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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 278 ORDINANCE NO. 278 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, MAKING PRO- VISIONS REQUIRING A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE LICENSE; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING A LICENSE FEE AND A REINSPECTION FEE; PROVIDING STANDARDS; PROVIDING FOR INSPECTION OF CERTAIN RE- CORDS AND THE PREMISES; PROVIDING FOR AN APPEAL TO THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS; PROVIDING A PENALTY; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of The Colony, Texas, hereinafter referred to as the "City", has a substantial number of resident dwelling units located within property zoned, developed and used as single-family residences; and WHEREAS, the City has a concern about the population density within the single-family residences; that the single-family residences be used solely for single-family purposes and a further concern that the units be not only constructed in accordance with all of the applicable City ordinances but that the units be maintained in compliance with all such applicable ordinances; and WHEREAS, the City believes it is in the best interest of its citizens in the promotion and protection of the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community that the City establish a licensing procedure applicable to single-family residences. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS: SECTION 1. TITLE. This ordinance shall be known as the "Single- Family Residence Licensing Ordinance", hereinafter referred to as the "Ordinance", of the City of The Colony, Texas. SECTION 2. DEFINITION. For the purpose of the ordinance, the following words and phrases have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: A) .Single-Family Residence. A single-family residence as referred to ~n this ordinance shall include: 1) One-Family Dwelling (detached) - A dwelling designed and constructed for occupancy by one family and located on a lot or separate building tract and having no physical connection to a building located on any other lot or tract and occupied by one family. 2) One-Family Dwelling (attached) - A dwelling which is joined to another dwelling at one or more sides by a party wall or abutting separate wall which is designed for occupancy-by one family and is located on a platted separate lot, delineated by front, side and rear lot lines. 3) Two-Family Dwelling - A single structure designed and constructed with two dwelling units under a single roof for occupancy by two families, one in each unit. 4) Condominium - the separate o~wnership of single dwelling units in a multiple unit structure or structures with common elements. B) Bedroom. A room used or intended to be used for sleeping purposes and not as a kitchen, bathroom, living room, closet, hallway, utility space, entry way, garage, patio or breezeway. C) Owner. Means a person claiming, or whom is vested, the ownership, dominion or title of real property, including, but not limited to: 1. Holder of fee simple title; 2. Holder of life estate; 3. Holder of a leasehold estate for an initial term of five years or more; 4. The buyer in a contract for deed; 5. A mortgagee, receiver, executor or trustee in control of real property; but not including the holder of a leasehold estate or tenancy for an initial term of less than five years. D) Resident Owner. Any person who lives, stays, or dwells in a single- family residence which he owns. E) Non-resident Owner. Any person who does not live, stay or dwell in a single-family residence which he owns. F) Dwelling Unit. Means a structure, or that part of a structure, which is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one or more persons maintaining a common household to the exclusion of all others. G) Property Mananger. Means a person who for compensation has managing control of single-family residence for a non-resident owner. H) Resident Manager. Means a property manager or agent of a property manager who resides in the sing]e-family residence. I) Premises. Means a lot, plot or parcel of land, including any structure thereon, and furthermore, including a dwelling unit, appurtenances thereto, grounds and facilities held out for the use of tenants generally and any other area or facility the use of which is promised to the tenant. J) Landlord. Any owner, resident or nonresident, who leases or rents his sing]e-family residence to another° K) Tenant. Means any person who occupies a dwelling unit for living or dwelling purposes with the landlord's consent. L) Lease or Rent. Any agreement which gives rise to a relationship of landlord and tenant. M) Person. Includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or community entity. N) City. City of The Colony O) Family. Any number of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit, in which not more than two (2) individuals are unrelated by blood, marriage, adoption. Foster children, for the purpose of this definition, shall be considered as being related to their foster parent or parents. P) Building Inspector. The Chief Building Official of the City or his designated representative. Q) Single Location. Single location is defined as property held in common ownership that is compact and contiguous property separated only by public streets. R) Single-Family Residence License. The license issued by the Building Inspector pursuant to this Ordinance and referred to as the "License" in this Ordinance. SECTION 3. LICENSE REQUIRED. A) It shall be unlawful for any non-resident owner to lease or rent a single family residence in the City without a current and valid license having been issued for said single-family residence. Any -2- non-resident owner leasing or renting a single-family residence at more than one location shall obtain a l!cense for each separate location. B) A non-resident owner, or the non-resident owners' authorized agent, of a single-family residence shall file with the Building Inspector any and all Trade Names under which he operates with respect to the leasing or renting of each single-family residence. SECTION 4. LICENSE APPLICATION, PLACE OF BUSINESS, ISSUANCE, RENEWAL AND EXPIRATION A) An applicant for a license shall file with the Building Inspector a written application upon a form provided for that purpose which shall be signed by the nonresident owner, or his agent, or the property manager or resident manager if there be such. Should an applicant own more than one single family residence which he leases or rents, a separate application shall be filed for each location. The following information shall be required in the application: Name, address, telephone number of nonresident owner, property manager, resident manager, mortgagee (if there is a mortgage against property); trade name of nonresident owner; names and addresses of all registered agents in case the parties above named are corporations; zoning categories; number of bedrooms; acknowledgment of receipt of copy of "Single-Family Residence Licensing Ordinance" and agree- ment to abide by same as a condition to receiving and maintaining a licenseo B) Nonresident owners currently leasing or renting a single-family residence shall apply for a license within 60 days of the effective date of this Ordinance. C) Ail licenses shall expire twelve months from the date of issuance of the license. D) The Building Inspector may, at any time, require additional relevant information of the non-resident owner or property man- ager to clarify items on the application. E) Upon changing ownership of the single-family residence a new license shall be obtained within thirty (30) days of the change and a new annual period shall begin upon the issuance of the license. The non-resident owner shall notify the City within 30 days of the change of ownership, property manager or resident manager. SECTION 5. LICENSE AND INSPECTION FEES. The annual fee for a license including any reinstatement license renewal under Section 8(e) is $35.00 per location, which fee shall cover the initial inspection. All subsequent inspections shall require a fee of $30.00. The fee for issuing a replacement for a lost, destroyed or mutilated license is $10.00 SECTION 6. LICENSE DISPLAY, REPLACEMENT AND TRANS- FERABILITY. A) A copy of each license issued pursuant to the Ordinance for a single-family residence shall be given by the landlord to each tenant to be maintained at all times at the single-family residence for which said license is {ssued. The copy shall have the word "Copy" stamped across its face. B) A replacement license may be issued for one lost, destroyed or mutilated upon application on the form provided by the Building Inspector. A replacement license shall have the word "Replace- ment'' stamped across its face and shall bear the same number as the one it replaces. -3- C) A single-family residence-license is not assignable or transferable. D) The form of the license shall be prepared by the Building Inspector. SECTION 7. LICENSE STANDARDS. A) Standards. Continued maintenance and observance of the standards contained in this section are conditions that shall be complied with in order to retain a license and to obtain any renewal of a license. B) It shall be unlawful for any person to permit or allow more than one (1) family to reside in any single-family residence dwelling unit. C) All City building, electrical, plumbing, health, zoning and other applicable ordinances including the Minimum Housing Code shall be complied with at all times. D) Licensee shall keep records that reflect the following information in a current manner: 1) Names of all tenants occupying each unit, 2) Head of Household, 3) Degree, if any, of relation by affinity or consanguinity of tenants in each unit to each other. Said records shall be available for review by the Chief Building Official of the City, or his designated representative during regular working hours and upon receipt of reasonable notice. SECTION 8. INSPECTIONS, REINSPECTIONS AND CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. A) The nonresident owner, resident manager, and property manager, as a condition to the issuance of the license required by this Ordinance, shall consent and agree to permit and allow the City's building inspector to make the following inspections of the single- family residence when and as needed to insure compliance with this Ordinance. 1) Right and access to inspect all portions of the premises and structures located on the premises that are not dwelling units. This includes all storage areas, community buildings, swimming pools, athletic facilities, club rooms, equipment rooms and all other portions of the facilities not constructed as dwelling units, upon reasonable advance notice being given to the non-resident owner, property or resident man- ager. 2) Right and access to inspect all unoccupied dwelling units upon giving reasonable notice to non-resident owner, resi- dent or property manager. 3) Right and access to inspect all occupied dwelling units when, upon receipt of reliable information, the building inspector has reason to believe that violations of the ordinances of the City or State law exist that involve serious threats to life, safety, health and property. 4) Annually, the non-resident owner, resident manager or pro- perty manager shall make all dwelling units in the single- family residence available for inspection by the Building Inspector. The Building Inspector and the non-resident owner, resident manager and property manager shall agree on a reasonable date and time for each annual inspection. In the event the parties cannot agree on an inspection time said annual inspection shall occur within fourteen days of the anniversary date of the application for the license. -4- B) The Building Inspector, or his agent, may enforce the provisions of this Ordinance, upon presentation of proper identification to the occupant in charge of any unit, and may enter, with the occupant's permission, any unit between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.; provided, however, that in cases of emergency where extreme hazards are known to exist which may involve imminen~ injury to persons, loss of life or severe property damage, the Building Inspector may enter the aforementioned dwellings at any time and the requirement for presentation of identification and the occu- pant's permission shall not apply° Whenever the Building Inspector is denied admission to inspect any premises under this provision inspection shall be made only under authority of a warrant issued by a magistrate authorizing the inspection. In applying for such a warrant, the Building Inspector shall submit to the magistrate an affidavit setting forth his belief that a violation of this Ordinance exists with respect to the place sought to be inspected and the reasons for such belief. Such affidavit shall designate the location of such place and the name of the person believed to be the occupant thereof. If the magistrate finds that probable cause exists for an inspection of the premises in question, he may issue a warrant authorizing the inspection, such warrant describing the premises with sufficient certainty to identify the same. Any warrants issued will constitute authority for the Building Inspector to enter upon and inspect the premises described herein. C) In the event any of the inspections authorized on this Ordinance require a second reinspection due to noted violations, then a $30.00 reinspection fee shall be paid prior to the second resinspection. D) Certificate of Occupancy. Failure to comply with the terms of this Ordinance after receipt of written notice of the violation from the Building Inspector setting out the violations and the time allowed to rectify the violations, the nonresident owner's certifi- cate of occupancy may be withdrawn and the license authorized by this Ordinance may be cancelled. Such failure to comply shall result in the non-resident owner being cited to Municipal Court as provided in Section 10. Additionally, the Building Inspector may notify all public utility companies serving the single-family residence that the certificate of occupancy has been withdrawn and request that all public utility services be discontinued. E) Reinstatement. Any person requesting a reinstatement or reissu- ance of the certificate of occupancy shall be required to apply for and receive a new license issued under this Ordinance as a condition precedent to the reissuance or reinstatement of the certificate of occupancy. SECTION 9. APPEALS TO THE CITY. A) The non-resident owner, resident or property manager of such property may appeal any decision or order of the Building Inspector to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals of the City of The Colony, by filing at the Office of the City Manager, within five (5) working days (Monday through Friday), during regular business hours, a written appeal of such decision or order to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals on a form to be supplied by the City Manager. B) As soon as practicable after receiving the written appeal, the City Manager shall fix a date, time and place for the hearing of the appeal by the Board of Adjustments and Appeals. Written notice of such date, time and place of the hearing shall be given to each appellant by the City Secretary, either by causing a copy of such notice to be delivered to the appellant personally or by mailing a copy thereof, postage prepaid, addressed to the appellant at his address shown on the written appeal. -5- C) Failure of any person to file ~n appeal in accordance with the provisions of this Code shall constitute a waiver of his right to a hearing by the Board of Adjustments and Appeals and the Building Inspector's decision shall be final D) Orders of the Building Inspector are stayed pending appeal. SECTION 10. PENALTY. Any person, willfully violating any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine, upon conviction in the Municipal Court, of not less than Two Hundred ($200.00) Dollars nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) and each and every day that the prohibited condition remains and restoration, if required, not accomplished, shall constitute a separate offense. Those fines shall be in addition to and cumulative of the provisions for the abatement of a nuisance and the obtaining of injunctive relief. SECTION 11. SEVERABILITY. If any section, paragraph, subdivis- ion, clause or phrase of this Ordinance shall be adjudged invalid or held unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of this Ordinance as a whule or any part of any provision thereof other than the part so decided to be invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 12. EFFECTIVE DATE. Effective date of this Ordinance shall be thirty (30) days from its passage. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of The Colony, Texas, on this the 7th day of May, 1984. APPROVED: ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: [SEAL] -6-