This article establishes procedures conforming to subchapter
E of chapter 683 of the Texas Transportation Code for the abatement
and removal from private or public property or a public right-of-way
of a junked vehicle or a part of a junked vehicle and procedures for
the abatement and removal of a junked boat, junked off-road motorcycle
or junked all-terrain vehicle as a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.201),
adopted 12/1/15)
A junked vehicle, including 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;
(5) Is
an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety
of minors;
(6) Produces
urban decay adverse to the maintenance and continuing development
of the city; and
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.202),
adopted 12/1/15)
In this article:
Authorized person.
Any person designated by the city manager, including but
not limited to a city director, city staff, and a third-party vendor.
Inoperable.
Not in running condition without the necessity of being repaired
by, for example but without limitation, installing a part or parts,
removing or replacing a damaged or missing part or parts, inflating
a tire or tires, or charging of the vehicle’s battery.
Junked boat.
A boat or personal watercraft that is wrecked, partially
dismantled, discarded, lacking a watertight hull, or inoperable.
Junked trailer.
A trailer that is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled
or inoperable.
Junked vehicle.
A vehicle that:
(2)
Is:
(A)
Wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, or discarded; or
(B)
Inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than:
(i)
72 consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property;
or
(ii)
30 consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private property.
For purposes of this article, “junked vehicle” includes
a motor vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft. This article applies only
to:
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(1)
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A motor vehicle that displays an expired license plate or does
not display a license plate;
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(2)
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An aircraft that does not have lawfully printed on the aircraft
an unexpired federal aircraft identification number registered under
Federal Aviation Administration aircraft registration regulations
in 14 C.F.R. part 47; or
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(3)
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A watercraft that:
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(A)
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Does not have lawfully on board an unexpired certificate of
number; and
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(B)
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Is not a watercraft described by section 31.055, Parks and Wildlife
Code.
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Motor vehicle collector.
A person who:
(1)
Owns one or more antique or special interest vehicles; and
(2)
Acquires, collects or disposes of an antique or special interest
vehicle or part of an antique or special interest vehicle for personal
use to restore and preserve an antique or special interest vehicle
for historic interest.
Ordinary public view.
Visible at any time of the year from any public property
or from any adjacent land (including any point below the second floor
of any building located on the adjacent land) that is owned or occupied
by a person other than the owner or occupant of the land on which
a violating vehicle is kept. In relation to an antique vehicle or
a special interest vehicle, “screened from ordinary public view”
includes screening the vehicle with a fitted cover designed or fabricated
for the make and model of the vehicle and that is in good condition
and the cover does not contain rips, tears or other holes.
Special interest vehicle.
A motor vehicle of any age that has not been changed from
the original manufacturer’s specifications and, because of its
historical interest, is being preserved by a hobbyist.
Trailer.
A vehicle without motive power that is designed, adapted
or used to carry property or passengers on its own structure exclusively.
Violating vehicle.
Includes a junked vehicle, junked all-terrain vehicle, junked
boat, junked trailer or junked off-road motorcycle or part thereof
that is in violation of this article.
Wrecked.
Damaged by collision, impact or other force, or by fire or
explosion, in a manner that critically affects the proper operation
or structural integrity of the vehicle. Notwithstanding, and without
excluding other measurements or systems of damage rating, a vehicle
is considered wrecked if the vehicle has been or would be classified
on a state department of transportation Form CR-3 as having sustained
a vehicle damage rating of “3” or greater. The term does
not include damage due to ordinary wear and tear.
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.203),
adopted 12/1/15; Ordinance adopting
2019 Code)
(a) A
person commits an offense if the person causes, suffers, allows or
permits the keeping of a violating vehicle on premises owned or controlled
by that person.
(b) Unless
otherwise permitted by applicable law, regulation, permit, or zoning
regulations, a person commits an offense if the person causes, suffers,
allows or permits the parking or standing of a motor vehicle or a
trailer in a residential or nonresidential zone on private property,
within public view, owned or controlled by that person if the vehicle:
(1) Has one or more flat tires;
(2) Is missing one or more wheels; or
(3) Is supported by one or more jacks, jack stands, blocks or similar
means.
(c) The
municipal court shall order abatement and removal of the violating
vehicle upon conviction.
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.204),
adopted 12/1/15)
(a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under section
8.06.004(a), and to the abatement procedures established by this article, that the violating vehicle:
(1) Is completely enclosed in a building in a lawful manner and is not
within ordinary public view; or
(2) Is a junked vehicle and:
(A) Is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection
with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or automobile wrecking
yard in a zoning district in which such storage is authorized; or
(B) Is an antique or special interest vehicle stored by a motor vehicle
collector on the collector’s property, if the vehicle and the
outdoor storage area, if any, are:
(i)
Maintained in an orderly manner;
(iii)
Screened from ordinary public view.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under section
8.06.004(a) if the vehicle is presently under repair, if the owner shows reasonable progress within the preceding 30 days toward repairing the vehicle to an operable condition, and the vehicle is lawfully parked with a fitted cover designed or fabricated for the make and model of the vehicle and that is in good condition and the cover does not contain rips, tears or other holes.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under section
8.06.004(b) if the vehicle has a flat tire or missing wheel or is supported by a jack, jack stand, block or other means for less than 72 hours.
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.205),
adopted 12/1/15)
(a) The
procedures set forth in this article shall be administered by regular
full-time employees of the city; provided, however, that any authorized
person may remove a violating vehicle under the authority of this
article.
(b) The
city may seek an owner’s written consent to enter private property
to examine a suspected violation of this article, to obtain information
to identify the violating vehicle, and to remove or direct the removal
of the violating vehicle. The city is authorized to obtain a search
warrant to conduct an inspection permitted by this section when consent
to enter the property for the inspection has been refused or otherwise
cannot be obtained.
(c) No
violating vehicle removed under the authority of this article may
thereafter be reconstructed or made operable.
(d) The
relocation of a violating vehicle to another location within the city
after a proceeding for the abatement and removal of the violating
vehicle has commenced has no effect on the proceeding if the violating
vehicle constitutes an offense at the new location.
(e) The
city shall notify the appropriate designated state agency of the removal
of a junked vehicle not later that the fifth day after the removal
of a junked vehicle by identifying the vehicle or part of the vehicle
removed.
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.206),
adopted 12/1/15)
(a) Prior
to the abatement or removal of a violating vehicle under this article,
the city shall provide not less than ten days’ notice of the
probable violation by personal delivery, certified mail with a five-day
return requested, or delivery through the United States Postal Service
with signature confirmation service requested, to:
(1) The last known registered owner of the violating vehicle;
(2) Each lienholder of record, if any, of the violating vehicle; and
(3) The owner or occupant of:
(A) The property on which the violating vehicle is located; or
(B) If the violating vehicle is located on a public right-of-way, the
property adjacent to the right-of-way.
(b) If
the post office address of the last known registered owner of the
violating vehicle is unknown, notice may be placed on the violating
vehicle or, if the owner is located, personally delivered. If a notice
is returned undelivered, any action to abate the violating vehicle
shall be continued to a date not earlier than the eleventh day after
the date of the return.
(c) A
notice sent under this article shall include a statement that:
(1) The violating vehicle must be abated and removed not later than the
tenth day after the date on which the notice was delivered or mailed;
and
(2) Any request for a hearing must be made before the ten-day period
expires.
(d) A person entitled to notice under this section may request a hearing prior to the removal of the violating vehicle. A request for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be delivered to the director of the department charged by the city manager with enforcement of this article not later than ten days after receipt of the notice by the person making the request for a hearing, but in no event more than thirty days following the mailing or delivery of the notice. If a hearing is timely requested by a person for whom notice is required under subsection
(a), the hearing shall be held not earlier than the eleventh day after the date of the service of the notice. If no request for a hearing is timely filed by a person to whom notice is required under this section, no hearing shall be required.
(e) Upon
the timely request for a hearing of any person to whom a notice was
provided regarding a violating vehicle, a public hearing will be held
before a municipal court judge. Notice of the time, date, and location
of the hearing will be provided to each person who submitted a timely
request for a hearing.
(f) The
issue at the hearing is whether the violating vehicle is a junked
vehicle.
(g) At
any hearing conducted pursuant to this article, the violating vehicle
is presumed to be inoperable unless demonstrated otherwise by the
owner.
(h) If
the municipal court judge determines the vehicle to be a junked vehicle,
the judge shall order the vehicle to be removed.
(i) Any
order requiring the removal of violating vehicle shall include the
vehicle’s:
(2) Vehicle identification number, if any; and
(3) License plate, hull registration, or similar registration number,
if any.
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.207),
adopted 12/1/15)
The city may remove a junked vehicle at any time following a
public hearing and order of the judge or following the waiver of a
hearing.
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.208),
adopted 12/1/15)
(a) A
junked vehicle, or part thereof, shall be disposed of by the city
by removal to a scrap yard, demolisher, or any suitable site operated
by the city for processing as scrap or salvage, and any reconstruction
or work to make the vehicle operable after being removed is prohibited.
(b) If
the city council determines that commercial scrap yards or salvage
yards are not available or are inadequate, the city may operate its
own disposal site and make final disposition of junked vehicles or
vehicle parts at the disposal site or the city may transfer the vehicle
or vehicle parts to another disposal site if the disposal site is
only as scrap or salvage.
(Ordinance 1185, sec. 2 (8.209),
adopted 12/1/15)