The following definitions shall be applicable to this article:
Demolisher.
A person whose business is to convert a motor vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal or to otherwise wreck or dismantle the motor vehicle.
Garagekeeper.
An owner or operator of a parking place or establishment, motor vehicle storage facility, or establishment for the servicing, repair, or maintenance of a motor vehicle.
Junked vehicle.
A vehicle that is self-propelled and:
(1) 
Does not have lawfully attached to it:
(A) 
An unexpired license plate; and
(B) 
A valid motor vehicle inspection certificate; and
(2) 
Is:
(A) 
Wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, or discarded; or
(B) 
Inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than:
(i) 
Seventy-two consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property; or
(ii) 
Thirty consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private property.
Motor vehicle.
A motor vehicle subject to registration under the Certificate of Title Act, V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, chapter 501.
Police department.
The police department of the city.
Storage facility.
A garage, parking lot, or any type of facility or establishment for the servicing, repairing, storing, or parking of motor vehicles.
(Ordinance 870811, sec. I, adopted 8/11/97; Ordinance adopting Code)
A junked vehicle which is located in a place where it is visible from a public place or a public right-of-way is detrimental to the safety and welfare of the general public, tends to reduce the value of private property, invites vandalism, and creates fire hazards, and constitutes an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and is detrimental to the economic welfare of the state by producing urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the municipalities in the state, and is a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 870811, sec. II, adopted 8/11/97)
The following procedures are hereby adopted 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:
(1) 
The chief of police of the police department shall notify the last known registered owner of the junked motor vehicle, any lienholder of record, and the owner or occupant of the private premises on which the public nuisance exists and give 10 days’ notice stating that the presence of the junked motor vehicle upon said premises is a public nuisance, giving 10 days for the removal and abatement of said nuisance and stating that such persons must request a public hearing before the city council before the expiration of said 10-day period if removal is contested. 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. If such notice is returned undelivered by the United States post office, official action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not less than 10 days after the date of the return of the notice.
(2) 
For a junked vehicle located on public property, the chief of police of the police department shall give notice to the last known registered owner of the junked vehicle, any lienholder of record, and the owner or occupant of the public premises, or the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way in which the public nuisance exists, stating the existence of the public nuisance on public property or a public right-of-way, and that said nuisance must be removed and abated within 10 days, or that a public hearing before the city council must be requested before expiration of the 10-day period. 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. If such notice is returned by the United States post office, official action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not less than 10 days after the date of the return.
(3) 
Upon removal of the junked vehicle in accordance with the aforesaid procedures, the chief of police of the police department shall give notice in writing to the state department of transportation, not later than the fifth day of [after] the removal of the junked vehicle, identifying the vehicle or vehicle part by its vehicle identification number and license plate number, if available.
(Ordinance 870811, sec. III, adopted 8/11/97; Ordinance adopting Code)
The foregoing procedures shall not apply to a vehicle or vehicle part that is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner, if said vehicle is not visible from the street or other public or private property, or to a vehicle or vehicle part that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard, or to an unlicensed operable or inoperable antique or special interest vehicle stored by a collector on the collector’s property, if such vehicle and the outdoor storage area are maintained in a manner so that they do not constitute a health hazard and are screened from ordinary public view by means of a fence, rapidly growing trees, shrubbery, or other appropriate means.
(Ordinance 870811, sec. IV, adopted 8/11/97)
The chief of police of the police department, or other person duly authorized by the city council to administer the foregoing procedures, may enter private property for the purposes specified in the foregoing procedures to examine a vehicle or vehicle part, to obtain information as to the identity of the vehicle, and to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or vehicle part that constitutes a nuisance. The municipal court of the city is hereby authorized to issue such orders as are necessary to enforce the foregoing procedures.
(Ordinance 870811, sec. V, adopted 8/11/97)
Any junked vehicle or vehicle part removed pursuant to the foregoing procedures may be disposed of by removal to a scrap yard, demolisher, or any suitable site operated by the city, for processing as scrap or salvage. Such junked vehicle or vehicle part may not be reconstructed or made operable after it has been removed pursuant to the foregoing procedures.
(Ordinance 870811, sec. VI, adopted 8/11/97)
A person commits an offense if he maintains a junked vehicle that has been determined to be a public nuisance in accordance with the provisions with this article, after having received notice to abate such nuisance in accordance with the foregoing provisions. A person which commits an offense under this section is, upon conviction, subject to a fine not to exceed $200.00.
(Ordinance 870811, sec. VII, adopted 8/11/97)