When a building or other structure is found to be a dangerous structure by the building official, the building or structure may be condemned or otherwise addressed pursuant to the provisions of this division, providing for notice and a public hearing.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.1, adopted 1/18/11)
This division is adopted pursuant to Texas Local Government Code chapter 54, subchapter C, and chapter 214, subchapter A.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.2, adopted 1/18/11)
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Dangerous structure.
A structure that is in an unsafe condition that could injure, hurt, or harm individuals or property and that:
(1) 
Regardless of its structural condition, is unoccupied by its owners, lessees, 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;
(2) 
Is boarded up, fenced, or otherwise secured in any manner if the structure constitutes a danger to the public even though secured from entry or the means used to secure the structure are inadequate to prevent unauthorized entry or use of the structure;
(3) 
Is dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation and a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare, and which:
(A) 
Contains one or more interior walls or other vertical structural members that list, lean or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line passing through the center of gravity falls outside of the middle third of its base;
(B) 
Exclusive of the foundation, shows 33 percent or more damage or deterioration to the supporting member or members or 50 percent or more damage or deterioration to the nonsupporting enclosure or to outside walls or coverings;
(C) 
Has one or more improperly distributed loads upon the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded or which have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used;
(D) 
Has been damaged by fire, wind or other causes so as to have become dangerous to persons or property;
(E) 
Has become or is so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, or unsanitary or which utterly fails to provide amenities essential to decent living so that they are unfit for human habitation or are likely to cause sickness or disease so as to work injury to the health or welfare of those living therein;
(F) 
Has parts thereof which are attached in a manner that they may fall and injure persons or property;
(G) 
Has a foundation that is not so free of holes, cracks, buckling, crumbling and defects as to support adequately the structure;
(H) 
Does not have a floor, exterior wall and roof that is so free of holes, cracks and loose, rotten, warped or protruding boards necessary to protect the occupants of the structure reasonably from weather elements and from danger of collapse;
(I) 
Does not have interior walls and ceilings that are so free of holes, cracks, loose plaster, loose and baggy wallpaper, defective materials and structural deterioration as to reasonably serve their purpose and as to protect the occupants of the structure from danger of collapse and of fire; or
(J) 
Exists in violation of any provision of any applicable building code(s) of the city or any provision of the city’s fire code or other ordinances of the city as such provisions relate to minimum standards for buildings or structures.
Occupant.
Any individual living or sleeping in a building or structure or having possession of a space within a building or structure.
Structure.
That which is built or constructed or a portion thereof.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.3, adopted 1/18/11)
All structures that are found to be dangerous structures, after notice and hearing as provided for under the provisions of this division, are hereby declared to be public nuisances and shall be secured, repaired, vacated or demolished as provided in this division.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.4, adopted 1/18/11)
The city’s building official or that person’s designee shall, with or without the assistance of other city personnel, officials, or consultants, present all cases at hearings presided over by the commission.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.5, adopted 1/18/11)
A building and standards commission (“commission”) is hereby established, which shall be constituted by the same members appointed by the city council to serve as the city’s board of adjustment. The purpose of the commission is to hear cases under this division. A majority of the regular members of the commission must be present for a hearing. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner that vacancies are filled on the board of adjustment and the regular membership of the commission and the regular membership of the board of adjustment shall be the same. A majority of the entire regular commission members shall adopt as necessary all rules for hearings and other commission matters in accordance with this division. The city council shall have the authority to review and modify such rules at its discretion. All meetings and hearings conducted by the commission shall be open to the public and minutes shall be kept of all such meetings and hearings, recording the vote of each member. Said minutes shall be filed immediately in the offices of the city as public records. A majority vote of the commission members voting on a matter is necessary to take any action under this division.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.6, adopted 1/18/11)
After the public hearing required under this division the commission may do any or all of the following:
(1) 
Declare a structure to be a dangerous structure;
(2) 
Order the repair, within a fixed period as set forth in this division, of a structure it determines to be a dangerous structure;
(3) 
Order, in an appropriate case, the immediate removal of persons or property found on private property, enter on private property to secure the removal if it is determined that conditions exist on the property that constitute a dangerous structure, and order action to be taken as necessary to remedy, alleviate, or remove any dangerous structure found to exist;
(4) 
Issue orders or directives to any peace officer of the state, including a sheriff or constable or the chief of police of the municipality, to enforce and carry out the lawful orders or directives of the commission;
(5) 
Determine the amount and duration of the civil penalty the municipality may recover as provided for under the Texas Local Government Code, chapter 54, subchapter B, by filing a certified copy of the order with the district clerk for Collin [Denton] County; or
(6) 
Take any other appropriate action as set forth under this division.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.7, adopted 1/18/11)
(a) 
When a building or other structure is found to be a dangerous structure by the building official, the building official, after performing the due diligence required under section 3.04.229, must send notice:
(1) 
By personal delivery, by certified mail with return receipt requested, or by delivery by the United States Postal Service using signature confirmation service, to the record owners of the affected property, and each holder of a recorded lien against the affected property, as shown by the records in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the affected property is located if the address of the lienholder can be ascertained from the deed of trust establishing the lien or other applicable instruments on file in the office of the county clerk; and
(2) 
To all unknown owners, by posting a copy of the notice on the front door of each improvement situated on the affected property or as close to the front door as practicable; and
(3) 
For publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality on one occasion.
(b) 
The notice must also be posted, published in the newspaper and either personally delivered or mailed on or before the tenth day before the date of the hearing before the commission and must state the date, time, and place of the hearing.
(c) 
When a notice is sent in accordance with this section to a property owner, lienholder, or registered agent 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 delivered.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.8, adopted 1/18/11)
The building official exercises due diligence in determining the identity and address of a property owner, lienholder, or registered agent by searching the following records:
(1) 
County real property records of the county in which the property is located;
(2) 
Appraisal district records of the appraisal district in which the property is located;
(3) 
Records of the secretary of state, if the property owner, lienholder, or registered agent is a corporation, partnership, or other business association;
(4) 
Assumed name records of the county in which the property is located;
(5) 
Tax records of the municipality; and
(6) 
Utility records of the municipality.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.9, adopted 1/18/11)
The commission may file notice of a hearing or other proceeding in the official public records of real property in the county in which the affected property is located. The notice must contain the name and address of the owner of the affected property if that information can be determined from a reasonable search of the instruments on file in the office of the county clerk, a legal description of the affected property, and a description of the proceeding. The filing of the notice is binding on subsequent grantees, lienholders, or other transferees of an interest in the property who acquire such interest after the filing of the notice and constitutes notice of the proceeding on any subsequent recipient of any interest in the property who acquires such interest after the filing of the notice.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.10, adopted 1/18/11)
A hearing under this division must be held by the commission. After the public hearing, if a building or structure is found by the commission to be a dangerous structure according to the standards set forth in this division, the commission may order that the building or structure be vacated, secured, repaired, removed, or demolished by the owner within a reasonable time as provided by this division. The commission also may order that the occupants, if any, be relocated within a reasonable time, and take any additional actions as set forth under section 3.04.227. In a public hearing to determine whether a building or structure complies with the standards set out in this division, the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee has the burden of proof to demonstrate the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this division and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.11, adopted 1/18/11)
In conducting the public hearing required under this division, the commission shall include in the order the amount and duration of a civil penalty, if any, and the requirement(s) for the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of the dangerous structure to within 30 days:
(1) 
Secure the dangerous structure from unauthorized entry; or
(2) 
Repair, remove, or demolish the dangerous structure, or part thereof, unless the owner or lienholder establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be performed within 30 days.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.12, adopted 1/18/11)
If the commission allows the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee more than 30 days to repair, remove, or demolish the building or structure, the commission shall establish specific time schedules for the commencement and performance of the work (said schedules must be incorporated into the order) and shall require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee to secure the property in a reasonable manner from unauthorized entry while the work is being performed, as determined by the hearing official.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.13, adopted 1/18/11)
The commission may not issue an order allowing the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee more than 90 days to repair, remove, or demolish the building or structure or fully perform all work required to comply with the order unless the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee:
(1) 
Submits a detailed plan and time schedule for the work at the hearing; and
(2) 
Establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be completed within 90 days because of the scope and complexity of the work.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.14, adopted 1/18/11)
If the commission allows the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee more than 90 days to complete any part of the work required to repair, remove, or demolish the building or structure, the order shall require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee to regularly submit progress reports to the commission to demonstrate compliance with the time schedules established for commencement and performance of the work. The order may require that the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee appear before the building official to demonstrate compliance with the time schedules. If the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee owns property, including structures or improvements on property, within the municipal boundaries, that exceeds $100,000.00 in total value, the commission may include in the order a requirement that the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee post a cash or surety bond in an amount adequate to cover the cost of repairing, removing, or demolishing a building or structure under this division. In lieu of a bond, the commission may require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee to provide a letter of credit from a financial institution or a guaranty from a third party approved by the commission. The bond must be posted, or the letter of credit or third party guaranty provided, not later than the thirtieth day after the date the commission issues the order.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.15, adopted 1/18/11)
If the owner was not present at a public hearing held under this division, the building official shall send a copy of the order to the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested. If the owner or responsible party does not take the ordered action within the time allotted in the order, the building official shall make a diligent effort to discover each mortgagee and lienholder having an interest in the structure or in the property on which the structure is located. The building official satisfies the requirements of this division to make a diligent effort, to use its best efforts, or to make a reasonable effort to determine the identity and address of an owner, a lienholder, or a mortgagee if the building official searches the records set forth under section 3.04.229 of this division.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.16, adopted 1/18/11)
Once the steps have been taken to identify each mortgagee and lienholder, the building official shall obtain personal delivery on or shall send by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each identified mortgagee and lienholder, a notice containing:
(1) 
An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the structure and the property on which it is located;
(2) 
A description of the violation of the city’s standards that is present at the structure; and
(3) 
A statement that the city will vacate, secure, remove, or demolish the structure or relocate the occupants of the structure if the ordered action is not taken within a reasonable time.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.17, adopted 1/18/11)
The commission shall as soon as possible after the date that the order is issued:
(1) 
File a copy of the order in the office of the city secretary;
(2) 
Publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality in which the structure is located a notice containing:
(A) 
The street address or legal description of the property;
(B) 
The date of the hearing;
(C) 
A brief statement indicating the contents of the order; and
(D) 
Instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained; and
(3) 
Mail by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personally deliver a copy of the order to the owner of the structure and to any lienholder or mortgagee of the structure.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.18, adopted 1/18/11)
If the structure is not vacated, secured, repaired, removed, or demolished, or the occupants are not relocated, within the allotted time as applicable under any order of the commission, the city may vacate, secure, remove, or demolish the building or relocate the occupants at its own expense. This section does not limit the ability of the city to collect on a bond or other financial guaranty that may be required elsewhere in this division. If the city incurs expenses under this section, the city may assess the expenses on and the city has a lien against the property on which the structure was located. The lien is extinguished if the property owner or another person having an interest in the legal title to the property reimburses the city for the expenses. The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice of the lien is recorded and indexed in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the property is located. The notice must contain the name and address of the owner if that information can be determined with reasonable effort, a legal description of the real property on which the structure was located, the amount of expenses incurred by the city, and the balance due.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.19, adopted 1/18/11)
The city may secure a building or structure that the building official determines:
(1) 
Violates the minimum standards of this division or of any provision of any applicable building code(s) of the city or any provision of the city’s fire code or other ordinances of the city as such provisions relate to minimum standards for buildings or structures; and
(2) 
Is unoccupied or is only occupied by persons who do not have a right of possession to the building or structure.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.20, adopted 1/18/11)
Before the eleventh day after the date the structure is secured, the city shall give notice of the fact that the structure was secured to the owner by:
(1) 
Personally serving the owner with written notice;
(2) 
Depositing the notice in the United States mail addressed to the owner at the owner’s post office address;
(3) 
Publishing the notice at least twice within a ten-day period in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the structure is located if personal service cannot be obtained and the owner’s post office address is unknown; or
(4) 
Posting the notice on or near the front door of the structure if personal service cannot be obtained and the owner’s post office address is unknown.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.21, adopted 1/18/11)
The notice must contain:
(1) 
An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the structure and the property on which it is located;
(2) 
A description of the violation of the city standard(s) that is present at the structure;
(3) 
A statement that the city will secure or has secured, as the case may be, the structure; and
(4) 
An explanation of the owner’s entitlement to request a hearing about any matter relating to the city’s securing of the structure.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.22, adopted 1/18/11)
If the owner requests a hearing with respect to the city’s securing of a structure, the commission shall conduct a hearing at which the owner may testify or present witnesses or written information about any matter relating to the city’s securing of the structure if, within 30 days after the date the city secures the structure, the owner files with the city a written request for the hearing. The city shall conduct the hearing within 20 days after the date the request is filed.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.23, adopted 1/18/11)
The city has the same authority to assess expenses relating to its securing of a structure as it has to assess expenses under section 3.04.239 and a lien is created under this section in the same manner that a lien is created under section 3.04.239 and is subject to the same conditions as a lien created under that section.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.24, adopted 1/18/11)
The city may foreclose a lien on property under this division:
(1) 
In a proceeding relating to the property brought under subchapter E, chapter 33, Tax Code (V.T.C.A., Tax Code section 33.91 et seq.); or
(2) 
In a judicial proceeding, if:
(A) 
A structure on the property has been demolished;
(B) 
A lien for the cost of the demolition of the structure on the property has been created and that cost has not been paid more than 180 days after the date the lien was filed; and
(C) 
Ad valorem taxes are delinquent on all or part of the property.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.25, adopted 1/18/11)
When any structure has been ordered demolished and removed, the city shall have the right to sell the salvage and valuable materials at the highest price obtainable. The net proceeds of such sale, after deducting the expenses of such demolition, removal and sale, shall be promptly remitted with a report of such sale or transaction, including the items of expense and the amounts deducted, to the owner, subject to any order of a court. If such a surplus does not remain to be turned over, the report shall so state.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.26, adopted 1/18/11)
Any owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of record jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the commission may present a petition to a district court in the county, duly verified, setting forth that the decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds of the illegality. The petition must be filed with the district court within 30 days after the date a copy of the final decision of the commission is personally delivered, mailed by first class mail with certified return receipt requested, or delivered by the United States Postal Service using signature confirmation service, to all persons to whom notice may be required to be sent under sections 3.04.228 and 3.04.236. The procedures for any such judicial review shall be the same as set forth in Texas Local Government Code section 54.039.
(Ordinance 453-10, sec. 108.27, adopted 1/18/11)