It shall be unlawful for any person owning or controlling any premises within the city, whether occupied or unoccupied, to suffer, allow or permit weeds or grass to grow thereon to a greater height than twelve (12) inches on an average or in rank profusion, or to leave such weeds or grass upon any premises after the same are cut, or to fail to keep the lot free from rubbish, brush and any other objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary matter of whatever nature, and it shall be deemed a nuisance dangerous to the public health and to the public safety as a fire hazard, for any premises to have weeds or grass above such height, or in rank profusion, or cut and left thereon. Premises zoned and classified as agriculture district are exempt from the provisions of this section.
(Ordinance 18, sec. 1, adopted 7/13/87; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
Upon being informed of any premises in violation of the terms of this article, the mayor or his designee shall inspect the same to determine the facts and if a nuisance exists thereon as defined in section 7.03.001, the mayor or his designee shall notify the owner in writing and direct that said weeds or grass be cut and removed or such other unsanitary matter be remedied within ten (10) days of such notice. (The ten-day notice to begin the date the notice is postmarked or the notice is published.)
(b) 
The notice must be given:
(1) 
Personally to the owner in writing;
(2) 
By letter addressed to the owner at the owner’s address as recorded in the appraisal district records of the appraisal district in which the property is located; or
(3) 
If personal service cannot be obtained:
(A) 
By publication at least once;
(B) 
By posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation relates; or
(C) 
By posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates.
(4) 
If a municipality mails a notice to a property owner in accordance with this subsection, 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 as delivered.
(Ordinance 18, sec. 2, adopted 7/13/87; Ordinance adopting Code)
If the owner fails or refuses to cut or remove the weeds or grass from his premises or remedy the unsanitary condition within ten days as directed, or if personal service may not be had as aforesaid, or the owner’s address be not known, the mayor or his designee shall immediately make arrangements to cut and remove the weeds from the premises or remedy the unsanitary condition and shall keep a careful account of all expenses incurred, reporting in writing to the city the total cost of the work.
(Ordinance 18, sec. 3, adopted 7/13/87; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
The mayor or his designee shall certify the order and performance of the work together with the total cost to the city secretary, who shall issue either a personal notice or a notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the city, notifying the owner of the premises to appear before the board of aldermen for a hearing on a date to be fixed by the board of aldermen, such date being at least ten (10) days after the notice, and to show cause why the said charge or cost shall not be imposed against said owner and his premises as a special assessment.
(b) 
If it appears to the board of aldermen upon the hearing that the said charge is reasonable and covers only the cost and expense required to abate the nuisance, the board of aldermen shall levy a special assessment against the lot, tract or parcel of land upon which the nuisance existed and was abated, and the special assessment shall constitute a lien against the premises and a personal charge against the owner.
(Ordinance 18, sec. 4, adopted 7/13/87; Ordinance adopting Code)
In addition, the mayor or his designee shall file with the county clerk a statement of any such expenses and the city shall have a privileged lien thereon, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements, to secure the expenditure so made, and ten percent (10%) interest on the amount from the date of filing. For any such expenditure and interest, as aforesaid, suit may be instituted and recovery and foreclosure had in the name of the city; and the statement so made, as aforesaid, or a certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie proof of the amount expended in any such work or improvements.
(Ordinance 18, sec. 5, adopted 7/13/87; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
The city may abate, without notice, weeds that have grown higher than forty-eight (48) inches and are an immediate danger to the health, life, or safety of any person.
(b) 
Not later than the 10th day after the date the city abates weeds under this section, the city shall give notice to the property owner in the manner required by section 342.006 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) 
The notice shall contain:
(1) 
Identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the property;
(2) 
A description of the violations of this article that occurred on the property;
(3) 
A statement that the city abated the weeds; and
(4) 
An explanation of the property owner’s right to request an administrative hearing related to the city’s abatement of the weeds.
(d) 
The city shall conduct an administrative hearing on the abatement of weeds under this section if, not later than the 30th day after the date of the abatement of the weeds, the property owner files with the city a written request for a hearing.
(e) 
An administrative hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted not later than the 20th day after the date a request for a hearing is filed. The owner may testify or present any witnesses or written information relating to the city’s abatement of the weeds.
(f) 
The city may assess expenses and create liens under this section as it assesses expenses and creates liens under section 342.007 of the Health and Safety Code. A lien created under this section is subject to the same conditions as a lien created under section 342.007 of the Health and Safety Code.
(g) 
The authority granted a city by this section is in addition to the authority granted by Health and Safety Code, section 342.006.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
Any person who shall violate a provision of this article or who fails to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine in accordance with the general penalty provided in section 1.01.009 of this code. Each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense of each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of this article is committed or continued, and upon conviction of any such violation, such person shall be punished within the limits provided above.
(b) 
The imposition of the penalties herein prescribed shall not preclude the attorney for the city from instituting an appropriate action or proceeding to prevent any unlawful accumulation of an unsanitary condition or an action to restrain, correct or abate a violation of this article.
(Ordinance 18, sec. 6, adopted 7/13/87; Ordinance adopting Code)