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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 84-40 ORDINANCE NO. ENTITLED AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 13 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT ADOPTING A NEW ARTICLE IV REGARDING THE GROWTH OF WEEDS; REPEALING ARTICLE V CONCERNING TRASH CONTROL; AMENDING THE LITTER CONTROL REGULATIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL AND PROVIDING A PENALTY. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: Section 1 . THAT Chapter 13, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Beaumont be, and the same is hereby , amended to adopt a new Article IV to read as follows: ARTICLE IV Section 13-50. Permitting Growth of Weeds on Lots or Premises. a) It shall be unlawful and constitute an offense and creation and maintenance of a public nuisance for any person, firm, or corporation who shall own or occupy any lot or premises to suffer or permit weeds , grass or uncultivated plants other than trees to grow upon such lot or premises within one hundred ( 100) feet of the property line of developed property to a greater height than twelve ( 12) inches on an average. b) It shall be unlawful and constitute an offense and creation and maintenance of a public nuisance for any person, firm or corporation who shall own or occupy any lot or premises to suffer or permit weeds , grass or uncultivated plants other than trees to grow to a greater height than twelve ( 12) inches on that portion of rights-of-way which abut such lot or premises between J-i'-�-d'el the center line of such rights-of-way and the property line of such lot or premises. Except, however, rights-of-way meeting any of the following definitions shall not be the responsibility of the abutting owner or occupants: 1) Ditches exceeding a depth of four ( 4 ) feet as determined by the City Manager or his designee. 2) Rights-of-way which governmental entities other than the city have a contractual obligation to maintain. 3 ) Major arterial streets as determined by the City Manager or his designee. 4 ) Unpaved dedicated street rights-of-way. 5 ) Street medians. 6) Property owned in fee by the city. c) If it be shown that a person, firm, or corporation has violated this section, the defendant, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ( $50) nor more than two hundred dollars ( $200) . d) Upon a second conviction for a violation of this section, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ( $100) nor more than two hundred dollars ( $200) . e) In addition to the fines and penalties provided for in this section, if a person, firm, or corporation owning any lot or premises in violation of this section fails or refuses, after notice, to cut such weeds , grass or uncultivated plants, the Director of Health may cause such weeds , grass or uncultivated plants to be cut in accordance with Section 13-53 of this article. 2 - f) In any prosecution charging a violation of this section, proof that the person whose name is listed on the tax rolls of the city as being the owner of the lot or premises found to be in violation shall constitute in evidence a prima facie presumption that such person is the owner of such lot or premises; provided, however, that such presumption may be rebutted by the person charged with violating this section with evidence to the contrary; and provided further that the presumption established herein shall have the evidentiary consequences enumerated in Chapter 2 of the Texas Penal Code. Section 13-51. The Director of Health shall enforce the terms and conditions of this article. Section 13-52. Notice to Remove. It shall be the duty of the enforcement officer to notify the owner and/or agent of any premises within the city not dedicated to an agricultural use, and which is in violation of Section 13-50 to remove such weeds within ten ( 10) days. This notice shall be in writing and may be served on the owner or agent by handing it to him in person, by certified mail, addressed to such owner or agent at his post office address as shown on the tax roll of the city or by publication as many as two ( 2 ) times within ten ( 10) consecutive days. Section 13-53. Right of the City to Cut Weeds; Assessment of Costs. Should the owner of any lot or premises upon which weeds , grass or uncultivated plants have been permitted to grow in - 3 - Q ��TQ a violation of this article fail or refuse to cut or remove such weeds, grass or uncultivated plants within ten ( 10) days after notice, as provided in Section 13-52, the enforcement officer is hereby authorized to cause such weeds, grass or uncultivated plants to be cut and removed at the expense of the city, on the account of said owner, and to assess the expense thereof on the real estate or lot upon which such expense is incurred. The expense assessed hereunder shall not be less than sixty-five dollars ( $65) . The Health Authority is hereby authorized to affix his signature to the statement of the expenses incurred by the city in the cutting and removal of the weeds , grass or uncultivated plants cut under this section and to file said statement of expenses as a lien against the premises which are in violation of this article at the county clerk' s office of this county. This statement of expenses shall, in addition to giving the amount of such expense, provide the date upon which such work was done and a description of the lot or premises upon which such work was done. The city shall have a privileged lien upon such lot or real estate upon which such work was done or improvements made to secure the expenditure so made, in accordance with provisions of Article 4436 , Vernon' s Annotated Civil Statutes, which lien shall be second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements, and such amount shall bear ten ( 10) percent interest from the date the statement was filed, for any such expenditure and interest as aforesaid. Suit may be instituted and recovery by foreclosure of such lien may be had in the name of the city, and statement of expenses so made as aforesaid, or a 4 - C/ 7`V certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie evidence of the amount expended for such work or improvements. Section 2. That Article V of Chapter 13 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Beaumont, the same being Sections 13-56 through 13-60, inclusive, be, and the same are hereby , repealed. Section 3. That Chapter 13, Section 13-69 is hereby amended to change the definition of litter to read as follows: Section 13-69 Litter means any man-made or man-used object, organic or inorganic material, or solid waste, and specifically including trash, which is not placed in: a) a "container" as defined herein; or b) an authorized sanitary waste disposal site ; or c) another approved area, depository, or vehicle designated for transport or disposal of litter, trash, garbage, or waste. Section 4 . That Chapter 13, Section 13-72 ( a) and (b) be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 13-72 ( a) and (b) a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, if it be shown that a person has violated this article, upon conviction, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars ( $50) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ( $200) . 5 - I b) Upon a second conviction for a violation of this article, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ( $100) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ( $200) . Section 5. That Chapter 13, Section 13-73 is hereby amended to read as follows; Section 13-73 The mayor or health officer is hereby authorized to affix his signature to the statement of the expenses incurred by the city in the cleaning and removal of any litter, trash, garbage, or waste under this article and to file said statement of expenses as a lien against the premises which are in violation of this article at the county clerk' s office of Jefferson County. An administraative fee shall be added to the statement of expenses to cover all administrative costs. The amount of such fee shall be determined from time to time by the city manager or his designee based upon a study. The statement of expenses shall, in addition to giving the amount of such expense, provide the date upon which such work was done, and a description of the lot or premises upon which such work was done. The city shall have a privileged lien upon such lot or real estate upon which such work was done or improvements made to secure the expenditures so made, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4436 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, which lien shall be second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements, and such amount shall bear ten percent ( 100) interest from the date the statement was filed, for such expenditure and interest as aforesaid. Suit may be instituted and recovery by foreclosure of such lien may be had in the name of the city, and a statement of expenses so made as aforesaid, or a certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie evidence of the amount expended for such work or improvements. 6 - Section 6 . That if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, or the application of same to a particular set of persons or circumstances, should for any reason be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of this ordinance, and to such end the various portions and provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. Section 7. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are repealed to the extent of the conflict only. Section 8 . That any person who violates any provision of this ordinance shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided in Section 1-8 of the Code of Ordinances of Beaumont, Texas. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the / day of 1984. —V)4zL Mayor - �/� - 7 -