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:
Brush
means scrub vegetation or dense undergrowth.
Carrion
means the dead putrefying flesh of any animal, fowl or fish.
Dump
means to dispose, discharge, place, deposit, throw, leave, sweep, scatter, unload or toss.
Filth
means any matter in a putrescent state.
Garbage
means any kitchen refuse, foodstuffs or related materials, including all decayable waste.
Hay
means grass or other vegetation that is cut, dried and either tightly rolled into individual cylindrical forms and bound with twine or wire or cut and dried and compacted into rectangular forms and bound with twine or wire for transporting and storage and which is suitable for consumption by animals.
Impure or unwholesome matter
means any putrescible or nonputrescible condition, object or matter which tends, may or could cause injury, death or disease to human beings.
Matter
means that of which any physical object is composed.
Objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary matter
means any matter, condition or object which is objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary to a person of ordinary sensitivities.
Owner
means any person or entity shown as the property owner on the latest property tax assessment rolls or any person having or claiming to have any legal or equitable interest in the property, including any agent who is responsible for managing, leasing or operating the property and including any tenant.
Property
means all privately owned occupied or unoccupied property, including vacant land, and/or a building designed or used for residential, commercial, business, industrial or religious purposes. The term “property” also includes a yard, ground, wall, driveway, fence, porch, steps or other structure appurtenant to the property.
Putrescible
means the decomposition of organic matter with the formation of foul-smelling, incompletely oxidized products.
Refuse
means a heterogeneous accumulation of worn-out, used, broken, rejected or worthless materials, including, but not limited to, garbage, rubbish, paper or litter, and other decayable or nondecayable matter.
Rubbish
means junk, trash, debris, rubble, stone, useless fragments of building materials, and other miscellaneous, useless waste or rejected matter.
Trash or debris
means all manner of refuse, including, but not limited to, mounds of dirt, piles of leaves, grass and weed clippings, paper trash, useless fragments of building material, rubble, furniture other than furniture designed for outside use, useless household items and appliances, items of salvage, such as scrap metal and wood, old barrels, old tires, objects that hold water for an extended time, tree and brush trimmings, and other miscellaneous wastes or rejected matter.
Vegetative growth
means any grass, weeds, shrubs, trees, brush, bushes or vines.
Weeds
means any vegetation that, because of its height, is objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary, excluding shrubs, bushes and trees, cultivated flowers and cultivated crops.
(Ordinance 2009-21, sec. 1(9.00), adopted 1/1/10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-73)
(a) 
Prohibited conditions.
(1) 
A person, owner, tenant or agent responsible for or claiming or having supervision or control of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, within the city limits, commits an offense by permitting or allowing weeds, grass, brush, or any vegetation to grow to a height greater than 12 inches upon any such real property. Such real property shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) 
Areas between a sidewalk and the edge of an improved roadway or street;
(B) 
The right-of-way between any fence, wall or barrier and the curb or pavement if such exists or the centerline of such right-of-way;
(C) 
The area between a fence, wall or barrier and within any abutting drainage channel easement to the top of such channel closest to the property;
(D) 
The area outside the property to a distance of ten feet from the property line if such area is part of or adjacent to a drainage easement or creek; or
(E) 
Any area directly across an alley or traveled way that borders the property which is between the edge of the alley or traveled way and a screening wall or other barrier.
(2) 
Vegetation not regularly cultivated that exceeds 12 inches in height shall be presumed to be a nuisance, objectionable, unsanitary and unsightly.
(b) 
Exceptions.
It shall not be an offense under this section to permit or allow vegetation to grow to a height greater than 12 inches if such vegetation is:
(1) 
Cultivated agricultural crops as defined in section 6.04.004(c).
(2) 
Hay that is grown for the specific purpose of cultivation, cut and baled for the consumption by livestock. Hay may be grown to a height not to exceed 24 inches provided it is maintained in compliance with section 6.04.004(b) and (c), and is located no closer than 15 feet to an adjacent property under different ownership and on which any building or improvement exists.
(A) 
Property that is used for growing hay must be registered with the city inspection department on or before March 31 of each calendar year.
(B) 
Property used for hay production must be baled or shredded by December 1 of each calendar year so that it complies with the height requirements of subsection (a) of this section from December 1 to the following March 1 of each year.
(C) 
Failure to comply with the provisions of this article shall cause the property to lose the city’s hay exemption for a period of one year from the date of the noncompliance violation.
(3) 
Cultivated trees.
(4) 
Cultivated shrubs.
(5) 
Vegetable gardens, flowers or other decorative ornamental plants under cultivation.
(6) 
Wildflowers, but only until such time as seeds have matured following the final blooming of the majority of the plants.
(Ordinance 2009-21, sec. 2(9.01), adopted 1/1/10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-74)
(a) 
A person, owner, tenant or agent responsible for or claiming or having supervision or control of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, within the city limits, commits an offense by permitting or allowing stagnant or unwholesome water, filth, weeds, rubbish, rubble, junk or garbage, or impure or unwholesome matter of any kind, including, but not limited to, dead grass, tree limbs, tree stumps, improper composting or improper storage of landscape materials, wastepaper, scrap wood or lumber, scrap metal, rags, rubber tires, plastic, metal, ceramic or glass bottles, canisters, barrels or cans, combustible materials, appliances, furniture, discarded or unused flooring material, dismantled or disassembled vehicle parts, discarded or abandoned construction materials and exposed or uncovered fill materials, or any objectionable, unsanitary or unsightly matter of whatever nature to accumulate or remain on such real property, including the improvements thereon, or within any easement area on such real property or upon any adjacent right-of-way for streets and alleys between the property line for such real property and where the paved surface of the street or alley begins. Such conditions are hereby defined as public nuisances.
(b) 
Hay stored within the city limits after harvest shall be removed within 60 days after harvest and shall be located at least 100 feet away from an adjoining property line of adjacent property under different ownership or a public street or right-of-way. Hay may be stored in a fully enclosed structure without regard to distance from adjoining property lines or public streets or rights-of-way. Hay harvested outside the city limits shall not be brought into the city for storage, except square bales may be stored for sale at a farm agricultural business if stored in an enclosed container.
(Ordinance 2009-21, sec. 2(9.02), adopted 1/1/10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-75)
(a) 
Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Cultivated agricultural properties.
Vegetation is considered to be located on cultivated agricultural property if the crop growing thereon is recognized by the county agriculture extension office, or its successor or designee, as a viable crop for the El Campo area and if the property that such crop is grown on has been granted an agricultural use designation by the county central appraisal district, or equivalent authority, pursuant to the state Property Tax Code and/or Texas Constitution, for agricultural land.
(b) 
Uncultivated agricultural properties.
A person, owner, tenant or agent responsible for or claiming or having supervision or control over uncultivated agricultural property commits an offense if such person permits or allows:
(1) 
Vegetation to grow to a height greater than 12 inches; or
(2) 
If vegetation interferes with the visibility, access, or maintenance at any intersection of public thoroughfares in the city.
(c) 
Cultivated agricultural properties.
A person, owner, tenant or agent responsible for or claiming or having supervision or control over cultivated agricultural property must maintain a distance between the growing crop and an adjacent property under different ownership of at least 15 feet. A person, owner, tenant or agent responsible for or claiming or having supervision or control over cultivated agricultural property commits an offense if such person permits or allows:
(1) 
Vegetation to grow to a height greater than 12 inches between such growing crop and any adjacent property under different ownership; or
(2) 
Such growing crop to interfere with visibility, access, or maintenance at any intersection of public thoroughfares in the city as they exist or may be amended.
(Ordinance 2009-21, sec. 2(9.03), adopted 1/1/10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-76)
(a) 
In the event any owner, tenant, agent or person responsible for or claiming or having supervision or control over real property (hereinafter “owner”) fails to comply with the provisions of this article, the city, by and through its code enforcement division or designee, shall give notice of the violation to such owner. Such notice shall be given in any one of the following ways:
(1) 
Personally to the owner in writing;
(2) 
By letter addressed to the owner at the owner’s address as recorded in the appraisal district records of the appraisal district in which the property is located; or
(3) 
If personal service cannot be obtained, then by:
(A) 
Publication in the city’s official newspaper at least once;
(B) 
Posting notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation relates; or
(C) 
Posting a notice to a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates if the property contains no buildings.
(b) 
If the city mails a notice to the owner in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as refused or unclaimed, or if the address required by subsection (a)(2) of this section was used and the notice is returned as not deliverable as addressed or an equivalent marking, the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered.
(c) 
In a notice provided under this section, the city may inform the owner by regular mail and a posting on the property that, if the owner commits another violation of the same kind or nature on or before the anniversary of the date of the notice, the city, without further notice, may correct the violation at the owner’s expense and assess the expense against the property or issue citations. If a violation covered by a notice under this subsection occurs within one year, and the city has not been informed in writing by the owner of an ownership change, then the city, without notice, may take any action permitted by section 6.04.006 and assess its expenses as provided in section 6.04.007.
(Ordinance 2009-21, sec. 2(9.04), adopted 1/1/10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-77)
If the owner fails or refuses to comply with the demand for compliance in the notice within ten days of such notice, the city may:
(1) 
Issue citations; and
(2) 
Do the work or make the improvement required, pay for the work done or improvements made and charge the expenses to the owner of the property as provided herein.
(Ordinance 2009-21, sec. 2(9.05), adopted 1/1/10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-78)
(a) 
In the event the owner fails or refuses to pay such expenses charged to the owner under section 6.04.006(2) within 15 days after the first day of the month following the month in which the work was done, a lien may be obtained against the property. To obtain a lien, the city manager, the city manager’s designee or the city’s health or code enforcement authority must file a statement of the expenses incurred in correcting the condition of the real property with the county clerk in which the property is located. The statement must also state the name of the owner, if known, and the legal description of the property. The lien attaches upon filing of the statement with the county clerk.
(b) 
The city’s lien shall be a prior lien on such property, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements. The lien amount shall include simple interest, which shall accrue at the rate of ten percent per annum from the date the expenses were incurred by the city. The city may bring a suit for foreclosure to recover the expenditures and the interest due.
(Ordinance 2009-21, sec. 2(9.06), adopted 1/1/10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-79)
(a) 
(1) 
Notwithstanding any of the sections of this article, the city may abate, without notification, weeds, grass, brush or any unsightly vegetation that has:
(A) 
Grown higher than 48 inches (hereinafter “tall vegetation”); and
(B) 
Is an immediate danger to the health, life, or safety of any person.
(2) 
The city must give notice, in the manner provided in section 6.04.005, to the property owner no later than the tenth day after the date the city abates the tall vegetation.
(b) 
The notification 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 city abated the tall vegetation; and
(4) 
An explanation of the property owner’s rights to request an administrative hearing regarding the city’s abatement of the tall vegetation.
(c) 
The city, by and through its city manager or his designee, shall conduct an administrative hearing not later than the 30th day after the date of the abatement of the tall vegetation, if the owner files a written request for a hearing with the city. The city shall conduct the administrative hearing not later than the 20th day after the date a request for hearing is filed. At the administrative hearing, the owner may testify or present any witnesses or written information relating to the city’s abatement of the tall vegetation.
(d) 
The city may assess expenses and create liens under this section in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as set forth in section 6.04.007.
(Ordinance 2009-21, sec. 2(9.07), adopted 1/1/10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-80)