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ORD 1997-08TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS ORDINANCE NO. 97-08 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 87-05 RELATING TO THE GROWTH OF WEEDS AND GRASS WITHIN THE TOWN BY AMENDING SECTION 1 PROHIBITING THE GROWTH OF WEEDS AND GRASS TO A HEIGHT GREATER THAN TWELVE INCHES BY DEFINING MORE PARTICULARLY "OBJECTIONABLE OR UNSIGHTLY MATTER"; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS: Section 1. Amendment. Ordinance No. 87-05 of the Town of Trophy Club, Texas (the "Town") relating to the growth and accumulation of weeds and grass, as heretofore amended by Ordinance No.97-08 of the Town, is hereby amended in the following particulars, and all other sections, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, phrases and words of the said Ordinance are not amended but are hereby ratified, verified, approved and affirmed: A. Section 1(a) is hereby amended in part so that it shall hereafter read as follows: "Section 1. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship or any other entity recognized in law owning, leasing, claiming, occupying or having supervision or control of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, improved or unimproved, within the corporate limits of the Town, to permit or allow: (1) grass or weeds to grow or brush to grow to accumulate to a height greater than twelve (12) inches upon any such real property; or (2) any trash, rubbish or any other type of objectionable material or unsightly matter (including, without way of limitation, stacks of old lumber, scrap materials, demolished or partly demolished buildings or structures, piles of stones, bricks or broken rock, or fence panels) to accumulate on such property, notwithstanding such persons did not permit such accumulation upon such property." - B. Section 2 is hereby amended in part so that it shall hereafter read as follows: "Section 2. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship or any other entity recognized in law owning, leasing, -1- DOC #: 460531.02 claiming, occupying or having supervision or control of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, improved or unimproved, within the corporate limits of the Town, to permit or allow: (a) grass or weeds to grow in, or brush to accumulate, along, upon or across the area between the property line and the curb line of a street or alley, or if there is no curb, between the property line and the pavement of a street or alley or traveled way, to a height greater than twelve (12) inches; or (b) any trash, rubbish or any other type of objectionable material or unsightly matter (including, without way of limitation, stacks of old lumber, scrap materials, demolished or partly demolished buildings or structures, piles of stones, bricks or broken rock, or fence panels) to accumulate or be present in, along, upon or across the said areas identified in paragraph (a) of this Section 2." C. Section 5 is hereby amended in pan to read as follows: "Section 5. (a) In the event that any person, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship or other entity recognized in law owning, claiming, occupying or having supervision or control of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, -improved or unimproved, within the corporate limits of the Town fails to comply with the provisions of this Ordinance, the Town may give at least ten (10) days notice in writing to such person of the violation of this Ordinance. Such notice must be given: (1) personally to the owner in writing; (2) by letter addressed to the owner at the owner's post office address or to the owner's address shown on the last approved tax rolls of the Town; or (3) if personal service cannot be obtained or the owner's post office address is unknown: (i) by publication at least twice within ten (10) consecutive days; (ii) by posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation relates; or (iii) by posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates, if the property contains no building. (b) If the owner of property fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of this Ordinance within ten (10) days of notice of a violation , the Town may go upon such property and do or cause to be done the work necessary to obtain compliance with this Ordinance, and may pay for the work done or improvements -2- DOC a: 4e0531.02 mad and charge the expenses incurred in doing or having same done to the owner of such property. (c) The Town may, in the notice of a violation, inform the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, that if the owner of the property commits another violation of the same kind or nature that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the first anniversary of the date of the notice, the Town without further notice may correct the violation at the owner's expense and assess the expense against the property." D. A new Section 6A is hereby added to read as follows: "Section 6A. (a) The Town may abate, without notice, weeds that: (1) have grown higher than 48 inches; and (2) are an immediate danger to the health, life, or safety of any person. (b) Not later than the 10th day after the date the Town abates weeds under .this section, the Town shall give notice to the property owner in the manner required by Section 5(a). (c) The notice shall contain: (1) an identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the property; (2) a description of the violations of the ordinance that occurred on the property; (3) a statement that the Town abated the weeds; and (4) an explanation of the property owner's right to request an administrative hearing about the Town's abatement of the weeds. (d) The Town Manager or the Manager's designee shall conduct an administrative hearing on the abatement of weeds under this section if, not later than the 30th day after the date of the abatement of the weeds, the property owner files with the Town a written request for a hearing. (e) An administrative hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted not later than the 20th day after the date a request for a hearing is filed. The owner may testify or present any witnesses or written information relating t the Town's abatement of the weeds. -3- Doc N: 460531.02 (f) The Town may assess expenses and create liens under this section as it assesses expenses and creates liens under other provisions of this Ordinance. A lien created under this section is subject to the same conditions as a lien created under Section 6. (g) The authority of the Town described by this section is in addition to the authority granted by Section 5." Section 2. Savings. This Ordinance shall be cumulative of all other ordinances of the Town affecting health and sanitation and shall not repeal any of the provisions of those ordinances except in those instances where the provisions of those ordinances are in direct conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance. Section 3. Severabilitv. The sections, paragraphs, sentences, phrases, clauses and words of this Ordinance are severable, and if any section, paragraph, sentence, phrase, clause or word in this Ordinance or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional by a Court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance, and the Town Council hereby declares that it would have passed such remaining portions of this Ordinance despite such invalidity, which remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. Section 4. Effective date. This Ordinance shall become effective from and after its date of passage as provided by law. PASSED AND APPROVED by the Town Council of the Town of Trophy Club, Texas this the 18th day of March , 1997. ATTEST: Town Secretary, Town of Trophy Club, Texas. [SEAL] 0 DOC X: 460531.02 , Town of Tr phy Club, Texas APPROVED AS TO FORM: own t mey, Town of Trophy Club, Texas -5- DOC #: 460531M