The City of Jourdanton, Texas.
The code enforcement officer of the city or other regularly
salaried, full-time employee of the city designated by the mayor to
enforce this article.
A vehicle that is in such condition at the time of inspection,
that it is no longer usable for the purpose for which it was manufactured,
regardless of the potential for repair or restoration. If the vehicle
is wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, it is presumed to
be inoperable.
A vehicle that:
Is self-propelled; and
For purposes of this article, “junked vehicle” includes
a motor vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft. This subchapter applies
only to:
The board appointed by the city council to conduct hearings
as authorized by this article and the Texas Transportation Code sec.
683.076.
A vehicle or any part thereof or the tarp or cover thereon
that is visible at any time of the year from any public right-of-way,
or adjacent land or the first floor level of a building thereon, which
is owned or occupied by a person other than the property owner or
occupant of the property on which the vehicle is located or parked.
The owner of any premises, as listed in the real property
tax records of the city.
(Ordinance 765 adopted 4/1/19)
A junked vehicle, including a part of a junked vehicle that
is visible at any time of the year from a public place or public right-of-way:
(1)
Is
detrimental to the safety and welfare of the public;
(2)
Tends
to reduce the value of private property;
(3)
Invites
vandalism;
(4)
Creates
a fire hazard;
(5)
Is
an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety
of minors;
(6)
Produces
urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development
of municipalities; and
(7)
Is
a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 765 adopted 4/1/19)
(a)
A
person commits an offense if the person maintains a public nuisance
as described by this article.
(b)
An
offense under this article is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not
to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00). In the event a defendant
has once previously been convicted under this article; the defendant
shall be fined an amount not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00)
for each conviction thereafter. Each day a violation is permitted
to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(c)
The
municipal court shall order abatement and removal of the nuisance
on conviction.
(Ordinance 765 adopted 4/1/19)
(a)
Generally.
The city’s procedures for the abatement
and removal of a junked vehicle or a part of a junked vehicle as a
public nuisance from private property, public property or public rights-of-way
are set out in this section.
(1)
Procedures for abatement and removal of a public nuisance must be
administered by the code officer, or another regularly salaried, full-time
employee of the city designated by the mayor to enforce this article,
except that any authorized person may remove the nuisance.
(2)
Pursuant to the procedures established by this section, the person
authorized to administer these procedures may enter private property
to examine a public nuisance, to obtain information to identify the
nuisance, and to remove or direct the removal of the nuisance.
(3)
The municipal court may issue necessary orders to enforce an action
taken by the code officer, the junked vehicle board of appeal, or
both, under this section, pursuant to Tex. Transp. Code Ann. section
683.074.
(4)
Once a proceeding for the abatement and removal of the public nuisance
has commenced under this section, the relocation of a junked vehicle
that is a public nuisance to another location within the city has
no effect on the proceeding if the junked vehicle constitutes a public
nuisance at the new location.
(5)
In the event that the city removes a junked vehicle from private
or public property pursuant to this section, the code officer shall
provide notice to the state department of transportation, identifying
the vehicle or part of the vehicle being removed, not later than the
fifth day after the date of removal.
(6)
A junked vehicle removed pursuant to the provisions of this section
may not be reconstructed or made operable after removal.
(b)
Notice of nuisance.
(1)
The code officer shall give not less than 10 days, before an abatement
action, written notice stating the nature of the public nuisance.
The notice must be personally delivered, sent by certified mail with
a five-day return requested, or delivered by the United States postal
service with signature confirmation service to:
(2)
The notice must state:
(A)
That the nuisance must be abated and removed not later than the 10th
day after the date on which the notice was personally delivered or
mailed; and
(B)
Any request for a hearing before the junked vehicle board of appeals
must be made before the 10th day after the date on which the notice
was personally delivered, or mailed.
(3)
If the post office address of the last known registered owner of
the nuisance is unknown, notice may be placed on the nuisance or,
if the owner is located, personally delivered.
(4)
If notice is returned undelivered, action to abate the nuisance shall
be continued to a date not earlier than the 11th day after the date
of the return.
(c)
Junked vehicle board of appeals.
City council shall
serve as the junked vehicle board of appeals.
(1)
Rules of procedure.
The board shall establish rule of
procedure for the conduct of hearings in a manner that is consistent
with this article and that provides due process to all parties to
the appeal.
(d)
Hearing.
A hearing may be requested by the registered
owner of the nuisance, by any lienholder of record, or by any owner
or lawful occupant of the property on which the nuisance is located
by written request submitted to the city secretary. Upon receipt of
the request, the city secretary shall notify the board, who shall
conduct a public hearing pursuant to the procedures that follow:
(1)
The board shall convene to conduct a hearing as soon as practical,
but not earlier than the eleventh (11th) day following service of
notice to remove the vehicle.
(2)
The decision of the code officer shall not be overturned unless a
majority of the board determine that a preponderance of the presented
evidence proves that the code officer’s decision was in error.
(3)
(4)
An order shall become final:
(A)
After the 10th day after the date on which the notice was personally
delivered, or mailed, if request for a hearing before the junked vehicle
board of appeals; or
(B)
After the 11th day after the date of the return if notice is returned
undelivered; or
(C)
After a decision of the board is rendered, if a request for hearing
is requested.
(5)
Any party aggrieved by the decision of the board shall have 10 days
after the date of issuance of the order to appeal the decision to
a court of competent jurisdiction.
(6)
The city shall take no action to remove or destroy a junk vehicle
that is the subject of the order until the eleventh (11th) day following
the date the order was issued.
(7)
An appeal of the board’s order shall stay all city action regarding
said vehicle until such time as the court has rendered its final decision
regarding the matter and all appeals have been exhausted or an appeal
of the court’s decision was not filed and the date for filing
such appeals has passed.
(Ordinance 765 adopted 4/1/19)
(a)
Compliance
with an order for removal of a public nuisance may be carried out
by any person or entity so authorized by the code officer.
(b)
The
removal of a vehicle or part of a vehicle determined to be a nuisance,
pursuant to a decision of the code officer or an order of the board,
as the case may be, shall not commence until the period prescribed
for appeal of the decision of the code officer or the order of the
board, as the case may be, has passed and the decision or order has
become final. Once the decision or order is final, the vehicle, including
a part of a junked vehicle, may be removed to a scrapyard, a motor
vehicle demolisher, or a suitable site operated by the city, or the
city may operate a disposal site if the council determines that commercial
disposition is not available or is inadequate, and it may make final
disposition of the vehicle or vehicle parts, including transferring
it or them to another disposal site if the disposal is scrap or salvage
only.
(c)
Any
proceeds from the transfer of the junked vehicle or part thereof to
the site authorized by this section shall be used to reimburse the
city for all costs incurred in the notification, investigation, hearing,
and disposal procedures (including any and all variable towing and
disposal fees from contracted sources) within this article. Any remaining
proceeds shall be transferred to the lienholder of record or, if none,
the owner of record.
(Ordinance 765 adopted 4/1/19)
The procedures and penalties authorized by this article shall
not apply to a vehicle or vehicle part that is:
(1)
Completely
enclosed in a building in a lawful manner and is not visible from
the street or public or private property; or
(2)
Stored
or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with
the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard, or that is
an antique or special interest vehicle stored by a motor vehicle collector
on the collector’s property, if the vehicle or part of the outdoor
storage area, if any, are:
(Ordinance 765 adopted 4/1/19)
