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§ 51.01 SHORT TITLE.
   This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Utility Ordinance of the Town of Holiday Lakes, Texas”.
(Ord. 96-02, passed 4-1-1996)
§ 51.02 DEFINITIONS.
   For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
   COMMERCIAL BUSINESS. Hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, grocery and convenience stores, shops, gas stations, multi-family dwellings, mobile home parks having a common place for disposal of solid waste by all inhabitants of said park, and any other type of business commonly considered to be a COMMERCIAL BUSINESS.
   COMMERCIAL WASTE. Any solid waste ordinarily accumulated in the usual operation of a commercial business and which is not substantially greater than normal.
   DAMAGE. Any person who obtains utility service from the town by circumventing or tampering with the town utility metering devise or apparatus, or by any other means damages any facility, lines, fire hydrant or interferes with the intended manner of providing utility service shall be in violation of this chapter.
   DIVERT. Bypassing the water cutoff valve by any means, or by connecting more than one habitation to the water system by any means, or by sharing the same connection valve assigned to one habitation.
   FAMILY. An individual or individuals living together in a single unit dwelling.
   FRANCHISEE. Any person to whom the town grants a franchise of contract for the collection, conveyance and disposal of solid or heavy waste whereby the franchisee contracts with his or her customers for the collection of solid or heavy waste.
   HABITATION. Any structure, building, mobile home, manufactured home, travel trailer, motor home or any other enclosure capable of being used as living quarters.
   HEAVY WASTE. Bulky or heavy materials, including, but not limited to, bricks, broken concrete, rocks, construction materials, roofing materials, trees or brush trimmed or cut by a commercial tree trimmer, refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, stoves and ovens, mattresses, and other items of furniture. For purposes of this chapter, HEAVY WASTE shall also include dead animals or fowl, manure and waste oils from garages and filling stations.
   HOUSEHOLD WASTE. Any solid waste ordinarily accumulated by a family in the usual operation of a residence and which is not substantially greater than normal.
   INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR. Any person with whom the town has contracted for the collection, conveyance and disposal of solid waste within the town, collecting the fees from such services from its inhabitants and paying the contractor for such services.
   MAYOR. The Mayor of the Town of Holiday Lakes, Texas.
   OWNER. The person or persons having legal title to any property within the town.
   PERSON. Any individual, association, corporation, partnership or other legal entity, and includes, but is not limited to, the owner of the legal or equitable title of real property as well as any lessee, tenant or occupant of any real property.
   SECRETARY. The Secretary of the Town of Holiday Lakes, Texas.
   SOLID WASTE. Any garbage, trash, refuse, sludge or any other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or containing gaseous material resulting from industrial, municipal, commercial, mining, residential and agricultural operations, and from community and institutional activities, but does not include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows, or industrial discharges subject to regulation by permit issued pursuant to Chapter 26, Water Code; soil, dirt, rock, sand and other natural or human-made inert solid materials used to fill land if the object of the fill is to make the land suitable for construction of surface improvements; or for waste materials which result from activities associated with exploration, development or production of oil or gas which are subject to control by the State Railroad Commission.
   THEFT OF SERVICE. A person commits theft of service if, with intent to avoid payment for service that he or she knows is provided only for compensation, and having control over the disposition of service of another to which he or she is not entitled, he or she intentionally or knowingly diverts the other’s service to his or her own benefit or to the benefit of another not entitled to them.
   TOWN. The Town of Holiday Lakes, Brazoria County, Texas.
   TOWN COUNCIL. The Town Council of the Town of Holiday Lakes, Texas.
   TOWN LIMITS. The corporate limits of the Town of Holiday Lakes, Texas, as they now exist and those areas annexed to said town in the future.
   UNUSUAL ACCUMULATIONS. For household waste, accumulation of more than nine plastic bags or trash cans of permissible solid waste, and limbs or cuttings that exceed approximately one cubic yard. For commercial waste, any accumulation not ordinarily encountered in the usual operation of a business, or accumulation substantially greater than normal.
(Ord. 96-02, passed 4-1-1996)
§ 51.03 RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
   (A)   Exceptions. In any prosecution hereunder in the Municipal Court of the town or any other court of competent jurisdiction, the complaint charging a violation of this chapter need not negate the existence of any exception contained herein, but the existence of the same may be raised by the defendant in any such prosecution by way of defense.
   (B)   Prima facie evidence. In any prosecution hereunder in the Municipal Court of the town or any other court of competent jurisdiction, proof that any tract of land, the description of which is alleged in the complaint on which such prosecution is based, is listed as being owned by any person on the current tax roll of the town, shall be prima facie evidence that such land is owned by such person; provided, however, the prima facie proof herein provided for may be rebutted by the defendant against whom such proof is offered in any such prosecution.
   (C)   Affirmative defense. In any prosecution hereunder in the Municipal Court of the town or any other court of competent jurisdiction, the prosecuting attorney is not required to negate the existence of an affirmative defense in the accusation charging commission of the offense. In any such prosecution the defendant must prove any such affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
   (D)   Savings clauses. This chapter is cumulative of and in addition to all other ordinances of the town, on the same subject and all such ordinances are hereby expressly saved from repeal; provided, however, where this chapter and other ordinance conflict or overlap, whichever imposes the more stringent regulations or penalties, as the case may be, shall prevail. No offense committed and no fine, forfeiture or penalty incurred prior to the effective date of this chapter is to be affected by the adoption of this chapter but the punishment for any offense committed and the recovery of any fines or forfeitures incurred prior to such date shall take place as if this chapter had not been adopted.
(Ord. 96-02, passed 4-1-1996) Penalty, see § 51.99
§ 51.04 SOLID WASTE COLLECTION BY TOWN.
   All solid waste accumulated in the town shall be collected, conveyed and disposed of by the town. No person shall collect, convey over any of the streets or alleys of the town or dispose of any solid waste accumulated in the town. It is an affirmative defense to any prosecution in the Municipal Court of the town or any other court of competent jurisdiction that: the collection, conveyance or disposal is being done by any duly authorized officer, agent, employee, independent contractor or franchisee of the town; or the collection, conveyance or disposal is being done by actual producers of the solid waste, or the owners of premises upon which the solid waste has accumulated, provided such producers or owners comply with the provisions of this chapter and with any other governing law, or ordinances or regulations prescribed by the town or the Mayor; provided, however, that such actual producers shall still be required to pay all fees required by § 51.07.
(Ord. 96-02, passed 4-1-1996) Penalty, see § 51.99
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