The following words, terms and phrases when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
means a continuous and unbroken area at least as long and
wide as the vehicle or structure upon which such vehicle or structure
is located, consisting of either concrete, asphalt, gravel completely
contained or bordered by a concrete curb, brick, brick pavers, or
other commercially sold concrete, masonry, or rock material widely
marketed for the purpose of serving as a surface for a driveway.
means any low woody vegetation with several branches or decaying
remains of vegetation.
means any property that has been improved by the installation
of a building, home or other structural improvements.
means putrescible animal and vegetable waste materials and/or
residue from the handling, preparation, cooking or consumption of
food, including waste materials from markets, storage facilities,
and the handling and sale of produce and other food products.
means any garbage, refuse or rubbish, as defined in this
section, and all other waste material which creates a potential danger
to public health, safety and welfare if not deposited in an approved
receptacle.
means any person, firm or corporation both public and private,
claiming or having possessory control of any property. This shall
also include any entity having jurisdiction within an easement, including
railroad rights-of-way and utility easements.
means any person, firm or corporation both public and private,
owning, claiming or having possessory control of any property. This
shall also include any person having jurisdiction within an easement,
including railroad rights-of-way and utility easements.
means any individual, partnership, firm, company, corporation,
association, joint stock company, trust estate, governmental entity
or any other legal entity or their legal representatives, agents or
assigns. This definition includes all federal, state and local governmental
entities.
means all privately owned property, including vacant land
or a building designed or used for residential, commercial, business,
industrial or religious purposes. The term includes a yard, ground,
walk, driveway, fence, porch, steps or other structure appurtenant
to the property.
means the area of the lot circumscribed by the back lot line,
the side lot lines extending to imaginary lines perpendicular from
the back corners of the residential structure, and the back side of
the residential structure.
means boats, boat trailers, travel trailers, truck campers
or coaches (designed to be mounted on automotive vehicles), motorized
dwellings, tent trailers, and the like, and cases or boxes used for
transporting recreational equipment, whether occupied by such equipment
or not.
means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid waste (except
body wastes), including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings,
dead animals, abandoned or inoperative vehicles, broken furniture,
abandoned or inoperative appliances and solid market and industrial
wastes.
means the unimproved portion of any street between the roadway
and the private property line.
means nonputrescible solid waste, excluding ashes, that consists
of combustible waste materials including paper, rags, cartons, wood,
excelsior, furniture, rubber, plastics, yard trimmings, leaves and
similar materials; or noncombustible waste materials including glass,
crockery, tin cans, aluminum cans, metal furniture and similar materials
that do not burn at ordinary incinerator temperatures (1,600 to 1,800
degrees Fahrenheit).
means a barrier at least six feet in height and not exceeding
eight feet in height of stone, brick, pierced brick or block, uniformly
colored wood or other permanent material which forms a visual barrier
of equal character, density and design.
means the area behind an imaginary line extending perpendicularly
from the front corner of the residential structure to the side lot
line, extending to an imaginary line perpendicular to the side lot
line which touches the back corner of the residential structure closest
to the side lot line at which point the rear yard begins.
means the entire width between the boundary lines of every
way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of
the public for the purpose of vehicular travel.
means every vehicle with or without motive power including
a pole trailer, designed for carrying persons or property and for
being drawn by a motor vehicle.
means:
All items of a nature not customarily maintained, stored or
located in areas such as the one at issue, including garbage, refuse,
and rubbish, and including all items of personal property including
but not limited to the following: mounds of dirt, piles of leaves,
grass and weed clippings, paper trash, rubble, furniture other than
furniture designed for and arranged for outside use, household items
and appliances, items of salvage, such as scrap metal and wood, barrels,
automotive parts, parts of vehicles, inoperable or dilapidated lawn
mowers and other lawn, yard or household machinery, wheels or tires,
objects that hold water for an extended time, tree and brush trimmings
and other miscellaneous wastes or rejected matter; and
All manner of building materials which have been stacked, placed,
located, accumulated, or stored other than in an enclosed building
or structure for more than 30 days and which are not being actively
utilized or consumed as part of a permitted construction project located
on the property on which the building materials are located including
but not limited to the following: (a) lumber, (b) nails, (c) nuts,
(d) bolts, (e) screws, (f) plastic moldings, (g) siding, (h) insulation,
(i) dry wall, (j) glass, (k) doors, (l) hinges, (m) bricks, (n) bags
of mortar, (o) sand, or (p) concrete mix, and (q) other materials
or components which are customarily utilized in construction or repair
of any structure.
means any surface other than an "approved surface" as defined
herein, including but not limited to dirt, grass, sand, or clay.
means any property that has not been improved by the installation
of a building, home or other structural improvements.
means an animal or insect that transmits a disease-producing
organism.
means every device designed or intended to serve, in whole
or in part, to transport persons or property, regardless of whether
such device is or may be equipped with a motor or engine designed
or intended to propel the device, and regardless of whether such device
is designed to be used primarily on a street or highway, and regardless
of whether any motor or engine on the device is operational, except
that the following shall not be considered to be vehicles: (1) any
device designed and intended to be moved or powered by human power
alone; and (2) railroad locomotives and cars located on operational
rail lines regulated by the state or federal government.
[Ord. No. 828-97, § IV(1), 12-9-1997; Ord. No. 895-01, § I, 4-10-2001; Ord. No. 1014-05, §§ 1, 2, 5-10-2005]
This division applies to violations of article II and article
III of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 1268-14, § 1, 5-6-2014]
(a)
The city manager or the city manager's designee is hereby authorized to enter upon property within the city and abate any violation of this chapter. Except as provided otherwise in sections 34-5, 34-6, or 34-7, prior to such abatement, the city manager or the city manager's designee shall give notice to the owner and any known lienholder of any property upon which a violation of this chapter exists that the owner is in violation of this chapter, and provide an opportunity to abate such violation.
(b)
Such
notice shall conform to the following provisions:
(1)
A
description of the property on which the violations are to be abated,
which method of description may include any of the following: (i)
a legal description of the property by lot and block or by metes and
bounds, as applicable; (ii) a physical mailing address of the property;
or (iii) any other description which is reasonably calculated to inform
the owner of the property of the location of the property;
(2)
A
description of each violation on the property, including a reference
to the specific section(s) of this Code which is being violated;
(3)
A
statement that if the violation is not abated within seven days of
service of the notice, the city intends to abate such violation on
the property and that the owner will be liable for all fees and expenses
incurred by the city in abating the violation;
(4)
A
statement that if the city is required to abate the violation, and
if the fees and expenses incurred by the city are not paid within
ten days of the date of notice of such fees and expenses, the city
will file a lien against the property for such fees and expenses,
and that the city may thereafter foreclose on the property;
(5)
A
statement that if the owner or lienholder wishes to contest the existence
of the violation or other matter pertaining to the violation or property,
the owner or lienholder must request a hearing by submitting a written
request for such hearing to both the municipal court clerk and the
city code enforcement officer within seven days of service of the
notice; and
(6)
A
statement that if any owner or lienholder fails to timely request
a hearing, such owner or lienholder shall be deemed to have waived
any complaints or objections that could have been raised at such hearing.
(c)
The notice
required by this section must be in writing and served on the owner
and any known lienholder of the property on which the violation exists.
It may be served in any manner permitted by applicable law, including
but not limited to the following:
(1)
Personally
served;
(2)
Mailed
to the owner at the owner's address as recorded in the records of
the Tarrant Appraisal District, by regular and certified mail, return
receipt requested, and to any known lienholder at the lienholder's
last known mailing address, by regular and certified mail, return
receipt requested; or
(3)
If
personal service as described above cannot be obtained, by one or
more of the following methods:
a.
By
publication at least once;
b.
By
posting the notice on or as near as practicable to the front door
of each building on the property on which the violation exists; or
c.
If
there are no buildings on the property on which the violation exists,
by posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into
the ground on the property at a location visible from a public street
or right-of-way or other principal means of access to the property.
(d)
The address
as recorded in the records of the Tarrant Appraisal District shall
be deemed sufficient and correct, and notice served by mail at such
address in accordance with this section shall be deemed sufficient,
regardless of whether such notice is actually received, and regardless
of whether such notice is returned marked "refused" or "unclaimed"
or other notation indicating that it was not actually delivered.
(e)
Notice
served by mail shall be deemed served on the third day following mailing,
regardless of when actual delivery is shown to have occurred. Notice
served by publication is deemed served on the date of publication.
Notice served by posting on the property is deemed served on the day
of posting.
(f)
If any
owner or lienholder requests a hearing within seven days of service
of the notice to such owner or lienholder, the municipal court shall
conduct a hearing. Such request must be in writing and must be received
by both the municipal court clerk and the city code enforcement officer
prior to the expiration of seven days from the date of service of
such notice. If two or more property owners or lienholders request
a hearing, the municipal court shall combine such matters into one
proceeding, and shall hold one hearing.
(g)
At a
hearing under this article, both the person requesting the hearing
and the city may offer testimony, present any witnesses, and offer
other evidence relevant to any of the following issues:
(h)
The failure
to serve any owner or lienholder with notice shall not constitute
a defense under this article for any other owner or lienholder.
(i)
Any owner
or lienholder who is properly served with notice as provided in this
section who fails to timely request a hearing available under this
section shall be deemed to have waived any complaints or objections
that could have been raised at such hearing, even if any other owner
or lienholder of the property timely requests a hearing. Any owner
or lienholder who was not properly served with notice as provided
in this section but who appears and is permitted by the municipal
court to participate in a hearing requested by another owner or lienholder,
shall be deemed to have waived any objection to any defect in notice.
[Ord. No. 1268-14, § 1, 5-6-2014]
If the owner of the property does not comply with a notice to
abate a violation of this chapter issued by the city manager or the
city manager's designee within seven days after the date the notice
is served, the city manager or the city manager's designee may enter
the property and abate or correct the violation or retain a private
commercial contractor or another public entity to do so.
[Ord. No. 1268-14, § 1, 5-6-2014]
(a)
In a notice provided for in section 34-3, the city manager or the city manager's designee may inform the owner and any known lienholders that if the owner commits another violation of the same kind or nature that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the first anniversary of the date of the notice, the city, without further notice, may enter the property and correct or abate the violation or retain a private commercial contractor or another public entity to do so. Such notice shall be served by any of the following methods:
(b)
If a violation covered by a notice under this section occurs on or before the first anniversary of the date of such notice, then the city manager or the city manager's designee may enter upon such property without notice and abate or correct the violation. In the event that the city manager or the city manager's designee abates a violation pursuant to this section, the city manager or the city manager's designee may seek recovery of its fees and expenses incurred in abating the violation as provided in section 34-8.
[Ord. No. 1268-14, § 1, 5-6-2014]
[Ord. No. 1268-14, § 1, 5-6-2014]
Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the requirement for abatement
of any nuisance within 24 hours when a nuisance has been declared
an immediate threat to health and safety by any enforcement personnel.
[Ord. No. 1268-14, § 1, 5-6-2014]
(a)
All fees
and expenses incurred by the city to abate or correct violations of
this chapter shall be charged to the owner of the property. Such charge
for fees and expenses may include all of the following that are applicable:
(1)
All
expenses incurred by the city to retain a private contractor to abate
the violation or to rent equipment used to abate the violation;
(2)
An administrative fee or charge as provided in the city fee schedule contained in appendix A of this Code;
(3)
A
reasonable fee for the use of any equipment owned by the city used
in abating the violation, calculated by a survey, sampling, or estimate
of what a private commercial vendor would charge for leasing or renting
such equipment; and
(4)
Charges
for time incurred by city personnel, calculated at either: (i) the
hourly cost to the city for employing such personnel, including all
payroll taxes, insurance and other benefits multiplied by the number
of hours spent on such abatement, including preparation and travel
time; or (ii) a reasonable charge, based upon a survey, sampling,
or estimate of what a reasonable private commercial contractors would
have charged to perform such work.
(b)
The city
manager or the city manager's designee shall serve the owner of any
property upon which the city has abated a violation of this article
notice, that the city abated the violation and that the owner is liable
for all fees and expenses incurred by the city, and that it is the
city's intent to file a lien against the property if the amount shown
in such notice is not paid within ten days of the date of such notice.
The city manager or the city manager's designee shall also serve a
copy of such notice to any known lienholder. Such notice must be in
writing and shall include the following:
(1)
A
statement that the city abated such violations on the property;
(2)
A
description of the property on which the violation was abated, which
method of description may include any of the following: (i) a legal
description of the property by lot and block or by metes and bounds,
as applicable; (ii) a physical mailing address of the property; or
(iii) any other description which is reasonably calculated to inform
the owner of the property of the location of the property;
(3)
A
description of the violation on the property which was abated, including
a reference to the section of this Code violated;
(4)
A
statement that due to the abatement and the provisions of this Code,
the owner owes the charges;
(5)
An
itemized statement of the fees and expenses, including the total amount
of such fees and expenses;
(6)
A
statement that if such fees and expenses are not paid, the city will
file a lien against the property, and that the city may thereafter
foreclose on the property;
(7)
A
statement that if the owner or any lienholder of the property wishes
to contest the city's entitlement to the fees and expenses, the reasonableness
or correctness of the fees and expenses stated, the city's entitlement
to file a lien on the property, or other matter relating to the abatement,
the owner or lienholder must request a hearing by submitting a written
request for such hearing to both the municipal court clerk and the
city code enforcement officer within ten days of service of the notice
of the fees and expenses due; and
(8)
A
statement that if any owner or lienholder fails to timely request
a hearing, such owner or lienholder shall be deemed to have waived
any complaints or objections that could have been raised at such hearing.
(c)
The notice
described herein may be served in any manner permitted by applicable
law, including but not limited to the following:
(1)
Personally
served;
(2)
Mailed
to the owner at the owner's address as recorded in the records of
the Tarrant Appraisal District, by regular and certified mail, return
receipt requested, and to any known lienholder at the lienholder's
last known mailing address, by regular and certified mail, return
receipt requested; or
(3)
If
personal service as described above cannot be obtained, by one or
more of the following methods:
a.
By
publication at least once; or
b.
By
posting the notice on or as near as practicable to the front door
of each building on the property on which the violation exists; or
c.
If
there are no buildings on the property on which the violation exists,
by posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into
the ground on the property at a location visible from a public street
or right-of-way or other principal means of access to the property.
(d)
The address
as recorded in the records of the Tarrant Appraisal District shall
be deemed sufficient and correct, and notice served by mail at such
address in accordance with this section shall be deemed sufficient,
regardless of whether such notice is actually received, and regardless
of whether such notice is returned marked "refused" or "unclaimed"
or other notation indicating that it was not actually delivered.
(e)
Notice
served by mail shall be deemed served on the third day following mailing,
regardless of when actual delivery is shown to have occurred. Notice
served by publication is deemed served on the date of publication.
Notice served by posting on the property is deemed served on the day
of posting.
(f)
If any
owner or lienholder requests a hearing within seven days of service
of the notice to such owner or lienholder, the municipal court shall
conduct a hearing. Such request must be in writing, and be received
by both the municipal court clerk and the city code enforcement officer
prior to the expiration of ten days from the date of service of such
notice. If two or more property owners or lienholders request a hearing,
the municipal court shall combine such matters into one proceeding,
and hold one hearing.
(g)
At a
hearing under this article, both the person requesting the hearing
and the city may offer testimony, present any witnesses, and offer
other evidence relevant to any of the following issues:
(1)
The
sufficiency of any required notice of the existence of the violations
and the city's intent to abate such violations;
(2)
The
correctness of the amount of the charges assessed by the city to abate
the violations, or the reasonableness thereof;
(3)
If,
and only if, the person requesting the hearing was not properly served
with notice prior to the abatement, the existence of the violations;
and
(4)
Any
other matter determined by the municipal court to be relevant to the
city's entitlement to file a lien against the property and which has
not been waived.
(h)
The failure
to serve any owner or lienholder with notice shall not constitute
a defense under this article for any other owner or lienholder.
(i)
Any owner
or lienholder who was properly served with notice as provided in this
section who fails to timely request a hearing available under this
section shall be deemed to have waived any complaints or objections
that could have been raised at such hearing, even if any other owner
or lienholder did timely request a hearing. Any owner or lienholder
who was not properly served with notice as provided in this section
but who has actual knowledge of the contents of the notice, or who
appears and participates in a hearing requested by another owner or
lienholder, shall be deemed to have waived any objection to any defect
in notice.
(j)
If no
hearing is timely requested and if the property owner and lienholders
fail to pay the charges incurred, the mayor or the mayor's designee
may file a statement of such expenses containing the name of the owner
(if known), the legal description of the property on which the violation
was abated, and the amount of fees and expenses unpaid, with the Tarrant
County Clerk, and such statement shall constitute a lien against the
property on which the violations were abated. If a hearing is timely
requested, the lien statement may not be filed against the property
unless authorized to do so by order from the municipal court.
(k)
The lien
shall accrue interest at the highest rate allowed by law for such
liens from the date of filing until paid, and shall be security for
the fees and expenditures stated therein, plus accrued interest.
[Ord. No. 1268-14, § 1, 5-6-2014]
The provision of notice in sections 34-3 through 34-8 is not a condition precedent to the prosecution of an offense alleged to have occurred under sections 34-31 or 34-81 through 34-93. Failure to provide the notice specified shall not be a defense to the prosecution of an offense alleged to have occurred under sections 34-31 or 34-81 though 34-93.
[Ord. No. 1268-14, § 1, 5-6-2014]
