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Ord. 1286 2006-07-24 - CodifiedORDINANCE NO. 1286 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, REPEALING CHAPTER 14, ARTICLE III, JUNKED VEHICLES, OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND CODE OF ORDINANCES, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADOPTING A NEW CHAPTER 14, ARTICLE III, JUNKED VEHICLES; HAVING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND A REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS: Section 1. That Chapter 14, Article III, Junked Vehicles, of the City of Pearland Code of Ordinances, is hereby repealed and a new Chapter 14, Article III, Junked Vehicles is hereby adopted, to read as follows: "Section 14-51. Authority This Article is adopted pursuant to the authority provided by the Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 683, Subchapter E, and any successor statutes, to establish procedures for the abatement and removal, from private or public property, of junked vehicles or parts thereof as a public nuisance. Section 14-52. Definitions "Antique Vehicle"- shall mean a passenger car or truck that is at least 25 years old. "Junked Vehicle"- shall mean a vehicle that: (1) is self-propelled and: (a) does not have lawfully attached to it an unexpired license plate; or (b) does not have lawfully attached to it a valid motor vehicle inspection certificate; and (2) is: (a) wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, damaged, discarded; or (b) inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than: ORDINANCE NO. 1286 (i) seventy-two (72) consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property; or (ii) thirty (30) consecutive days if the vehicle is on private property. "Motor vehicle" shall mean any motor vehicle subject to registration pursuant to the Texas Certificate of Title Act. "Motor vehicle collector" shall mean a person who owns one or more antique or special interest vehicles and 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. "Motor vehicle demolisher" shall mean any person in the business of converting motor vehicles into processed scrap or scrap metal, or otherwise wrecking or dismantling motor vehicles. "Special interest vehicle" shall mean a motor vehicle of any age which has not been altered or modified from original manufacturer's specifications and, because of its historic interest, is being preserved by a hobbyist. "Storage facility" shall mean a garage, parking lot, or any type of facility or establishment for the servicing, repairing, storing, or parking of motor vehicles. Section 14-53. Junked Vehicles Declared a Public Nuisance A junked vehicle, including a part of a junked vehicle, that is visible at any time of the year from a public place or public right-of-way is detrimental to the safety and welfare of the general public, tends to reduce the value of private property, invites vandalism, creates a fire hazard, is an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and is detrimental to the economic welfare of the City by producing urban blight which is adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the City, and such vehicles are therefore declared to be a public nuisance. Section 14-54. Offense A. A person commits an offense if the person maintains a public nuisance described by Section 14-53 of this Article. B. An offense under this Article is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed Two Hundred and No/100 Dollars ($200). C. The court shall order abatement and removal of the nuisance upon conviction. 2 ORDINANCE NO. 1286 Section 14-55. Exceptions The following vehicles or parts thereof are excepted from the provisions of this ordinance: A. A vehicle or vehicle part which is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property. B. A vehicle or vehicle part which is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard, or that is an antique or special interest vehicle or part thereof stored by a motor vehicle collector on the collector's property, provided that the vehicle or part and the outdoor storage area, if any, are: 1. maintained in an orderly manner; 2. do not constitute a health hazard; and 3. are screened from ordinary public view. C. An unlicensed, operable or inoperable antique or special interest vehicle or part thereof stored by a motor vehicle collector on the collector's property, provided that the vehicle or part thereof and the outdoor storage area, if any, are maintained in such a manner that they do not constitute a health hazard and are screened from ordinary public view. Section 14-56. Procedure for Disposition of Junked Vehicles The procedure for the abatement and removal of a junked vehicle or part thereof, as a public nuisance, from private property, public property, or public right-of-way shall be as follows: A. After a determination is made by a police officer, Code Enforcement officer or their designee that a public nuisance exists in violation of this Article, or after an order issued by the municipal court pursuant to Section 14-54(C) of this Article, there shall be furnished not less than ten (10) days notice, stating the nature of the public nuisance, that the nuisance must be removed and abated not later than the 10th day after the date on which the notice was delivered, and that a request for a hearing must be made before expiration of said ten (10) day period. Notice provided under this Chapter shall be personally delivered or sent by certified mail with a five (5) day return requested, to the last known registered owner of the junked vehicle or part thereof, all lien holders of record and to the owner or the occupant of the private premises whereupon such public nuisance exists. If the nuisance is located on a public right-of-way, notice may be provided to the owner or occupant of the property adjacent to the right-of-way. If the post office address of 3 ORDINANCE NO. 1286 the last known registered owner of the nuisance is unknown, notice may be placed on the nuisance or, if the owner is located, personally delivered. If the notice is returned undelivered by the United States Post Office, official action to abate said nuisance shall be continued to a date not earlier than the 11 th day after the date of such return. B. There shall be a public hearing prior to the removal of the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance if such hearing is requested by the last known registered owner of the motor vehicle, by any lien holder of record, by the owner or occupant of the public or private premises, or by the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of- way on which said vehicle is located. The public hearing shall be held before the Municipal Court Judge of the City of Pearland, or his designee, not earlier than the 11 th day after the date of the service of notice to abate the nuisance. At the hearing, the vehicle, which is the subject of the junked vehicle hearing, is presumed unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable. Any order requiring the removal of a junked vehicle or part thereof must include the vehicle's description, vehicle identification number, and license plate number if the information is available at the location of the nuisance. The Municipal Court Judge of the City of Pearland may issue necessary orders, including restitution, to enforce the procedures for the abatement and removal of a public nuisance under this Article. C. The relocation of a junked vehicle that is a public nuisance to another location within the City, after a proceeding for the abatement and removal of such junked vehicle has commenced, has no effect on the proceeding if the junked vehicle constitutes a public nuisance at the new location. D. The administration of the procedures herein shall be by any police officer or Code Enforcement officer of the City of Pearland, Texas, and by such other regularly salaried, full-time City employees as may be from time -to -time granted authority by the City's governing body to enforce this ordinance, except that the removal of junked vehicles or parts thereof from property may be by any duly authorized person. E. A citation may be issued and a complaint may be filed in the Municipal Court of the City of Pearland for the offense of maintaining a public nuisance, if the nuisance is not removed and abated and a hearing is not requested within the ten (10) day period provided in Subsections (A) and (B). 4 ORDINANCE NO. 1286 Section 14-57. Disposal of Junked (Inoperable) Vehicles A junked vehicle or part thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrap -yard, a motor vehicle demolisher, or any suitable site operated by the City, for processing as scrap or salvage pursuant to authority provided in the Texas Transportation Code, § 683.078 or any successor statute for junked vehicle disposal. Section 14-58. Authority to Enforce Any peace officer, Code Enforcement officer or other regularly salaried, full- time City employee authorized to enforce this ordinance may enter the public areas of any building or premises at all reasonable times whenever necessary in the performance of his duties to inspect and investigate for violations of any law, or to enforce any law. The authority to inspect shall include but not be limited to the authority to examine vehicles or parts thereof, obtain information as to identity of vehicles and to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or part thereof declared to be a nuisance. If such building or premises be occupied and involved in conducting business, the City employee shall first present proper credentials and demand entry, unless otherwise permitted by law. If such entry is refused, or, if no owner or other person having charge or control of the building or premises can be located, he shall have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry. Section 14-59. Effect of Article on Other Laws Nothing in this Article shall affect laws that permit immediate removal of a vehicle left on public property which constitutes an obstruction to traffic, or laws that establish procedures for taking possession of abandoned motor vehicles." Section 1. Penalty. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200). Section 2. Savings. All rights and remedies which have accrued in favor of the City under this Chapter and amendments thereto shall be and are preserved for the benefit of the City. Section 3. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid, unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion 5 ORDINANCE NO. 1286 shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. Section 4. Codification. It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Pearland, Texas, that the provisions of this ordinance shall be codified in the City's official Code of Ordinances as provided hereinabove. Section 5. Publication and Effective Date. The City Secretary shall cause this ordinance, or its caption and penalty, to be published in the official newspaper of the City of Pearland, upon passage of such ordinance. The ordinance shall then become effective ten (10) days from and after its publication, or the publication of its caption and penalty, in the official City newspaper. Section 6. Declaration of Emergency. The Council finds and determines that the need to regulate the proliferation of junked vehicles inures to the benefit of the public and, therefore, bears directly upon the health, safety and welfare of the citizenry; and that this ordinance shall be adopted as an emergency measure, and that the rule requiring this ordinance to be read on two (2) separate occasions be, and the same is hereby waived. PASSED and APPROVED on First and Only Reading this the 24th day of July , A. D., 2006. c TOM REID MAYOR 6 ORDINANCE NO. 1286 ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: ccr DARRIN M. COKER CITY ATTORNEY 7 VOTING RECORD FIRST AND ONLY READING JULY 24, 2006 Voting "Aye" - Councilmembers Saboe, Beckman, Kyle, and Cole. Voting "No" — None. Motion passes 4 to 0, with Councilmember Tetens absent. PUBLICATION DATE: July 26, 2006 EFFECTIVE DATE: August 6, 2006 PUBLISHED AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 3.10 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION The Pearland Reporter News 2404 South Park Pearland, Texas 77581 State of Texas Brazoria and Harris Counties I, Lloyd Morrow, hereby certify that the notice hereby appended was published in THE REPORTER NEWS, a newspaper of general circulation in Brazoria, Harris and Galveston Counties, for / issues, as follows: No. / Date 7 )4 20 (i) No Date 20 No. Date 20 No Date 20 No. Date 20 Subscribe and sworn to 20Q(e CFO / aura Ann Emmons, Publisher Notary Public, State of Texas Published July 26, 2006 ORDINANCE NO. 1286 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, REPEALING CHAPTER 14, ARTICLE III, JUNKED VEHICLES, OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND CODE OF ORDINANCES, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADOPTING A NEW CHAP- TER 14, ARTICLE III, JUNKED VEHICLES; HAVING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A SEVERABILI- TY CLAUSE, AND A REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLI- CATION, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Section 1. Penalty. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any some not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200). PASSED and APPROVED on First and Only Reading this the 24th day of July, A.D., 2006. /s/ Tom Reid Mayor ATTEST: /s/ Young Lorfing, TRMC City Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM: /s/ Darrin M. Coker City Attorney VOTING RECORD FIRST AND ONLY READING JULY 24. 2006 Voting "Aye" - Councilmembers Saboe, Beckman, Kyle and Cole. Voting "No" — None. Motion passed 4 to 0, with Councilmember Tetens absent. PUBLICATION DATE: July 26. 2006 EFFECTIVE DATE: August 6, 2006 PUBLISHED AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 3.10 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICATION The Pearland Reporter News 2404 Park Avenue Pearland, Texas 77581 State of Texas Brazoria and Harris Counties I, Lloyd Morrow, hereby certify that the notice hereby appended was published in THE REPORTER NEWS, a newspaper of general circulation in Brazoria, Harris and Galveston Counties, for / issues, as follows: No / Date /Ad 4. 20I2_ No Date 20 No. Date 20 No Date 20 No. Date 20 )1014/f124) Subscribe and sworn to before me this 20 0-- CFO day LAURA ANN EMMONS NOTARY PUBLIC STATE OF TEXAS My Commission Expires 08-09-2014 Laura Ann Emmons, Publisher Notary Public, State of Texas LEGALS Published April 4, 2012 ORDINANCE NO. 1286-1 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEAR - LAND, TEXAS, AMEN- DING CHAPTER 14, ARTICLE III, JUNKED VEHICLES, OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND CODE OF ORDI- NANCES. FOR THE: HAVING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A SEVER - ABILITY CLAUSE. AND A REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Section 2. Penalty. Any person vio- lating any of the provi- sions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200). PASSED and APPROV- ED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING this the 26th day of March, A. D., 2012. /s/ Tom Reid, Mayor ATTEST: /s/ Young Lorfing, TRMC City Secretary APPROVES AS TO FORM: /s/ Darrin M. Coker City Attorney VOTING RECORD SECOND AND FINAL READING March 26, 2012 Voting "Aye" - Council - members Owens, Sherrouse, Sherman, Harris and Hill. Voting "No" - None. Motion passes 5 to 0. PUBLICATION DATE: April 4, 2012 EFFECTIVE DATE: April 13, 2012 PUBLISHED AS REQUIRED BY SEC- TION 3.10 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS.