Division 3 Enforcement

Inspections may be made between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday; provided, however, in cases of emergency where hazards are known or suspected to exist which may involve injury to a person or severe property damage, an inspection may occur at any time.

A city official, as defined by this article, may request entry to a dwelling unit or structure for inspection purposes only. Whenever a city official is denied entry to a dwelling unit or structure, such denial shall not be a violation of this article, but the official may use the resources provided by law to gain entry.

(Ordinance 440-2007, sec. 20, adopted 10/18/07)

§ 3.04.103 Time for compliance.

After the effective date of this article, the appropriate city official shall order the owner or manager of a community subject to these provisions to come into compliance. Upon receipt of such notice, the owner shall, subject to the applicable time limits, take necessary actions to comply with the provisions of this article. A sale or other transfer of the premises does not affect the validity and enforceability of the order. A person acquiring interest in the property after an order has been so filed is subject to the requirements of the order.

The owner or manager of a manufactured home community shall comply with the setback and separation requirements of this article whenever a manufactured home or accessory building is moved into, onto, or within the manufactured home community.

The owner or manager of a manufactured home community shall comply with the accessway and driveway requirements of this article and commence any necessary alterations to the community within thirty (30) months of the date of the order to the owner, and work shall be completed within sixty (60) months from the date of notification. The owner or manager of an existing manufactured home community, as of the effective date of this article, whose existing roadway is narrower than specified in the regulations is exempt from this requirement; however, in no case shall the existing roadway be reduced from the existing width.

§ 3.04.104 Appeals, waivers and variances.

The owner or manager of a manufactured home community established after the effective date of this article shall comply with the fire hydrant requirements of section 3.04.010(8) and shall commence work on the required alterations to the community within thirty (30) months of the date of the order to the owner, and work shall be completed within sixty (60) months from the date of owner notification.

(e)

The owner or manager of a manufactured home community shall comply with every requirement of this article, other than those set out in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, no later than twelve (12) months from the date on the order. Time frames for life, health, and safety issues may necessitate a shorter time frame and will be so ordered by the appropriate city official.

(f)

The owner or manager of a manufactured home community shall file plans and specifications for the necessary alterations with the appropriate city official, pursuant to subsections (b), (c), and (d) above, and shall obtain all necessary building or other permits prior to performing any work.

(Ordinance 440-2007, sec. 22, adopted 10/18/07)

Any person aggrieved by a decision of a city official regarding failure to comply with the standards contained in this article may file an appeal and request a hearing before the building board of appeals. Such appeal shall be requested within 15 days after the decision has been rendered by the city official by filing a written request for appeal to the city secretary specifying the grounds on which the appeal is requested. The city secretary shall forward the request and all related records to the board, and a hearing will be set in a reasonable amount of time after the request has been filed. The fee for an appeal, waiver or variance will be seventy-five dollars ($75.00).

An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the board, after notice of appeal shall have been filed with the officer, that, by reasons of facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order, which may be granted by the board or a court of record on application on notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

The owner of a manufactured home community or manufactured home shall submit requests for variances or waivers from this article to the city secretary, who will file them with the building board of appeals.

(Ordinance 440-2007, sec. 23, adopted 10/18/07)

§ 3.04.105 Notice of hearing.

Notice of such hearings shall be given to the owner, manager, occupants, lienholders, or mortgagees affected by an action for enforcement, by certified mail, return receipt requested, on or before the tenth day before the date of the hearing.

The notice to an owner, manager, occupant, lienholder or mortgagee must include a statement that the owner, manager, occupant, lienholder or mortgagee will be required to submit at the hearing proof of the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this article and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work.

§ 3.04.106 Action by building board of appeals.

Notices herein shall be sent or given by the appropriate city official.

(Ordinance 440-2007, sec. 24, adopted 10/18/07)

If, after a public hearing, a manufactured home community, or any structure contained therein, is found to be in violation of this article, the building board of appeals may:

(1)

Enter into the minutes its findings that the community, or use thereof:

(A)

Is in violation of the minimum standards of this article in specified instances;

(B)

Is dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation and a hazard to the public health, safety and welfare;

(C)

Is unoccupied by its owners, lessees, tenants, or other invitees and is unsecured from unauthorized entry to the extent that it could be entered or used by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage or could be entered or used by children;

(D)

Is boarded up, fenced or secured but constitutes a danger to the public, or the means used to secure the structure are inadequate to prevent unauthorized entry or use of the community or structure by vagrants, children or other uninvited persons;

(E)

Violates the minimum standards of this article and is unoccupied or is occupied only by persons who do not have a right of possession; or

(F)

Is dangerously damaged or deteriorated or is likely to endanger persons or property.

(2)

Make an order that:

(A)

The manufactured home community or structure shall be secured from unauthorized entry.

(B)

The manufactured home community or structure be repaired, removed or demolished.

(C)

The manufactured home community or structure be vacated in whole or in part.

(D)

Any or all occupants be relocated.

(E)

Grants a variance from or waiver to the terms of this article in order to avoid the imposition of a hardship.

(3)

Compliance time limits:

(A)

An order shall require that a manufactured home community or structure shall be secured within thirty (30) days.

(B)

An order shall be required that a manufactured home community or structure must be repaired, removed or demolished within thirty (30) days unless the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager, or occupant establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be performed within thirty (30) days.

(C)

If the building board of appeals allows the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant more than thirty (30) days to repair, remove or demolish the structure, the building board of appeals shall establish specific time schedules for the commencement and performance of the work and shall require the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant to secure the property in a reasonable manner from unauthorized entry while the work is being performed.

(D)

The building board of appeals may not allow the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant more than ninety (90) days to repair, remove or demolish the manufactured home or other structure within the manufactured home community or to fully perform all work required to comply with the order of the building board of appeals unless the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant:

(i)

Submits a detailed plan and time schedule for the work at the hearing; and

(ii)

Establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be completed within ninety (90) days because of the scope and complexity of the work.

(E)

If the building board of appeals allows the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant more than ninety (90) days to complete any part of the work required to repair, remove or demolish the manufactured home community or structure therein, the building board of appeals shall require the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant to regularly submit progress reports to the building board of appeals to demonstrate that the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant complied with the time schedules established by the board for commencement and performance of the work. The order may require that the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant appear before the building board of appeals to demonstrate compliance with the schedules.

(F)

In a public hearing to determine whether a manufactured home community or structure therein complies with the standards set out in this article, the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant has the burden of proof to demonstrate the scope of work that may be required to comply with this article and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work.

(G)

Should an owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant fail to comply with an order of the building board of appeals to repair, remove or demolish a manufactured home community or structure therein, the building board of appeals may assess civil penalties against such owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant upon notice and hearing. Such notice shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing to determine whether or not civil penalties should be assessed.

(Ordinance 440-2007, sec. 25, adopted 10/18/07)

§ 3.04.107 Action by city on noncompliance with order of building board of appeals.

If an owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant does not take action ordered by the building board of appeals within the allotted time, the appropriate city official shall promptly mail by certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the order and a statement of noncompliance to any owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant of the manufactured home community or structure therein previously served with the hearing notice.

If the owner, lienholder, mortgagee, manager or occupant should fail to comply with an order of the building board of appeals, the board may, in addition to any other actions or remedies in this article, authorize the appropriate city department to:

(1)

Vacate, secure, remove or demolish the manufactured home community or other structure therein which is subject to an enforcement order;

(2)

Relocate the occupants; or

(3)

Repair the manufactured home community or structure therein to the extent necessary to bring it into compliance with minimum standards.

The building board of appeals may authorize the appropriate city department to secure a manufactured home community, unit or structure that violates the minimum standards and is unoccupied or is occupied only by persons who do not have a right of possession before notice and hearing if:

(1)

Before the 11th day after the manufactured home community, unit or structure is secured the owner is given notice in accordance with section 214.001(c) Local Government Code; and

(2)

The building board of appeals conducts a hearing within twenty (20) days after a request for hearing is filed by the owner, provided said request for hearing is filed within thirty (30) days after the structure is secured.

§ 3.04.108 Enforcement of civil penalties, assessments and liens.

The building board of appeals may assess all expenses incurred by the city pursuant to the foregoing provisions against the owner of the property and the property. Said assessment of expenses shall constitute a privileged lien on the property subordinate only to tax liens and previously recorded bona fide mortgage liens, unless the property is a homestead protected by the state constitution in accordance with chapter 214 and chapter 54, Local Government Code.

(e)

Upon a finding by the building board of appeals that a manufactured home community or other structure is dangerously damaged or deteriorated, or is likely to endanger persons or property, the appropriate city official may place a placard notice on all dwelling units, a manufactured home community, or other structure which the building board of appeals has determined to be dangerously damaged or deteriorated, or likely to endanger persons or property, with the following language:

Warning! This structure has been found to be dangerously damaged or deteriorated or likely to endanger persons or property. The community/structure/unit is to be vacated immediately. This notice is to remain on this community/structure/unit until it is repaired or demolished in compliance with the order of the council. It is unlawful to remove this placard.

(Ordinance 440-2007, sec. 26, adopted 10/18/07)

Civil penalties and expenses assessed herein shall constitute a personal liability of the property owner and a lien against the property.

All civil penalties and assessments for expenses accrue interest at the maximum rate allowable by law.

A property owner against whom a civil penalty is assessed or expenses are assessed shall be given notice of such order by certified mail, return receipt requested.

Promptly after the imposition of a lien for the assessment of a civil penalty or expenses, the appropriate city official shall cause a written notice of such imposition of lien to be filed in the office of the county clerk.

(e)

A certified copy of an order assessing a civil penalty shall also be filed with the district clerk.

(f)

The city may file suit in district court to obtain a judgment against the owner for the amount of the civil penalty and expenses, plus interest, and for foreclosure of its lien on the property. A lien may not be foreclosed if property on which repairs were made is occupied as a residential homestead by a person sixty-five (65) years of age or older.

(Ordinance 440-2007, sec. 27, adopted 10/18/07)

§ 3.04.109 Judicial review.

Any owner, lienholder, mortgagee or manager jointly or severally aggrieved by an order of the building board of appeals may file in district court a verified petition setting forth that the decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds for the illegality. The petition must be filed within thirty (30) calendar days after the date a copy of the final decision of the building board of appeals is mailed to an owner, lienholder or mortgagee by certified mail, return receipt requested. Such decision shall become final as to each of them upon the expiration of the 30-day period.

With respect to any order of the building board of appeals that involves a finding that a manufactured home community, manufactured home or other structures are dangerously damaged or deteriorated, an abbreviated copy of the order shall be published one time in a newspaper of general circulation in the city within ten (10) days of the date of mailing of the copies of the order to the owner, lienholder or mortgagee, and a copy filed in the office of the city secretary.

On filing and presentation of the petition, the court may issue a writ of certiorari directed to the building board of appeals to review the decision and order of the board and shall prescribe in the writ the time within which a return on the writ must be made, which must be longer than ten (10) days and served on the aggrieved party or his or her attorney.

Review of the order of the building board of appeals shall be in accordance with section 214.0012 and section 54.039 Local Government Code.

(Ordinance 440-2007, sec. 28, adopted 10/18/07)

§ 3.04.110 Rehearing.

Prior to any order of the building board of appeals becoming final, the board may grant one rehearing if a person affected by the order requests the rehearing within ten (10) days after notice of the order or decision of the board is given. The period for appeal shall begin at the time the board gives notice of its order on the rehearing. The rehearing must be held no later than thirty (30) days from the date the rehearing request is filed.

A written request shall be made to the appropriate city official accompanied with a rehearing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) unless a person makes written affirmation of his inability to pay the fee.

Decisions of the building board of appeals are stayed until the rehearing is held.