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Every owner, occupant, or person in control of any occupied or unoccupied premises in the city shall use every precaution to prevent weeds, grass, or other vegetation from growing on the premises so as to become a nuisance or fire hazard. (Ord. Nos. 13796; 17597; 20599; 22413; 26585)
(a) An owner, occupant, or person in control of any private premises abutting an alley, street, or sidewalk within the city commits an offense if he allows any vegetation, including, but not limited to, trees, shrubbery, bushes, and vines, to grow on the premises so as to project across the property line over or into the right-of-way of the alley, street, or sidewalk.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that:
(1) the vegetation consisted solely of weeds or grass not more than 12 inches high;
(2) no part of the vegetation projected over or into the alley or street at a height of less than 15 feet above the ground; or
(3) no part of the vegetation projected over or into the sidewalk at a height of less than eight feet above the ground, except that this defense does not apply if the vegetation obstructed the visibility of a traffic control sign, signal, or device or interfered with garbage or trash collection adjacent to the sidewalk.
(c) Vegetation growing in violation of this section is a nuisance and may be abated by the city in accordance with Section 18-17 of this article. (Ord. Nos. 20599; 22413; 25979; 26585)
(a) For the purposes of this article, DIRECTOR means the director of the department designated by the city manager to enforce and administer this article or the director’s authorized representative.
(a) A person who violates a provision of this article, or who fails to perform a duty required of him under this article, commits an offense. A person is guilty of a separate offense for each day or part of a day during which a violation is committed, continued, or permitted.
(b) An offense under this article is punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000 and, upon a first conviction, not less than $50.
(c) The minimum fine established in Subsection (b) will be doubled for the second conviction of the same offense within any 24-month period and trebled for the third and subsequent convictions of the same offense within any 24-month period. At no time may the minimum fine exceed the maximum fine established in Subsection (b).
(d) As an alternative to imposing the criminal penalty prescribed in Subsection (b), the city may impose administrative penalties, fees, and court costs in accordance with Article IV-b of Chapter 27 of this code, as authorized by Section 54.044 of the Texas Local Government Code, for an offense under this article. The alternative administrative penalty range for an offense is the same as is prescribed for a criminal offense in Subsection (b).
(e) The culpable mental state required for the commission of an offense under this article is governed by Section 1-5.1 of this code. (Ord. Nos. 20599; 25927; 26585)
(a) Upon the failure of the owner, occupant, or person in control of private premises to comply with Section 18-13 of this article, the director shall have the weeds or grass cut, mulched or raked, and removed from the premises.
(b) Upon the failure of the owner, occupant, or person in control of private premises abutting an alley, street, or sidewalk within the city to comply with Section 18-14.1 of this article, the director shall have the noncomplying vegetation cut or trimmed, and removed from the alley, street, or sidewalk, whichever applies.
(c) Before performing work, or causing work to be performed, under Subsection (a) or (b), the director must notify the owner of the premises to bring the premises into compliance within seven days. The notice must be in writing and may be served by handing it to the owner in person or by sending it United States regular mail, addressed to the owner at the owner’s address as recorded in the appraisal district records of the appraisal district in which the premises are located.
(d) If personal service to the owner cannot be obtained, then the owner may be notified by:
(1) publication at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city;
(2) posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the premises to which the violation relates; or
(3) posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the premises to which the violation relates.
(e) If the director mails a notice to a property owner in accordance with Subsection (c) and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as “refused” or “unclaimed,” the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered.
(f) In a notice provided under this section, the director may, by regular mail and by a posting on the property, inform the owner of the property on which the violation exists that, if the owner commits another violation of the same kind or nature that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the first anniversary of the date of the notice, the city may, without further notice, correct the violation at the owner’s expense and then, in the case of a violation of Section 18-13, assess the expense against the property. If a violation covered by a notice under this subsection occurs within the one-year period, and the city has not been informed in writing by the owner of a change in ownership of the property, then the city may, without notice, take any action permitted by Subsection (a) or (b) and assess its expenses as provided in Section 18-18.
(a) If the city cuts, mulches, rakes, or removes weeds or grass on or from private premises under Section 18-17(a) or cuts, trims, or removes vegetation projecting over or into an alley, street, or sidewalk right-of-way under Section 18-17(b) (either at the request of the owner or upon the failure of the owner to comply with the notice required under Section 18-17), charges in the amount of the total actual costs incurred by the city in performing the work will be collected from the owner by the city controller. If the work was performed under Section 18-17(a), the charges may be levied, assessed, and collected against the premises on which the work is performed, and the city controller shall file a statement by the director with the county clerk of the county in which the property is located setting out the total actual costs incurred by the city, the name of the property owner if known, and a legal description of the property, as required by state law.
(b) At the time a statement is filed under Subsection (a) for work performed under Section 18-17(a), as required by state law, the city shall have a privileged lien against the premises, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements, in the amount of the actual costs incurred, plus 10 percent interest on that amount from the date the costs were incurred.
(c) The city may file a suit in an appropriate court of law to foreclose upon its lien and recover its actual costs incurred plus interest. The suit must be filed in the name of the city. The statement filed under Subsection (a), or a certified copy of the statement, is prima facie proof of the amount of actual costs incurred by the city. (Ord. Nos. 13796; 15900; 16367; 17226; 17597; 20599; 22026; 22494; 25371; 26585)