For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When
not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense
shall include the future, words used in the plural number include
the singular number, and words used in the singular number include
the plural number. The word “shall” is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
The person in charge of the police department or a representative
authorized by the chief of police.
Any boat, trailer or part thereof, which does not have lawfully
affixed thereto both an unexpired license plate or plates and a valid
registration certificate, or the condition of which is one or more
of the following:
Exceptions. The provisions hereof shall not apply to:
Any boat or trailer stored as the property of a member of the
armed forces of the United States who is on active duty assignment;
Any boat that is being utilized in a public school or licensed
playground and does not constitute a threat to the health or safety
of the persons utilizing said playground.
A motor vehicle or a part thereof that:
A vehicle that is subject to registration by chapter 501
of the Texas Transportation Code.
The municipal court in and for the city.
Junked vehicles, junked boats and/or junked trailers, or
parts thereof.
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 1, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.001)
It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or maintain a nuisance
vehicle as defined herein on the real property of another or to suffer,
permit or allow any nuisance as defined herein to be left or maintained
on his own real property, provided that this section shall not apply
with regard to:
(1)
Any
junked vehicle in an enclosed building.
(2)
Any
junked vehicle or a part thereof, parked or stored in a lawful manner
on private property in connection with the business of a licensed
vehicle dealer or licensed junkyard.
(3)
Any
junked vehicle in an appropriate storage place or depository maintained
at a location officially designed and in the manner approved by the
city.
(4)
Any
accumulation of junk by a duly licensed junk dealer.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 2, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.002)
Nuisance vehicles which are located on any private lot, tract
or parcel of land or portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, improved
or unimproved, visible from any public place or right-of-way or other
public property within the city, are detrimental to the safety and
welfare of the general public, tending to reduce the value of private
property, to invite vandalism, to create a fire hazard, and to constitute
an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to health and safety of minors,
and are detrimental to the economic welfare of the state by producing
urban blight which is adverse to the maintenance and continuing development
of the municipalities of the state, and therefore such vehicles are
declared a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 3, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.003)
The owner of any private property or public property and the
owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to any public right-of-way
in the city upon which there is located a nuisance vehicle, any lienholder
of record, and any other person to be notified under state law, shall
be given written notice by certified or registered mail with a five-day
return requested, stating the nature of the nuisance and its location,
and ordering that such nuisance vehicle be removed and the nuisance
abated within ten (10) days. The notice shall further state that,
if a hearing provided for hereinafter is desired, a request for such
hearing must be made within said ten-day period. If the post office
address of the last known registered owner of the nuisance vehicle
is unknown, notice may be placed on the nuisance vehicle, or if the
last known registered owner is physically located the notice may be
hand-delivered. If the owner or occupant of the premises fails or
refuses to comply with the order of the chief of police within the
ten-day period after service thereof, the judge may issue an order
authorizing the chief of police to take possession of the junked vehicle
and remove it. If the notice is returned undelivered by the United
States Postal Service, official action to abate the nuisance shall
be continued to a date not earlier than the eleventh (11th) day after
the date of return.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 4, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.004)
The chief of police, or an agent for the chief of police, may
enter upon private property for the purposes specified in this article
to examine vehicles or parts thereof, to obtain information as to
the identity of vehicles and to remove or cause to be removed a vehicle
or parts thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this article.
The municipal court shall have the authority to issue all orders necessary
to enforce this article.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 13, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.005)
The administration of this article shall be by regularly [sic]
employees of the city, except that removal of vehicles or other property
may be by other duly authorized persons.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 17, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.006)
If there is a nuisance vehicle on public property, on private premises that are occupied or unoccupied, or on the public right-of-way adjacent to the occupied or unoccupied premises and the owner or occupant of the premises cannot be found and notified to remove the vehicle, then upon showing of the facts to the judge of the municipal court, the court may issue an order to the chief of police to have the vehicle removed, and the chief of police shall take possession of the nuisance vehicle and remove it. If the notice in section 8.05.034 is returned undelivered by the United States Postal Service, then after ten (10) days from the date of return and after ten (10) days from the date the notice was placed on the nuisance vehicle, the court may issue an order to the chief of police to have the vehicle removed and the chief of police may take possession of the nuisance vehicle and have it removed. The chief of police shall thereafter dispose of the nuisance vehicle in a manner provided by state law.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 5, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.007)
(a)
The
owner or occupant of the premises, or the owner or occupant of the
premises adjacent to the public right-of-way on which the vehicle
is located, may, within the ten-day period after service of notice
to abate the nuisance, request to the clerk of the municipal court
of the city, in person or in writing, and without the requirement
of bond, that a date and time be set when he or she can appear before
the judge of the municipal court for a public hearing to determine
whether he or she is in violation of this article. The public hearing
shall not constitute a criminal action against the person, but shall
merely be a finding of facts to determine the legal status of the
vehicle in question. At the hearing it is presumed that the vehicle
is inoperable unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner.
(b)
If
a hearing is requested within ten (10) days after notice to abate
the nuisance, then the chief of police shall not order the removal
of the vehicle until ordered to do so by the judge of the municipal
court. If at the hearing the judge of the municipal court finds that
the vehicle in question is a junked vehicle, he/she shall order that
the vehicle be rehabilitated or removed within ten (10) days from
the date of the hearing and shall sign an order allowing the chief
of police to remove the vehicle after the tenth day. If the judge
of the municipal court finds that the vehicle is not in violation
of this article, there will be no further action against the vehicle
until such time as the status of the vehicle has changed.
(c)
A
resolution or order requiring the removal of a vehicle or vehicle
part must include a description of the vehicle, the vehicle identification
number, and the license plate number of the vehicle if the information
is available at the site.
(d)
If
the owner or occupant of the premises fails to either remove and abate
the nuisance or request a hearing within ten (10) days after service
of the notice to abate the nuisance then the chief of police may,
upon showing proof to the judge of the municipal court and obtaining
an order thereof, take possession of the vehicle and have it removed.
The chief of police shall thereafter dispose of the nuisance vehicle
in a manner provided by state law. The chief of police may at any
time cause to be filed a complaint in the municipal court for the
violation of maintaining a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 6, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.008)
(a)
The
judge of the municipal court shall hear any case brought before the
court, as set out herein, and shall determine whether the defendant
is, in fact, in violation of this article. Upon finding the defendant
is in violation of this article, such defendant may be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars
($200.00). The judge of the municipal court may further order the
defendant to remove and abate such nuisance within ten (10) days,
the same being a reasonable time. If the defendant shall fail or refuse,
within ten (10) days, to abate or remove the nuisance, the judge of
the municipal court may issue an order to the chief of police to have
the same removed and the chief of police may take possession of the
vehicle and have it removed. The chief of police shall thereafter
dispose of the nuisance vehicle in a manner provided by state law.
(b)
Each
day that such a nuisance shall continue after the ten-day abatement
period, as herein set out, shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 7, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.009)
If, within ten (10) days after receipt of notice from the chief
of police to abate the public nuisance, as herein provided, the owner
or occupant of the premises shall give written permission to the chief
of police for removal of the nuisance vehicle, the chief of police
is authorized to accept such permission and may take possession of
the vehicle and have it removed. The chief of police shall thereafter
dispose of the nuisance vehicle in a manner provided by state law.
After which no criminal complaint will issue based on such motor vehicle.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 8, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.010)
After any junked vehicle is removed under the authority of this
article, it shall not be reconstructed or made operable again.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 9, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.011)
Within five (5) days after the date of the removal of any junked
vehicle under the authority of this article, notice shall be given
to the state department of transportation, identifying the vehicle
or part thereof.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 10, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.012)
(a)
This
article shall not apply to:
(1)
A vehicle or part thereof which is completely enclosed within a building
in a lawful manner, where it is not visible from a street or other
public or private property;
(2)
A vehicle or part thereof which is stored or parked in a lawful manner
on private property in connection with the business of a licensed
vehicle dealer or junkyard;
(3)
An unlicensed, operable or inoperable antique vehicle or special
interest vehicle stored by a collector on his property, provided that
such vehicle and the outdoor storage areas are maintained in such
a manner that they do not constitute a health hazard and are screened
from ordinary public views;
(4)
Any motor vehicle in operable condition specifically adapted or constructed
for racing or operation on privately owned drag strips or raceways;
or
(5)
Any vehicle stored as the property of a member of the armed forces
of the United States who is on active duty assignment.
(b)
For
the purpose of this section:
(1)
Antique vehicle
means a passenger car or truck manufactured
twenty-five or more years old [sic].
(2)
Special interest [vehicle]
means a motor vehicle of
any age which has not been altered or modified from the original manufacturer’s
specifications and because of its historic interest is being preserved
by hobbyists.
(3)
Collector
means the owner of more than one antique or
special interest vehicle who collects, purchases, acquires, trades,
or disposes of special interest or antique vehicles or parts of them
for his own use in order to restore, preserve and maintain an antique
or special interest vehicle for historic interest.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 11, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.013)
Nothing in this article shall affect ordinances that permit
the immediate removal of a vehicle that is on public property, which
constitutes a danger or obstruction to traffic.
(Ordinance 07-O-31, sec. 12, adopted 7/9/2007; 2009 Code, sec. 8.02.014)
