As used in this article, the following terms shall have the respective meanings ascribed to them in this article:
Graffiti.
Markings, initials, slogans, inscriptions, symbols, designs or other drawings which are written, sketched, painted, drawn or applied in any other way to any structure, building, or property, or to any portion or element thereof, whether the property is public or private, without the effective consent of the owner.
Occupant.
A person who resides, or holds possession of, or occupies property in the town.
Owner.
As used herein shall mean, in addition to the legal owner of such property, any person, firm, association or corporation in charge of, having control of or having the right of control of any property within the town, including tenants, lessees and occupants, except where specifically stated otherwise. The term “owner” shall also include any mortgage company or other mortgagee who, by foreclosure or other operation of law has acquired any legal or equitable right in and to property.
Parkway.
As that term is used herein shall mean that property adjacent to the property of any owner extending from the owner’s property line to the curb line of any street, roadway or alley where curb exist, or, extending to the edge of the driving portion of any street, roadway or alley where there are no curbs, including adjacent drainage ditches and easements derived from the owner’s servient estate.
Property.
Any lot, parcel or tract of land within the corporate limits of the Town of Double Oak.
Town.
The Town of Double Oak, Texas.
(Ordinance 09-14 adopted 9/8/09)
The owner or occupant of any property within the corporate limits of the town, whether the same be occupied or unoccupied, shall keep such property and adjacent parkway free of any of the following conditions which hereby constitute nuisances and offensive conditions:
(1) 
stagnant water;
(2) 
accumulations of trash, garbage, or debris including solid waste consisting of dirt, concrete, rocks, bricks, or other similar construction or building waste materials;
(3) 
filth, carrion, or other impure or unwholesome matter;
(4) 
grass, weeds and vegetation growing to a height of more than ten (10) inches, excepting regularly cultivated crops not growing within a public right-of-way;
(5) 
rubbish, brush, graffiti and other objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary matter; or
(6) 
any other condition found by the town's building inspector, code enforcement officer, health officer, the county health officer, state health officer, or other authorized person to be unsanitary or unwholesome or a condition that may produce disease.
(Ordinance 18 adopted 6/6/00; Ordinance 09-14 adopted 9/8/09)
(a) 
When any duly authorized officer of the town discovers property in the town which is being maintained in violation of any of the provisions of this article, he shall issue and serve a notice of such as follows:
(1) 
delivered personally to the owner or occupant in writing;
(2) 
by letter addressed to the owner or occupant at the owner's or occupant's post office address, last known address, or property address where the violation exists; or
(3) 
if personal service cannot be obtained or the owner's or occupant's post office address is unknown:
(A) 
by publication in the town's official newspaper at least twice within ten consecutive days;
(B) 
by posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation relates; or
(C) 
by posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates, if the property contains no building.
(b) 
If the owner or occupant of the property does not comply with the notice and this article within ten (10) days of notice of the violation given as stated above, the town may, on written request, with good cause demonstrated, grant up to 21 additional days for correction of the violation, or may:
(1) 
issue a citation charging such owner or occupant with a violation of this article;
(2) 
do the work or make the improvements required; and
(3) 
pay for the work done or improvements made and charge the expenses to the owner of the property.
(c) 
The town may assess expenses incurred under this article against the real estate on which the work is done or improvements made in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.304 below.
(d) 
The notice of violation described in the preceding subsection (a) of this section may inform the owner or occupant by certified mail, return receipt requested, that if the owner or occupant commits another violation of the same kind or nature that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the first anniversary date of the notice, the town may, without further notice, correct the violation at the owner's or occupant's expense and assess the expense against the property. If such violation occurs within the one year period set forth in the notice and the owner or occupant has failed to notify the town of a change in ownership, then the town may without further notice proceed with enforcement, correction and assessment as provided for herein.
(Ordinance 18 adopted 6/6/00)
(a) 
To obtain a lien against the property, the mayor or his designee, including any other designated town official, must file a statement of expenses with the County Clerk of Denton County. The statement of expenses must identify the name of the owner, if known, and the legal description of the property.
(b) 
The lien obtained by the town is security for the expenditures made and interest accruing at the rate of ten (10%) percent per annum on the amount due from the date of payment by the town for the work done or improvements made.
(c) 
The lien is inferior only to tax liens and liens for street improvements.
(d) 
The town may authorize a suit for foreclosure in the name of the Town of Double Oak to recover the expenditures and interest due.
(e) 
The statement of expenses or a certified copy of the statement is prima facie proof of the expenses incurred by the town in doing the work or making the improvements.
(f) 
The remedy provided in this section is in addition to any fine which may be imposed for a violation of this article and is cumulative of and in addition to any other remedies which may be provided for by the Ordinances of the Town of Double Oak or other law, whether civil or criminal.
(Ordinance 18 adopted 6/6/00)
(a) 
The town may abate, without notice, weeds or other vegetation that have grown to a height of more than forty eight (48) inches and that constitute an immediate danger to the health, life, or safety of any person.
(b) 
Not later than the 10th day after the date the town abates vegetation under this section, the mayor or designee or other duly authorized official of the town shall give notice to the property owner in the manner required by Section 6.303 of this article. The notice shall contain:
(1) 
an identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the property;
(2) 
a description of the violations of this article that occurred on the property;
(3) 
a statement that the town abated the weeds; and
(4) 
an explanation of the property owner's right to request an administrative hearing about the town's abatement of the weeds.
(c) 
The town council shall conduct an administrative hearing on the abatement of weeds under this section if, not later than the 30th day after the date of the abatement of the weeds, the property owner files with the town a written request for a hearing.
(d) 
An administrative hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted not later than the 20th day after the date a request for a hearing is filed. The owner may testify or present any witnesses or written information relating to the town's abatement of the weeds.
(e) 
The town may assess expenses and create liens under this section as it assesses expenses and creates liens under Section 6.304 of this article. A lien created under this section is subject to the same conditions as a lien created under Section 6.304 of this article.
(f) 
The authority provided for in this section is in addition to the authority provided for in Section 6.303 and Section 6.304 of this article.
(Ordinance 18 adopted 6/6/00)
(a) 
The term “managed” as used in this section means a planned and designed yard area or landscaped area which is planned and designed with the intent to control, direct, and maintain the growth of wildflowers native to the region.
(b) 
The term “dormant” as used in this section with regard to wildflowers means the phase or phases in the lifecycle of a wildflower in which said wildflower is not in bloom, seeding, or prebloom growth after seed germination.
(c) 
It shall be an exception to the provisions of Section 6.302(4) of this article and shall be lawful for an owner or occupant of real property to maintain on residentially zoned lots a managed natural landscape incorporating wildflowers native to the region provided that each of the following conditions are met:
(1) 
there is a setback of compliant wildflower growth on the property not less than ten (10) feet from the front lot line and from any property lines adjacent to residentially zoned lots;
(2) 
no part of the area of compliant wildflower growth is within any road, drainage, utility or other easement;
(3) 
wildflowers constitute the predominant vegetation in the area of compliant wildflower growth;
(4) 
any and all vegetation other than non-dormant wildflowers (e.g., weeds, dormant wildflowers and grasses) within compliant wildflower growth areas are maintained at a height not to exceed ten (10) inches;
(5) 
all areas of compliant wildflower growth are kept mowed to height not to exceed ten (10) inches during any and all periods in which the wildflowers therein are dormant; and
(6) 
the total area of compliant wildflower growth on the subject lot does not exceed 2000 square feet.
(d) 
The provisions of this section do not create or confer an exception to the provisions of Section 6.305 of this article (“Dangerous Vegetation”) and nothing contained within this section shall be deemed or construed to waive, modify or create an exception to Section 6.305 of this article.
(Ordinance 04-17 adopted 11/1/04)
Notwithstanding any other provision of the ordinances of the Town of Double Oak or of this article, any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction in the municipal court of the Town of Double Oak, Texas, shall be subject to a fine in accordance with the general penalty provision set forth in Section 1.109 of this code for each offense, except however, where a different penalty has been established by state law for such offense the penalty shall be that fixed by state law. Each and every day said violation is continued shall constitute a separate offense. The remedies provided for herein shall not be exclusive but shall be cumulative of and in addition to each other and of any other remedies which may be provided for by law, whether civil or criminal.
(Ordinance 18 adopted 6/6/00)