As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
definitions set forth below:
Antique vehicle.
Shall have the meaning assigned to it in V.T.C.A., Transportation
Code, section 683.077.
Junked vehicle.
Any vehicle that is self-propelled and:
(1)
Does not have lawfully attached to it:
(A)
An unexpired license plate; or
(B)
A valid motor vehicle inspection certificate;
(2)
Is wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled or discarded;
or
(3)
Is inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than:
(A)
Seventy-two hours if the vehicle is on public property; or
(B)
Thirty consecutive days if the vehicle is on private property.
Motor vehicle.
Shall have the meaning assigned to it in V.T.C.A., Transportation
Code, section 683.001.
Officer.
Any officer of the city, including, without limitation, city
manager, police chief, police officer, fire marshal, code enforcement
or compliance officer, building official or health officer, but shall
not include the mayor or members of the city council.
Other terms.
Any other terms used in this article and not specifically
defined in this section shall have the meanings assigned to them V.T.C.A.,
Transportation Code, section 683.001 or the meaning assigned to them
in other portions of this code.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished in accordance with the general penalty provision set forth in section
1.01.009 of this code.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
The parking, placing, accumulation or storage of one or more junked vehicles or parts(s) thereof as defined in section
8.06.001 herein within the city limits where such junked vehicle or part(s) thereof is visible from a public place or public right-of-way is detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the city, tends to reduce the value of private property, invites vandalism, creates fire hazards, constitutes an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and welfare of the city by producing urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the city, and shall constitute a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
If an officer shall find that a motor vehicle or part thereof
is a public nuisance, as defined herein, such officer shall prepare
a notice, in writing, stating in detail:
(1) The
conditions which constitute the public nuisance;
(2) That
the public nuisance must be removed and abated within ten (10) days
after receipt of the notice;
(3) That
a public hearing will be held before the municipal judge in the municipal
court to determine the allegations in the notice and a remedy to be
imposed if the allegations are found to be true; and
(4) That
the public hearing will be held at a specified date and time in the
municipal court of which date and time shall not be earlier than the
11th day after the date of the service of the notice.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
The notice shall set forth the street address and description
sufficient for identification of the motor vehicle and the premises
upon which the motor vehicle is located.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
(a) The
officer shall cause copies of the notice to be served upon the following:
(1) The last known registered owner of the junked motor vehicle;
(2) Any lienholder of record; and
(3) If the nuisance is upon private property:
(A) The owner of the private premises on which the public nuisance exists;
and
(B) The occupant of the private premises on which the nuisance exists;
(4) If the nuisance is upon public property:
(A) The owner of the public premises on which the public nuisance exists;
and
(B) The occupant of the public premises;
(5) If the nuisance is upon a public right-of-way:
(A) The owner of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way on
which the public nuisance exists; and
(B) The occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way
on which the public nuisance exists.
(b) The notice shall be mailed, by certified mail, with a five-day return requested, to the parties named in subsection
(a).
(c) If
any notices are returned undelivered by the United States post office,
official action to abate the public nuisance shall be continued to
a date not less than ten (10) days after the date of the return.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
(a) Hearings
under this chapter to determine whether a vehicle or vehicles alleged
to be a public nuisance is, in fact, a public nuisance, as defined
by this chapter and state, shall be conducted in accordance with the
following procedures:
(1) All hearings shall be before the municipal judge at the municipal
court unless otherwise ordered by the municipal court judge.
(2) The hearing shall be held at the date, time and place specified in
the original notice unless continued by the municipal judge to a different
date, time and place; however, any rescheduled hearing shall be set
not less than seven days from the date of the hearing in the original
notice.
(3) If a hearing is rescheduled from the date and time specified in the
original notice, notice of the date, time and place of the rescheduled
hearing shall be given in accordance with the municipal court rules
of practice and procedure.
(b) At
the hearing, the municipal judge shall determine whether the vehicle
alleged to be a public nuisance is, in fact, a public nuisance as
defined by this article and state law. At the hearing, the junked
motor vehicle is presumed to be inoperable unless demonstrated otherwise
by the owner.
(c) If
a determination is made that the alleged nuisance is, in fact, a public
nuisance, the municipal judge shall enter an order, pursuant to section
683.074(b) and (c) of the Texas Transportation Code, reciting such
finding and ordering the abatement or removal of the nuisance by a
date certain. The order shall also provide for the removal or abatement
of the nuisance by the city or a contractor retained by the city in
the absence of compliance with the order by the owner or other person
interested in the nuisance by the date specified in the order. If
the information is available at the location of the nuisance, the
order must include the vehicles: description, vehicle identification
number and license plate number.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
(a) The
order requiring the removal of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle
part(s) must include a description of the motor vehicle and the correct
vehicle identification number and license plate number of the vehicle,
if such information is available at the site of the motor vehicle.
(b) The
order shall also state that the motor vehicle shall not be reconstructed
or made operable after it has been removed.
(c) The
state department of transportation shall be given notice of removal
of the motor vehicle not later than the fifth day after the date of
removal. Such notice must identify the motor vehicle or motor vehicle
part(s). This notice is to be given to authorize the state department
of transportation to immediately cancel the certificate of title to
the vehicle pursuant to the Certificate of Title Act (V.T.C.A., Transportation
Code, chapter 501).
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
The relocation of a junked vehicle that is a public nuisance
to another location within the corporate city limits after a proceeding
for the abatement or removal of the public nuisance has commenced
has no effect on the proceeding if the junked vehicle constitutes
a public nuisance at the new location.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
The procedures herein shall not apply to a motor vehicle or
motor vehicle part(s) that is completely enclosed within a building
in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or from
other public or private property, or a motor vehicle or motor vehicle
part(s) that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property
in connection with the business of a licensed motor vehicle dealer
or junkyard, or an unlicensed, operable, or inoperable antique or
special interest motor vehicle stored by a collector on the collector’s
property, if the motor 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.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
Procedures of this article must be administered by regular salaried,
full-time employees of the city, except that the removal of a motor
vehicle or motor vehicle part(s) from the property may be by any duly
authorized person.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
An officer, agent or employee authorized by the city to administer
the procedures authorized by this article may enter private property
for the purposes specified in the procedures herein to examine a motor
vehicle or motor vehicle part(s), obtain information as to the identity
of the motor vehicle, and remove or cause removal of the motor vehicle
or motor vehicle part(s) that constitutes a nuisance in conformity
with this article. The municipal court of the city may issue such
orders as may be necessary to enforce the procedures set forth in
this article.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
No officer, agent or employee of the city shall be personally
liable for damage incurred or alleged to have been incurred as a result
of any act required, permitted or authorized to be done or performed
in the discharge of his duties pursuant to this article. Any suit
brought against any officer, agent or employee of the city as a result
of any act required, permitted or authorized in the discharge of his
duties under this article shall be deemed an action against the city.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
If the public nuisance is not removed nor abated within the
ten-day period provided by this article, the city, acting by and through
its city manager, code compliance officer, fire marshal or health
officer, shall then file a complaint under V.T.C.A., Transportation
Code, section 683.074, in the municipal court for the city or in the
justice of the peace court of the county.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)
A junked motor vehicle(s) or part(s) thereof may be disposed
of to a commercial scrap yard, demolisher or other suitable site.
A junked vehicle or part(s) thereof may be disposed of by removal
to a scrap yard, demolisher or any suitable site operated by the city
for processing as scrap or salvage if the city council determines
by resolution that commercial channels for disposition are not available
or are inadequate.
(Ordinance 1280 adopted 11/11/19)