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(A) (1) Where the city is required by statute, rule, regulation or ordinance to send a notice to an owner of real property for the purpose of enforcing a municipal ordinance, the city may include the following statement in the notice:
“According to the real property records of Galveston County, you own the real property described in this notice. If you no longer own the property, you must execute an affidavit stating that you no longer own the property and stating the name and last known address of the person who acquired the property from you. The affidavit must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to this office not later than the 20th day after the date you received this notice. If you do not send the affidavit, it will be presumed that you own the property described in this notice, even if you do not.”
(2) The notice must be delivered in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(B) If the city sends a notice to the owner of the property to which the notice relates, as shown on or after the tenth day before the date notice is sent by the real property records of the county, and the record owner no longer owns the property, the record owner shall execute an affidavit provided with the notice by the city, stating:
(1) The record owner no longer owns the property; and
(2) The name and last known address of the person who acquired the property from the record owner.
(C) The record owner shall deliver the affidavit in person or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the city not later than the twentieth day after the date the record owner receives the notice.
(D) If the city receives an affidavit under division (C) above, the city shall send the appropriate notice to the person named in the affidavit as having acquired the property. A notice sent under this division (D) must include the statement authorized by division (A) above.
(E) If the city receives an affidavit under division (C) above, it shall:
(1) Maintain the affidavit on file for at least two years after the date the entity receives the affidavit; and
(2) Deliver a copy of the affidavit to the chief appraiser of the County Central Appraisal District.
(F) The city is considered to have provided notice to a property owner if the city complies with the statute, rule, regulation or ordinance under which the notice is sent and if it:
(1) Complies with division (A) above and does not have an affidavit from the record owner; or
(2) Complies with division (D) above and does not receive an affidavit from the person to whom the notice was sent under division (D) above.
(G) If the city complies with this section and does not receive an affidavit under division (C) above, the record owner is presumed to be the owner of the property for all purposes to which the notice relates.
(H) For the purposes of this section, “real property” does not include a mineral interest or royalty interest.
(1998 Code, § 22-302) (Ord. 04-35, passed 9-1-2004)
(A) A Building and Standards Commission is hereby created to hear and determine cases under this subchapter. The Commission shall be composed of the five members of the Board of Adjustments, who shall be appointed by the City Commission for terms of two years. A separate appointment to the Building and Standards Commission is not required. The Commission shall be a board that is separate and distinct from the Board of Adjustments; provided, however, that, combined meetings and agendas shall be allowed, as permitted by law.
(B) The City Commission may remove a Commission member for cause on a written charge. Before a decision regarding removal is made, the City Commission must hold a public hearing on the matter if requested by the Commission member subject to the removal action. Removal of a Commission member shall mean the person is also removed as member of the Board of Adjustments.
(C) A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term.
(D) The City Commission, by Charter or ordinance, may provide for the appointment of eight or more alternate members of the Commission who shall serve in the absence of one or more regular members when requested to do so by the Mayor. The alternate members serve for the same period as the regular members. A vacancy is filled in the same manner as a vacancy among the regular members.
(1998 Code, § 22-303) (Ord. 04-35, passed 9-1-2004)
(A) A majority of the members of the Commission must hear a case.
(B) A majority of the Commission shall adopt rules for the Commission in accordance with any ordinances adopted pursuant to this subchapter. The rules shall establish procedure for use in hearings, providing ample opportunity for presentation of evidence and testimony by respondents or persons opposing charges brought by the city or its Building Officials relating to alleged violations of ordinances.
(C) The Director of Community Services, or designee, is designated as the appropriate official to present all cases before the Commission.
(D) Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairperson of the Commission, and at other times as determined by the Commission. All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public. The Chairperson of the Commission, or in the Chairperson’s absence the acting Chairperson, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.
(E) The Commission shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member on each question or the fact that a member is absent or fails to vote. The Commission shall also keep records of its examinations and other official actions. The minutes and records shall be filed immediately in the office of the City Secretary as public records.
(1998 Code, § 22-304) (Ord. 04-35, passed 9-1-2004)
(A) Notice of all proceedings before the Commission must be given:
(1) By personal delivery or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the record owners of the affected property, and each holder of a recorded lien against the affected property, as shown by the records in the office of the County Clerk if the address of the lienholder can be ascertained from the deed of trust establishing the lien and/or other applicable instruments on file in the office of the County Clerk; and
(2) To all unknown owners, by posting a copy of the notice on the front door of each improvement situated on the affected property or as close to the front door as practicable.
(B) The notice must be posted and either personally delivered or mailed on or before the tenth day before the date of the hearing before the Commission panel and must state the date, time and place of the hearing. In addition, the notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city on one occasion on or before the tenth day before the date fixed for the hearing.
(C) The Commission may file notice of a proceeding before the Commission in the official public records of real property of the county. The notice must contain the name and address of the owner of the affected property if that information can be determined from a reasonable search of the instruments on file in the office of the County Clerk, a legal description of the affected property and a description of the proceeding. The filing of the notice is binding on subsequent grantees, lienholders or other transferees of an interest in the property who acquire such interest after the filing of the notice and constitutes notice of the proceeding on any subsequent recipient of any interest in the property who acquires such interest after the filing of the notice.
(D) The city must exercise due diligence to determine the identity and address of a property owner or lienholder to whom the city is required to give notice.
(E) The city exercises due diligence in determining the identity and address of a property owner or lienholder when it searches the following records:
(1) County real property records;
(2) Appraisal district records of the County Appraisal District;
(3) Records of the Secretary of State, if the property owner or lienholder is a corporation, partnership or other business association;
(4) Assumed name records of the county;
(5) Tax records of the city; and
(6) Utility records of the city.
(F) When the city mails a notice in accordance with this section to a property owner or lienholder 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 delivered.
(1998 Code, § 22-305) (Ord. 04-35, passed 9-1-2004)
A Commission panel may:
(A) Order the repair, within a fixed period, of buildings found to be in violation of an ordinance;
(B) Declare a building substandard in accordance with the powers granted by this subchapter;
(C) Order, in an appropriate case, the immediate removal of persons or property found on private property, enter on private property to secure the removal if it is determined that conditions exist on the property that constitute a violation of an ordinance, and order action to be taken as necessary to remedy, alleviate or remove any substandard building found to exist;
(D) Issue orders or directives to any peace officer of the state, including a sheriff or constable or the Chief of Police of the city, to enforce and carry out the lawful orders or directives of the Commission panel;
(E) Determine the amount and duration of the civil penalty the city may recover as provided by Tex. Local Gov’t Code § 54.017 and this subchapter;
(F) Act on the City Commission’s behalf in hearing and deciding cases brought to determine substandard buildings and structures pursuant to Tex. Local Gov’t Code Ch. 214; and
(G) Perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the City Commission or by law.
(1998 Code, § 22-306) (Ord. 04-35, passed 9-1-2004)
(A) (1) Any owner, lienholder or mortgagee of record jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of a Commission may present a petition to a district court, as provided by Tex. Local Gov’t Code § 54.039, setting forth that the decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds of the illegality.
(2) Costs may not be allowed against the Commission panel.
(B) If the decision of the Commission panel is affirmed or not substantially reversed, but only modified, the District Court shall allow to the city all attorney’s fees and other costs and expenses incurred by it and shall enter a judgment for those items, which may be entered against the property owners as well as all persons found to be in occupation of the property subject to the proceedings before the Commission panel.
(1998 Code, § 22-309) (Ord. 04-35, passed 9-1-2004)
(A) An abstract of judgment shall be issued against all parties found to be the owners of the subject property or in possession of that property.
(B) A lienholder does not have standing to bring a proceeding under Tex. Local Gov’t Code § 54.039 on the ground that the lienholder was not notified of the proceedings before the Commission panel or was unaware of the condition of the property, unless the lienholder had first appeared before the Commission panel and entered an appearance in opposition to the proceedings.
(1998 Code, § 22-310) (Ord. 04-35, passed 9-1-2004)
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