(a) 
No vehicle other than a vehicle owned and/or operated by a law enforcement officer shall park in an area beginning at the north side of the base of the streetlight standard on Main Street at the front of 1523 Main Street thence north for a distance of twelve feet.
(b) 
The area so designated shall be painted yellow and an appropriate sign “Reserved for Police Cars” erected.
(c) 
Any person violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(Ordinance 133-DW adopted 1/6/65)
Illegally parked vehicles are detrimental to the safety and welfare of the general public, tending to reduce the value of private property, to invite vandalism, to create fire hazards, to constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and are detrimental to the economic welfare of the city and state by producing urban blight which is adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the city, and such vehicles are hereby declared to be a public nuisance and subject to abatement as set out hereunder.
(Ordinance 316DG adopted 1/13/14)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle in or upon any median strip as that term is defined herein. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle in front of a public or private driveway or within three (3) feet of the curved portion of any such driveway without the effective consent of the owner of the property or the person in control of the property on which the driveway is located. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(c) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to park a motor vehicle in such a manner that fails to maintain a minimum unobstructed pavement width or improved roadway width of fourteen (14') feet on the street where the motor vehicle is parked and such obstructed parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(d) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to park a motor vehicle on a street in a residential area if the passenger-side wheels of such vehicle are not parallel to and within eighteen (18") inches of the curb or edge of pavement or edge of improved roadway and such parking in violation of this provision shall be considered a nuisance.
(e) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to park any vehicle, trailer, watercraft, farming equipment, mobile home, motor home, recreational vehicle, on a private drive or driveway in such a manner that it extends into the street or any public way, public right-of-way, or alley. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(f) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to park a trailer, truck camper, motor home, watercraft loaded on a trailer, or recreational vehicle on the street, in a residential area, for more than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(g) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to perform repair work, dismantling or assembly of motor vehicles, trailers, watercraft or other machinery, including farm equipment, on any portion of a residential lot or on any portion of a public street or public right-of-way, including an alley, at any time or in any driveway in a residential area to the extent such work takes more than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours to complete. Such unlawful action shall be considered a nuisance.
(h) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to park and/or store a motor vehicle, truck camper, trailer, or watercraft being occupied or used for living or sleeping on a street in a residential area. Nonpaying guests of the residents of a household are exempted for periods not to exceed seven (7) days in any thirty-day period. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(i) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to park, stand, or store a motor vehicle, trailer, or watercraft in such a manner as to create a dangerous or unsafe condition. Parking, standing and/or storing any motor vehicle, trailer, or watercraft, in such a fashion that such may tip or roll shall be considered a dangerous and unsafe condition. Such unsafe parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(j) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to stop, stand, or park a vehicle at any place prohibited by the applicable laws of the state. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(k) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to stop, stand, or park any vehicle at any time upon any public street, alley, public place, or fire lane when signs are erected or curbs painted giving notice that parking there is prohibited. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(l) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to habitually park a motor vehicle on the portion of the street abutting or adjacent to a single-family residential lot, unless the owner or operator of the motor vehicle is an owner and/or occupant of the residence located on that single-family residential lot. For purposes of this regulation the term “habitually park” means to park more than seven (7) days in any given thirty-day period. Such habitually parked vehicles shall be considered nuisances.
(m) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to park a semi-truck cab, truck, tractor, farm machinery, truck tractor, stock trailer, semi-tractor trailer, tractor trailer, 18 wheeler, truck mounted on a chassis, wheeled towing frame, bus, a trailer of any kind that is not attached to a towing vehicle, or watercraft on the street or street right-of-way in a residential area, except for purposes of loading or unloading passengers, freight, or merchandise so long as the owner/operator has proof of route as that term is defined in this chapter. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
Exceptions: A motor vehicle that is a one (1) ton or less in rating. Additionally, all publicly owned or franchised emergency vehicles required by the various municipal, state or publicly franchised utility departments to be taken home by its on-call employees charged with making emergency utility service repairs and authorized emergency trucks shall be exempt for the application of this subsection (m).
(n) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to park any motor vehicle upon any public street, alley, or public property of any nature in the city for the purpose of washing, greasing, changing oil, or repairing such vehicle, except repairs necessitated by an emergency. With the exception of it being allowable to have one vehicle for sale on the street in front of a person’s home if parked properly and for not more than thirty (30) consecutive days, it shall be unlawful for any person to sell or exhibit property of any nature upon any public street, alley, or public property of any nature in the city. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(o) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to stand, store, or park or allow any person to stand, store, or park, visible from the roadway, on residential lots, or in residential areas the following: (1) a truck larger than one-ton on the front yard; (2) any motor vehicle not legally licensed and/or not legally inspected; and (3) automobiles, trucks, or other vehicles used for parts or for racing purposes. Such parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(p) 
Due to the narrowness of many residential streets in the city in residential areas it shall be unlawful for any person to park, store, or stand or to allow any person to park, store, or stand any of the following between a lot’s front building line and the edge of the pavement or improved roadway:
(1) 
Motor vehicle;
(2) 
Truck camper in combination with its towing vehicle;
(3) 
Watercraft loaded on a watercraft trailer;
(4) 
Watercraft;
(5) 
Recreational vehicle;
(6) 
Camper-trailer;
(7) 
Trailer;
(8) 
Motor home;
(9) 
Farming equipment; or
(10) 
Construction equipment.
Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
Exception: If the parking, standing, or storing are done upon a driveway or are done on a residential street which contains a curb and/or curb and gutter and done in conformance with the requirements of subsection (d) above.
(q) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally interfere with or attempt to prevent the physical impounding of any illegally parked vehicle by the chief of police or his designee.
(r) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to park, store, or stand any motor vehicle along a residential street in such as a manner as to have the front of the vehicle pointed against the flow of traffic on the lane next to where the vehicle is parked, stored, or stood. Such unlawful parking shall be considered a nuisance.
(s) 
Any unlawful parking set forth in subsections (a) through (r) shall also subject the illegally parked vehicles to abatement as set forth below.
(Ordinance 316DG adopted 1/13/14)
Because of the health and safety risks posed by illegally parked vehicles no warning or little warning may be given of the violation and therefore the police department is authorized to summarily ticket/issue citations for any illegally parked vehicle in the city.
(Ordinance 316DG adopted 1/13/14)
(a) 
Any person who violates this division shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be assessed a penalty not to exceed $500.00 per offense per day. Each day a violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense.
(b) 
In the event that any such violation is designated as a nuisance under the provisions of this division, such nuisance may be summarily abated by the city. In addition to the penalty prescribed above, the city may pursue other remedies such as abatement of the nuisance, injunctive relief, and other monetary remedies such as collection of any expenses incurred for abatement of the nuisance.
(Ordinance 316DG adopted 1/13/14)
(a) 
Visible notice to abate nuisance.
(1) 
In addition to issuance to a citation/ticket for an illegally parked vehicle the chief of police or his designee shall have the authority to enter onto private property, which is occupied or unoccupied, for purposes of placement of a visible notice to abate nuisance, brightly colored, but of a color different from that used for notices of abandoned and junked vehicles, which shall be securely affixed to such illegally parked vehicle. Such notice shall:
(A) 
State that the vehicle is a public nuisance and that it must be removed and abated within seventy-two (72) hours from the date of such notice.
(B) 
State that a request for a hearing to determine whether or not the vehicle is an illegally parked vehicle as defined herein must be made to the clerk of the municipal court, either in person or in writing and without the requirement of bond, before the expiration of said seventy-two (72) hour period.
(C) 
Shall state that in the event that no request for a hearing is received before the expiration of said seventy-two (72) hour period, it shall be conclusively presumed that said vehicle is an illegally parked vehicle as defined under this section.
(D) 
Shall state the date and hour that is was affixed.
(2) 
Affixing the notice set out herein shall not be a condition or requirement precedent to any proceeding or official action to abate such public nuisance and such proceeding or action shall not be rendered void or voidable nor in any way affected by failure to affix the visible notice prescribed herein.
(b) 
Public hearing; finding and orders of municipal judge.
(1) 
The owner or occupant of any premises on which an illegally parked vehicle is located may, within seventy-two (72) hours after service of a notice to abate said nuisance, request of the clerk of the municipal court of the city, either in person or in writing, and without the requirement of a bond, that a date and a time be set when he/she may appear before the judge of the municipal court for a hearing to determine whether or not the vehicle is an illegally parked vehicle.
(2) 
The judge of the municipal court shall hear any case brought before such court, as set out herein, and shall determine by a preponderance of the evidence whether or not the vehicle is an illegally parked vehicle and in violation of this division. At the hearing, the vehicle is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be illegally parked. Such hearing shall not be criminal in nature and shall be as summary as due process and orderly procedure allows. Rules of evidence as in civil suits shall be followed. Upon finding that such vehicle is in violation of this division, the judge of such court shall order such defendant to remove and abate such nuisance within seventy-two (72) hours, the same being a reasonable time. If the defendant shall fail and refuse, within such seventy-two (72) hours, to abate or remove the nuisance, the judge of the municipal court may issue an order directing the chief of police, or his designee, to have the same removed, and the chief of police of his designee shall take possession of such illegally parked vehicle and remove it from the premises. Such order shall include a description of the vehicle, and the current vehicle identification number and license number of the vehicle, if available at the site.
(3) 
Notice of any hearing set herein shall be delivered by the chief of police or his designee.
(c) 
Notice to state department of transportation.
Notice shall be given to the Texas Department of Transportation that an illegally parked vehicle has been impounded and taken into custody within five (5) days after removal of the illegally parked vehicle as provided herein, identifying the vehicle or vehicle part thereof that has been impounded.
(d) 
Disposition of impounded illegally parked vehicles.
The chief of police or his designee shall dispose of all impounded illegally parked vehicles in such manner as the city manager may designate, consistent with state law, provided such vehicle shall not be reconstructed or made operable. Disposal may be by removal or sale of the vehicle, with or without competitive bidding, to a scrap yard or demolisher.
(Ordinance 316DG adopted 1/13/14)