The purpose of this article is the control and reduction of rodents within the city through the modification and elimination of conditions which allow for the continued reproduction, colonization, and existence of rodents. The city will have primary responsibility for enforcement. The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District will provide technical assistance and support to inspectors/enforcement officers for the city who enforce this article.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 1, adopted 1/19/10)
Building
means any structure, whether public or private, that is for a residential, office, commercial or industrial use.
Burrow
means a below-ground nest or harborage for rodents.
Debris
means the worthless remains that result from the destruction or breaking down of anything.
Director
means the director of the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District. The term also means the authorized representative of the director.
Enforcement officer
means the city ACO or a designated representative.
Evidence of rodents
means the natural presence of rodent runs, burrows, fecal droppings, rubmarks, gnaw marks, tail drag marks, tracks or other signs which may be associated with the presence of rodents, as well as the visual sighting, hearing, smelling, or otherwise sensing of the presence of rodents.
Garbage
means the refuse of animal or vegetable matter from households or other activity.
Harborage
means any place which provides shelter or protection for rodents, thus favoring their reproduction, presence, or continued existence on the premises.
Occupant
means the person who has the use of or occupies any building or any part thereof or who has the use or possession, actual or constructive, of the premises, whether the actual owner or tenant. In the case of vacant buildings or vacant portions of a business building, or in case of occupancy in whole or in part by the owner, the owner of the building shall be deemed to be and shall have the responsibility of an occupant of such building.
Opening
means any opening in the foundation, sides or walls, ground or first floor, basement, chimneys, eaves, grills, windows, ventilators, walk grates, or elevators of a building, and any pipes, wires, or other installations through which a rodent may enter.
Owner
means the person owning the building or premises.
Person
means individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, public or private institutions, municipalities, political subdivisions of the state, governmental agencies, and public or private corporations.
Premises
means a parcel of real property, including all buildings located thereon.
Refuse
means material rejected or thrown aside as worthless.
Rodent
means rats and mice in the order Rodentia. This shall include, but is not limited to, rats and mice belonging to the family Muridae (which includes the Norway rat, roof rat, and house mouse) and belonging to the family Cricetidae (which includes the deer mouse, the white footed mouse, and the cotton rat).
Rodent eradication
means the elimination or extermination of rodents from premises and from rodent harborages of any kind by measures such as baiting, fumigation, or trapping and, where necessary, rodent-proofing such that the premises and rodent harborages are completely freed of rodents, and there is no evidence of rodent infestation remaining.
Rodent-proof container
means a garbage can or other container reasonably impervious to rodents.
Rodent-proofing
means to prevent the ingress of rodents into buildings from the exterior or from one building to another. It consists of the closing, with material impervious to rodent gnawing, of all openings in the exterior walls, ground or first floors, basements, roofs, and foundations that may be reached by rodents from the ground by climbing or by burrowing.
Rodent-tight condition of sewers
means the condition achieved by the construction and maintenance of sewer lines, manholes, and all other parts of the sewer system in such a manner as to prevent rodents from exiting through openings or breaks.
Rubmark
means a dark, sometimes greasy mark formed from contact by the rodent’s body.
Run
means a narrow pathway of beaten earth and vegetation swept clear of debris by the frequent travel of a rodent.
Trash
means any accumulation of waste materials no longer of any use, including but not limited to paper, sweepings, dust, rags, bottles, cans, or cardboard.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 2, adopted 1/19/10)
All premises within the city shall be free of rodents and maintained in a rodent-free condition. Rodent harborages shall be eliminated, buildings shall be maintained in a rodent-proof condition, foods and foodstuffs shall be stored and handled so as to be inaccessible to rodents, and, where rodent infestation is evident, effective measures of rodent eradication shall be instigated by the occupant of the premises or, in the absence of an occupant, by the owner.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 3, adopted 1/19/10)
No person shall place, leave, dump or permit to accumulate any garbage, refuse, debris, or trash on any premises, alley, or roadway, so as to afford food or harborage for rodents. All garbage, including dead animals, shall be placed and stored in rodent-proof containers until collected.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 4, adopted 1/19/10)
(a) 
Conditions which provide rodent harborage shall not exist on any premises. No person shall accumulate or permit the accumulation of boxes, bottles, cans, containers, junk appliances, or other similar objects which afford rodent harborage.
(b) 
When there is evidence of rodents upon premises, the following persons shall be jointly and severally responsible to remove from such premises objects of the type described in subsection (a) of this section, upon request of the enforcement officer:
(1) 
The person who placed such objects upon the premises;
(2) 
The occupant of the premises, if the objects are in or on a part of the premises which the occupant occupies or controls; and
(3) 
The owner of the premises if the owner leased the part of the premises containing such objects with such objects upon the premises, or the objects are in or on a part of the premises which are vacant or occupied by the owner, or the objects are upon a part of the premises which the owner maintains or controls even though the premises are occupied by another.
(c) 
When there is evidence of rodents in and around useful materials, such as firewood, lumber, or building material, indicating the presence of a rodent harborage, and the enforcement officer requests, the owner of such useful material shall store them at least fifteen (15) inches above ground.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 5, adopted 1/19/10)
(a) 
The owner of any building shall be responsible to rodent-proof that building when evidence of rodents exists in, under, or around said building, and the enforcement officer gives notice to the owner or to the owner’s rental agent for the building of said condition. Nothing contained in the foregoing sentence shall bar any right of action the owner of the building may have against the lessee for breach of the lease, but the owner may not plead the terms of any such lease in bar of the owner’s responsibility set forth in the foregoing sentence. Methods and materials used for rodent-proofing shall be sufficient to stop the ingress of rodents into buildings from the exterior and from one building to another.
(b) 
All buildings shall be maintained free of rodents and in a rodent-free condition.
(1) 
It shall be the responsibility of each and every occupant of a building to maintain that portion of the building which he or she occupies or controls free of rodents and in a rodent-free condition. It shall be an affirmative defense that the occupant has provided the enforcement officer with a current lease agreement with the owner clearly showing that the owner has responsibility for the repairs required to maintain the building in a rodent-free condition.
(2) 
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of a building to maintain free of rodents and in rodent-free condition the unoccupied parts of his or her building, the parts of such building over which a non-owner occupant does not exert control, and the parts of such building which any lease or agreement makes the owner responsible for maintaining.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 6, adopted 1/19/10)
(a) 
The enforcement officer shall have the right of entry upon any premises where entry is necessary to carry out the provisions of this article. If consent for entry is not given or obtained, an administrative search and inspection warrant shall be obtained. If an imminent hazard exists, no warrant is required for entry upon the premises.
(b) 
The enforcement officer shall give notice in writing that generally identifies the problem observed and states the number of days within which the problem must be corrected. The enforcement officer shall normally allow at least seven (7) calendar days for a problem to be corrected. However, if the problem presents an imminent health hazard to persons occupying or using the building, that time may be reduced.
(c) 
If the occupant, owner, or other responsible person receiving said notice needs additional time to correct the problem, at least three (3) days before the end of the time period stated in the notice he or she must file a written request with the enforcement officer explaining why additional time is needed, stating the amount of time needed, and providing a mailing address and telephone number or e-mail address where he or she may be reached. The enforcement officer may deny the request, allow a different number of additional days, or approve the request. Notice of the decision may be made by telephone or e-mail followed by delivery of a written notice of the enforcement officer’s decision delivered to the person filing the request either by hand delivery or by mail.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 8, adopted 1/19/10)
Whenever this article provides for notice to be given to a person, that notice may be given by delivering a written notice to the person or by mailing a written notice to the person.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 9, adopted 1/19/10)
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor, the penalty for which shall be a fine in accordance with the general penalty provided in section 1.01.009 of this code. Each day the violation exists shall be a separate violation.
(Ordinance 10-2009, sec. 10, adopted 1/19/10; Ordinance adopting Code)