For the purposes of this article, the following words shall
have the following meanings, except where the context clearly indicates
a different meaning.
Any condition, instrument or machine which is unsafe, unprotected
and may prove detrimental to children whether in a building, on the
premises of a building, or on an unoccupied lot. This includes but
is not limited to abandoned wells, shafts, basements or excavations;
abandoned refrigerators, appliances and motor vehicles; structurally
unsound fences or structures; or lumber trash, rubbish, brush, or
debris which may prove hazardous or dangerous to inquisitive minors.
To throw, discard, place, deposit, discharge, or dispose
of a substance.
That portion of a lot between the adjacent primary street
or right-of-way and the front building line or front facade of the
primary structure.
Any liquid, material, gas or other substance classified as
hazardous by any federal, state or local law, statute, common law
duty, rule, regulation, ordinance or code, or any administrative order,
directed duty, license, authorization or permit of, or agreement with,
any governmental authority, in each case relating to environmental,
health, safety and land use matters. The term shall include but is
not limited to oil, grease, paint, petroleum products, hazardous materials,
volatile chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or waste (solid,
liquid or gaseous) which is determined by the town to constitute a
fire or environmental hazard, or to be detrimental to human life,
health or safety.
A condition that substantially interferes with the use and
enjoyment of land.
A person who resides on, occupies or has possession or control
of real property.
In addition to the legal owner of property, any person, firm,
association or corporation in charge of, in supervision of, having
control of or occupying real property. The term “owner”
shall also include any mortgage company or lienholder who by foreclosure
or other operation of law has acquired any legal or equitable right
in and to real property or has acquired the right of possession of
real property.
That property adjacent to the property of any owner extending
from the property line to the curb line pavement edge or traveled
portion of any street, roadway or alley, including adjacent drainage
ditches and utility, right-of-way and drainage easements.
Any natural person, corporation, partnership, association,
firm, receiver, guardian, trustee, executor, administrator, fiduciary
or representative or group of persons or entities of any kind.
The Town of Cross Roads, Texas, its mayor, the designee of
the mayor, and the town’s code enforcement officer.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
The owner or occupant of any property within the territorial
limits of the town, whether the same be occupied or unoccupied, shall
keep such property and adjacent parkway free of any of the following
conditions which hereby constitute nuisances and offensive conditions:
(1)
Stagnant
water;
(2)
Accumulations
of trash, garbage, or debris including solid waste consisting of dirt,
concrete, rocks, bricks, wood, or other similar construction or building
waste materials;
(3)
Filth,
carrion, or other impure or unwholesome matter;
(4)
Rubbish,
brush, and other unsanitary matter;
(5)
Hazardous
waste; or
(6)
Any
other condition found by the town’s building inspector, code
enforcement officer, health officer, the county health officer, state
health officer, or other authorized person to be unsanitary or unwholesome
or a condition that may produce disease.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
It is hereby declared to be a public nuisance for any owner
or occupant of property or premises to keep or maintain the property,
premises or adjacent parkway in such a manner that any of the following
conditions are found to exist. These conditions are in addition to,
and not in lieu of, the conditions enumerated in the foregoing section
of this article.
(1)
Household appliances.
(A)
Abandoned, dismantled, wrecked, inoperable, or discarded objects,
furniture, equipment or appliances such as, but not limited to water
heaters, refrigerators, clothes dryers, washing machines, cooking
stoves, heating stoves, air conditioners, microwave ovens, televisions,
dishwashers, furniture which is not designed for outdoor use, household
fixtures, machinery, equipment, cans or containers, which are located
or stored on real property visible from a public place or adjacent
property, or which are stored on private property in violation of
any other law or ordinance.
(B)
It shall be a defense to an offense under this provision if the item
is scheduled for sanitation or trash pickup, any doors have been removed,
and is set out for removal on the scheduled removal date.
(2)
Trailers.
Utility, construction, landscaping, cattle
and other such trailers parked within the front yard and visible from
a public street. Parking of trailers and recreational vehicles on
public streets shall be temporary in nature and limited to a maximum
of 7 days and shall not interfere with vehicles and traffic.
(3)
Construction/landscaping materials.
Accumulations or
piles of sand, gravel, dirt or other landscaping materials situated
in the front yard for a period in excess of sixty (60) days.
(4)
Recyclables.
Items intended for recycling, including
discarded garbage, rubbish, refuse, or other recyclable items situated
on the property for a period of at least 14 days, or which are determined
by the town to constitute a fire hazard or to be detrimental to human
life, health or safety.
(5)
Trash receptacles.
Receptacles for trash, discarded
materials and recyclables shall not be left at the point of collection
on or adjacent to a street, alley, or public right-of-way for a period
of more than 24 hours, unless the receptacle is kept within an enclosure
that has at least three sides, and is designed and constructed such
that:
(6)
Pools.
Swimming pools, spas, body of water, or excavation
which is abandoned, unattended, unsanitary, empty, which is not securely
fenced, or which is determined by the town to be detrimental to life,
health or safety.
(7)
Dilapidated structures.
Any structure which detrimentally
impacts the surrounding neighborhood or adjacent properties because
of dilapidation, deterioration or decay, or is unsafe for the purpose
for which it is intended, or is not secured or is improperly secured.
(8)
Nuisances.
Any condition that is injurious to health,
and safety or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to
interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by persons
of ordinary sensibilities.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
(a)
No
person shall cause, permit or allow litter, trash, garbage, or refuse
to be buried on private or public property, except where the property
is permitted for use as an inert or sanitary landfill by the state.
(b)
No
person shall deposit or dispose of any litter, trash, refuse, debris,
or hazardous material in any private receptacle, container, collection
system, or trash dumpster without the consent of the owner thereof.
(c)
No
person shall throw, drop, dispose of, or cause to be thrown, dropped,
or disposed of, litter from a vehicle.
(d)
No
vehicle shall be driven or moved on any public street, highway or
other public road within the town unless such vehicle is constructed,
loaded or equipped in such a manner as to prevent any of its load
from dropping, sifting, leaking or otherwise escaping therefrom; provided,
however, that sand or any substance for increasing traction, or water
or other substance may be sprinkled on a roadway and the cleaning
or maintaining of such roadway may be undertaken by the governmental
agency having that responsibility. Any person operating a vehicle
from which any glass, litter or other object has fallen or escaped
which may constitute an obstruction or may cause damage to other vehicles
or otherwise endanger travel on the roadway shall immediately cause
the removal of such glass, litter or object from the roadway, and
shall pay any costs for such removal. This section shall not apply
to any motor vehicle used exclusively for agricultural purposes and
which is not operated on a public roadway for any other purpose other
than operating it across the roadway or along the roadway from one
point of the owner’s land to another part thereof, irrespective
of whether or not the tracts adjoin, or for the purpose of taking
the vehicle to a place of repair.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
(a)
No
person shall commence or cause the commencement of the construction
or demolition of a structure without first having applied for and
been issued a permit to do so from the town.
(b)
On-site
receptacles and containers of sufficient size and composition to effectively
and securely hold the accumulation of all debris, paper, building
material waste, scrap building materials and other trash and refuse
produced by construction or demolition activities shall be installed
and maintained. All construction and demolition sites shall be kept
in a litter-free condition.
(c)
Any
accumulation of dirt, mud, silt or any other earth resulting from
construction or demolition activity shall be immediately removed if
such accumulation may cause a threat to public health or safety or
property values, whether real or personal.
(d)
No
person shall cause or permit the accumulation or deposit of dirt,
mud, silt or any other earth, or any construction or demolition supplies,
material, waste or debris or any other material resulting from construction
or demolition activities on any public street, alley or right-of-way.
(e)
No
litter, rubbish, waste or debris, including but not limited to brush,
limbs, stumps, roots and other by-products of construction or demolition
activities may be buried on any property not expressly and properly
permitted for such activity, nor may such matter be burned on any
property without a valid permit to do so issued by the town.
(f)
All
construction and demolition sites must be secured with protective
and security fencing to prevent erosion of soil and dirt from rain
and storm water runoff, the scattering of litter and debris, and entry
by children.
(g)
In
addition to the remedies and relief provided for in this article for
violations of this section, the town may immediately order all work
being performed at the site to cease by the issuance of a stop work
order. No further work will resume at the site until the violation
is corrected and inspected by the town and all reinspection fees are
paid in full. It shall be an offense for any person to fail or refuse
to comply with a stop work order.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
No person other than the owner thereof or the town, or an authorized
agent or employee thereof, shall interfere with any container placed
for the purpose of storing refuse pending collection, or remove or
take any of the contents thereof, or remove any such container from
the location where the container has been placed by the owner thereof.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
(a)
Right of entry.
The town shall have the right of entry
onto private property for the purposes of inspecting the property
or abating a nuisance or unlawful condition thereon. The town may
enter any property or premises at all times to inspect premises for
violations of this article provided:
(1)
The town’s enforcement officer shall first present proper credentials,
state the reason for entry and request entry from the owner or occupant,
if the property is occupied or the owner or occupant is present. If
entry is denied, the town shall have recourse to every remedy provided
by law to gain entry, including but not limited to the denial, suspension
or revocation of any permit or certificate of occupancy.
(2)
The town shall make a reasonable effort to locate the owner of unoccupied
property or premises to inform the owner of the reasons for entry
and to request entry.
(b)
Notice.
When any duly authorized officer of the town
discovers property which is being maintained in violation of any of
the provisions of this article, he shall issue and serve a notice
of such as follows:
(1)
Delivered personally to the owner or occupant in writing;
(2)
By letter addressed to the owner or occupant at the owner’s
or occupant’s post office address, last known address, or property
address where the violation exists; or
(3)
If personal service cannot be obtained or the owner’s or occupant’s
post office address is unknown:
(A)
By publication in the town’s official newspaper at least twice
within fourteen consecutive days;
(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, if the
property contains no building.
(c)
Where
such notice of violation is transmitted by mail, properly addressed
as set forth herein with proper postage affixed, receipt of the notice
of violation shall be presumed on the third day following deposit
in the custody of the U.S. mail. Notice may be mailed to the owner
or occupant of the property as shown on the most recent tax roll upon
which county taxes are assessed. The failure of any addressee to receive
the notice sent as provided herein shall not affect or invalidate
any proceeding commenced under this article.
(d)
If
the owner or occupant of the property does not comply with the notice
and this article within ten (10) days of notice of the violation given
as stated above, the town may, on written request, with good cause
demonstrated, grant up to 21 additional days for correction of the
violation, or may:
(e)
The
town may assess expenses incurred under this section against the real
estate on which the work is done or improvements made in accordance
with the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
(a)
To
obtain a lien against the property, the mayor or his designee, including
any other designated town official, must file a statement of expenses
with the county clerk. The statement of expenses must identify the
name of the owner, if known, and the legal description of the property.
The lien obtained by the town is security for the expenditures made
and interest accruing at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum on
the amount due from the date of payment by the town for the work done
or improvements made. The lien is inferior only to tax liens and liens
for street improvements.
(b)
The
town may authorize a suit for foreclosure in the name of the town
to recover the expenditures and interest due. The statement of expenses
or a certified copy of the statement is prima facie proof of the expenses
incurred by the town in doing the work or making the improvements.
(c)
The
remedy provided in this section is in addition to any fine which may
be imposed for a violation of this article and is cumulative of and
in addition to any other remedies which may be provided for by the
ordinances of the town or other law, whether civil or criminal.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
(a)
Any
person who violates any of the provisions of this article shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a
penalty of fine not to exceed the sum of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).
Each and every day or part thereof during which any such violation
is committed, continued, or allowed shall be a separate offense.
(b)
Any
person who violates any provision of this article may be liable to
the town for an administrative penalty in a sum not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation for each day or part
thereof that the violation exists or is allowed to continue. The civil
penalty provided herein is cumulative and not exclusive and shall
be in addition to all other remedies available to the town under state
law and local ordinances.
(c)
The
provisions of this article may be enforced against the owner of the
property or the occupant, or both.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
The remedies provided in this article are in addition to any
other remedy which may be imposed for a condition, act or omission
that may constitute a violation of this article, and are cumulative
of and in addition to any other remedies which may be provided for
by the ordinances of the town or other law, whether civil or criminal.
Nothing in this article shall preclude the town from seeking appropriate
injunctive relief to halt continuing violations of this article or
to prevent or abate a nuisance.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
In any civil or administrative action, hearing or appeal commenced
by the town under this article, the town shall, to the extent allowed
by law, be entitled to recover from the opposing party in such action
reasonable attorney’s fees, costs of suit, any other costs of
enforcement, including, but not limited to, inspection costs and cleanup
and abatement costs.
(Ordinance 2010-0208-01 adopted 2/8/10)
