There is hereby established in the city the building department which shall be under the jurisdiction of the city inspector, who shall be appointed by the city administrator.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
The city inspector is hereby authorized and directed to enforce all the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
In accordance with the procedure and with the approval of the city council, the city inspector may appoint such number of officers, inspectors and assistants, and other employees as shall be authorized from time to time. With the approval of the city council, he may deputize such employees as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the city inspector.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
(a) 
The city inspector shall submit monthly activity reports, and an annual summary report to the city council by January 15 each year, covering the work of the building department during the preceding period. He shall incorporate in such reports his recommendations as to desirable amendments to this article.
(b) 
The city inspector shall keep a permanent, accurate account of all fees and other monies collected and received under this article, the names of the persons upon whose account the same were paid, the date and amount thereof, together with the location of the building or premises to which they relate.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
(a) 
In the process of exercising his or her duties under this code, the city inspector or city administrator (“inspector”) may need to enter a structure, building, or premises (“location”), or portion thereof. If the location is occupied, the inspector shall first present proper credentials to the owner, occupant, or other responsible person and request entry. If the location is unoccupied, the inspector shall first make a reasonable attempt to contact the owner, an occupant, or other responsible person and request entry. If the inspector is unable to obtain consent, the inspector may use any remedy provided by law to secure entry, including but not limited to, an administrative search warrant pursuant to Texas Code Criminal Procedure article 18.05.
(b) 
If the location is under construction or has not been issued a certificate of occupancy, refusal to allow the inspector entry/access to all or a part of the location shall be grounds for issuance of an immediate stop-work order or for withholding a certificate of occupancy.
(c) 
An administrative search warrant is not required in the case of air quality inspections pursuant to Texas Health and Safety Code section 382.111; water quality inspections pursuant to Texas Water Code section 26.173; or inspections related to solid waste pursuant to Texas Health and Safety Code section 361.032(b). Inspections must be conducted at a reasonable time. When conducting inspections pursuant to this subsection, the inspector shall notify the owner or responsible party of his/her presence and shall display his/her credentials.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
Whenever any construction work or activity contrary to the provisions of this chapter is discovered, the city inspector or other officer of the city may order such work or activity stopped by verbal or written notice to anyone engaged in or causing the work to be done. The illegal work or activity shall cease immediately and/or the condition shall be corrected within a reasonable amount of time, as determined by the city inspector. If the condition has not been remedied as prescribed by the city inspector, a formal written order to stop-work on all or part of the activity or project may be issued and posted on the premises. At the discretion of the city administrator, an administrative fee as provided in appendix A to this code may be charged for each verbal or written stop-work order issued. Any such fee shall be payable by the owner or contractor and payment thereof may be required before the stop-work order is lifted. The owner, contractor, or other responsible person(s) may also be cited for violation of this code, and fined or prosecuted in municipal court. Failure to comply with a stop-work order will result in the issuance of a citation. See section 22.03.513 also.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
Whenever any structure is being used contrary to the provisions of this article, the city inspector may order such use discontinued and the structure, or portion thereof, vacated by notice served on any person causing such use to be continued. Such person shall discontinue the use within ten days after receipt of such notice or make the structure, or portion thereof, comply with the requirements of this article; provided, however, that for an unsafe building, section 22.03.334 shall apply.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
The city inspector or any employee charged with the enforcement of this article, acting in good faith and without malice for the city in the discharge of his duties, shall not thereby render himself liable personally and he is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that may accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or by reason of any act or omission in the discharge of his duties. Any suit brought against the city inspector or such employee, because of any act or omission by him in the discharge of his duties under any provision of this article, shall be defended by the city attorney until final termination of the proceedings.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
The city inspector or his agent is authorized by the city council to fulfill the duties of the sanitation inspector and/or the water pollution control and abatement officer.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
The city inspector may request, and shall receive so far as may be necessary in the discharge of his duties, the assistance and cooperation of other officials of the city.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
The city inspector shall receive all applications for building permits in the city. He shall confer with applicants to advise them on city laws and regulations applicable to building and land clearance.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
Building permits requiring a variance, shall be processed in the usual manner by the city inspector, but no permit shall be issued until the application for variance has been presented to the city council via the zoning and planning commission for its review and approval.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18; Ordinance 2024-006 adopted 6/12/2024)
The city inspector shall perform such other duties normally expected of a building, code enforcement, sanitation or city inspector, as may be assigned from time to time by the city council.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
The city inspector or his agents shall receive such fees as are authorized by city ordinances or resolutions.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
All construction in the city is limited to Monday through Saturday during the hours from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Construction work on Sundays and city holidays is not allowed without prior approval from the city administrator.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
Before a permit is issued, a certified ground survey of the property line affected by the construction, as determined by the city inspector, shall be provided to determine no part of the proposed structure encroaches onto the adjacent property. String lines will be placed along all affected property lines and remain up until the construction is completed and the final inspection is conducted by the city.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
As part of the process for obtaining any of the seven permits required by section 22.03.121, which are: site clearance, excavation, grading and landfill permit; blasting permit; building permit; private sewage facility permit; moving permit; street use permit; and utility permit, a site inspection shall be conducted to determine the existence and extent of oak wilt disease in the red oak and live oak species of trees. The city urban forester or arborist, trained and qualified to detect oak wilt disease, shall certify in writing to the city the existence or nonexistence of the disease on site. This certification shall become an integral part of the affected permit application. The permit applicant shall comply with all the provisions of the oak wilt diseased tree division in section 24.04.001 et seq.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
(a) 
The drainage and erosion control design manual a copy of which is on file in the office of the city secretary, is hereby adopted.
(b) 
The design factors, formulas, graphs, and procedures described in the current drainage and erosion control design manual are the standard for the design of drainage improvements and projects involving the volume, rate of flow, method of collection, storage, conveyance, treatment, and disposal of stormwater and erosion protection from stormwater flows. Responsibility for actual design remains with the design engineer.
(c) 
The current drainage and erosion control design manual and the city’s Code of Ordinances (city code) contain requirements for the design of infrastructure related to storm drainage, flood protection, water quality, and erosion control facilities. Where there is any conflict between the drainage and erosion control design manual and the current city code, the more restrictive shall take precedence. The design engineer is responsible for complying with the latest version of the current drainage and erosion control design manual and city code adopted by the city.
(d) 
If conflicts occur between city policy and criteria in the current drainage and erosion control design manual versus other regulatory authorities with jurisdiction in the same area, such as TCEQ, FEMA, or TxDOT, then the more stringent requirement will apply.
(e) 
Stormwater policy and criteria in the current drainage and erosion control design manual shall apply to all drainage improvements and projects that may impact drainage or water quality, both publicly and privately funded, within the city and within its ETJ.
(f) 
Amendments to the drainage and erosion control design manual may be recommended by city staff. Prior to approval by the city administrator, notification shall be given to the city council of all proposed amendments. The city council may approve the amendment without further discussion or request the amendment be brought to city council for review. Before an amendment to the drainage and erosion control design manual may be approved by the city the proposed amendment shall be posted on the city website for fourteen (14) days with contact information for interested residents to correspond with the city.
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
Applicants or individuals contemplating the removal of live vegetation of any kind for any reason to accomplish the work to be allowed under any of the seven permits listed in section 22.03.121 (site clearance, excavation, grading and landscaping permit; blasting permit; building permit; private sewage facility permit; moving permit; street use permit; and utility permit) or under any other permit requested from the city, shall schedule a vegetation inventory or “tree count” with the city inspector. No permit shall be issued and no live vegetation shall be removed unless and until the city inspector has completed such inventory or “tree count.”
(Ordinance 361 adopted 3/28/18)
(a) 
Purpose.
The purpose of requiring construction schedules is for informational purposes only for the city to facilitate inspection of construction as allowed by code.
(b) 
Construction schedules required; exception.
It is an offense for any person to perform construction work subject to this section unless the person has submitted a construction schedule at time of building permit application. Construction schedules shall be submitted for each six months that a construction project is ongoing and shall continue to be submitted until the project is completed. A construction project is exempt from this requirement if the project at issue has a valuation of less than $25,000.00.
(c) 
Target dates for milestones.
Construction schedule shall provide target dates for milestones, which may include, but is not limited to:
(1) 
Foundation pouring;
(2) 
Framing;
(3) 
Installation of sheetrock;
(4) 
Electrical rough-ins;
(5) 
Plumbing rough-ins;
(6) 
Flatwork;
(7) 
Removal of any variance trees;
(8) 
Grading; and
(9) 
All final inspections.
(d) 
Upon request.
Upon request, the contractor for the project shall meet with city staff to review the construction schedule.
(e) 
Inspections.
The contractor registered by city code for this project must be present at each inspection required by the building code as adopted by the city. In some cases, it may be acceptable for the master electrician or master plumber to be present if the inspections are related to plumbing or electrical.
(f) 
Exemptions.
The registered contractor is not required to provide a construction schedule under this code if the project is valued at $200,000.00 or less and if the project is projected to be completed in six (6) months or less. If the project is determined to extend past six (6) months after the appropriate permit is issued, a construction schedule shall be required.
(Ordinance 368 adopted 5/22/19)