(a) A person for whom notice is required under § 22-304 may request, in writing, a public hearing to determine whether the vehicle identified in the notice, or any part thereof, constitutes a public nuisance. Such written notice must be received by the clerk of the municipal court not later than 5:00 p.m. on the tenth day after the date on which the notice was delivered or mailed.
(b) If a public hearing is requested by a person for whom notice is required under § 22-304, the hearing shall be held not earlier than the eleventh day after the date on which the notice was delivered or mailed.
(c) Any hearing officer who has been appointed by the city council under § 10-17 of the Fort Worth city code is hereby designated as an official who is authorized to conduct hearings under the provisions of this division.
(d) At the public hearing, the hearing officer shall hear and consider all relevant evidence, objections or protests and shall receive testimony from owners, witnesses, city personnel and interested persons relative to the alleged public nuisance. The hearing officer may continue the hearing for up to 60 days for cause deemed reasonable to the hearing officer.
(e) At the hearing, the junked motor vehicle is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable.
(f) Following the public hearing, the hearing officer shall consider all evidence and determine whether the vehicle, or any part thereof, constitutes a public nuisance as alleged. If the hearing officer finds that a public nuisance does exist and that there is sufficient cause to remove the nuisance, and that the notice requirements provided in this division have been met, the hearing officer shall make a written order setting forth his or her findings and ordering that the nuisance be removed and that the vehicle be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of Tex. Transportation Code Chapter 683, Subchapter E. If the information is available at the location of the nuisance, the order shall include a description of the vehicle identification number and the license plate number.
(Ord. 12938, § 2, passed 4-1-1997; Ord. 16539, § 5, passed 8-9-2005; Ord. 18441-01-2009, § 5, passed 1-13-2009)