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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance - 2023-O0070 - Amending Sections 34.06.001 - 34.06.013 Junked Vehicles - 06/27/2023First Read June 13, 2023 Item No. 5.24 Second Reading June 27, 2023 Item No. 6.16 ORDINANCE NO. 2023-00070 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE 34.06 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK, TEXAS WITH REGARD TO JUNKED VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Lubbock, Texas deems it in the best interest of the citizens of the City of Lubbock to protect their health, safety, and welfare to make the following amendments to Article 34.06 of the Code of Ordinances with regard to junked vehicles;and WHEREAS, the City Council hereby exercises its authority under Article 11, Section 5, of the Texas Constitution as a home rule city to enact regulations not inconsistent with the general laws of the State of Texas in the interest of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Lubbock; NOW THEREFORE: BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK: SECTION 1. THAT Article 34.06 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lubbock is hereby amended to read as follows: Article 34.06 Junked Vehicles Sec. 34.06.001. Definitions. As used in this article: Antique auto. means a passenger car or truck that is at least 25 years old. Junked vehicle. means any motor vehicle as defined in chapter 683 of the Transportation Code, subchapter E, section 683.071, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, as amended: (a) A vehicle that is self-propelled and: (1) is self-propelled; and (2) is: (A) wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, or discarded; or (B) inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than: (i) 72 consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property; or (ii) 30 consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private property. (b) For purposes of this article, "junked vehicle" includes a motor vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft. This article applies only to: (1) a motor vehicle that displays an expired license plate or does not display a license plate; (2) an aircraft that does not have lawfully printed on the aircraft an unexpired federal aircraft identification number registered under Federal Aviation Administration aircraft registration regulations in 14 C.F.R. Part 47; or (3) a watercraft that: (A) does not have lawfully on board an unexpired certificate of number; and (B) is not a watercraft described by Section 31.055, Parks and Wildlife Code. Motor vehicle collector. means a person who: (a) owns one or more antique or special interest vehicles; and (b) acquires, collects, or disposes of an antique or special interest vehicle or part of an antique or special interest vehicle for personal use to restore and preserve an antique or special interest vehicle for historic interest. Special interest vehicle. means a motor vehicle of any age that has not been changed from original manufacturer's specifications and, because of its historic interest, is being preserved by a hobbyist. Sec. 34.06.002. Administration. The administration and enforcement of this article shall be the responsibility of the director of code enforcement, his assistants or designated city employees and such persons shall have the powers stated in subchapter E of Chapter 683 of the Texas Transportation Code, as may be amended. Sec. 34.06.003. Authority to enter private property. The employees of the code enforcement department may enter private property to examine a public nuisance, as described in section 43.06.009, to obtain information to identify said nuisance, and to remove or direct the removal of said nuisance. Sec. 34.06.004. Exceptions —Lawfully parked or stored vehicles. This article shall not apply to a vehicle or vehicle part: (1) that is completely enclosed in a building in a lawful manner and is not visible from the street or other public or private property; or -2- (2) that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard, or that is an antique or special interest vehicle stored by a motor vehicle collector on the collector's property, if the vehicle or part and the outdoor storage area, if any, are: (A) maintained in an orderly manner; (B) not a health hazard; and (C) screened from ordinary public view by appropriate means, including a fence, rapidly growing trees, or shrubbery. Sec. 34.06.005. Vehicles obstructing traffic. Nothing in this article shall affect ordinances or state statutes that permit immediate removal of a vehicle left on public property which constitutes an obstruction to traffic. Sec. 34.06.006. Junked vehicles declared to be a public nuisance; adoption of procedures for abatement and removal. (a) Junked vehicles, as defined in this article, are detrimental to the safety and welfare of the general public, tending to reduce the value of private property, to invite vandalism, to create fire hazards, to constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and are detrimental to the economic welfare of the city by producing urban blight which is adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the city; and such vehicles are, therefore, declared to be a public nuisance. (b) This declaration is made pursuant to Tex. Transportation Code Chapter 683, Subchapter E. This division adopts municipal procedures that conform to Tex. Transportation Code Chapter 683, Subchapter E for the abatement and removal from private or public property or a public right-of-way of a junked vehicle or part of a junked vehicle as a public nuisance. Sec. 34.06.007. Notice. (a) Prior to any official action being taken to abate and remove a junked vehicle, from private or public property or a public right-of-way, the director of code enforcement shall send written notice, by certified mail with a five- day return requested, or delivered by the United States Postal Service with signature confirmation service, to: (1) the last known registered owner of the nuisance; (2) each lienholder of record of the nuisance; and (3) the owner or occupant of: (A) the property on which the nuisance is located; or -3- (B) if the nuisance is located on a public right-of-way, the property adjacent to the right-of-way. (b) Such notice shall state: (1) the nature of the public nuisance and the nuisance must be abated and removed not later than the tenth (101h) day after the date on which the notice was personally delivered or mailed; (2) any request for a hearing must be made before that 10-day period expires; and (3) that the director of code enforcement of the City of Lubbock will seek an order from the permit and license appeal board requiring the removal of such junk vehicle.. (c) If the post office address of the last known registered owner of the nuisance is unknown, notice may be placed on the nuisance or, if the owner is located, personally delivered. (d) If notice is returned undelivered, action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not earlier than the 1 Ith day after the date of the return. Sec. 34.06.008. Relocation of public nuisance to another location. The relocation of a junked vehicle that is a public nuisance to another location within the city limits after a proceeding for the abatement and removal of the public nuisance has commenced has no effect on the proceeding if the junked vehicle constitutes a public nuisance at the new location. Sec. 34.06.009. Hearing. (a) A public hearing prior to the removal of a junk vehicle or part thereof under this article as a public nuisance, shall be held before the permit and license appeal board, when such a hearing is requested by the owner or occupant of the public or private premises on which said vehicle is located, or by the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way. (1) The hearing shall be held not earlier than the eleventh (11"') day after the date of the service of notice to abate the nuisance. (2) At the hearing, the junked motor vehicle is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable. (3) The director of code enforcement, on behalf of the city, shall request that the permit and license appeal board enter an order requiring the owner or other responsible person for such junk vehicle remove said vehicle, and further ordering and authorizing the City of Lubbock to remove said M vehicle in the event said vehicle is not removed by the owner or other responsible person within five (5) days from the date of said order. (b) In the event such junk vehicle has not been removed and the public nuisance abated after due notice as set forth in section 34.06.007 of this article, a public hearing shall be held before the permit and license appeal board prior to the removal of a junk vehicle or part thereof under this article as a public nuisance. (c) At every public hearing held by the permit and license appeal board, the board shall in each case determine the following: (1) Whether or not the vehicle in question is a junk vehicle as defined in section 34.06.001 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lubbock. (2) That the vehicle in question is not excepted from the provisions of this article by section 34.06.004 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lubbock. (3) That the vehicle constitutes a public nuisance as set forth in section 34.06.006(a) of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lubbock and should be abated. (d) The failure to abate and remove the nuisance or failure to attend the hearing after notice constitutes a waiver by the owner and lienholders of all right, title and interest in the vehicle and their consent to disposal of the junked vehicle in accordance with the provisions of Tex. Transportation Code Chapter 683, Subchapter E. (e) The person in whose name a junked vehicle is last registered shall be presumed to be the owner and person in control of such vehicle for purposes of prosecution under this article. Proof of ownership may be made by production of a copy or facsimile of the registration of a vehicle with the state department of transportation or the county motor vehicle licensing department or any other licensing authority showing the name of the person to whom the license plates for the vehicle were issued. This proof shall constitute prima facie evidence of the fact that the person to whom such certificate of registration was issued was the owner and person in control of the junked motor vehicle determined to be a public nuisance. This presumption may be rebutted by competent evidence. (f) In every case where the permit and license appeal board finds that the factors set forth in subsection (c) of this section exist, the board shall issue its order authorizing and requiring the director of code enforcement of the city to remove the vehicle in question. If the information is available at the location of the nuisance, an order requiring removal of the nuisance must include: (1) for a motor vehicle, the vehicle's: (A) description; (B) vehicle identification number; and -5- (C) license plate number; (2) for an aircraft, the aircraft's: (A) description; and (B) federal aircraft identification number as described by Federal Aviation Administration aircraft registration regulations in 14 C.F.R. Part 47; and (3) for a watercraft, the watercraft's: (A) description; and (B) identification number as set forth in the watercraft's certificate of number. Sec. 34.06.010. Rules governing procedures for conduct of hearing. The permit and license appeal board designated by the city council may adopt such rules governing the procedures for the conduct of hearings undertaken by said board not inconsistent with the terms of this article. Sec. 34.06.011. Disposition. (a) If the permit and licensee appeal board orders removal of the public nuisance, the city or any duly authorized person may abate such nuisance by removal and disposal of the junked vehicle in accordance with the provisions of Tex. Transportation Code Chapter 683, Subchapter E. (b) Notice shall be given by the city to the Texas Department of Transportation within five (5) days after the removal of and orders for disposal are issued for such junked vehicle, identifying the vehicle or part thereof. (c) Junked vehicles or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard, demolishers or any suitable site operated by the city for processing as scrap or salvage in accordance with the subchapter E of Chapter 683 of the Texas Transportation Code, as may be amended. (d) Junked vehicles which have been removed pursuant to this article shall not be reconstructed or made operable. Sec. 34.06.012. Removal with permission. If within ten (10) days after receipt of notice from the director of code enforcement and/or his employees, or his duly authorized agent, to abate the nuisance, as herein provided, the owner or occupant of the premises shall give his written permission to the director of code enforcement and/or his employees or his duly authorized agent for removal of the junked motor vehicle from the premises, the giving of such permission shall be considered compliance with the provisions of this article. -6- Sec. 34.06.013. Offense; penalty for violation; order of abatement upon conviction (a) A person commits an offense if the person maintains, permits, or allows a public nuisance described by Sec.34.06.006(a) of this code. (b) Whenever such a public nuisance is found to exist within the city, the city may, without notice, pursue the filing of an immediate criminal complaint against the person or persons in violation of this section. (c) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $200. (d) Upon conviction, the court shall, in connection with its guilty finding, enter an order directing the guilty party to abate and remove the public nuisance which was the subject of the criminal complaint. Any order so entered shall take effect immediately upon conviction becoming final. If abatement is not accomplished as ordered by the court, the city is authorized to abate the nuisance and assess the reasonable costs of abatement against the guilty party. SECTION 2. THAT violation of any provision of this Ordinance shall be deemed a misdemeanor punishable as provided by Section 1.01.004 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lubbock, Texas. SECTION 3. THAT should any paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance be declared unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, the remainder of this Ordinance shall not be affected thereby. SECTION 4. THAT the City Secretary is hereby authorized to cause publication of the descriptive caption of this Ordinance as an alternative method provided by law. -7- AND IT IS SO ORDERED. Passed by the City Council on first reading on June U, 2023 Passed by the City Council on second reading on June 27, 2023 TRAY PAYNE, YO APPROV TO CONTENT: Stuart Walker, Director of Code Enforcement APPROVED AS TO FORM: Amy Si eputy City Attorney -8-