The ordinances in this and the following chapters and sections shall constitute and be designated the “Code of Ordinances, City of Garland, Texas” and may be so cited.
The heading of a section or part of this Code shall not be construed to limit or expand the meaning of an ordinance.
(A) 
Construction of Code.
In the construction of this Code, and the ordinances and resolutions passed by the City Council, the following rules shall be observed, unless the ordinance or context requires a different meaning:
Generally.
Words shall be construed in their common and usual sense unless the contrary is clearly indicated. Words and phrases shall be read in context and construed according to the rules of grammar and common usage, provided, however, that words and phrases that have acquired a technical or particular meaning shall be construed accordingly. A grammatical error does not vitiate a law. If a sentence or clause is meaningless because of a grammatical error, words and clauses may be transposed to give the law meaning.
City.
The words "the City" or "this City" shall mean the City of Garland, in the County of Dallas and State of Texas.
City Manager or other City officers.
"City Manager" or other specified City officer or department shall be construed to mean the City Manager or such other municipal officers or departments, respectively, of the City of Garland, Texas.
Computation of time.
Whenever a notice is required to be given or an act to be done a certain length of time before any proceeding shall be had, the day on which such notice is given or such act is done shall not be counted in computing the time, but the day on which such proceeding is to be had shall be counted. If the last day of any period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period of days is extended to include the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
Council.
Whenever the words "Council" or "this Council" or "the Council" are used, they shall mean the City Council of the City of Garland, Texas.
County.
The term "County" or "this County" shall mean the County of Dallas, Texas.
Gender.
A word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships, associations and corporations as well as to males.
Highway.
The term "highway" shall include any street, alley, highway, avenue or public place or square, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, underpasses, overpasses and causeways in the City, dedicated or devoted to public use.
Joint authority.
Words purporting to give authority to three (3) or more officers or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such officers or other persons, unless it is otherwise declared.
Month.
The word "month" shall mean a calendar month.
Number.
Any word importing the singular number shall include the plural and any word importing the plural number shall include the singular.
Oath.
The word "oath" shall be construed to include an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such cases the words "swear" and "sworn" shall be equivalent to the words "affirm" and "affirmed."
Or, and.
"Or" may be read "and," and "and" may be read "or," if the sense requires it.
Owner.
The word "owner," applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, or the whole or of a part of such building or land.
Person.
The word "person" shall extend and be applied to associations, corporations, organizations, firms, partnerships, estates, trusts, and business trusts and to a government or governmental subdivision or agency, other than the City of Garland, Texas.
Preceding, following.
The words "preceding" and "following" mean next before and next after, respectively.
Sidewalk.
The word "sidewalk" shall mean any portion of the street between the curb, or the lateral line of the roadway and the adjacent property line, intended for the use of pedestrians.
Signature or subscription.
The words "signature" or "subscription" shall include a mark when a person cannot write.
State.
The words "the state" or "this state" shall be construed to mean the State of Texas.
Street.
The term "street" shall include any highway, alley, street, avenue or public place or square, bridges, viaducts, underpasses, overpasses, tunnels and causeways in the City, dedicated or devoted to public use.
Tense.
Words used in the past or present tense include the future as well as the past and present.
Written or in writing.
The words "written" or "in writing" shall be construed to include any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.
Year.
The word "year" shall mean a calendar year.
(B) 
Preemption by State Law.
(1) 
The purpose of this provision is to ensure that local regulations and ordinances are consistent with the laws of the state and to prevent the enactment or enforcement of provisions that attempt to regulate subject matters preempted by state law.
(2) 
It is hereby recognized that certain subject matters are preempted by state law, and any local ordinance purporting to regulate such subject matters shall be considered null and void to the extent of the preemption.
(3) 
Preemption under this ordinance refers to situations where state law expressly prohibits local jurisdictions from regulating specific activities, industries, or matters, or where state law expressly precludes municipalities from adopting or enforcing an ordinance, order, rule, or policy in a field expressly occupied by a provision under state law.
(4) 
No provision within the Code of Ordinances of the City of Garland or the Garland Development Code shall be construed or interpreted in a manner that attempts to regulate an activity or subject matter preempted by state law.
(5) 
In the event that a provision within the Code of Ordinances of the City of Garland or the Garland Development Code is found to conflict with or attempt to regulate a subject matter preempted by state law, such provision shall be considered invalid and unenforceable to the extent of the conflict or attempted regulation.
(6) 
If any provision of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Garland or the Garland Development Code, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid or preempted by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or preemption shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section that can be given effect without the invalid or preempted provision or application.
(Ordinance 7495 adopted 1/9/2024)
All ordinances passed subsequent to this Code which amend, repeal or in any way affect this Code may be numbered in accordance with the numbering system of this Code and printed for inclusion herein. When subsequent ordinances repeal any chapter, section or subsection or any portion thereof, such repealed portions may be excluded from the Code by omission from reprinted pages.
(A) 
General penalty for violations of ordinances.
Whenever in this Code or in any ordinance of the City an act is prohibited, or is made or declared to be unlawful, an offense or a misdemeanor, or wherever in such Code or ordinance the doing of any act is required, or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, unless the offense is otherwise expressly punishable by the imposition of a civil or administrative penalty, the violation of any such provision of this Code or any such ordinance shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for any ordinance that governs fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation, including dumping of refuse; provided, however, that the penalty for any other violation of an ordinance shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00). If the laws of this state mandate a different penalty for the same or similar offense, then the laws of this state shall control.
(B) 
Continuing or repeated offenses.
Each day or portion of a day any violation of this Code or other ordinance shall continue or occur shall constitute a separate offense.
(C) 
Liability of nonowner.
In the case of real property for which the City has issued a certificate of occupancy or a certificate of completion with respect to improvements on the real property, neither an individual employee of the owner of the property, nor an employee of a company that manages the property on behalf of the property owner is personably liable for criminal or civil penalties resulting from the issuance of a citation or notice of violation for a violation of this Code or another ordinance if the individual provides the property owner’s name, street address, and telephone number to the enforcement official who issues the citation or notice of violation, or to the official’s superior. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the issuance of a citation for a violation of this article to an employee or contractor of the property owner, or to a management company, relating to the construction or development of the property.
(D) 
Notice to owner.
(1) 
If a property owner’s street address is not in this state, an employee of the owner or a management company to whom a citation or notice of violation is issued is considered the owner’s agent for accepting service of the citation or notice of violation for a violation of this article, and shall have the same legal effect as service on the owner for the purpose of fines against the owner of the property, including a warrant or capias.
(2) 
Whenever the City is required to send a notice to an owner of real property for the purpose of enforcing a provision of this Code, the notice may include the following statement:
“According to the real property records of [the] County, you own the real property described in this notice. If you no longer own the property, you must execute an affidavit stating that you no longer own the property and stating the name and last known address of the person who acquired the property from you. The affidavit must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to this office not later than the 20th day after the date you receive this notice. If you do not send the affidavit, it will be presumed that you own the property described in this notice, even if you do not.”
(3) 
The notice described in subsection (D)(2) must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested. If the City sends a notice to the owner of the property to which the notice relates, as shown by the real property records of the county in which the property is located on or after the 10th day before the date the notice is sent, and the record owner no longer owns the property, the record owner shall execute an affidavit provided by the City with the notice stating:
(a) 
That the record owner no longer owns the property; and
(b) 
The name and last known address of the person who acquired the property from the record owner.
The record owner shall deliver the affidavit in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the City not later than the 20th day after the date the record owner receives the notice. If the City receives the affidavit, the City shall send the appropriate notice to the person named in the affidavit as having acquired the property. A notice sent under this subsection (3) must include the statement authorized by subsection (D)(2). Upon receiving an affidavit under this subsection (3), the City shall maintain the affidavit on file for at least two years after the date the affidavit was received and shall deliver a copy of the affidavit to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in which the property is located.
(4) 
The City is considered to have provided notice to a property owner if the City complies with the statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance under which the notice is sent and if the City complies with the provisions of this subsection and does not receive an affidavit from the record owner or does not receive an affidavit from the person to whom the notice was sent as provided by this subsection. If the City complies with this section and does not receive an affidavit under subsection (3), the record owner is presumed to be the owner of the property for all purposes to which the notice relates. For purposes of this section, “real property” does not include a mineral interest or royalty interest.
(E) 
Other remedies unaffected.
The provisions provided in this section are cumulative of all other remedies and nonexclusive. Nothing in this section shall be deemed or construed to limit the availability of any remedy against any person or property otherwise provided by law including, without limitation, fines, penalties, closure, and injunction.
(F) 
Culpable mental state required.
A culpable mental state is required for a violation of this Code punishable as a criminal offense by a fine in excess of $500.00 and, unless otherwise specified, it is required that the offense have occurred intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence.
(Ordinance 5445, sec. 1, adopted 3/7/00; Ordinance 6009, sec. 1, adopted 6/6/06)
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this Code are severable and, if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this Code shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this Code, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this Code of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.