(Ord. No. B-740, § 1(7-23), 7-28-2008; Ord. No. CSO#629-05-2017, §§ 7, 8, 5-8-2017)
(a) Definitions.
PARKWAY
The portion of any street right-of-way between the pavement
and the private property line.
WILDFLOWER
Seasonal flowering vegetation native and adaptive to Texas
and that grow wild and bloom during the spring season and of a concentration
high enough to provide seasonal beauty to an area as determined applicable
and as approved by the landscape administrator or his designee. The
specific flowers are limited to antelope-horns, beach morning glory,
black-eyed susan, blackfoot daisy, bluebell, bluebonnet, butterfly
weed, buttercups, cardinal flower, coreopsis tickseed, daisy, devil's
claw, dogwood, foxglove, Indian paint brush, Indian blanket, lantana,
larkspur verbena, lemonmint, mealy sage, Mexican hat, mountain pink,
phlox, pink evening primrose, prickly pear cactus, purple horsemint,
spiderwort, Texas plume, Texas sage, windflower, winecup, any species
of milkweed that benefits monarch butterfly migration, and any other
flowering vegetation specifically approved by the director of planning
and community development or designee.
(b) Prohibition.
(1) Declaration of nuisance.
Permitting or allowing weeds,
grass or any uncultivated plant to grow in rank profusion or to grow
to a height in excess of 12 inches on average upon any property within
the corporate limits of the city or to leave weeds, grass or uncultivated
plants in excess of 12 inches on average on such premises after they
have been cut is hereby declared to be a nuisance.
(2) Violation.
Any person who owns, occupies or controls
any property within the corporate limits of the city commits an offense
if said person:
a. Permits
or allows weeds, grass or any uncultivated plant grow in rank profusion
or exceed 12 inches in height on such property;
b. Allows
the landscaping and any vegetation, including but not limited to,
trees, shrubbery, bushes and vines to grow on the premises so as to
physically obstruct the doors or windows of any structure on the premises
so as to prevent ingress or egress from any structure(s) on the premises,
to project across or obstruct any sidewalk, driveway, alley or street,
or to visually obscure more than 25 percent of the front door or porch
of the structure(s) when viewed from the street directly in front
of said door or porch; or
c. Allows
landscaping and any vegetation, including but not limited to, trees,
shrubbery and bushes, to invade or obstruct soffits, eaves, fascia,
vent screening or any other portion, addition, or sections of a roof.
(3) Agricultural tracts.
In the case of agricultural tracts of five acres or larger, this section will be satisfied if the hay or grass or vegetation is kept mowed to a height no greater than 12 inches on average for a distance of 100 feet around the entire perimeter of the tract, and all remaining weeds, grass and uncultivated plants do not exceed 48 inches in height in accordance with section
34-62(c). It is an exception to the provisions of this paragraph if the property is being used for the planting, cultivating, harvesting or storage of grains, hay, or plants commonly grown in the vicinity, and the property in question is five or more acres in area.
(4) Maintenance of parkway.
A person commits an offense
if the person owns, occupies, or controls any real property and permits
weeds, grass or uncultivated plants to grown in rank profusion or
to exceed 12 inches in height on average in the area adjacent to the
property line, including the front, side or rear parkway between the
property line or sidewalk and the curb, or if there is no curb then
within ten feet outside such property line.
(5) Exception for wildflower areas, nature areas, and terrain obstructed
areas.
Wildflower areas, when approved as such by the
director of planning and community development or designee, during
the blooming period for such wildflowers, and areas that are designated
as a nature area on an approved landscape plan, shall be excepted
from this section, provided that such areas are not otherwise required
to be abated as a result of an immediate hazard as determined by the
fire marshal set forth below. Any person requesting an exemption based
upon a wildflower area shall make such request in writing to the director.
The director shall maintain a list of those approved areas. Areas
that are deemed reasonably inaccessible because of terrain or obstructions
requiring specialized equipment may be exempted when in the opinion
of the fire marshal there is no reasonable fire hazard. Such request
for exemption shall be made in writing by the property owner to the
fire marshal annually to request an inspection of the site. In the
event of extreme drought or other hazardous conditions, the fire marshal
may require any previously designated wildflower area, natural area,
or terrain obstructed area to be mowed when the area is of such size
or proximity to structures that in the opinion of the fire marshal
it creates a potential fire hazard.
(Ord. No. B-740, § 1(7-24), 7-28-2008; Ord. No. CSO#629-05-2017, § 9, 5-8-2017)
(a) Notice.
(1) The city is hereby authorized to give notice to the owner of any property which is in violation of the provisions of section
34-61(b), instructing the owner to abate the nuisance.
(2) If
the owner of the property does not comply with the provisions of said
abatement notice issued by the city within seven days after the date
the notice is received, the city may:
a. Enter
the property and do or cause to be done the work required to abate
the nuisance; and
b. Pay
for the work done and charge the expenses to the owner of the property
and assess the owner a weed mowing administrative fee and weed mowing
notification fee in accordance with the adopted city fee schedule.
(3) The
notice must be given:
a. Personally
to the owner in writing; or
b. By
letter addressed to the owner at the owner's last known address as
recorded in the appraisal district records of the appraisal district
in which the property is located; or
c. If
personal service cannot be obtained and the owner's post office address
is unknown:
1. By publication at least once in the official newspaper of the City
of Burleson; or
2. By posting the notice on or near the front door of each building
on the property to which the violation relates; or
3. By posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into
the ground on the property to which the violation relates.
(4) If
the city mails a notice to the property owner in accordance with paragraph
(a)(3)b and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as
"refused" or "unclaimed", the validity of the notice is not affected,
and the notice is considered as delivered.
(5) Notice
will be deemed to have been received:
a. For
personal service, as of the date the notice was given personally to
the owner;
b. For
mailed notice, three days after date of postmark;
c. For
notice by publication, on the date that the last notice was published
in the official newspaper; or
d. For
notice by posting, ten days after the notice was posted.
(6) In
the notice of a violation, the city may inform the owner by regular
mail and a 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.
(7) If a violation covered by a notice under section
34-62(a)(5) 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 by section (a)(2) and assess the expenses as provided by section
34-63.
(b) Property
under development.
(1) Before any application for change of zoning, platting or replatting is accepted, all liens and charges arising under the terms of section
34-62(a)(2) shall be satisfied and no concerned property shall be in violation of section
34-61(b) hereof.
(2) If the city has issued a permit and the property for which such permit was issued is in violation of section
34-61(b) hereof, the city may revoke the permit until such nuisance has been abated.
(3) Such
actions shall not defer any other remedies or penalties which may
be applicable under this section.
(c) Additional
authority to abate dangerous weeds.
(1) Notwithstanding
the other provisions of this section, the city may abate, without
notice, weeds that have grown higher than 48 inches and are an immediate
danger to the health, life, or safety of any person.
(2) If
the city abates weeds under this section, the city shall give notice
to the property owner in a manner required by this section not later
than the tenth day after the date that the city abates weeds. This
notice shall contain:
a. An
identification, which is not required to be legal description, of
the property;
b. A
description of the violations that occurred on the property;
c. A
statement that the city abated the weeds; and
d. An
explanation of the property owner's right to request an administrative
hearing about the abatement of the weeds.
(3) The
city shall conduct an administrative hearing on the abatement of weeds
under this section if, not later than 30 days after the date of the
abatement of the weeds, the property owner files a written request
for a hearing with the city.
(4) An
administrative hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted
no later than 20 days 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.
(5) Expenses
under this section may be assessed in liens created under the same
conditions expressed in this article.
(Ord. No. B-740, § 1(7-25), 7-28-2008; Ord. No. CSO#629-05-2017, § 10, 5-8-2017)
(a) All
expenses incurred by the city to abate high weeds, grass or uncultivated
plants, including the cost of giving notice as required, shall initially
be paid by the city and charged to the owner of the property. If the
charge is not paid to the city within 30 days after billing, it will
become a charge against the property and the city may file a lien
upon the property.
(b) To obtain
a lien upon the property, the city shall file a statement of expenses
with the county clerk for the county in which the property is located.
The lien statement shall state the name of the owner, if known, and
the legal description of the property. The lien attaches upon the
filing of the lien statement with the county clerk.
(c) The
lien shall be security for the expenditures made and interest accruing
at the rate of ten percent per annum on the amount due from the date
of payment by the city.
(d) The
lien is inferior only to:
(2) Liens
for street improvements.
(e) The
city may bring a suit for foreclosure of the lien in the name of the
city to recover the expenditures and interest due and in said suit,
the statement of expenses or a certified copy of the statement shall
be prima facie proof of the expenses incurred by the municipality
in doing the work or making the improvements. The remedy under this
section is in addition to the remedy provided by the issuance of a
citation and assessment of a fine for violations of this article.
(f) The
city may foreclose a lien on property under this Section in a proceeding
relating to the property brought under Subchapter E, Chapter 33, Tax
Code.
(g) The
city may take necessary steps to release a lien file under this section
when the city determines that it is in the best interest of the citizens
of Burleson for a property to be kept or returned to the property
tax rolls.
(Ord. No. B-740, § 1(7-26), 7-28-2008)
An offense as defined under this article is a misdemeanor punishable
by a fine not to exceed $2,000.00. Each separate occurrence of a violation
or each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate
offense.