Division 4 Building and Standards Commission

Authority.

There is hereby established a building and standards commission (“commission”) in the city. The commission shall have the authority provided for by Tex. Local Gov’t Code section 54.031 et seq. and its supplements and amendments, this division, the municipal charter of the city and the general law. The provisions of this division shall at all times be liberally construed to safeguard, keep, protect and provide for the public interest.

Composition; qualifications of members.

The commission shall consist of one panel of seven members and two alternates, each of whom shall be a duly qualified elector of the city or of the county. Commissioners or alternates residing outside of the city shall be required to either work in the city, own a business located in the city or pay municipal property taxes. Each commission member and alternate shall be appointed by the city council. No more than two nonresidents shall be eligible for simultaneous appointment to or service upon the commission as either a member or alternate. It is the declared policy of the city that the city council may consider for appointment to the commission those persons who have demonstrated their civic interest, general knowledge of the community, independent and intelligent judgment, understanding of building standards, understanding of neighborhood integrity and availability to prepare for and attend meetings, and who, by reason of diversity of their occupations, constitute a commission which is broadly representative of the community. Alternates shall serve when requested to do so by the mayor or the city manager.

Place numbers.

The members of the commission shall be identified by place numbers one through seven. The alternates shall be identified as alternate (A) and alternate (B).

Terms; removal of members.

Except as provided in subsection (e) below, members of the commission and alternates shall be appointed for a two-year term, unless removed prior to the expiration of the term. Commission members and alternates shall be subject to removal at any time by the city council for cause on a written charge. The city council must hold a public hearing on the matter of removal if requested by the commission member or alternate subject to the removal action. Grounds for removal for cause shall consist of incompetency, official misconduct, neglect of duty, the final conviction of a crime of “moral turpitude,” the final conviction of any felony, the unexcused absence from three consecutive commission meetings or failure to meet residency requirements as provided by subsection (b) above.

Expiration of term; initial terms.

Members of the commission in the odd-numbered places and alternate (A) shall serve terms expiring January 31 of odd-numbered years. The first term of members in odd-numbered places and alternate (A) shall expire January 31, 2017. Members of the commission in the even-numbered places and alternate (B) shall serve terms expiring January 31 of the even-numbered years. The first term of members in even-numbered places and alternate (B) shall expire January 31, 2016. When the term of office for a member expires, the member shall continue to serve until a new member is appointed to the member’s place.

Vacancies.

Any vacancy in commission membership, including alternates, shall be filled by the city council for the unexpired term of the member or alternate whose place or position has, by removal or otherwise, become vacant. The city council shall endeavor to fill vacancies within 60 days of removal or resignation.

§ 2.03.093 Powers and duties of building inspector.

Procedures and standards.

The commission shall follow all established procedures and standards on their effective date.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.31; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09; Ordinance 2015-02, sec. 3, adopted 1/30/15)

The building inspector is authorized to administer and enforce the provisions of this division. The building inspector may hold the office concurrently with another appointed municipal office or position with the city if approved by the city manager.

The building inspector and the building inspector’s authorized representatives shall, in accordance with article 18.05 of the Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure, be authorized to make inspections of all buildings, structures or premises within the city for the purpose of determining compliance with this division.

The building inspector may appoint such number of officers and employees as shall be authorized by the city manager. The building inspector may deputize such employees as may be necessary to carry out the functions required for the enforcement of this division.

The building inspector, deputies and officers shall be supplied with official city identification, and, upon request, they shall exhibit such identification when performing any duties imposed and authorized by this division.

The building inspector shall forward all proposed amendments to this division to the building official for review and, when necessary, present the same to the commission and the city council for consideration.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.32; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

§ 2.03.094 Abatement cases generally.

The commission, pursuant to Tex. Local Gov’t Code sections 54.004 and 54.031 et seq., the general law and the municipal charter, is hereby authorized, after notice and hearing, to enforce ordinances:

Relating to dangerously damaged or deteriorated buildings or improvements;

Relating to conditions caused by accumulations of refuse, vegetation or other matter that creates breeding and living places for insects and rodents; or

Relating to a building code or to the condition, use or appearance of a property.

The commission may, after notice and hearing:

Order the repair or removal, within a fixed period, of violations of an ordinance and further order that the city may repair or remove the violation if the commission’s order is not complied with within the allotted time;

Order the repair or removal of a nuisance, within a fixed period, of property found to be in violation of an ordinance related to a building code or condition, use or appearance of property in a municipality;

Determine the amount and duration of the civil penalty the municipality may recover pursuant to section 2.03.098;

Order, in an appropriate case, the immediate removal of persons or property found on private property;

Order the entrance on private property to secure the removal if it is determined that conditions exist on the property that constitute a violation of an ordinance; and

(6)

Issue orders or directives to the chief of police of the municipality, to enforce and carry out the lawful orders or directives of the commission panel.

All abatement cases to be heard by the commission shall be heard as prescribed by section 2.03.095.

§ 2.03.095 Meetings and rules of procedure; conduct of hearings.

The building inspector shall give notice of all proceedings on abatement cases before the commission in the manner set forth in section 2.03.096.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.33; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

All cases to be heard by the commission shall be heard by a quorum of not less than four members including alternates serving in the manner prescribed by section 2.03.092(b). No decision by the commission shall be deemed rendered unless concurred in by a majority of the panel of members in attendance.

At its first meeting, and then at the first meeting of each subsequent year, the commission shall select a chairperson, who shall act as presiding officer during the hearing of all cases. The chairperson shall serve from the date of selection until December 31 of the year selected, and may be selected for subsequent terms of office. The chairperson shall be entitled to act and vote upon all matters before the commission in the same manner as other members.

All owners, mortgagees and lienholders of the property shall be given an opportunity to present evidence at the hearing. Interested parties shall also be given an opportunity to present evidence. In a hearing to determine whether a building, property or structure is substandard, the owner, mortgagee or lienholder of the building or structure has the burden of proof to demonstrate the scope of work that may be required to bring the building or structure into compliance with this division and the time it will reasonably take to perform the work.

The commission shall establish rules of procedure for the conduct of hearings, but such rules shall be consistent with this division and applicable state law.

Meetings of the commission shall be held at the call of the chairperson or upon the request of the building inspector to the commission. All meetings of the commission shall be open to the public. The chairperson, or in the chairperson’s absence the acting chairperson, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.

The city manager shall appoint an appropriate municipal official to act as secretary for the commission. The secretary shall prepare and be the custodian of minutes for all commission proceedings showing the vote of each member on each question or the fact that a member is absent or fails to vote. The secretary shall keep records of the commission’s examinations and other official duties.

The city council may appoint special counsel to present cases before the commission.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.34; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

§ 2.03.096 Notice of hearing.

The building inspector shall give notice of all proceedings before the commission:

By certified mail, return receipt requested, to:

(A)

The record owners of 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; and

(B)

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 such records.

Any required notice provided by this division shall be presumed to have been delivered three days after deposit in the United States mail. Any notice returned unclaimed by the addressee shall be presumed to have been delivered, and the commission may, without further notice, undertake any action authorized by this division.

To all other persons 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.

The notice shall be mailed and posted on or before the twenty-first calendar day before the date of the hearing before the commission. Additionally, the notice shall be published in the official newspaper of the city on one occasion on or before the tenth calendar day before the date fixed for the hearing.

The notice shall state the date, time and place of the hearing, and shall include a statement that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee shall be required to submit at the hearing proof of the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this division, and the time in calendar days which it will take to reasonably perform the work. The notice shall also inform the owner of his or her right to hire an attorney at the owner’s cost to represent him or her at the hearing, his or her right to inspect the file on the property at code compliance headquarters prior to the hearing, his or her right to request the presence of city staff for the purpose of questioning at the hearing, and shall advise the owner of his or her right to cross-examine city staff at the hearing.

The commission may file a notice of a proceeding that is before it in the official public records of real property in the county in which the affected property is located.

The notice shall 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 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.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.35; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

§ 2.03.097 Issuance of order.

The commission may, after notice and hearing, declare a building or structure to be in violation of this division if one of the following is proven to exist:

Substandard;

Substandard and a hazard to the public health, safety and/or welfare;

Regardless of its structural condition, a building or structure is unoccupied by its owners, lessees or other invitees and 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;

When a building or structure is boarded up, fenced or otherwise secured in any manner and it:

(A)

Constitutes a danger to the public even though secured from entry; or

(B)

The means used to secure the building or structure are inadequate to prevent unauthorized entry or use of the building or structure by children, vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage;

A construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and the site is not secured by a fence or other means to prevent its use by children, vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage; or

(6)

A construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and all building materials, construction equipment and tools have neither been removed from the site nor secured at the site to prevent their use by children, theft, deterioration, vandalism or harborage of rodents or insects.

The commission may specify, in its written order:

A reasonable time, in compliance with this division, for the building or structure to be vacated, secured, repaired, removed or demolished by the owner; and

May specify a reasonable time for the owner to relocate the occupants and an additional reasonable time for any of the mortgagees or lienholders to take the ordered action in the event that the owner fails to comply with the order within the time provided for action by the owner.

In the event that the owner fails to comply timely with the order of the commission, the only notice the city needs to furnish to a mortgagee or lienholder of the failure is a copy of the order.

If the commission makes a finding under subsection (a) above, the commission shall order the owners, lienholders or mortgagees of the building or structure to within 30 calendar days:

Secure the building or structure from unauthorized entry; and/or

Repair, remove or demolish the building or structure, unless the owner, mortgagee or lienholder establishes at the hearing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the work cannot reasonably be performed within 30 calendar days.

If the commission allows the owner, mortgagee or lienholder more than 30 calendar 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 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.

The commission shall not allow the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than 90 calendar days to repair, remove or demolish the building or structure or fully perform all work required to comply fully with the order of the commission, unless the owner, lienholder or mortgagee:

Submits a detailed plan and time schedule for the work at the hearing; and

Establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be completed within 90 calendar days because of the scope and complexity of the work.

If the commission allows the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than 90 calendar days to complete any part of the work required to repair, remove or demolish the building or structure, the municipality shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee to regularly submit progress reports to the municipality to demonstrate that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee has complied 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 commission or the building inspector to demonstrate compliance with the time schedule, and may require a surety or other financial guarantees of performance in such form and amounts determined suitable by the city.

The commission shall personally deliver, or mail by first class mail with certified return receipt requested, or deliver by the United States Postal Service using signature confirmation service, a copy of its order to all persons to whom notice is required to be sent under section 2.03.096. The city shall publish an abbreviated copy of the commission order in a newspaper of general circulation within ten calendar days of the mailing of the order. The order shall include the following:

The street address or legal description of the property;

The date of the hearing;

A brief statement indicating the results of the order;

Instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained; and

§ 2.03.098 Assessment of civil penalty.

A copy of the order shall be filed in the office of the city secretary.

(i)

The order shall be deemed issued and effective on the date the commission hears and decides the case.

(j)

The order shall be reduced to writing and signed by the chairperson of the commission.

(k)

After the hearing, the building inspector shall promptly mail by certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the order to the owner of the building or structure, and to any known lienholder and mortgagee of the building or structure.

(l)

A hearing before the commission shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a violator.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.36; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

In a proceeding under section 2.03.097, the commission, after notice and hearing, may assess a civil penalty against the property owner, in an amount not to exceed $1,000.00 per day per violation, with each day of violation being considered a separate offense and assessable, if at the hearing the city proves:

The property owner was notified of the requirements of this division; and

After notification, the property owner committed an act in violation of this division or failed to take an action necessary to bring the property into compliance with this division.

After the time to comply with an order of the commission issued pursuant to section 2.03.097 has lapsed, the commission may hold a hearing on violations of the order and may assess a civil penalty against the property owner, in an amount not to exceed $1,000.00 per day per violation, with each day of violation being considered a separate offense and assessable, if at the hearing the city proves:

The property owner was notified of the requirements of this division and the commission’s order; and

After notification, the property owner committed an act in violation of this division or failed to take an action necessary to bring the building or structure into compliance with this division and the order of the commission.

A determination made by the commission panel constitutes prima facie evidence of the penalty in any court of competent jurisdiction in a civil suit brought by the city for final judgment in accordance with the established penalty.

§ 2.03.099 Performance of work by city.

To enforce the civil penalty, the city secretary shall file with the county district clerk a certified copy of the order of the commission panel establishing the amount and duration of the civil penalty. No other proof shall be required for a district court to enter final judgment on the penalty.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.37; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

If the commission’s order to vacate, secure, repair, remove or demolish the building or structure is not complied with within the allotted time, the building inspector may vacate, secure, remove or demolish the building or structure, or relocate the occupants of the building or structure, at the city’s expense. This division does not limit the ability of a municipality to collect on a bond, letter of credit from a financial institution or guaranty from a third party or other financial guaranty that may be required by section 2.03.097(g).

The building inspector may repair the building or structure only to the extent necessary to bring the building or structure into compliance with the minimum standards of this division, and only if the building or structure is a residential building or structure with ten or fewer dwelling units. The repairs shall not improve the building or structure to the extent that the building or structure exceeds minimum building standards.

After securing a building or structure as provided in subsection (a) above, the building inspector may post a notice to vacate on or near the front door of the building or structure. The notice to vacate must be in substantially the following form:

DO NOT OCCUPY

This building or structure is in violation of the City Code of the City of Cuero.

Occupancy is suspended until such time as the violations are corrected and approved by the City Building Inspector.

It is a misdemeanor to occupy this building or structure or to remove or deface this notice.

§ 2.03.100 Lien for city’s expenses and civil penalty.

In a proceeding under section 2.03.097, if the commission’s order is not complied with within the allotted time, the building inspector may act upon the order at the city’s expense.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.38; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

If the city incurs expenses under section 2.03.099, the city may assess the expense on, and the city has a lien against, the property on which the building or structure is or was located.

If the commission assesses a civil penalty under section 2.03.098, the city has a lien against the property on which the building or structure is or was located to secure payment of any civil penalty.

A lien may not be made on property protected as a homestead under the Texas Constitution except in a proceeding under section 2.03.097.

A 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.

The notice of the lien shall contain the name and address of the owner if that information can be determined with a reasonable effort, a legal description of the real property on which the building or structure is or was located, the amount of expenses incurred by the municipality and the balance due.

Except as provided by subsection (g), the city’s lien to secure payment of a civil penalty or the costs of repairs, removal, or demolition is inferior to any previously recorded bona fide mortgage lien attached to the real property, if the mortgage lien was filed for record in the office of the county clerk before the civil penalty is assessed or the repair, removal, or demolition is begun by the city. The city’s lien is superior to all previously recorded judgment liens.

If notice is given and the opportunity to relocate the occupants of the building or structure or to repair, remove, or demolish the building or structure is afforded to each mortgagee and lienholder, the lien is a privileged lien subordinate only to tax liens.

§ 2.03.101 Additional authority to secure building.

Any civil penalty or expenses assessed by the city under this section shall accrue interest at the rate of ten (10) percent per annum from the date of the assessment until paid in full. 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 and the civil penalty plus interest.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.39; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

Without a prior hearing before the commission, the building inspector may secure a building or structure the building inspector determines:

Is substandard and a hazard to the public health, safety and/or welfare; and

Is unoccupied or is occupied only by persons who do not have a right of possession to the building or structure.

After securing a building or structure as provided in subsection (a), the building inspector may post a notice to vacate on or near the front door of the building or structure. The notice to vacate must be in substantially the following form:

DO NOT OCCUPY

This building or structure is in violation of the City Code of the City of Cuero. Occupancy is suspended until such time as the violations are corrected and approved by the City Building Inspector.

It is a misdemeanor to occupy this building or structure [or] to remove or deface this notice.

Before the eleventh (11th) calendar day after the date the building or structure is secured, the building inspector must give notice to the owner by:

Personally serving the owner with written notice;

Mailing such notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner at the owner’s last known post office address. Such owner shall be deemed to have been served three (3) calendar days after deposit of the notice in the United States mail;

Publishing the notice at least twice within a ten (10) calendar day period in the official newspaper of the city if personal service cannot be obtained and the owner’s post office address is unknown; or

Posting the notice on or near the front door of the building or structure if personal service cannot be obtained and the owner’s post office address is unknown.

The notice must contain:

An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the building or structure and the property on which it is located;

A description of the violation of the standards established by this division;

A statement that the building inspector has secured the building or structure; and

An explanation of the owner’s entitlement to request a hearing about any matter relating to the building inspector’s securing of the building or 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 building inspector’s securing of the building or structure, if within 30 calendar days after the date the building inspector secures the building or structure, the owner files a written request for a hearing with the building inspector. The commission will conduct the hearing within 20 calendar days after the date the owner files a request for hearing.

The commission will conduct the hearing in the manner provided for by this division. The issues to be determined in such hearing are:

Whether the building or structure was substandard, and a hazard to the public health, safety and/or welfare at the time it was secured;

Whether the building or structure, at the time it was secured, was unoccupied or was occupied only by persons who did not have a right to possession of the building or structure;

Whether the building or structure is a construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and the site is not secured by a fence or other means to prevent its use by children, vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage;

Whether the building or structure is a construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and all building materials, construction equipment and tools have neither been removed from the site nor secured at the site to prevent their use by children, theft, deterioration, vandalism or harborage of rodents or insects; and

Whether the expenses incurred by the city to secure the building or structure were reasonable.

The city may assess expenses for securing a building or structure herein in the manner provided for in section 2.03.100. A lien is created under this subsection in the same manner as a lien is created in section 2.03.100, and is subject to the same conditions as a lien created under section 2.03.100.

The violation of the requirements of subsection (b) above by any person or entity is declared unlawful and shall be punished by prosecution and the imposition of a fine not to exceed $2,000.00 in the municipal court, with each day of continuing violation considered to be a separate offense and punishable by a separate fine.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.39; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

§ 2.03.102 Judicial review.

Any owner, lienholder or mortgagee of record of property jointly or severally aggrieved by an order of the commission issued under this division may file a verified petition in a county civil district court:

Setting forth that the commission decision is illegal, either in whole or in part; and

Specifying the grounds of the illegality.

The petition must be presented within 30 calendar days after the date a copy of the final decision of the commission is personally delivered, mailed by first class mail certified receipt requested, or delivered by the United States Postal Service using signature confirmation service to all record owners and each holder of a recorded lien against the affected property, as shown by the records in the county clerk’s office, and all mortgagees of record.

Upon the filing of the petition, the court may issue a writ of certiorari directed to the city to review the commission order, and shall prescribe in the writ the time within which the city must make a return on the writ. Such time must not be less than ten days and must be filed with and served on the city secretary.

The city shall not be required to return the originals of papers called for in the writ, and it shall be sufficient for the city to return certified or sworn copies of such papers or parts thereof.

In the return, the city shall set forth other facts that may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the commission order. The return must be verified.

The issuance of the writ does not stay the order.

The appeal in the district court shall be limited to a hearing under the substantial evidence rule. The court may reverse or affirm, in whole or in part, or may modify the commission order. Costs may not be allowed against the commission.

§ 2.03.103 Preservation of historic properties.

If the commission order is affirmed or not substantially reversed but only modified, the district court shall allow the city all attorney’s fees and other costs and expenses incurred by the city, and shall enter a judgment for those items, which may be entered against the property owners, lienholders or mortgagees, as well as all persons found to be in occupation of the property subject to the proceedings before the commission.

(i)

A lienholder does not have standing to bring a proceeding under this section on the grounds that the lienholder was not notified of the proceedings before the commission or was unaware of the condition of the property, unless the lienholder had first appeared before the commission and entered an appearance in opposition to the proceedings.

(j)

If no appeals are taken from the decision of the commission within the required period, the decision of the commission is, in all things, final and binding.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.40; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

Prior to the issuance of notice for a hearing under section 2.03.096, the building inspector shall request a hearing before the city council if the building or structure which is the subject of the hearing:

Is designated or pending designation as:

(A)

Highly significant endangered property; and

(B)

A historic and cultural landmark;

Is located in an area designated or pending designation as a historic and cultural landmarks district; and

Is not a single-family dwelling.

The building inspector may secure the structure from entrance until the requirements in subsection (c) below are completed.

The city council shall review the condition of the building or structure to determine whether it can be reasonably rehabilitated and shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the building inspector within 60 calendar days from the date of the initial city council hearing.

If the city council determines that the building or structure cannot be rehabilitated, the building inspector may proceed as provided in section 2.03.097, and the commission may order its demolition.

If the city council determines that the building or structure can be reasonably rehabilitated, the city may not permit the building or structure to be demolished for at least 90 calendar days after the date the report is submitted to the building inspector. During this 90-calendar-day period, the building inspector shall notify the building or structure’s owner to afford the owner an opportunity to attempt to identify a feasible alternative use for the building or structure or to locate an alternative purchaser to rehabilitate and maintain the building or structure.

If the city is not able to locate the owner or if the owner does not respond within the 90-calendar-day period, the building inspector may proceed as provided by section 2.03.097, and the city may file suit pursuant to Tex. Local Gov’t Code section 214.003 for the appointment of a receiver. A receiver may not be appointed for a building or structure that is an owner-occupied single-family residence.

The building inspector may proceed as provided in section 2.03.097, and the commission may order the demolition of a building or structure, if after the expiration of the 90-calendar-day period the city is not able to:

Identify a feasible alternative use for the building or structure;

Locate an alternative purchaser to rehabilitate and maintain the building or structure; or

Appoint a receiver for the building or structure as provided by Tex. Local Gov’t Code section 214.003.

§ 2.03.104 Quarterly report to council of buildings on demolition/rehabilitation list.

An owner of a substandard building or structure declared to be in violation of this division is not liable for penalties related to the building or structure that accrue during the 90-calendar-day period provided for disposition of historic property under subsection (e) above.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.41; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

The building inspector shall make quarterly reports to the city council of all buildings or structures on the city-funded demolition/rehabilitation list. The report shall list each building or structure by its street address, owners of record, city council district, length of time on the list and its priority on the list.

The building inspector shall list buildings or structures on the report as priority one demolish, priority one rehabilitate, priority two demolish, priority two rehabilitate, priority three demolish and priority three rehabilitate, and shall develop criteria for determining a building or structure’s placement in a category.

§ 2.03.105 Civil action without commission hearing.

The city council, by a majority vote, may remove a building or structure from the list or may change its priority on the list.

(1994 Code, sec. 32.42; Ordinance 2009-14 adopted 8/6/09)

The city may bring suit for injunctive relief and civil penalties against the owner of property in violation of this division, or to complete the demolition or repair of buildings or structures, as provided for by Tex. Local Gov’t Code section 54.012 et seq. and other municipal ordinances.