(A) All junked vehicles shall be stored within a building which has met city building codes; otherwise the same is hereby declared to be a nuisance and detrimental to the public welfare of the residents of the city.
(B) One junked vehicle shall be allowed on private property so long as its location on the property complies with the requirements stated above in division (A) of this section.
(C) The city, when desiring to remove and dispose of junked vehicles from private property, public property, or public rights-of-way, shall comply with the following procedures:
(1) A notice of not less than 10 days stating the nature of the public nuisance on private property and that it must be removed and abated within 10 days and further that a request for a hearing must be made before the expiration of that 10-day period, this notice to be mailed, by certified mail with a 5-day return requested, must be sent to the owner or the occupant of the private premises whereupon the public nuisance exists. If the notice is returned undelivered by the U.S. post office, official action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not less than 10 days from the date of the return.
(2) The requirements of division (C)(1) above shall apply to the case of a public nuisance on public property or on a public right-of-way, and the notice shall be sent to the owner or the occupant of the public premises, or to the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way, whereupon the public nuisance exists.
(3) Where a hearing is requested by the owner or occupant of the public or private premises, or by the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way, on which such a vehicle is located, within 10 days after service of notice to abate the nuisance, a public hearing, prior to the removal of the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance, must be held before the Municipal Judge of the city. It shall be the responsibility of the city prosecuting attorney to prosecute the case on behalf of the city, and, should the Municipal Judge find that the vehicle is a public nuisance as defined herein, he or she shall enter an order requiring the removal of the vehicle or part thereof from the public or private property or public right-of-way where it is situated, and that order shall include a description of the vehicle and the correct identification number and license number of the vehicle, if available at the site.
(4) The city shall give notice to the State Highway Department within 5 days after the date of removal of the vehicle, identifying the vehicle or part thereof.
(5) The procedure set out in this section shall not apply to a vehicle which is the only such vehicle located on the private property.
(D) Junked vehicles or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard, demolishers, or any suitable site.
(Ord. 193, passed 6-3-1975)
Statutory reference:
Junked vehicles, see Tex. Trans. Code, §§ 683.071 et seq.