(a) There
is hereby created the building and standards commission, composed
of five (5) regular members and four (4) alternate members, which
shall consist of the members of the zoning board of adjustment. Persons
appointed to the zoning board of adjustment shall also automatically
be appointed to the building and standards commission. The zoning
board of adjustment shall not assume or perform any duties or responsibilities
of the building and standards commission, nor shall the building and
standards commission assume or perform any duties or responsibilities
of the zoning board of adjustment, each such board being separate
and distinct boards. Members and alternate members must be residents
of the city and should be knowledgeable in building, plumbing, mechanical,
electrical and fire codes.
(b) The
chairperson and the vice chairperson of the commission shall be selected
by the regular commission members.
(c) Meetings
of the commission shall be held at the call of the chairperson and
at other times as determined by the commission. All meetings of the
commission shall be open to the public. The chairperson, or in the
chairperson’s absence, the acting chairperson may administer
oaths and compel attendance of witnesses.
(d) The
commission shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote
of each member on each question or the fact that a member is absent
or fails to vote. The commission shall keep records of its examinations
and other official actions. Records and minutes shall be filed immediately
in the office of the commission as public records.
(e) Any
commission member having any personal or financial interest in a case
or a hearing before the commission shall, upon filing a declaration
of such fact with the secretary of the commission, be automatically
excused from the meeting in which the interests are involved. It shall
be considered misconduct and cause for removal from the commission
for any member to participate in any case or hearing which he or she
has personal or financial interest.
(Ordinance 2188-20 adopted 3/17/20)
(a) The
commission has the following powers and duties:
(1) Perform
the functions and powers specified in Subchapter (C) of Chapter 54
of the Local Government Code of Texas, as amended;
(2) Declare
a building substandard in accordance with the powers granted by this
code and Subchapter (C), Chapter 54 of the Local Government Code of
the State of Texas, as amended;
(3) Determine
the amount and duration of civil penalty the city may recover as provided
by Section 54.017 of the Local Government Code of the State of Texas,
as amended;
(4) Order,
in an appropriate case, the immediate removal of property or persons
found in or on private property, to secure the removal if it is determined
that conditions exist on the property that constitute a violation
of an ordinance and order action to be taken as necessary to remedy,
alleviate, or remove any substandard building found to exist:
(5) Issue
orders or directives to any peace officer of the state, including
a sheriff, constable or the chief of police of the city to enforce
and carry out lawful orders or directives of the commission;
(6) Require
the reduction of occupancy load, or the number of occupants, of an
overcrowded structure or vacation of a structure that is reasonably
dangerous to the health, safety, or welfare of the occupants;
(7) Require
the demolition of a structure found to be a nuisance; require, as
an alternative to demolition of a structure found to be a nuisance,
the repair of the structure by the owner, lien holder, mortgagee or
by the city; grant a reasonable period of time in which the owner,
mortgagee or lien holder is to comply with the determination or order
of the respective enforcement authority of the city;
(8) Require
the removal of personal property from a structure ordered vacated
or demolished. Removal may be accomplished by use of city forces or
a private transfer company if the owner of the personal property is
not known, or the whereabouts of the owner cannot be ascertained,
or the owner fails to remove the personal property. The commission
may cause any personal property removed to be stored in the care and
custody of a bonded warehouse facility. The cost of removal and storage
are the responsibility of the owner of the personal property;
(9) Require
a vacant structure or vacant portion of a structure constituting a
dangerous condition or nuisance be securely closed and made safe;
(10) Require or cause the correction of a dangerous condition on land.
Correction of a dangerous condition may be accomplished by city forces
or private contract. Costs of correction are the responsibility of
the owner;
(11) Cause an action to be brought in District Court in accordance with
Section 214 of the Local Government Code of Texas, as amended, for
the appointment of a receiver for property found to be a nuisance;
(12) Require relocation of the occupants of a structure found to be a
nuisance;
(13) Uphold the determination and order of the appropriate enforcement
authority of the city;
(14) Find that a structure or building is not substandard and/or a nuisance
and refer the matter to the appropriate enforcement authority of the
city for further appropriate action;
(15) Authorize an equivalent method of compliance with the order of the
enforcement authority if it can be demonstrated that such equivalent
method substantially complies with this code or with the respective
ordinance of the city;
(16) Find a building or structure is substandard and order: demolition;
repair or correction of the structure within a specified period of
time; repair or correction of the structure within a specified period
of time and demolition of the structure if the repair or correction
is not timely effected; repair or correction of the structure by the
owner, mortgagee, or lien holder within a specified period of time
and repair or correction by the city if not timely effected by the
owner, mortgagee or lien holder; repair, correction or demolition
of the structure within the specified period of time and the assessment
of a civil penalty against the owner for each day or part of a day
that the owner fails to repair, correct or demolish the structure;
vacation of the structure as necessary; closure of an open and vacant
structure.
(17) Adopt rules not inconsistent with the ordinances of the city adopted
pursuant to Subchapter (C) of Chapter 54 of the Local Government Code
of the State of Texas, as amended.
(18) Serve as the board of appeals to hear and decide appeals of orders,
decisions and determinations made by the building official, the director
of code services, the fire chief or fire marshal, as the case may
be, relative to the application and interpretation of the building,
plumbing, mechanical, electrical, housing, dangerous buildings, swimming
pool and fire codes adopted by the city.
(19) Serve as an advisory board to the city council to review and recommend
ordinances and associated amendments thereto regarding building, plumbing,
mechanical, electrical, housing, dangerous building, swimming pool,
life safety, health and fire codes.
(20) Serve as the city electrical board and as such set qualifications
and requirements for electricians' licenses and electricians' licensing
examinations, establish prerequisites for persons applying to take
electricians' licensing examination, grade electricians' licensing
examinations, have the authority to grant, suspend or revoke electricians'
licenses and electrical contractors' registration.
(b) Notwithstanding
the above, the commission shall have no authority to interpret the
administrative organization and enforcement provisions to, nor shall
it be empowered to waive any requirements of the building, plumbing,
mechanical, electrical, housing, dangerous building, swimming pool,
life safety, health, or fire codes, as adopted and/or amended by the
city.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 3, Article 3.800,
Section 3.802)
(a) The
building official, or his designated representative, and the director
of code services, or his designated representative, shall act as secretary
to the commission, but shall not be members. The secretary shall keep
a record of the cases, activities, and actions of the commission and
its determinations, give notice of the date and time of hearings,
and perform such other duties as are consistent with or may be necessary
for the enforcement of this code and the ordinances of the city adopted
pursuant to Subchapter (C), Chapter 54 of the Local Government code
of Texas, as amended.
(1) In
cases involving building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, housing,
swimming pool, and building abatement codes, the building official
shall act as secretary to the commission and shall present all said
cases before the commission.
(2) In
cases involving fire and life safety codes and public health and sanitation
codes, the director of code services shall act as the secretary to
the commission and shall present all said cases before the commission.
(b) All
cases to be heard by the commission must be heard by at least four
(4) members.
(c) Notice
of all proceedings before the commission shall be given:
(1) By
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the record owners of
the affected property, sent to the last known address, and each mortgagee,
lien holder, and each holder of a recorded lien against the affected
property, as shown by the records of the County Clerk of the county
in which the affected property is located, if the address of the lien
holder can be ascertained from the Deed of Trust establishing lien
or other applicable instrument on file in the office of the County
Clerk, establishing the lien or other applicable instrument on file
in the office of the County Clerk; and
(2) To
all unknown owners by posting a copy of the notice on the front door
of each improvement situated on the affected property or as close
to the front as practicable.
(3) The
notice shall be mailed and posted before the 10th day preceding the
date of the hearing before the commission and must state the date,
time, and place of the hearing. In addition, the notice must be published
in a newspaper in general circulation in the city on one occasion
before the 10th day preceding the date fixed for the hearing;
(4) The
notice shall contain the following:
(A) Identification, which is not required to be a legal description,
of the building and the property on which it is located;
(B) A description of the violation of the municipal standards or ordinance
that is present at the building or location; and
(C) A statement that the city will vacate, secure, remove, repair or
demolish the building or relocate the occupants of the building if
the ordered action is not taken within a reasonable time.
(5) If
the notice sent to the last known address to the person being notified
is returned undelivered, the building official or director of code
services, as the case may be, may serve the notice personally if the
person to be notified can be found in Dallas County, Texas. If the
notice sent to an owner is returned undelivered, and after diligent
search, the building official or director of code services, as the
case may be, is unable to discover a correct address for the owner,
or is unable to serve the owner personally, then the building official
or the director of code services, as the case may be, shall give notice
by publication in the official newspaper of the city at least five
(5) days before the hearing.
(d) At each
hearing of the commission, the owner, lessor, occupant, or lien holder,
may present witnesses in his own behalf and is entitled to cross-examine
any witnesses appearing.
(e) After
a public hearing, the decision of the commission is final as to the
administrative remedies.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 3, Article 3.800,
Section 3.803)
(a) Once
the decision of the commission has become final under this code, the
person affected by it may appeal the decision to the state District
Court by filing a petition with the District Court, duly verified,
setting forth the decision as illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying
the grounds of the illegality, within thirty (30) calendar days after
the date a copy of the final decision of the commission is mailed
by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all persons who notice
is required to be sent. The commission shall mail such copy promptly
after the decision becomes final. In addition, a copy shall be published
one (1) time in the official newspaper of the city within ten (10)
calendar days after the date of the mailing of the copy, as provided
herein, and a copy shall be filed in the office of the city secretary.
(b) On presentation
of the Petition, the District Court may allow a writ of certiorari
pursuant to Subchapter (C), Chapter 54 of the Local Government Code
of the State of Texas, as amended. The court may allow a writ of certiorari
directed to the commission to review the decision of the commission
and shall prescribe in the writ that the time, which may not be less
than ten (10) days, within which a return of the writ must be made
and served on the relator or the relators' attorney. If no appeals
are taken from the decision, the commission within the required period,
the decision of the commission shall, in all things, be final and
binding.
(c) The
commission shall not be required to return the original papers acted
on by it. It shall be sufficient for the commission to return certified
or sworn copies of the papers or parts of the papers, as may be called
for by the writ.
(d) The
return on the writ must concisely set forth other facts as may be
pertinent and material to show the grounds for the decision appealed
from it shall be verified.
(e) The
allowance of the writ does not stay proceedings on the decision appealed
from, but the District Court, on application, on notice to the commission
and for due cause shown, may grant a restraining order or injunction.
(f) The
appeal in District Court shall be limited to a hearing under the substantial
evidence rule. The court may reverse or affirm, in whole or in part,
or may modify the decision brought up for review.
(g) Costs
may not be allowed against the commission unless it appears to the
District Court that the commission acted with gross negligence and
bad faith, or with malice in making the decision appealed from.
(h) If the
decision of the commission is affirmed or not substantially reversed,
but only modified, the District Court shall allow to the city all
attorneys' fees and other costs and expenses incurred by it and shall
enter a judgment for those items, which may be entered against the
property owners, as well as persons found to be in occupation of the
property subject to the proceedings before the commission.
(i) Proceedings
pending before the commission or on appeal to the District Court pursuant
to this code do not effect the ability of the city to proceed under
the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 3, Article 3.800,
Section 3.804)
(a) The
notice and judicial review provisions provided above shall only apply
when the Building and Standards commission hears and determines cases
concerning alleged violations of ordinances:
(1) for
the preservation of public safety, relating to the materials or methods
used to construct a building or improvements, including the foundation,
structural elements, electrical wiring or apparatus, plumbing and
fixtures, entrances or exits;
(2) relating
to the fire safety of a building or improvements, including provisions
relating to materials, types of construction or design, warning devices,
sprinklers or other fire suppression devices, availability of water
supply for extinguishing fires, or location, design or width of entrances
or exits;
(3) relating
to dangerous damaged or deteriorated buildings or improvements;
(4) relating
to conditions caused by accumulations of refuse, vegetation, or other
matter that created breeding and living places for insects and rodents.
(b) When
the Building and Standards Commission acts as the board of appeals
under the building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, housing, dangerous
building, and fire codes as adopted and/or amended by the city, it
shall be in accordance with such code unless such appeal concerns
an alleged violation as set forth above and when such provisions are
contrary to Subchapter (C) Chapter 54 of the Local Government Code
of Texas, as amended, in which event the procedures set forth herein
under Chapter 54 of the Local Government Code of Texas shall control
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 3, Article 3.800,
Section 3.805)