Any person who shall own, keep or use any building or premises
located within the corporate limits of the city or in an area lying
within 5,000 feet of the corporate limits of the city in such a manner
as to be injurious to the health of the people or offensive to the
neighborhood or to any private family or person, shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor.
(Ordinance O-6-18 adopted 4/17/18)
(a)
Stagnant water.
It shall be unlawful for any person
who owns or occupies any property within the corporate limits of the
city or in an area lying within 5,000 feet of the corporate limits
of the city to permit or allow holes or places where water may accumulate
and become stagnant and remain thereon or to permit or allow the accumulation
of stagnant water on such property and permit the same to remain thereon.
It shall be the duty of such person to keep the area from the line
of his property to the curbline or street adjacent to it free and
clear of accumulations of stagnant water.
(b)
Accumulations of trash, carrion, filth, etc.
It shall
be unlawful for any person who owns or occupies any house, building,
establishment, lot or yard located within the corporate limits of
the city or in an area lying within 5,000 feet of the corporate limits
of the city to permit or allow any trash, rubbish, carrion, filth
or other impure or unwholesome matter to accumulate or remain thereon
or therein. It shall be the duty of such person to keep the area from
the line of his property to the curbline or street adjacent to it
free and clear of such matter.
(c)
Abandoned vehicles and appliances, building materials, etc.
It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of a residential
building, structure or property located within the corporate limits
of the city or in an area lying within 5,000 feet of the corporate
limits of the city to utilize the premises of such residential property
for the open storage of any abandoned motor vehicle, icebox, refrigerator,
stove, glass, building material, building rubbish or similar items.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of every such owner or occupant
to keep the premises of such residential property clean and to remove
from the premises all such abandoned items as listed above upon notice
from the city.
(Ordinance O-6-18 adopted 4/17/18)
(a)
Weeds and other unsightly vegetation.
It shall be unlawful
for any person owning, claiming, occupying, or having supervision
or control of any property located within the corporate limits of
the city or in an area lying within 5,000 feet of the corporate limits
of the city to allow or permit objectionable or unsightly vegetation
to grow to a height greater than twelve (12) inches upon any such
real property within one hundred (100) feet of any property line or
within fifty (50) feet of any structure. It shall be the duty of such
person to keep the area from the line of his property to the curbline
or street adjacent to it free and clear of the objectionable or unsightly
vegetation. All vegetation not regularly cultivated which exceeds
twelve (12) inches in height shall be presumed to be “objectionable
and unsightly” within the meaning of this section.
(b)
Vegetation obstructing view of traffic.
Trees, shrubs,
bushes, plants, grass or weeds growing at or near intersections in
such manner as to obstruct the view of approaching traffic from the
right or left are hereby declared to be a nuisance and the city manager
is hereby authorized to remove the same.
(Ordinance O-6-18 adopted 4/17/18)
(a)
If
any person owning, claiming, occupying or having supervision or control
of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, located within the corporate
limits of the city or in an area lying within 5,000 feet of the corporate
limits of the city, fails to comply with the provisions of this article,
it shall be the duty of the city secretary to give a minimum of seven
days’ written notice to such person violating the terms of this
article.
(b)
The
notice shall be in writing and may be served on such person violating
the terms of this article by:
(1)
Delivering it to him in person;
(2)
Letter or written notice 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 and mailed by United States
Certified Mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. If the
letter or written notice is returned by the United States Postal Service
as refused or unclaimed, the validity of the notice is not affected,
and the notice is considered as delivered; or
(3)
If personal service by either method above cannot be obtained, by:
(A)
Publication at least once in the city’s official newspaper;
(B)
Posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on
the property to which the violation relates; or
(C)
Posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the
ground on the property to which the violation relates.
(c)
The
city may inform the owner by regular mail and by posting on the property,
or by personally delivering the notice, that if the owner 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 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. If a violation covered by a notice under this
section occurs within the one-year period, 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 and assess expenses
as provided by this article.
(Ordinance O-6-18 adopted 4/17/18)
If any person notified as provided in this article fails or
refuses to correct or remove the condition specified in such notice
within ten (10) days after the date notice is effected, such person
owning, claiming, occupying, or having supervision or control of the
property shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and issued a warrant to
appear in municipal court and upon conviction shall be fined in any
sum not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000.00). Each and every
day that the violation remains uncorrected shall constitute a separate
and distinct offense subject to penalty under this section.
(Ordinance O-6-18 adopted 4/17/18)
If any person notified as provided in this article fails or
refuses to correct, remedy, or remove the condition specified in such
notice within ten (10) days after the date notice is effected, the
city may go upon the property and do such work or make such improvements
as are necessary to correct, remedy, or remove such condition only
in those cases which may present a serious threat to the health, safety,
and general welfare of nearby residents. The expense incurred pursuant
to this section in correcting, remedying or removing the condition,
and the cost of notification, shall be paid by the city and charged
to the owner of such property. In the event that the owner fails or
refuses to pay such expenses within thirty (30) days after the first
day of the month following the month in which the work was done, the
city shall file with the county clerk a statement of the expense incurred.
When such statement is filed, the city shall have a privileged lien
on such property, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements,
to secure the payment of the amount so expended. Such amount shall
bear interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) from the date the city
incurs the expense. For any such expense and interest, suit may be
instituted and recovery and foreclosure had by the city. The statement
of expense filed with the county clerk or a certified copy thereof
shall be prima facie proof of any amount expended in such work, all
as more particularly specified in chapter 342 of the Health and Safety
Code of the state, which is hereby adopted.
(Ordinance O-6-18 adopted 4/17/18)
(b)
No later than the tenth day after the date the necessary work to obtain compliance is completed, the city shall give notice to the property owner in the manner required by section 6.02.004.
(c)
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 section that occurred on
the property;
(3)
A statement that the city abated the weeds;
(4)
An itemized statement of the charges incurred by the city in doing
or in having such work done as necessary to bring the real property
into compliance with this section; and
(5)
An explanation of the property owner’s right to request an
administrative hearing about the city’s abatement of the weeds.
(d)
The
municipal court judge shall conduct an administrative hearing on the
abatement of the 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 city manager a written request for a hearing.
(e)
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 city’s abatement of the weeds.
(f)
The city may assess expenses and create liens under this section as it assesses expenses and creates liens as provided in section 6.02.006.
(g)
The
provisions of this section shall be enforced by the city manager,
and it shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with or hinder
the building official and his duly appointed representatives in the
exercise of their duties under this section.
(h)
Penalties.
(1)
Any person violating or failing to comply with any provision or requirement
of this section who continues to violate or fails to comply with such
after seven days after notice is given and received as set forth herein,
shall also be deemed guilty of a class C misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined. A separate offense shall be deemed committed
upon each day during or on which a violation or failure to comply
occurs or continues to occur.
(2)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, any violation of any provision of this section which constitutes an immediate danger or threat to the health, safety and welfare of the public may be enjoined in a suit brought by the town for such purpose.
(3)
In addition to any other remedies or penalties contained in this
section, the city may enforce the provisions of this section pursuant
to the applicable provisions of chapter 54 of the Texas Local Government
Code, as amended, which chapter provides for the enforcement of municipal
ordinances.
(4)
Allegation and evidence of a culpable mental state is not required
for the proof of an offense defined by this section.
(Ordinance O-6-18 adopted 4/17/18)
All property located within the corporate limits of the city
or in an area lying within 5,000 feet of the corporate limits of the
city upon which exists any of the conditions deemed by the provisions
of this article to be unlawful is declared to be a public nuisance.
(Ordinance O-6-18 adopted 4/17/18)
