For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
Antique vehicle
means a passenger car or truck manufactured at least 25 years ago.
Demolisher
means a person with a business that converts a motor vehicle into processed scrap metal, or otherwise wrecks or dismantles motor vehicles.
Junked vehicle
means a motor vehicle as defined in V.T.C.A., Transportation Code, chapter 683, that is a self-propelled vehicle, or part thereof, that:
(1) 
Displays an expired license plate or does not display a license plate; and
(2) 
Is:
(A) 
Wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, or discarded; or
(B) 
Inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than:
(i) 
Seventy-two consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property; or
(ii) 
Thirty consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private property.
Special interest vehicle
means a motor vehicle of any age without alteration or modification from original manufacturer's specifications that, because of its historic interest, is preserved by hobbyists.
Vehicle collector
means an antique or special vehicle owner who, for personal use, collects, purchases, acquires, trades, or disposes of antique or special interest vehicles, or their parts, in order to restore, preserve, and maintain an antique or special vehicle for historic interest.
(Ordinance 18-111, adopted 12/11/2018)
A junked vehicle, including part of a junked vehicle, that is visible at any time of the year from a public place or public right-of-way:
(1) 
Is detrimental to the safety and welfare of the public;
(2) 
Tends to reduce the value of private property;
(3) 
Invites vandalism;
(4) 
Creates a fire hazard;
(5) 
Is an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors;
(6) 
Produces urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the town; and
(7) 
Is a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 04-117, § 3, adopted 12/21/2004)
(a) 
A person commits an offense if the person allows or maintains a junked vehicle in any place, whether on private or public property, in view of the public or on a public right-of-way.
(b) 
An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine as provided in § 1.01.009 of this Code. A separate offense occurs each and every day the violation described in subsection (a) continues.
(c) 
The court shall order abatement and removal of the public nuisance on conviction of this offense.
(Ordinance 04-117, § 4, adopted 12/21/2004)
To abate and remove a junked vehicle from any place visible to the public, whether on private or public property, the following procedure is required:
(1) 
Notice.
(A) 
Any employee of a department authorized by the Town Administrator to enforce this article shall:
(i) 
Send written notice via certified mail, with a five-day return receipt requested, to:
a. 
The last known registered owner of the junked vehicle;
b. 
Any known lienholder of record of the junked vehicle; and
c. 
The owner or occupant of the property on which the junked vehicle is located, or, if the junked vehicle is on the public right-of-way, the owner or occupant of the property adjacent to the public right-of-way; or
(ii) 
Post written notice on the junked vehicle if the address of the last known registered owner of the junked vehicle is unknown; or
(iii) 
Hand-deliver notice to the last known registered owner of the junked vehicle if his or her physical location is known.
(B) 
The notice must state the nature of the nuisance, and that:
(i) 
The junked vehicle must be abated and removed no later than the 10th day after the date on which the notice was mailed; and
(ii) 
Any request for a hearing must be made in writing and received by the department before that ten-day period expires.
(C) 
If any notice is returned undelivered, action to abate the nuisance shall continue to a date not earlier than the 11th day after the date of the return.
(D) 
In the case where a person receiving notice neither requests a hearing nor abates the nuisance within the ten-day period provided in subsection (1)(B)(i), the Town Administrator or his/her designee shall, in compliance with subsection (1)(A), give notice of a public hearing, providing the date, time, and place of the hearing.
(2) 
Hearing.
(A) 
The Town Administrator, or his/her designee, shall conduct all hearings under this section. This Hearing Officer does not have to adhere to strict rules of evidence, and can adopt informal procedures for the hearing.
(B) 
If a person receiving notice of a junked vehicle requests a hearing, the public hearing shall occur not earlier than the 11th day after the date of the service of notice. If a person has not responded to the initial notice, a public hearing may occur five business days after the date on the notification of public hearing required by subsection (1)(D).
(C) 
At the hearing, the junked vehicle is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable.
(3) 
Abatement and removal of nuisance.
(A) 
Request for abatement and removal of junked vehicle.
(i) 
After receiving written notice from the town regarding the public nuisance created by a junked vehicle:
a. 
The owner of the junked vehicle may request and authorize the town to remove the junked vehicle; or
b. 
The owner or occupant of the private property upon which the junked vehicle is located may request and authorize the town to remove the junked vehicle if the town cannot locate the vehicle's owner.
(ii) 
Before the town removes a junked vehicle, the person requesting removal under this section must execute an authorization and indemnification agreement, thereby allowing the town to enter the private property and holding the town harmless from any claim of injury or damage sustained as a result of the removal and disposal of the junked vehicle in accordance with § 8.05.006.
(B) 
Abatement and removal of junked vehicle after hearing.
(i) 
Should a Hearing Officer find that a junked vehicle, or part thereof, is located in an area visible from a public place or in a public right-of-way, the Hearing Officer shall order abatement and removal of the junked vehicle.
(ii) 
If the information is available at the location of the nuisance, an order requiring removal of the nuisance must include the vehicle's description, vehicle identification number, and license plate number.
(iii) 
The municipal court may issue orders necessary to enforce the procedures and removal of the public nuisance.
(Ordinance 04-117, § 5, adopted 12/21/2004)
(a) 
Regularly salaried, full-time town employees shall administer the procedures outlined in § 8.05.004 for abatement and removal of a junked vehicle, except that any authorized person may remove the nuisance.
(b) 
Any employee of a department authorized by the Town Administrator to enforce this article may enter private property to examine the public nuisance, to obtain information to identify the nuisance, and to remove or direct removal of the nuisance.
(c) 
Any person authorized by the Town Administrator, or his/her designee, may enter private property to remove the junked vehicle, or part thereof.
(Ordinance 04-117, § 6, adopted 12/21/2004)
(a) 
A junked vehicle removed under § 8.05.004 may not be reconstructed or made operable.
(b) 
A junked vehicle may be removed to a scrap yard, a motor vehicle demolisher, or any other suitable site for processing scrap or salvage.
(c) 
After a proceeding for abatement and removal of a public nuisance commences, removal of the junked vehicle to another location within the town limits where said vehicle continues to constitute a public nuisance has no effect on the proceedings already underway.
(Ordinance 04-117, § 7, adopted 12/21/2004)
No later than the 5th day after the date of removal of a junked vehicle, the Town Administrator, or his/her designee, shall send notice to the state department of transportation identifying the vehicle, or part thereof, removed so that the state department of transportation may cancel the certificate of title issued for the vehicle.
(Ordinance 04-117, § 8, adopted 12/21/2004)
The provisions of this article do not apply to a vehicle or vehicle part that is:
(1) 
Completely enclosed in a building in a lawful manner, and is not visible from the street or other public or private property; or
(2) 
Stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard, or an antique or special interest vehicle or vehicle part stored by a vehicle collector on the collector's property, where the antique or special interest vehicle or vehicle part and the outside storage area are:
(A) 
Maintained in an orderly manner;
(B) 
Not a health hazard; and
(C) 
Screened from ordinary public view by appropriate means, including a fence, shrubbery or rapidly growing trees.
(Ordinance 04-117, § 9, adopted 12/21/2004)