(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, owner or occupant of any premises, occupied or unoccupied, to permit weeds or grass located on any premises in the city to grow to a height greater than twelve (12) inches; or to fail to remove weeds or grass from such premises after the same have been cut. For the purpose of this article, the term "premises" means the lot, plot or parcel of land, plus the front or side parkway between the property line or sidewalk and curb or traveled way, and the rear or side parkway between the property line and the center line of an adjacent alley.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) 
permit the accumulation, or to throw, place, dump or deposit any lawn trimmings, hedge trimmings, or other cuttings of weeds, grass, flowers or other vegetation on any private property occupied or unoccupied in the city;
(2) 
permit the accumulation, or to throw, place, dump or deposit any lawn trimmings, hedge trimmings, or other cuttings of weed, grass, flowers or other vegetation on or in any gutter, street, sidewalk, parkway, driveway, curb, alley or any other public property in the city;
(3) 
allow any vegetation, including but not limited to trees, shrubbery, bushes and vines to grow on premises so as to project across the property line over or into the right-of-way of the alley, street or sidewalk; and
(4) 
the cutting and removal of weeds and grass at least once in every fifteen (15) days shall be deemed compliance with subsection (a) above.
(5) 
It is unlawful for any owner of a lot, tract or parcel of real property in the city to fail to keep the lot, tract or parcel of real property free of objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary matter, filth, carrion, stagnant water or other impure or unwholesome matter.
(Ordinance 1371-00 adopted 8/15/00; Ordinance 1452-01 adopted 11/20/01)
It shall be the duty of every owner, occupant or person in control of any occupied or unoccupied premises in the city to use every precaution to prevent weeds, grass or other vegetation from growing on premises so as to become a nuisance or fire hazard.
(Ordinance 1371-10 adopted 8/15/00)
The city manager or designee shall enforce and administer this article.
(Ordinance 1371-10 adopted 8/15/00)
(a) 
If the owner, occupant or person in control of private premises in the city does not comply with any provisions of this article within seven (7) days of notice of a violation, the city manager, or his or her designee, may:
(1) 
Do the work or make the improvements required; and
(2) 
Pay for the work done or improvements made and charge the expenses to the owner of the property.
(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 premises are 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 premises to which the violation relates; or
(C) 
By posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven in the ground, on the premises to which the violation relates, if the premises contains no buildings.
(c) 
If the city mails a notice to the property owner 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) 
In a notice provided under this section, the city manager, or designee, may inform the owner by regular mail and a posting on the premises 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 premises. If a violation covered by a notice under this subsection 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 manager, or designee, without notice may take any action permitted by subsections (a)(1) and (2) and assess the city’s expense as provided by Section 6.505.
(Ordinance 2036-15 adopted 10/20/15)
(a) 
The city may assess expenses incurred under Section 6.504, including an administrative expense set forth in Appendix A of this code, against the real property on which the work is done or improvements made.
(b) 
To assess the expenses against the real property, the city manager, or his or her designee, shall provide written notice of the expenses incurred to the owner of the real property in the manner provided in Section 6.504(b). The written notice shall contain:
(1) 
A brief description of the work done by the city and the total amount due for the work and any administrative expenses assessed by the city;
(2) 
Notice to the owner that the owner has sixty (60) days from the date of the notice in which to pay the total amount due; and
(3) 
Notice to the owner that the city shall be entitled to affix a lien against the real property for the outstanding expenses incurred if the owner does not pay the total amount due within sixty (60) days from the date of the notice.
(c) 
To obtain a lien against the property, the city manager, or designee, must file a statement of expenses with the county clerk. The lien statement must 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.
(d) 
The lien obtained by the city is security for the expenditures made and interests accruing at the rate of 10 percent (10%) on the amount due from the date of payment by the city.
(e) 
The lien is inferior only to:
(1) 
Tax liens; and
(2) 
Liens for street improvements.
(f) 
The city may bring a suit for foreclosure in the name of the city to recover the expenditures and interest due.
(g) 
The statement of expenses or certified copy of the statement is prima facie proof of the expenses incurred by the city in doing the work or making the improvements.
(h) 
The remedy provided in this section is in addition to the remedy provided by Section 6.507.
(i) 
The city may foreclose a lien on premises under this article in a proceeding relating to the premises brought under subsection E, chapter 33, Tax Code.
(Ordinance 2036-15 adopted 10/20/15)
(a) 
The city may 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, occupant or person in control of private premises in the manner required by Section 6.504.
(c) 
The notice shall contain:
(1) 
an identification, which is not required to be legal description, of the premises;
(2) 
a description of the violations of this article that occurred on the premises;
(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 abatement of the weeds.
(d) 
The municipal judge shall conduct an administrative hearing on the abatement of weeds under this section if not later than the 30th day after the date of the abatement of the weeds, the owner files with the municipal judge a written request for a hearing.
(e) 
An administrative hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted 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) 
The city may assess expenses and create liens under this section as it assesses expenses and creates liens under Section 6.505. A lien created under this section is subject to the same conditions as a lien created under Section 6.505.
(g) 
The authority granted the city by this section is in addition to the authority granted by Section 6.504.
(Ordinance 1371-00 adopted 8/15/00)
(a) 
A person who violates any provision of this article or who fails to perform a duty required under this article commits an offense. A person is guilty of a separate offense for each day or portion thereof during which the violation is committed, continued or permitted, and upon the conviction of is punishable by a fine as set forth in the general penalty provision set forth in Section 1.106 of this code.
(b) 
The penalty provided herein is in addition to the remedy provided the city to cause the work or improvements to be done to the premises as provided herein.
(Ordinance 1371-00 adopted 8/15/00)