A junked vehicle, including a part of a junked vehicle, that is visible at any time of the year from a public place or public right-of-way may be considered a nuisance under the following conditions:
(1) 
It is detrimental to the safety and welfare of the public;
(2) 
It tends to reduce the value of private property;
(3) 
It invites vandalism;
(4) 
It creates a fire hazard;
(5) 
It constitutes a hazard to the health and safety of minors; and
(6) 
It produces urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the town.
(Ordinance 16-03 adopted 2/22/16; 2006 Code, sec. 8.204)
(a) 
A person commits an offense if the person maintains a public nuisance described by section 8.10.061.
(b) 
An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine in accordance with the general penalty provided in section 1.01.009 of this code.
(c) 
The municipal court shall order abatement and removal of the nuisance on conviction.
(Ordinance 16-03 adopted 2/22/16; 2006 Code, sec. 8.205; Ordinance adopting 2021 Code)
(a) 
This article shall be administered by the town manager or his/her designee, all of whom shall be regularly salaried, full-time town employees except for any person authorized to remove the nuisance.
(b) 
The town manager or his/her designee may enter private property to examine a public nuisance, to obtain information to identify the nuisance, and to remove or direct the removal of the nuisance.
(Ordinance 16-03 adopted 2/22/16; 2006 Code, sec. 8.206)
(a) 
Prior to any official action being taken to abate and remove a junked vehicle constituting a public nuisance from private property, public property, or a public right-of-way, not less than ten (10) days’ notice shall be given, except as herein provided, to the following parties:
(1) 
The last known registered owner of the nuisance;
(2) 
Each lienholder of record of the nuisance; and
(3) 
The owner or occupant of:
(A) 
The property on which the nuisance is located; or
(B) 
If the nuisance is located on a public right-of-way, the property adjacent to the right-of-way.
(b) 
The notice must state that:
(1) 
The nuisance must be abated and removed not later than the 10th day after the date on which the notice was personally delivered or mailed; and
(2) 
Any request for a hearing must be made before that 10-day period expires.
(c) 
If the post office address of the last known registered owner of the nuisance is unknown, notice may be placed on the nuisance or, if the owner is located, personally delivered.
(d) 
If notice is returned undelivered, action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not earlier than the 10th day after the date of the return.
(Ordinance 16-03 adopted 2/22/16; 2006 Code, sec. 8.207)
(a) 
The municipal court shall conduct hearings under the procedures adopted under this article.
(b) 
If a hearing is requested by a person for whom notice is required under section 8.10.064, the hearing shall be held not earlier than the 11th day after the date of the service of notice.
(c) 
At the hearing, the junked motor vehicle is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable.
(d) 
If the information is available at the location of the nuisance, an order requiring removal of the nuisance must include:
(1) 
For a motor vehicle, the vehicle’s:
(A) 
Description;
(B) 
Vehicle identification number; and
(C) 
License plate number;
(2) 
For an aircraft, the aircraft’s:
(A) 
Description; and
(B) 
Federal aircraft identification number as described by Federal Aviation Administration aircraft registration regulations in 14 C.F.R. part 47; and
(3) 
For a watercraft, the watercraft’s:
(A) 
Description; and
(B) 
Identification number as set forth in the watercraft’s certificate of number.
(Ordinance 16-03 adopted 2/22/16; 2006 Code, sec. 8.208)
(a) 
Authorized.
In the event the municipal court orders abatement of the nuisance, the town or any duly authorized person may abate such public nuisance by removal and disposal of the junked vehicle and/or parts.
(b) 
Vehicles not to be made operable after removal.
After any junked vehicle has been removed under the authority of this article, it shall not be reconstructed or made operable again.
(c) 
Relocation of vehicle.
The relocation of a vehicle alleged to be a nuisance to another location within the town limits after commencement of proceedings shall have no effect if the vehicle constitutes a nuisance at a new location.
(Ordinance 16-03 adopted 2/22/16; 2006 Code, sec. 8.209)
The provisions of this article shall not apply to a vehicle:
(1) 
That is completely enclosed in a building in a lawful manner and is not visible from the street or other public or private property; or
(2) 
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 that is an antique or special interest vehicle stored by a motor vehicle collector on the collector’s property, if the vehicle or part and the outdoor storage area, if any, are:
(A) 
Maintained in an orderly manner;
(B) 
Not a health hazard; and
(C) 
Screened from ordinary public view by appropriate means, including a fence, rapidly growing trees, or shrubbery.
(Ordinance 16-03 adopted 2/22/16; 2006 Code, sec. 8.210)
Any junked vehicles taken into custody by the town pursuant to a provision of this article shall be disposed of in accordance with applicable provisions of chapter 683 of the Texas Transportation Code.
(Ordinance 16-03 adopted 2/22/16; 2006 Code, sec. 8.211)