Loading...
(a) After the time to comply with an order of the commission or municipal court issued pursuant to §§ 7-102 or 7-102A has lapsed, the commission or municipal court may hold a hearing on violations of the order and may assess a civil penalty against the property owner, in an amount not to exceed $1,000 per day per violation, or, if the owner shows that the property is the owner's lawful homestead, in an amount not to exceed $10 per day per violation, if at the hearing the city proves:
(1) The property owner was notified of the requirements of this article and the owner's need to comply with the requirements, and was notified of the commission's or municipal court's order; and
(2) After notification, the property owner committed an act in violation of this article or failed to take an action necessary to bring the building or structure into compliance with this article and the order of the commission or municipal court.
(b) In a proceeding under § 7-77.1 the building standards commission after notice and hearing may assess a civil penalty against the property owner, in an amount not to exceed $1,000 per day per violation, if at the hearing the city proves:
(1) The property owner had actual notification of the requirements of the ordinance and the owner's need to comply with the requirements; and
(2) After actual notification, the property owner committed an act in violation of this article or failed to take an action necessary to bring the property into compliance with the ordinance.
(c) A determination made by the commission panel or municipal court constitutes prima facie evidence of the penalty in any court of competent jurisdiction in a civil suit brought by the city for final judgment in accordance with the established penalty.
(d) To enforce the civil penalty, the city secretary shall file with the Tarrant County district clerk a certified copy of the order of the commission panel or municipal court establishing the amount and duration of the civil penalty.
(e) No other proof shall be required for a district court to enter final judgment on the penalty.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 14629, § 1, passed 5-22-2001; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 8, passed 3-19-2019)
(a) If the commission's or municipal court's order to vacate, secure, repair, remove or demolish the building or structure is not complied with within the allotted time, the director may vacate, secure, remove or demolish the building or structure, or relocate the occupants of the building or structure, at the city's expense. This subsection (a) does not limit the ability of a municipality to collect on a bond, letter of credit from a financial institution or guaranty from a third party or other financial guaranty.
(b) The director may repair the building or structure only to the extent necessary to bring the building or structure into compliance with the minimum standards of this article, and only if the building or structure is a residential building or structure with ten or fewer dwelling units. The repairs shall not improve the building or structure to the extent that the building or structure exceeds minimum building standards.
(c) After securing a building or structure as provided in subsection (a) above, the director may post a notice to vacate on or near the front door of the building or structure. The notice to vacate must be in substantially the following form:
DO NOT OCCUPY
This building or structure is in violation of the City Code of the City of Fort Worth.
Occupancy is suspended until such time as the violations are corrected and approved by the Director of the City of Fort Worth code compliance department.
It is a misdemeanor to occupy this building or structure or to remove or deface this notice.
(d) In a proceeding under § 7-77.1 if the commission's order is not complied with within the allotted time, the director may act upon the order at the city's expense.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 14629, § 1, passed 5-22-2001; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 9, passed 3-19-2019)
(a) If the city incurs expenses under § 7-104 the city may assess the expense on, and the city has a lien against, the property on which the building or structure was located.
(b) If the commission or municipal court assesses a civil penalty under § 7-103, the city has a lien against the property on which the building or structure was located to secure payment of any civil penalty.
(c) A lien may not be made on property protected as a homestead under the Texas Constitution except in a proceeding under § 7-77.1.
(d) The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice of the lien is recorded and indexed in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the property is located.
(e) The notice of the lien shall contain the name and address of the owner if that information can be determined with a reasonable effort, a legal description of the real property on which the building or structure was located, the amount of expenses incurred by the municipality, and the balance due.
(f) Except as provided by subsection (g) below, the city's lien to secure payment of a civil penalty or the costs of repairs, removal or demolition, is inferior to any previously recorded bona fide mortgage lien attached to the real property, if the mortgage lien was filed for record in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the real property is located before the civil penalty is assessed or the repair, removal or demolition is begun by the city. The city's lien is superior to all previously recorded judgment liens.
(g) If notice is given and the opportunity to relocate the occupants of the building or structure or to repair, remove or demolish the building or structure is afforded to each mortgagee and lienholder, the lien is a privileged lien subordinate only to tax liens.
(h) Any civil penalty or expenses assessed by the city under this article shall accrue interest at the rate of 10% per annum from the date of the assessment until paid in full. The lien is extinguished if the property owner or another person having an interest in the legal title to the property reimburses the city for the expenses and the civil penalty.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 14629, § 1, passed 5-22-2001; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 10, passed 3-19-2019)
(a) Without a prior hearing before the commission or municipal court, the director may secure a building or structure the director determines:
(1) Is substandard and a hazard to the public health, safety and/or welfare;
(2) Is unoccupied or is occupied only by persons who do not have a right of possession to the building or structure;
(3) Whether the building or structure is a construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and the site is not secured by a fence or other means to prevent its use by children or by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage; and
(4) Whether the building or structure is a construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and all building materials and construction equipment and tools have neither been removed from the site nor secured at the site to prevent their use by children, their theft, their deterioration, their vandalism, or their harborage of rodents or insects.
(b) After securing a building or structure as provided in subsection (a) above, the director may post a notice to vacate on or near the front door of the building or structure. The notice to vacate must be in substantially the following form:
DO NOT OCCUPY
This building or structure is in violation of the City Code of the City of Fort Worth.
Occupancy is suspended until such time as the violations are corrected and approved by the Director of the City of Fort Worth code compliance department.
It is a misdemeanor to occupy this building or structure or to remove or deface this notice.
(c) Before the eleventh calendar day after the date the building or structure is secured, the director must give notice to the owner by:
(1) Personally, serving the owner with written notice;
(2) Mailing such notice by certified mail, return receipt requested to the owner at the owner's last known post office address and shall be deemed to have been served three calendar days after mailing;
(3) Publishing the notice at least twice within a ten-calendar day period in the official newspaper of the city if personal service cannot be obtained and the owner's post office address is unknown; or
(4) Posting the notice on or near the front door of the building or structure if personal service cannot be obtained and the owner's post office address is unknown.
(d) The notice must contain:
(1) An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the building or structure and the property on which it is located;
(2) A description of the violation of the standards established by this article;
(3) A statement that the director has secured the building or structure; and
(4) An explanation of the owner's entitlement to request a hearing about any matter relating to the director's securing of the building or structure.
(e) The commission or municipal court shall conduct a hearing at which the owner may testify or present witnesses or written information about any matter relating to the director's securing of the building or structure, if within 30 calendar days after the date the director's secures the building or structure, the owner files a written request for a hearing with the director. The commission or municipal court shall conduct the hearing within 20 calendar days after the date the owner files a request for hearing.
(f) The commission or municipal court will conduct the hearing in the manner provided for by this division. The issues to be determined in such hearing are:
(1) Whether the building or structure was substandard, and a hazard to the public health, safety and/or welfare at the time it was secured;
(2) Whether the building or structure, at the time it was secured, was unoccupied or was occupied only by persons who did not have a right to possession of the building or structure;
(3) Whether the building or structure is a construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and the site is not secured by a fence or other means to prevent its use by children or by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage;
(4) Whether the building or structure is a construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and all building materials and construction equipment and tools have neither been removed from the site nor secured at the site to prevent their use by children, their theft, their deterioration, their vandalism, or their harborage of rodents or insects; and
(5) Whether the expenses incurred by the city to secure the building or structure were reasonable.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 11, passed 3-19-2019)
(a) Any owner, lienholder or mortgagee of record of property jointly or severally aggrieved by an order of the building standards commission or municipal court issued under this article, may appeal the order by filing a verified petition in a Tarrant County civil district court.
(b) The petition must be filed by an owner, lienholder or mortgagee within 30 calendar days after the mailing of the building standards commission or municipal court order.
(c) If not timely appealed, the order of the building standards commission or municipal court becomes final as to the owners, lienholders and mortgagees upon the expiration of 30 calendar days after the mailing of the order.
(d) If the building standards commission or municipal court ordered the subject property to be demolished, then the appeal to the district court shall be by trial de novo. Otherwise appeal to the district court shall be governed by the procedures outlined in Tex. Local Government Code Chapters 54 or 214.
(e) Judicial review for proceedings under § 7-77.1.
(1) The city shall publish an abbreviated copy of the order in a newspaper of general circulation within ten calendar days of the mailing of the order. The order shall include the following:
a. The street address or legal description of the property;
b. The date of the hearing;
c. A brief statement indicating the content of the order; and
d. Instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained.
(2) A copy of the order shall be filed in the office of the city secretary.
(3) If no appeal is taken from the decision of the building standards commission within the required period, the decision of the building standards commission is, in all things, final and binding.
(4) Any owner, lienholder or mortgagee of record jointly or severally aggrieved by a decision of the building standards commission may appeal the decision by filing a verified petition in Tarrant County civil district court.
(5) A lienholder does not have standing to bring a proceeding under this subsection (e) on the grounds that the lienholder was not notified of the proceedings before the building standards commission or was unaware of the condition of the property, unless the lienholder had first appeared before the building standards commission and entered an appearance in opposition to the proceedings.
(6) The petition must be presented within 30 calendar days after the date a copy of the final decision of the building standards commission is mailed by first class mail, certified receipt requested, to all owners, lienholders and mortgagees of record.
(7) The appeal to the district court shall be governed by the procedures outlined in Tex. Local Government Code Chapter 54 or 214.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 14629, § 1, passed 5-22-2001; Ord. 15503, § 3, passed 4-1-2003; Ord. 20104-03-2012, § 1, passed 3-20-2012; Ord. 21217-04-2014, § 3, passed 4-22-2014; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 12, passed 3-19-2019)
(1) Meets either a. or b. and also c. below.
a. Individually designated or pending designation as:
1. Highly significant endangered;
2. Historic and cultural landmark; or
3. Demolition delay.
b. A contributing historic property located in an area designated or pending designation as an historic and cultural landmarks district.
c. Is not a single-family dwelling occupied by the owner.
(b) The director may secure the structure from entrance until the requirements in subsection (c) of this section are completed.
(c) The landmarks commission shall review the condition of the building or structure to determine whether it can be reasonably rehabilitated and shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the director within 60 calendar days from the date of the initial landmarks commission hearing.
(e) If the landmarks commission determines that the building or structure can be reasonably rehabilitated, the city may not permit the building or structure to be demolished for at least 90 calendar days after the date the report is submitted to the director. During this 90-calendar day period, the city's historic preservation officer, shall notify the building or structure's owner to afford the owner an opportunity to attempt to identify a feasible alternative use for the building or structure or to locate an alternative purchaser to rehabilitate and maintain the building or structure.
(f) If the city is not able to locate the owner or if the owner does not respond within the 90-calendar day period, the director may proceed as provided by § 7-101, and the city may then file suit pursuant to Tex. Local Government Code § 214.003 for the appointment of a receiver. A receiver may not be appointed for a building or structure that is an owner-occupied single-family residence or that is zoned nonresidential and used in a nonresidential character.
(g) The director may proceed as provided in § 7-101, and the building standards commission or municipal court may order the demolition of a building or structure, if after the expiration of the 90-calendar day period the city is not able to:
(1) Identify a feasible alternative use for the building or structure;
(2) Locate an alternative purchaser to rehabilitate and maintain the building or structure; or
(3) Appoint a receiver for the building or structure as provided by Texas Local Government Code § 214.003.
(h) An owner of a substandard building or structure declared to be in violation of this article is not liable for penalties related to the building or structure that accrue during the 90-calendar day period provided for disposition of historic property under this section.
(i) In determining whether to issue a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of a non-contributing historic property, the city must follow the processes and procedures set forth in the Historic Preservation Ordinance for demolition requests by an applicant other than the city.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 13, passed 3-19-2019; Ord. 23984-12-2019, § 1, passed 12-17-2019, eff. 12-25-2019)
Loading...