It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or deposit dirt, gravel, or topsoil from any land situated within the city unless such person provides for proper drainage following the removal or deposit of such dirt, gravel, earth or topsoil. Proper drainage means that the water draining off such land shall not disturb the natural drainage so as to adversely affect city streets or adjoining property. It shall be unlawful for any person to remove or deposit any such material unless the owner first secures a permit from the city.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 1, adopted 1/16/1996)
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any lot, building, house, establishment or premises in the city to allow or permit any carrion, filth or any other impure or unwholesome matter of any kind to accumulate or remain thereon.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 2, adopted 1/16/1996)
(a) 
Dumping of waste prohibited.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place, or allow to be placed, any waste matter, whether usable or not, which is offensive to the public health or safety, or to the aesthetics of the neighborhood, on any property, whether private or public, within the city. This section is specifically intended to include, but is not limited to, worn-out, wrecked and/or abandoned automobiles, trucks, tractors, machinery of any kind, any part thereof, old iceboxes, refrigerators and stoves, weeds, grass clippings, lumber, clothing, boxes, carcasses of animals, furniture or furnishings, rocks, brickbats or trash.
(b) 
Waste receptacle required.
It shall be required that the owner provide a receptacle or container capable of containing any waste material generated by construction, remodeling, repair or any work on a lot, lots or tract of land prior to commencement of any work activity.
(c) 
Portable restrooms required.
During construction, remodeling, repairs or any work on a lot, lots or tract of land within the city that does not have restroom facilities, the owner shall provide portable restrooms.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 3, adopted 1/16/1996)
The owner of any private property where fill material is placed shall cause the same to be graded and leveled within thirty (30) days from the placement thereof.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 4, adopted 1/16/1996)
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any lot or lots within the city to allow to exist thereon any sinkhole or low place in which stagnant water may be found. Such low places or sinkholes shall be filled upon notice by the city.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 5, adopted 1/16/1996)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any lot or lots within the city to suffer the same to have rubbish and brush thereon. Such rubbish and brush shall be removed upon notice from the city as provided in this article, and upon the failure of the owner to remove the same the city may have the work done and charge the expense thereof as a lien against the owner as provided in this article.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for an owner of any lot, lots or tracts of land within the city to burn rubbish, trash, or construction waste in an open fire upon said lot, lots or tract of land. This article shall not apply to brush and other organic material grown or produced on the lot or tract of land on which it is to burned.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 6, adopted 1/16/1996)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, agent, occupant, or anyone having supervision or control of any lot, tract, parcel of land or a portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, within the city, to suffer or permit grass, weeds or any plant that is not cultivated to grow to a greater height than twelve (12) inches on an average, or to grow in rank profusion upon such premises.
(b) 
No person shall permit grass, weeds or any plant that is not cultivated to grow along the sidewalk or street adjacent to the same between the property line and the curb, or, if there is not a curb, within ten (10) feet outside that property line, to a height greater than twelve (12) inches on an average, or to grow in rank profusion upon such premises.
(c) 
It shall be the duty of any person, owner, agent, occupant or anyone having supervision or control of any lot, tract, parcel of land or a portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, within the city, to remove or cause to be cut and removed all such grass, weeds, or plants as often as may be necessary to comply with subsections (a) and (b).
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 7, adopted 1/16/1996)
(a) 
Whenever any condition described in this article is found to exist on any premises within the city, the owner of such premises shall be notified by the city, in writing, to correct, remedy or remove the condition within seven (7) days after such notice, and it shall be unlawful for any person to fail to comply with the same.
(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.
(c) 
If the city mails a notice to a property owner in accordance with subsection (b), 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 381-96, sec. 8, adopted 1/16/1996; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code; Ordinance adopting 2024 Code)
If the owner of any lot or premises, upon which a condition described in this article exists, fails to correct, remedy or remove such condition within seven (7) days after notice to do so is given in accord with this article, the city may do such work or make such improvements as are necessary to correct, remedy or remove such condition, or cause the same to be done, and pay therefor and charge the expenses incurred thereby upon the owner of such lot. Such expenses shall be assessed against the lot or real estate upon which the work was done or the improvements made as adopted by city council. The doing of the work by the city shall not relieve such person from prosecution for failure to comply with such notice in violation of section 6.04.008(a).
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 9, adopted 1/16/1996; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code; Ordinance adopting 2024 Code)
Whenever any work is done or improvements are made by the city under the provisions of section 6.04.009, the city manager or designee on behalf of the city shall file a statement of the expenses incurred thereby with the county clerk. Such statement shall give the amount of such expenses and the date or dates on which the work was done or the improvements were made. The city manager or designee is hereby authorized to execute releases of liens upon payment thereof.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 10, adopted 1/16/1996)
After the statement provided for in section 6.04.010 is filed, the city shall have a privileged lien on the lot or real estate upon which the work was done or improvement made, to secure the expenses thereof. Such lien shall be second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements, and the amount thereof shall bear interest at the rate of ten (10) percent per annum from the date of payment by the city of such expenses. For any such expenditures and interest, suit may be instituted and recovered and foreclosure of the lien may be had in the name of the city, and the statement of expenses made in accord with section 6.04.010, or a certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie proof of the amount expended for such work or improvements.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 11, adopted 1/16/1996)
(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) 
An 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 the property owner files with the city a written request for a hearing within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice required under this section.
(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 2017 Code)
Any person, firm, or corporation violating sections 6.04.001 through 6.04.007 who fails to correct such conditions within the time provided by section 6.04.009 hereof shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon final conviction thereof fined in accordance with the general penalty provided in section 1.01.009 of this code. Each day such violation exists after expiration of such notice shall be a separate offense punishable hereunder.
(Ordinance 381-96, sec. 12, adopted 1/16/1996; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code)