The procedures for regulating, restricting and providing for
removal of junked or abandoned motor vehicles as herein established
have been made for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals
and general welfare of the city.
(2004 Code, sec. 91.01)
A motor vehicle that:
Is inoperable, is more than five years old, and has been left
unattended on public property for more than 48 hours;
Has remained illegally on public property for more than 48 hours;
Has remained on private property without the consent of the
owner or person in charge of the property for more than 48 hours;
Has been left unattended on the right-of-way of a designated
county, state, or federal highway for more than 48 hours; or
Has been left unattended for more than 24 hours on the right-of-way
of a turnpike project constructed and maintained by the North Texas
Tollway Authority or a controlled access highway.
A passenger car or truck that is at least 35 years old.
An owner or operator of a parking place or establishment,
motor vehicle storage facility, or establishment for the servicing,
repair or maintenance of a motor vehicle.
A vehicle that is self-propelled and:
A motor vehicle subject to registration under the laws of
the state, except that for purposes of the definitions of “abandoned
motor vehicle,” “antique auto” and “junked
vehicle,” motor vehicle includes a motorboat, outboard motor,
or watercraft subject to registration under Texas Parks and Wildlife
Code, chapter 31.
The owner of one or more antique or special interest vehicles
who collects, acquires, or disposes of special interest or antique
vehicles or parts of them for personal use in order to restore and
preserve an antique or special interest vehicle for historic interest.
The police department of the city.
A motor vehicle of any age that has not been changed from
original manufacturer’s specifications and, because of its historic
interest, is being preserved by a hobbyist.
A garage, parking lot, or any type of facility or establishment
for the servicing, repairing, storage, or parking of motor vehicles.
(2004 Code, sec. 91.02; Ordinance 2011-14, sec. 3.01, adopted 3/14/11)
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision
of this article, and any person violating or failing to comply with
any provision hereof shall be fined, upon conviction, in an amount
not to exceed $200.00 for each offense, and a separate offense shall
be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs
or continues.
(2004 Code, sec. 91.99)
(a)
Authority to take possession.
The police department
may take into custody an abandoned motor vehicle found on public or
private property. The police department may employ its own personnel,
equipment, and facilities, or, when specifically authorized by the
city council, hire persons, equipment, and facilities to remove, preserve
and store an abandoned motor vehicle it takes into custody.
(b)
Notice.
(1)
In the event the police department takes into custody an abandoned
motor vehicle, it shall notify, not later than the tenth day after
taking the motor vehicle into custody, by certified mail, the last
known registered owner of the motor vehicle and all lienholders of
record (pursuant to Tex. Trans. Code, section 683.012) that the vehicle
has been taken into custody. The notice shall describe the year, make,
model, and vehicle identification number of the abandoned motor vehicle,
set forth the location of the facility where the motor vehicle is
being held, and inform the owner and any lienholders of their right
to reclaim the motor vehicle not later than the twentieth day after
the date of the notice, on payment of all towing, preservation, and
storage charges resulting from placing the vehicle in custody, or
garagekeeper’s charges, if applicable. The notice shall also
state that the failure of the owner or lienholders to exercise their
right to reclaim the vehicle within the time provided constitutes
a waiver by the owner and lienholders of all right, title, and interest
in the vehicle and their consent to the sale of the motor vehicle
at a public auction.
(2)
If the identity of the last registered owner cannot be determined,
if the registration contains no address for the owner, or if it is
impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and
address of all lienholders, notice by one publication in one newspaper
of general circulation in the area where the motor vehicle was abandoned
is sufficient notice. The notice by publication may contain multiple
listings of abandoned vehicles, shall be published within the time
requirements prescribed for notice by certified mail, and shall have
the same contents required for a notice by certified mail.
(c)
Storage fees.
When the police department has taken custody
of an abandoned motor vehicle, the city shall be entitled to reasonable
storage fees for:
(1)
A period of not more than ten days beginning on the day the department
takes custody and ending on the day the department mails notice as
provided by this subsection; and
(2)
A period beginning on the day after the department mails notice and
ending on the day that accrued charges are paid and the vehicle is
removed.
(d)
Sale or other disposition.
If an abandoned motor vehicle
has not been reclaimed as provided, the police department may sell
the vehicle at a public action or use the vehicle for agency purposes.
The law enforcement agency shall auction the vehicle as required by
Tex. Trans. Code, chapter 683, if the agency discontinues use of the
vehicle.
(2004 Code, sec. 91.03)
(a)
Declaration of nuisance.
(1)
A junked vehicle that is located in a place where it is visible from
a public place or public right-of-way is detrimental to the safety
and welfare of the general public, tends to reduce the value of private
property, invites vandalism, creates fire hazards, constitutes an
attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of
minors, and is detrimental to the economic welfare of the city by
producing urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development
of the city, and is a public nuisance.
(2)
A person commits an offense if that person maintains a public nuisance
as described by this section.
(b)
Abatement.
(1)
Notice.
In the event a junked vehicle constituting a
public nuisance is visible from public property and found on public
property, private property, or a public right-of-way, notice in writing
must be mailed, by certified mail with a five-day return requested,
to the last known owner of the junked motor vehicle, to each lienholder
of record, and to the owner or occupant of the public premises or
to the owner or occupant of the property on which the public nuisance
is located, or, if the public nuisance is located on a public right-of-way,
to the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way
on which the public nuisance exists. Notice shall state the nature
and location of the public nuisance, that the nuisance must be removed
and abated within ten days after the date on which the notice is mailed,
and that a request for a hearing must be made before expiration of
that ten-day period. If the post office address of the last known
registered owner of the motor vehicle is unknown, notice to the last
known registered owner may be placed on the motor vehicle, or, if
the last known registered owner is physically located, the notice
may be hand delivered. If the notice is returned undelivered by the
United States Post Office, official action to abate the nuisance shall
be continued to a date not earlier than the eleventh day after the
date of the return.
(2)
Vehicles not to be made operable after removal.
Any
junked vehicle constituting a public nuisance hereunder which is removed
from either private or public property shall not be reconstructed
or made operable after such removal.
(3)
Hearing.
(A)
If a public hearing is requested by a person who has received notice under subsection (b)(1) above, a public hearing shall be held before the municipal judge of the city before the removal of a public nuisance. Such hearing shall be held not earlier than the eleventh day after the date of the service of the notice to abate the nuisance. At the hearing it is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, that the vehicle is inoperable. If, after such public hearing, the municipal judge determines that the vehicle or vehicle part is a public nuisance as defined herein, he or she shall enter an order requiring the removal of such vehicle or vehicle part and shall in such order include a description of the vehicle or vehicle part and the correct vehicle identification number and license plate number of the vehicle, if the information is available at the site.
(B)
If such a public hearing is not requested, the municipal judge shall nevertheless conduct a public hearing relative to the removal and abatement of the nuisance. If, after such public hearing, the municipal judge determines that the vehicle or vehicle part is a public nuisance as defined herein, he or she shall enter an order as outlined in subsection (3)(A). In addition, the city may file a complaint in an appropriate court seeking injunctive relief and/or any other legal remedy available to it.
(4)
Notice to state department of transportation.
In the
event of removal of a junked vehicle as provided herein, notice shall
be given to the state department of transportation not later than
the fifth day after the date of removal. Such notice shall identify
the vehicle by providing information sufficient to allow the department
to cancel the certificate of title for the vehicle.
(c)
Exceptions.
The procedures of this section shall not
apply to a vehicle or vehicle part:
(1)
That is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner
where it is not visible from the street or other public property or
right-of-way;
(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
(3)
That is an antique or special interest vehicle stored by a motor
vehicle collector on the collector’s property, if the vehicle
or vehicle part and the outdoor storage area, if any, are maintained
in an orderly manner so that they do not constitute a health hazard
and are screened from ordinary public view by means of a fence, shrubbery,
or other appropriate means. A vehicle or part thereof, covered by
a tarp, car blanket, or similar covering does not meet the requisite
screening requirements of this article.
(d)
Authority to enforce.
(1)
The procedures for abatement and removal of a public nuisance shall
be administered by regularly salaried, full-time employees of the
city as designated by the city administrator, except that any person
authorized by the city council may remove the nuisance.
(2)
After a hearing has been conducted declaring a vehicle or vehicle
part to be a public nuisance under this article, those city employees
authorized to administer this article may enter private property for
the purposes specified herein to examine a vehicle or vehicle part,
obtain information as to the identity of the vehicle, and remove or
cause the removal of a vehicle or vehicle part that constitutes a
nuisance.
(3)
The relocation of a junked vehicle that is a public nuisance to another
location in the city or county after a proceeding for the abatement
and removal of the public nuisance has commenced has no effect on
the proceeding if the junked vehicle constitutes a public nuisance
at the new location.
(2004 Code, sec. 91.04; Ordinance 2011-14, sec. 3.02, adopted 3/14/11)
This article shall not affect any law authorizing the immediate
removal, as an obstruction to traffic, of a vehicle left on public
property.
(2004 Code, sec. 91.05)
