It is an offense for a person, firm, or corporation owning, occupying, or having control of property in the city, whether occupied or unoccupied, to permit the following conditions on the property, which are hereby deemed a nuisance and a threat to the health and safety of persons in the city:
(1) 
Grass, weeds, or any plant that is not an ornamental planting or a cultivated crop to grow to a height greater than twelve inches on the property or between the property line and curb of an adjacent street or if there is no curb, then between the property line and ten feet outside the property line adjacent to public right-of-way;
(2) 
Rubbish, brush, or other unsanitary or unsightly matter, including, but not limited to junk, trash, garbage, refuse, junk appliances, junk machinery, waste paper, scrap wood, lumber, scrap metal, glass, and similar waste materials or objects to accumulate or be present upon the property;
(3) 
A hole or depression to remain on the land where water accumulates and becomes stagnant; or
(4) 
The accumulation of stagnant water to remain on the land.
(Ordinance 17-05 adopted 2/16/17)
It is the responsibility of a person, firm or corporation owning, occupying, or having control of property within the city to prevent or to remove, or cause to be removed, any of the conditions described in section 6.04.001 and any other unsanitary condition from the property.
(Ordinance 17-05 adopted 2/16/17)
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to maintain any property within the city in violation of this chapter. When the city administration or designee is made aware of a violation of this chapter, he or his designee may, simultaneously and without limitation, pursue one or more of the following remedies:
(1) 
Work with the violator to resolve the matter;
(2) 
Issue a citation before or after taking measures or providing notice to abate the violation; or
(3) 
Pursue the abatement of the violation by following the procedures set forth in this chapter.
(Ordinance 17-05 adopted 2/16/17)
(a) 
If the owner of property in the city does not comply with section 6.04.001 or section 6.04.002, the city may give notice to the owner to remove the violation on the property within ten days of the date of the notice.
(b) 
The notice must be given:
(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:
(A) 
By publication at least once;
(B) 
By posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation relates; or
(C) 
By posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates.
(c) 
If the city mails a notice in accordance with subsection (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.
(d) 
If the owner of property in the city does not remove the violation on the property within ten days of receipt of the notice, the city may do the work or make the improvements required and pay for the work done or improvements made and charge the expenses to the owner of the property.
(Ordinance 17-05 adopted 2/16/17)
(a) 
In a notice provided under section 6.04.003, 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 this chapter of the same kind or nature 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.
(b) 
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 by section 6.04.004(d) and assess its expenses as provided by section 6.04.006.
(Ordinance 17-05 adopted 2/16/17)
(a) 
The city may assess the expenses incurred under section 6.04.004(d) against the real property on which the work is done or improvements made.
(b) 
The city shall first send a notice of the expenses to the owner of the property on which the work is done or improvements made. The notice must:
(1) 
Identify the property on which the work was done or improvements made;
(2) 
Describe the violation that existed on the property;
(3) 
A statement that the city abated the violation;
(4) 
A statement of the amount of the city’s expenses for the work done or improvements made;
(5) 
A statement advising the owner of the right to request a hearing on the validity of the expenses for the work done or improvements made; and
(6) 
A statement that if the owner fails or refuses to pay the expenses within thirty days after the first day of the month following the month in which the work was done or the improvements were made, the city shall obtain a lien against the property by filing with the county clerk a notice of lien and statement of expenses.
(c) 
The owner of the property shall be entitled to a hearing before the city administrator or his designee to review the validity of the expenses if the owner requests a hearing by filing a written request with the city administrator within ten days of the owner’s receipt of the notice of the expenses.
(d) 
If the owner of the property properly requests a hearing, the city administrator or his designee shall conduct a hearing within ten days of receipt of the request. At the hearing, the city administrator or his designee shall allow the owner of the property, city staff, and any other person that the city administrator or his designee determines may have testimony that will assist in reviewing the validity of the expenses to testify. The city administrator or his designee may affirm or modify the expenses based on the evidence presented at the hearing.
(e) 
If no hearing is requested, or a hearing is held and the expenses are determined to be valid after the hearing, the owner shall pay the expenses within 30 days after the first day of the month following the month in which the work was done or the improvements were made.
(f) 
If the owner fails or refuses to pay the expenses as required by subsection (e), the city shall have a lien on the property upon the filing of a notice of lien and statement of expenses with the county clerk. The lien attached upon the filing of the notice of lien and statement of expenses with the county clerk. A notice of lien and statement of expenses must state the name of the owner, if known, and the legal description of the property. A signature on a notice of lien and statement of expenses may be a facsimile signature as defined in section 618.002, Texas Government Code.
(g) 
The lien obtained by the city is security for the expenditures made and interest accruing at the rate of 10 percent on the amount due from the date of payment by the city. The lien is inferior only to tax liens and liens for street improvements.
(h) 
The governing body of the city may bring a suit for foreclosure in the name of the city to recover the expenditures and interest due. The original notice of lien and statement of expenses or a certified copy of the same is prima facie proof of the expenses incurred by the city in doing the work or making the improvements.
(i) 
The assessment of expenses and enforcement of a lien under this section is in addition to the city’s remedy of issuing a citation or prosecuting for an offense under section 6.04.008.
(j) 
The city may foreclose a lien on property under this section in a proceeding relating to the property brought under subchapter E, chapter 33, Texas Tax Code, pursuant to section 342.007, Texas Health and Safety Code.
(Ordinance 17-05 adopted 2/16/17)
(a) 
The city may immediately abate, without notice, weeds that:
(1) 
Have grown higher than 48 inches; and
(2) 
Are an immediate danger to the health, life, or safety of any person.
(b) 
Not later than the 10th day after the date the city abates weeds under this section, the city shall give notice to the owner of the property from which the weeds were abated in the manner required by section 6.04.004.
(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 violation of the ordinance that occurred on the property;
(3) 
A statement that the city abated the weeds; and
(4) 
An explanation of the property owner’s right to request an administrative hearing about the city’s abatement of the weeds.
(d) 
The city 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 owner of the property files a written request for a hearing with the city administrator.
(e) 
An administrative hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted by the city administrator or his designee 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) 
A city may assess expenses and create liens under this section as it assesses expenses and creates liens under section 6.04.006. A lien created under this section is subject to the same conditions as a lien created under section 6.04.006.
(g) 
The authority of the city under this section is in addition to the authority granted in section 6.04.004.
(Ordinance 17-05 adopted 2/16/17)
A person, firm, or corporation that violates section 6.04.001 or who fails to perform an act required by this article commits an offense. Each day or portion of a day during which a violation is committed, permitted, or continued is a separate offense. An offense under this article is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $2,000.00 each day.
(Ordinance 17-05 adopted 2/16/17)