There is hereby adopted the Code of Ordinances of the City of Bonham, Texas, as compiled, edited and published by Franklin Legal Publishing, Inc.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
The ordinances embraced in this chapter and the following chapters, articles and sections shall constitute and be designated the “Code of Ordinances, City of Bonham, Texas,” and may be so cited.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
The catchlines of the several articles, divisions and sections of this code are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the article, division or section and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such articles, divisions and sections, nor as any part of the articles, divisions and sections, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such articles, divisions and sections, including the catchlines, are amended or reenacted.
(b) 
The history or source notes appearing in parentheses after sections in this code are not intended to have any legal effect, but are merely intended to indicate the source of matter contained in the section. Cross references and state law references which appear after sections or subsections of this code, or which otherwise appear in footnote form, are provided for the convenience of the user of this code and have no legal effect.
(Ordinance 885, sec. 2, adopted 1/23/1995)
In the construction of this code and of all ordinances and resolutions passed by the city council, the following rules shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the city council:
Generally.
Words shall be construed in their common and usual significance unless the contrary is clearly indicated. The provisions of V.T.C.A., Penal Code titles 1 (chs. 1–3), 2 (chs. 6–9), and 3 (ch. 12) apply to all penal provisions of the ordinances of the city to the extent required by law.
Burden of proof of exceptions.
In any prosecution for the violation of any provision of an ordinance of the city, it is not necessary for the complaint to negate or for the state to prove any exception contained in any ordinance of the city concerning any prohibited act; provided that such exception made therein may be urged as a defense by the person charged by such complaint.
City and town.
Each means the City of Bonham, Fannin County, Texas.
City charter and charter.
The words “city charter” or “charter” shall mean the charter of the City of Bonham.
City manager, city secretary, chief of police or other city officers.
The term “city manager,” “city secretary,” “chief of police” or other city officer or department shall be construed to mean the city manager, city secretary, chief of police or such other municipal officer or department, respectively, of the City of Bonham, Texas.
Computation of time.
Whenever a notice is required to be given or an act to be done a certain length of time before any proceeding shall be had, the first day is excluded and the last day is included. If the last day of any period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period is extended to include the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. If a number of months is to be computed by counting the months from a particular day, the period ends on the same numerical day in the concluding month as the day of the month from which the computation is begun, unless there are not that many days in the concluding month, in which case the period ends on the last day of that month.
Council.
Whenever the term “council” or “city council” or “the council” is used, it shall mean the city council of the City of Bonham, Texas.
County.
The term “county” or “this county” shall mean the County of Fannin, Texas.
Defendant and accused.
The words “defendant” and “accused” shall be construed to mean the person against whom complaint is made or who is held legally to answer an accusation.
Delegation of authority.
Whenever a provision of this Code of Ordinances requires or authorizes an officer or employee of the city to do some act or perform some duty, it shall be construed to authorize such officer or employee to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to perform the act or duty unless the terms of the provision specifically designate otherwise.
Gender.
A word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships, associations and corporations, as well as to males.
Highway.
The term “highway” shall include any street, alley, highway, avenue, or public place or square, bridge, viaduct, tunnel, underpass, overpass, and causeway in the city, dedicated or devoted to public use.
Joint authority.
Words purporting to give authority to three (3) or more officers or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such officers or other persons, unless it is otherwise declared.
May.
The word “may” is to be construed as being permissive.
May not.
The words “may not” have a prohibitory effect and state a prohibition.
Month.
The word “month” shall mean a calendar month.
Must and shall.
Each is to be construed as being mandatory.
Number.
Any word importing the singular number shall include the plural, and any word importing the plural number shall include the singular.
Oath.
The word “oath” shall be construed to include an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such cases the words “swear” and “sworn” shall be equivalent to the words “affirm” and “affirmed.”
Official time standard.
Whenever certain hours are named in this code, they shall mean standard time or daylight saving time, as may be in current use in the city.
Or, and.
The word “or” may be read “and,” and the word “and” may be read “or,” as the sense requires it.
Owner.
The word “owner,” applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of the whole or of a part of such building or land.
Person.
The word “person” shall extend and be applied to associations, corporations, firms, partnerships, organizations, business trusts, estates, trusts, and bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. Where criminal prosecution may lie, the officers of a corporation shall jointly and severally be subject to prosecution as being included within the word “person.”
Preceding, following.
The terms “preceding” and “following” mean next before and next after, respectively.
Property.
The word “property” shall mean and include real and personal property.
Real property.
The term “real property” shall mean and include lands, tenements and hereditaments.
Sidewalk.
The word “sidewalk” shall mean that portion of a street between the curb, or the lateral line of the roadway, and the adjacent property line, intended for the use of pedestrians.
Signature or subscription.
A signature or subscription shall include a mark when a person cannot write.
State.
The term “the state” or “this state” shall be construed to mean the State of Texas.
Street.
The word “street” shall include any highway, alley, street, avenue, or public place or square, bridge, viaduct, underpass, overpass, tunnel, or causeway in the city, dedicated or devoted to public use.
Tense.
Words used in the past or present tense include the future, as well as the past and present.
V.T.C.S., V.T.P.C., V.T.C.C.P., V.T.C.A.
Such abbreviations refer to the divisions of Vernon’s Texas Statutes Annotated.
Written or in writing.
The term “written” or “in writing” shall be construed to include any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.
Year.
The word “year” shall mean a calendar year.
(Ordinance 885, sec. 1, adopted 1/23/1995; Ordinance adopting Code)
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the city council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this code are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this code shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this code, since the same would have been enacted by the city council without the incorporation in the code of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
(Ordinance 885, sec. 5, adopted 1/23/1995)
The repeal of an ordinance or any portion thereof shall not repeal the repealing clause of an ordinance or revive any ordinance which has been previously repealed.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
All ordinances of a general and permanent nature, and amendments to such ordinances, hereafter enacted or presented to the city council for enactment, shall be drafted, so far as possible, as specific amendments of, or additions to, the Code of Ordinances. Amendments to this code shall be made by reference to the chapter and section of the code which is to be amended, and additions shall bear an appropriate designation of chapter, article and section; provided, however, the failure to do so shall in no way affect the validity or enforceability of such ordinances.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
By contract or by city personnel, supplements to this code shall be prepared and printed whenever authorized or directed by the city council. A supplement to the code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances passed by the city council or adopted by initiative and referendum during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the code. The pages of a supplement shall be so numbered that they will fit properly into the code and will, where necessary, replace pages that have become obsolete or partially obsolete, and the new pages shall be so prepared that, when they have been inserted, the code will be current through the date of the adoption of the latest ordinance included in the supplement.
(b) 
In preparing a supplement to this code, all portions of the code which have been repealed shall be excluded from the code by omission thereof from reprinted pages.
(c) 
When preparing a supplement to this code, the codifier (meaning the person, agency or organization authorized to prepare the supplement) may make formal, nonsubstantive changes in ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the supplement, insofar as it is necessary to do so to embody them into a unified code. For example, the codifier may:
(1) 
Organize the ordinance material into appropriate subdivisions;
(2) 
Provide appropriate catchlines, headings and titles for articles, sections and other subdivisions of the code printed in the supplement and make changes in such catchlines, headings and titles;
(3) 
Assign appropriate numbers to articles, sections and other subdivisions to be inserted in the code and, where necessary to accommodate new material, change existing article or section or other subdivision numbers;
(4) 
Change the words “this ordinance” or words of the same meaning to “this chapter,” “this article,” “this section,” “this subsection,” etc., as the case may be; and
(5) 
Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original meaning of ordinance material inserted into the code, but in no case shall the codifier make any change in the meaning or effect of ordinance material included in the supplement or already embodied in the code.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
In this section, “violation of a city ordinance” shall mean:
(1) 
Doing an act that is prohibited or made or declared unlawful, an offense, or a misdemeanor by ordinance or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance;
(2) 
Failure to perform an act that is required to be performed by ordinance or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance; or
(3) 
Failure to perform an act, if the failure is declared a misdemeanor or an offense or unlawful by ordinance or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance.
(b) 
In this section, “violation of a city ordinance” does not include the failure of a city officer or city employee to perform an official duty unless it is provided that failure to perform the duty is to be punished as provided in this section.
(c) 
Except as otherwise provided, a person convicted of a violation of a city ordinance shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00), except that a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) may be imposed for violations of a city ordinance that governs fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation, including the dumping of refuse. With respect to violations of a city ordinance that are continuous with respect to time, each day the violation continues is a separate offense. The penalty imposed for a violation of a city ordinance shall not exceed or be less than the penalty prescribed by state law for the same or a similar offense.
(d) 
The imposition of a penalty does not prevent revocation or suspension of a license, permit, or franchise.
(e) 
Violations of a city ordinance that are continuous with respect to time may be abated by injunctive or other equitable relief. The imposition of a penalty does not prevent equitable relief or civil or quasi-judicial enforcement of a violation of a city ordinance.
(f) 
All penalty provisions of city ordinances passed and approved prior to the date of this section which provide for a penalty or punishment which is less than the penalty or punishment provided under this section are hereby amended to the extent permitted by law so that the punishment and penalty provisions of this section shall apply.
(g) 
Unless otherwise specifically stated in this code, any violation of this code or of any ordinance that is punishable by a fine that does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) does not require a culpable mental state, and a culpable mental state is hereby not required to prove any such offense. Unless otherwise specifically stated in this code, any violation of this code or of any ordinance that is punishable by a fine that exceeds five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall require a culpable mental state.
(h) 
In the event that any such violation is designated as a nuisance under the provisions of this code, such nuisance may be summarily abated by the city. In addition to the penalty prescribed above, the city may pursue other remedies such as abatement of nuisances, injunctive relief and revocation of licenses or permits.
(Ordinance 885, sec. 4, adopted 1/23/1995; Ordinance adopting Code)