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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 64ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR THE IMPOUNDMENT OF ABANDONED AND JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLES FOUND ON PUBLIC OR PRIVATE PROPERTY; PRO- VIDING FOR THE DISPOSITION OF ABANDONED AND JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLES; PROVIDING PROCEDURES FOR THE ABATEMENT OF PUBLIC NUISANCES; PRO- VIDING A PENALTY OF FINE NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS ($200.00) FOR EACH OFFENSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS: SECTION 1. Definitions: Abandoned motor vehicle means a motor vehicle that is in- operable and over eight (8) years old and is left unattended on public property for more than forty-eight (48) hours, or a motor vehicle that has remained illegally on public property for a period of more than forty-eight (48) hours, or a motor vehicle that has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than forty-eight (48) hours, or a motor vehicle left un- attended on the rights -of -ways of any designated county, state or federal highway within this state in excess of forty-eight (48) hours, or in excess of twelve (12) hours on any turnpike project constructed and maintained by the Texas Turnpike Authority. Antique auto means passenger cars or trucks that were man- ufactured in 1925 or before, or which become thirty-five (35) or more years old. Collector means the owner of one or more antique or special interest vehicles who collects, purchases, acquires, trades, or disposes of special interest or antique vehicles or parts of them for his own use in order to restore, preserve, and main- tain an antique or special interest vehicle for historic in- terest. Demolisher means any person whose business is to convert a motor vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal, or other- wise to wreck or dismantle motor vehicles. Garagekeeper means any owner or operator of a parking place or establishment, motor vehicle storage facility, or any estab- lishment for the service, repair or maintenance of motor vehicles. Junked vehicle means any motor vehicle as defined in Section 1 of Article 6701D-11, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, as amended, which: (a) Is inoperative and which does not have lawfully affixed thereto both an unexpired license plate or plates and a valid motor vehicle safety inspection certificate and which is wrecked; dismantled; partially dismantled; or discarded; or (b) Remains inoperable for a continuous period of more than one hundred twenty (120) days. _Motor vehicle means any motor vehicle subject to registration pursuant to the Texas Certificate of Title Act. Special interest vehicle means a motor vehicle of any age which has been altered or modified from original manufacturer's specifi- cations and, because of its historic interest, is being preserved by hobbyists. Storage facility means a garage, parking lot, or any type of facility or establishment for the servicing, repairing, storing, or parking of motor vehicles. SECTION 2. Enforcement generally. The administration of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be the responsibility of the City Manager or such department, officer, or employee of the City he may authorize. The Munici- pal Court shall have the authority to issue any order necessary to enforce the procedures set out in this ordinance. Nothing in this ordinance shall affect parking or other ordinances of the City of the Colony which permit the immediate removal of a vehicle left upon public property or on public rights-of-way which vehicle constitutes obstruction of traffic. SECTION 3. Authority to take possession of vehicles. The Police Department is authorized to take into custody any abandoned motor vehicle found on public or private property. SECTION 4. Notice of impoundment. The Police Department shall notify within ten (10) days by certified mail, return receipt requested, the last known regis- tered owner and all lienholders of record that it has taken into custody an abandoned motor vehicle under the provisions of this Ordinance. The notice shall be as prescribed by Article 6687-9, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, as amended, for abandoned motor vehicles. The notice shall specifically state, in addition to the other requirements, that the failure of the owner or lien - holders to exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle within the time provided shall be deemed a waiver by the owner and all lienholders of all right, title and interest in the vehicle and their consent to the sale of the abandoned motor vehicle at a public auction to be held by the City of the Colony. SECTION 5. Auction sales; disposition of proceeds generally. (a) If an abandoned motor vehicle has not been reclaimed within twenty (20) days after the date of notice and payment of all tow- ing, preservation and storage charges resulting from its impound- ment, the Police Department shall sell the abandoned motor ve- hicle at a public auction. Proper notice of the public auction shall be given and, in the event a vehicle is to be sold in satis- faction of a garagekeeper's lien, the garagekeeper shall be no- tified of the time and place of such auction. Notice given in accordance with the requirements of this Ordinance, or the giving of notice of the sale of other types of abandoned property, shall be sufficient to comply with the requirements of this section. (b) The Police Department shall furnish a sales receipt for each vehicle to the purchaser thereof at the public auction. The proceeds shall be applied first to reimburse the Police Department for the expenses of the auction, costs of towing, preserving and storing the vehicle, and all notice and publi- cation costs, and any remainder from the proceeds of the sale shall be held for the owner of the vehicle or entitled lien - holder for ninety (90) days, and then shall be deposited in the special fund which shall remain available for the payment of auction, towing, preserving, storage, and all notice and publication costs which result from placing other abandoned vehicles in custody, whenever the proceeds from a sale of such other abandoned motor vehicles are insufficient to meet these expenses and costs. SECTION 6. Custody of vehicle by garagekeeper, police de- partment; fee to accompany report of garagekeeper; proceeds of sale to garagekeeper and police. (a) The Police Department, upon receipt of a report from a garagekeeper of the possession of a vehicle deemed aban- doned under the provisions of this Ordinance, shall follow the notification procedures set forth herein for the giving of notice to owners and lienholders of abandoned vehicles, except that custody of the vehicle shall remain with the garagekeeper until after the notification requirements have been complied with. A motor vehicle left with a garagekeeper in a storage facility shall be deemed abandoned under the conditions of Article 6687-9, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, as amended. (b) A fee of two dollars ($2.00) shall accompany the report of the garagekeeper and such fee shall be retained by the Police Department receiving the report and used to defray the cost of notification of other costs incurred in the disposition of such vehicles, and such fee shall be deposited in the general fund of the City. Abandoned vehicles left in storage facilities, which are not reclaimed after notice given in accordance with this Ordinance, shall be taken into custody by the Police De- partment and sold at auction, as in the cases of other abandoned motor vehicles. The proceeds of the sale shall first be applied to the garagekeeper's charges for servicing, storage and repair; provided, however, that the Police Department shall retain an amount of two per cent (20) of the gross proceeds of the sale for each vehicle auctioned, but in no event shall it retain less than ten dollars ($10.00), to be used to defray expenses of custody and auction. SECTION 7. Disposal of vehicle to demolisher. The Police Department is authorized to apply to the Texas Highway Department for authority to sell, give away, or dispose of any abandoned vehicle in its possession to a demolisher in accordance with the provisions of Article 6687-9, Vernon's An- notated Civil Statutes, as amended. SECTION 8. Declaration of public nuisance. Junked vehicles which are located in any place where they are visible from a public place or public right-of-way are detri- mental to the safety and welfare of the general public, reduce the value of private property, invite vandalism, create fire hazards, constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and are detrimental to the economical welfare of the state, by producing urban blight which is adverse to the maintenance and continuing develop- ment of the City of the Colony, and such vehicles are there- fore, declared to be a public nuisance. SECTION 9. Procedures for abating nuisance. The Police Department of the City of the Colony, when de- siring to abate and remove junked vehicles or parts thereof, as public nuisances, from private property, public property or public rights-of-way shall comply with the following procedures: (a) A notice of not less than ten (10) days, stating the nature of the public nuisance on private property and that it must be removed and abated within ten (10) days, and further that a request for a hearing must be made before the expiration of said ten (10) day period, such notice to be mailed, by certified mail with a five (5) day return requested, must be sent to the owner or the occupant of the private premises whereupon such public nuisance exists. If the notice is returned undelivered, by the United States Post Office, official action to abate said nuisance shall be continued to a date not less than ten (10) days fron the date of such return. (b) The requirements of subparagraph (a) above shall apply to the case of a public nuisance on public property or on a public right -o£ -way and such notice shall be sent to the owner or the occupant of the public premises, or to the owner or the occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way whereupon such public nuisance exists. (c) Once a vehicle has been removed under the provisions of this Ordinance, it shall not be reconstructed or made operable. (d) Where a hearing is requested by the owner or occupant of the public or private premises, or by the owner or oc- cupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way on which such a vehicle is located, within ten (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 of the Colony. It shall be the responsi- bility of the City prosecuting attorney to prosecute the case on behalf of the Police Department and, should the Municipal Judge find that such vehicle is a public nuisance as defined herein, he shall enter an order requiring the re- moval of the vehicle or part thereof from the public or private property or public right-of-way where it is situated, and such order shall include a description of the vehicle and the correct identification number and license number of the vehicle, if available at the site. (e) The Police Department shall give notice to the Texas Highway Department within five (5) days after the date of removal of the vehicle, identifying the vehicle or part thereof. (f) The procedure set out in this Ordinance shall not apply to a vehicle or part thereof which is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property, a vehicle or part thereof which is stored or parked in a law- ful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or a junkyard, or to unlicensed operable or inoperable antique and special interest vehicles stored by a collector on his property; provided that the vehicles and outdoor storage areas are maintained in such a manner that they do not constitute a health hazard and are screened from ordinary public view by means of a fence, rapidly growing trees, shrubbery, or other appropriate means. (g) The administration of the procedures of this ordin- ance shall be carried out by employees of the City of The Colony, except that the removal of vehicles or parts thereof from pro- perty may be accomplished by any other duly authorized person, including wrecker service operators within the City of The Colony, who have a valid and subsisting contract. (h) If the nuisance is not removed and abated and a hear- ing is not requested within the ten-day period provided herein, a complaint may be filed in Municipal Court for the violation of maintaining a public nuisance. Any person found guilty of maintaining a public nuisance as defined in this Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00) for each offense and the Municipal Court shall order removal and abatement of the nuisance. SECTION 10. Disposal, Junked vehicles or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard, demolishers, or any suitable site operated by the City of The Colony or the County of Denton for processing as scrap or salvage, provided that it shall not be reconstructed or made operable, The City may use commercial channels of disposition or, if such are not available or are inadequate, the Citp may operate such a disposal site or may transfer such vehicles or parts to another for disposal. SECTION 11, Any person authorized by the City of The Colony to ad- minister the provisions of this Ordinance may enter upon pri- vate property for the purposes specified herein to examine vehicles or parts thereof, obtain information as to the identi- ty of vehicles and to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or parts thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this Ordinance. SECTION 12 The provisions of this Ordinance are severable, and should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance be held to be invalid for any reason, such determination shall not affect the remaining portions of this Ordinance, 'SECTION 13, This Ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its passage and the publication of the caption as the law and Charter in such cases provide. THIS ORDINANCE WAS READ IN AN OPEN MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL ON THE R� DAY OF f, 1979, THIS ORDINANCE W DULY PASSED 4 SECOND READING ON THE DAY OF 1979, APPROVED: ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO LEGALITY HE FORM: CITY ATTORNEY