(A) Notice of violation.
(1) Whenever it is determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there has been a violation of any provision of this subchapter or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, notice of such alleged violation shall be given to the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee and such alleged violations shall constitute a nuisance.
(2) The notice shall contain:
(a) The date, time, and location of the hearing before the Building Standards Commission; and
(b) A statement that the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee will be required to submit proof, at the hearing, of any work that may be required to comply with the ordinance and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work.
(3) Prior to conducting the hearing before the Building and Standards Commission, the city will make an effort to locate each lienholder and mortgagee having an interest in the building or in the property on which the building is located and give them a notice of and an opportunity to comment at the hearing.
(4) The city may file notice of the hearing in the official public records of real property in Grayson County.
(B) Building and Standards Commission hearing.
(1) The Building and Standards Commission will require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of the building to within 30 days:
(a) Secure the building from unauthorized entry; and
(b) To repair, remove, or demolish the building, whichever is applicable, unless the owner or lienholder establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be performed within 30 days. The city will furnish a copy of the order to any lienholders or mortgagees in the event the owner fails to timely take the ordered action.
(2) The Building and Standards Commission may allow the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee more than 30 days to repair, remove or demolish the building. However, if the Building and Standards Commission allows the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee more than 30 days to repair, remove or demolish the building, the Building and Standards Commission shall establish specific time schedules, as determined by the Building and Standards Commission, in consultation with the city building official or his designee, for the commencement and performance of the work and shall require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee to secure the property in a reasonable manner from unauthorized entry while the work is being performed. The city will furnish a copy of the order to any lienholders or mortgagees in the event the owner fails to timely take the ordered action.
(3) The Building and Standards Commission may not allow the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee more than 90 days to repair, remove, or demolish the building or to fully perform all work required to comply with the order unless at the hearing the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee submits:
(a) A detailed plan and time schedule for the work; and
(b) Establishes that the work cannot reasonably be completed within 90 days because of the scope and complexity of the work.
(4) If the Building and Standards Commission allows the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee more than 90 days to complete any part of the work required to repair, remove, or demolish the building, the Building and Standards Commission shall require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee to regularly submit progress reports to the city building official to demonstrate that the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee has complied with the time schedules established for commencement and performance of the work. The city will furnish a copy of the order to any lienholders or mortgagees in the event the owner fails to timely take the ordered action.
(5) Burden of proof. In the hearing to determine whether a building complies with the standards set out in the Minimum Building Standards Code, the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee has the burden of proof to demonstrate the scope of any work that may be required to comply with the Minimum Building Standards Code and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work.
(C) Procedure after Building and Standards Commission hearing. After the hearing before the Building and Standards Commission the city shall deliver a copy of the order by personal delivery or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the record owners of the affected property and to any lienholder or mortgagee of the affected property. Within ten days after the date the order from the Building and Standards Commission is issued the city will:
(1) File a copy of the order in the office of the city secretary; and
(2) Publish in the city's official newspaper a notice containing:
(a) The street address or legal description of the property;
(b) The date of the hearing;
(c) A brief statement indicating the results of the hearing or order; and
(d) Instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained.
(D) Enforcement.
(1) After the expiration of the time granted by the Building and Standards Commission for the repair, removal, securing, demolition of a building, or the relocation of occupants of a building, whichever is applicable, the city will either:
(a) Refer the building to municipal court for criminal prosecution;
(b) Vacate, secure, remove, or demolish the building, or relocate the occupants, whichever is applicable, and assess the expenses against the property on which the building is located unless it is homestead property protected by the Texas Constitution;
(c) Repair the building and assess the expenses on the land on which the building stands or to which it is attached; or
(d) Assess a civil penalty against the property owner for failure to repair, remove, or demolish the building.
(2) The city will not repair residential buildings with 11 or more dwelling units.
(3) The Building and Standards Commission by order, may assess and recover a civil penalty against the property owner in an amount not to exceed $1,000 per day for each violation or, if the owner shows that the property is the owner's lawful homestead, in an amount not to exceed $10 per day for each violation, if the city proves:
(a) The property owner was notified of the requirements of this subchapter; and
(b) After notification, the property owner committed an act in violation of this subchapter or failed to take an action necessary for compliance with this subchapter.
(4) Effect of notice to mortgagee and lienholders. If the notice is given and the opportunity to relocate the tenants of the building or to repair, remove, or demolish the building is afforded to each mortgagee and lienholder as authorized in this subchapter, the lien is a privileged lien subordinate only to tax liens.
(E) Notice and right to secure substandard structures.
(1) The city may secure a building the city determines violates the minimum standards set forth in the Minimum Building Standards Code and is unoccupied or is occupied only by persons who do not have a right of possession to the building.
(2) Before the eleventh day after the date the building is secured, the city will give notice to the owner of the building by either:
(a) Personally serving the owner with written notice;
(b) Depositing the notice in the United States mail addressed to the owner at the owner's post office address; or
(c) If personal service cannot be obtained and the owner's post office address is unknown:
1. Publishing the notice at least twice within a ten-day period in the official newspaper of the city; or
2. Posting the notice on or near the front door of the building.
(3) The notice will contain:
(a) An identification of the building and the property on which it is located;
(b) A description of the violation of the Minimum Building Standards Code standards that is present at the building; and
(c) A statement that the city will secure or has secured, as the case may be, the building; and
(d) The owner's right to request a hearing about any matter relating to the city's securing of the building.
(4) If, within 30 days after the date the city secures a building secured as provided in this sub-section, the owner files with the city a written request for a hearing, the Building and Standards Commission will conduct a hearing at which the owner may testify or present witnesses or written information about any matter relating to the city's securing of the building.
(5) The Building Standards Commission will conduct the hearing within 20 days after the date the request is filed.
(6) After the hearing relating to the city's securing of the building, or the expiration of the time allowed for the owner to request a hearing and no hearing has been requested, the city will mail by certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the order to the owner of the building and to any lienholder or mortgagee of the building. Within ten days after the date the order from the Building and Standards Commission is issued the city will:
(a) File a copy of the order in the office of the city secretary;
(b) Publish in the city's official newspaper a notice containing;
1. The street address or legal description of the property;
2. The date of the hearing;
3. A brief statement indicating the results of the hearing or order; and
4. Instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained.
(7) The city may assess the expenses incurred to secure a building pursuant to this section against the property on which the building is located unless it is homestead property protected by the Texas Constitution.
(8) Demolition regulations extended to cover site clearance, leveling, and grading. In addition to the building regulations contained in this subchapter, the regulations concerning the demolition of buildings and permits therefore are extended to cover and include the grading and leveling and clearance of the site of the demolition where the removal of structures makes such grading, leveling or clearance necessary, or where such grading, leveling or clearance is necessary to protect adjacent property for the public safety.
(Ord. 1222, passed 4- -24)