforcement of the provisions of this Code of Ordinances,
are hereby authorized to administer the procedures authorized by this
article, and any such police officer or city employee may enter upon
private property for the purposes specified herein to examine a vehicle
or vehicle part, obtain information as to the identity of the vehicle,
and remove or cause the removal [of] a vehicle or vehicle part. The
Euless Municipal Court shall issue appropriate orders necessary to
enforce the procedures contained in this article.
(Ordinance 1186, § I, 8-22-95)