The City of River Oaks shall have all the powers granted to
cities by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, together
with all the implied powers necessary for the execution of all the
powers granted. In the exercise of its powers, the city may:
(a) Design,
adopt and use a corporate seal;
(b) Contract
and be contracted with;
(c) Cooperate
with the government of State of Texas;
(d) Own,
lease and/or acquire property or a property interest, within or without
its boundaries, for any lawful purpose, in fee simple or in any lesser
estate or interest, by purchase, gift, devise, lease or condemnation;
(e) Construct,
own, lease, operate, and regulate public utilities;
(f) Assess,
levy and collect taxes for any purpose not prohibited by state law;
(g) Borrow
money on the faith and credit of the city by the issuance of bonds,
certificates of obligation, warrants, or notes of the city;
(h) Appropriate
the money of the city for all lawful purposes;
(i) Regulate
and control the use of streets and other public places;
(j) Enact
ordinances for all municipal purposes, and provide suitable penalties
for violations of city ordinances;
(k) Create
ordinances to regulate the collection and disposal of solid and other
wastes in a manner that protects the general health, safety, and welfare
of the citizens;
(l) Exercise
the authority, alone or with any governmental agency, or any non-profit
organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas to
acquire, establish, and own all property that may be useful and necessary
for the purpose of establishing and maintaining parks and recreational
facilities;
(m) Plan
and execute emergency administrative measures to be applied in time
of natural disaster;
(n) Pass
and enforce such ordinances as may be expedient for the protection
and maintenance of good government, the peace and welfare of the city,
the performance of the functions of the city, and the order and security
of the residents of the city; and
(o) Exercise
all municipal powers, functions, rights, privileges, and immunities
of every name and nature whatsoever, except as prohibited by the Constitution
and laws of the State of Texas and not in conflict with this charter.
The enumeration of particular powers by this charter shall not
be held or deemed to be exclusive, but, in addition to the powers
enumerated therein, or implied thereby, or appropriate to the exercise
of such powers, it is intended that the City of River Oaks shall have,
and may exercise, all powers which under the Constitution and Statutes
of the State of Texas, it would be competent for this charter specifically
to enumerate. Nothing in this charter shall be deemed or interpreted
to waive the sovereign immunity of the City of River Oaks.
No public property or any other character of property owned
or held by the City of River Oaks shall be subject to any execution
of any kind or nature.
No funds of the City of River Oaks shall be subject to garnishment
and the City of River Oaks shall never be required to answer any garnishment
proceedings.
Before the City of River Oaks shall be liable for damages for
personal injuries of any kind or for injuries to or destruction or
damage to property of any kind, the person injured or the owner of
the property so injured, damaged or destroyed, or someone in his behalf,
shall give the mayor and city council notice in writing of such injury,
damage or destruction, duly verified within sixty (60) days after
the same has been sustained, stating in such written notice, when,
where and how the injury, damage or destruction occurred, the apparent
extent thereof, the amount of damages sustained, the amount for which
the claimant will settle, the street and residence number of the claimant
at the time and date the claim was presented and the actual residence
of such claimant for the six (6) months immediately preceding the
occurrence of such injuries, damage or destruction, and the names
and addresses of the witnesses upon whom he relies to establish his
claim; and a failure so to notify the mayor and the city council within
the time and manner provided therein shall exonerate, excuse and except
the city from any liability whatsoever.
It shall not be necessary in any suit or proceeding in which
the City of River Oaks is a party, for said city to post any cost,
appeal, supersedeas, injunction, sequestration, attachment or execution
bond in any of the state courts, but all such actions, suits, appeals
or proceedings shall be conducted in the same manner as if such bond
had been given, and the City of River Oaks shall be liable the same
as if the security or bond had been duly executed.
The City of River Oaks shall have the right of eminent domain
for public purposes whenever the governing authority shall deem it
necessary; and to take any private property, within or without the
city limits, and to acquire lands, within or without the city for
any municipal purposes. The power of eminent domain hereby conferred
shall include the right of the governing authority of the city, when
so expressed to take the fee in the land so condemned, and such power
and authority shall include the right to condemn public property for
such purpose.
The City of River Oaks shall have exclusive control of all alleys,
streets, gutters and sidewalks situated within the city. The exclusive
right to control and use of the public streets, highways, sidewalks,
alleys, parks, public squares, and public places of the city is hereby
declared to be inalienable by the city, except by ordinances not in
conflict with the provisions of this charter. No act or omission by
the council or an officer or agent of the city shall be construed
to grant, extend, amend, expressly or by estoppel or implication,
any right, franchise, license or easement affecting such public streets,
highways, sidewalks, alleys, parks, public squares, public places
and other real property, except as provided in this charter.
The City of River Oaks shall have exclusive control of all city
parks and playgrounds, whether within or without the city limits,
and to control, regulate and remove all obstructions and prevent all
encroachments thereupon; to provide for raising, grading, filling,
terracing, landscape gardening, erecting buildings, swimming pools
and wading pools, and other structures, providing amusements therein,
for establishing walks and paving driveways around, in and through
said parks, playgrounds, and other public grounds, speedways or boulevards
owned by it, and lying both inside and outside the municipal boundaries.
The city council shall have the power to provide for a health
department and to establish all necessary rules and regulations protecting
the health of the city and for the establishment of quarantine stations,
pest houses, emergency hospitals and hospitals, and to provide for
the adoption of necessary quarantine laws to protect the inhabitants
against contagious or infectious diseases.
It is the intention to vest in the city council not only the
powers expressly enumerated in this section but all other powers reasonably
necessary for the protection of the health of the City of River Oaks
and its inhabitants.
The City of River Oaks shall have power by ordinances to establish
and maintain a police department.
The City of River Oaks shall have power by ordinances to establish
and maintain a fire department.
The city council shall have full power and authority to zone
the City of River Oaks and to pass all necessary ordinances, rules
and regulations governing the same under and by virtue of the authority
given to cities and legislative bodies thereof by state law and the
Constitution of the State of Texas.
The city council shall have the full authority to plat and subdivide
land within the corporate limits of the city and its extraterritorial
jurisdiction to the extent not prohibited by state law.
In addition to the powers hereinbefore specifically enumerated,
the city council of the City of River Oaks shall have the power to
license any lawful business, occupation or calling that is susceptible
to the control of the police power, to license, regulate, control,
or prohibit the erection of signs or billboards within the corporate
limits of said city; to provide for a public library and the maintenance
thereof; to provide for the regulation and control of electricians,
electrical and plumbing works, and to require efficiency in the same;
to provide for the inspection of weights, measures and meters and
fix a standard of such weights, measures and meters, and to require
conformity to such standards and to provide penalties for failure
to use or conform to the same; and to provide for inspection fees;
and to provide for the issuance of permits for erecting all buildings,
for the inspection of the construction of buildings in respect to
proper wiring for electric lights and other electrical appliances,
piping for gas, flues, chimneys, plumbing, and sewer connections;
and to enforce proper regulations in regard thereto; to require the
construction of fire escapes for all public buildings of every kind
and character; and to provide for the enforcement of all ordinances
enacted by the city.