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ORD 1997-13TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS ORDINANCE NO. 9 7 -13 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR THE REPAIR, REMOVAL, OR DEMOLITION OF DANGEROUS OR SUBSTANDARD BUILDINGS; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE AND A PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING DANGEROUS BUILDINGS AND URBAN NUISANCES PRIOR TO AN ORDER OF REPAIR, REMOVAL, OR DEMOLITION; PROVIDING PROCEDURES FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING; PROVIDING FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF A CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO REPAIR, REMOVE, OR DEMOLISH A DANGEROUS BUILDING IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,000.00 PER DAY FOR EACH VIOLATION OR, IF A HOMESTEAD, NOT TO EXCEED $10.00 A DAY FOR EACH VIOLATION; PROVIDING CERTAIN MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE USE AND OCCUPANCY OF BUILDINGS; PROVIDING THAT A LIEN SHALL BE IMPOSED FOR THE RECOVERY OF EXPENSES INCURRED BY THE TOWN HEREUNDER AND THE PRIORITY OF SUCH LIEN, AND PROVIDING FOR OTHER METHODS OF RECOVERY OF SUCH EXPENSES; ADOPTING THE UNIFORM CODE FOR THE ABATEMENT OF DANGEROUS BUILDINGS; PROVIDING A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2,000.00) FOR EACH OFFENSE AND A SEPARATE OFFENSE SHALL BE DEEMED COMMITTED EACH DAY DURING OR ON WHICH A VIOLATION OCCURS OR CONTINUES; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare, the Town Council of the Town of Trophy Club, Texas has determined the desirability and necessity of providing a process to determine need to cause the repair, removal or demolition of dangerous buildings and urban nuisances within the Town. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS: Section 1. Definitions. The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this Ordinance: -1- OOC #; 489981 Dangerous buildings mean buildings of any nature that are found to be dangerous, that are calculated to increase the fire hazard, that injure, hurt or harm individuals or that may damage or injure contiguous or adjacent lands, or which endanger life or health or are subversive of the public health, safety, and welfare and which have any one or all of the following defects, and shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) Those buildings which, exclusive of the foundation, show thirty three percent (33%) or more of damage or deterioration of the supporting walls, beams, or other member or members of the building or fifty percent (50%) of damage or deterioration of the non -supporting enclosing or outside walls or covering of the building. (b) Those buildings which have been damaged by fire, wind or other causes so as to have become dangerous to life, safety, morals or the general health and welfare of the occupants or the people of the Town. (c) Those buildings which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary or which utterly fail to provide amenities essential to decent living that they are unfit for human habitation or are likely to cause sickness or disease so as to work injury to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of those living therein. (d) Those buildings that have light, air and sanitation facilities which are inadequate to protect the health, morals, safety or general welfare of human beings who live or may live therein. (e) Those buildings having inadequate facilities for egress in case of fire or panic, or those having insufficient stairways, elevators, fire escapes, or other means of communications. (f) Those buildings which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall and injure members of the public or property. (g) Those buildings which have a foundation that is not so free of holes, cracks, buckling, crumbling and defects as to support adequately the dwelling structure. (h) Those buildings which do not have a floor, exterior wall and roof that is so free of holes, cracks and loose, rotten, warped or protruding boards as to protect the occupants of the dwelling or dwelling unit reasonably from weather elements and from danger of collapse. (i) Those buildings existing in violation of any provisions of the Building Code of the Town or any provision of the Town fire code or other ordinances of the Town. Urban nuisance means a premises or structure that: -2- DOC X: 489981 (a) Is reasonably dangerous to the physical health or safety of an occupant or other persons; or (b) Its state of disrepair is such that it could reasonably cause injury, damage, harm, or inconvenience to the community and the use and enjoyment of property, materially interfering with the property use or comfort and enjoyment of surrounding property, taking into consideration the nature and use of the properties in the area and character of the community in which they are situated, which condition would be substantially offensive and annoying to persons of ordinary sensibilities, taste, and habits living in the community. Town means the Town of Trophy Club, Texas Section 2. Powers of Council. The Town Council shall have the following authority: (a) To require the demolition of a building found to be a dangerous building and/or an urban nuisance or a structure found to be an urban nuisance; (b) To require, as an alternative to demolition of a building found to be a dangerous building and/or an urban nuisance or a structure found to be an urban nuisance, the repair of the structure by the owner or by the Town; (c) If a building determined to be a dangerous building or an urban nuisance is not vacated, secured, or demolished as required by order of the Town Council, the Town Council may direct the Town to vacate, secure, remove, or demolish the building or relocate the occupants at the expense of the Town. (d) To require a vacant structure or vacant portion of a structure constituting a dangerous building or an urban nuisance be securely closed and made safe; (e) To require or cause the correction of a dangerous condition on any land within the Town; (f) To grant a variance when, in the opinion of the commission, a literal interpretation of this Ordinance would result in the imposition of an unnecessary or unreasonable hardship; (g) To assess a civil penalty against a property owner at the time of an administrative hearing before the Town Council on violations hereof in an amount not to exceed $1,000.00 a 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 a day for each violation, upon a showing that: (1) the property owner was notified of the requirements of this Ordinance and the owner's need to comply with the requirements; and -3- DOC M: 489981 (2) after notification, the property owner committed an act in violation of this - Ordinance or failed to take an action necessary for compliance with this Ordinance. (h) To cause an action to be brought in district court in accordance with Section 214.003 of the Texas Local Government Code, as amended, for the appointment of a receiver for property found to be an urban nuisance; Section 3. Procedures. Prior to exercising any authority given to the Town Council by this Ordinance or by State law in connection with a dangerous building or an urban nuisance, the Town Council shall conduct a public hearing to determine whether or not there exists on the property in question a dangerous building or an urban nuisance. In making that determination, the Town Council shall conduct a public hearing on the matter in accordance with the following: (a) Notice of the public hearing shall be provided: (1) By certified mail, return receipt requested to the record owners of the affected property sent to the last known address, and each mortgagee, lienholder and each holder of a recorded lien against the affected property, as shown by the records of the County Clerk of the county in which the affected property is located if the address of the lienholder can be ascertained from the applicable instruments on file in the office of the county clerk; and (2) To all unknown owners by posting a copy of the notice on the front door of each improvement situated on the affected property or as close to the front as practicable. (b) The notice shall be mailed and posted before the 10th day preceding the date of the hearing before the Council and must state the date, time, and place of the hearing. (c) If the notice sent to the last known address of the person being notified is returned undelivered, the Building Official may serve the notice personally if the person to be notified can be found in Denton County, Texas. If notice sent to an owner is returned undelivered, and after diligent search, the Building Official is unable to discover a correct address for the owner or is unable to serve the owner personally, then the Building Official shall give notice by publication in the official newspaper of the Town at least five days before the hearing. (d) The notice shall contain the following (1) A legal description of the property under consideration; (2) A description of the violation of the municipal standards that is present at the building; and -4- DOC 489981 (3) A statement that the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee will be required to submit at the hearing proof of the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this Ordinance and other relevant ordinances of the Town and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work. (4) A statement that the Town will vacate, secure, remove, repair, or demolish the building or relocate the occupants of the building if the ordered action is not taken within a reasonable time. (e) At each hearing of the Town an owner, lessor, occupant, or lienholder may present witnesses in his own behalf and is entitled to cross examine any witnesses appearing against him. (f) After a public hearing, the Council shall enter an order making a determination as to whether or not the property under consideration constitutes and/or contains a dangerous building or urban nuisance. An order of the Town Council is final. (g) At the public hearing to determine whether a building complies with the standards and requirements set out herein, the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of the affected property has the burden of proof to demonstrate the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this Ordinance and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work. Section 4. Order of Town Council. (a) In conducting a hearing under this Ordinance, the Town Council shall require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of the dangerous building to within 30 days: (1) secure the building from unauthorized entry; and (2) repair, remove, or demolish the building, unless the owner or lienholder establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be performed within 30 days. (b) If the Town Council allows the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than 30 days to repair, remove, or demolish the building, the Town Council shall establish specific time schedules 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. (c) The Town Council shall not allow the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee more than 90 days to repair, remove, or demolish the building or fully perform all work required to comply with the order unless the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee: (1) submits a detailed plan and time schedule for the work at the hearing; and -5- DOC #: 489981 (2) establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be completed within 90 days because of the scope and complexity of the work. (d) If the Town Council 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 Town Council shall require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee to regularly submit progress reports to the Town to demonstrate that the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee has complied with the time schedules established for commencement and performance of the work. The order may require that the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee appear before the Town Council or such other person as the Council may designate to demonstrate compliance with the time schedules. (e) Within 10 days after the date that the order is issued, the Town shall: (1) file a copy of the order in the office of the Town Secretary; and (2) publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town 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 order; and (D) instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained. (f) After the hearing and entry of order, the Town shall promptly 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. Section 5. Failure to Comply with Town Order. A person commits an offense if he fails to correct a violation of this Ordinance in compliance with an order of the Town Council that has become final. It is a defense to prosecution under Section that the order of the Town Council has been appealed to the District Court. Section 6. Minimum Standards: Responsibilities of Owner. (a) Property Standards. An owner shall: (1) Eliminate a hole, excavation, sharp protrusion, and any other object or condition that exists on the land and is reasonably capable of causing injury to a person; (2) Securely cover or close a well, cesspool, or cistern; -6- DOC F: 489981 (3) Provide solid waste receptacles or containers when required by the Town; (4) Provide drainage to prevent standing water and flooding on the land; (5) Remove dead trees and tree limbs that are reasonably capable of causing injury to a person; and (6) Keep the doors and windows of a vacant structure or vacant portion of a structure securely closed to prevent unauthorized entry. (b) Structural standards. An owner shall: (1) Protect the exterior surfaces of a structure which are subject to decay by application of paint or other coating; (2) Fill hollow, masonry supporting piers, if used, with concrete and anchor the piers to concrete footings with a 5/8 inch steel dowel; (3) Provide and maintain railings for stairs, steps, balconies, porches, and elsewhere as specified in the Town's Building Code; (4) Repair holes, cracks, and other defects reasonably capable of causing injury to a person in stairs, porches, steps, and balconies; (5) Maintain a structure Intended for human occupancy and its structure used as an accessory to a structure intended for human occupancy in a weather tight and water tight condition; (6) Maintain floors, walls, ceilings, and all supporting structural members in a sound condition, capable of bearing imposed loads safely; (7) Provide cross -ventilation as prescribed in the Building Code; (8) Repair or replace chimney flue and attachments that do not function properly; (9) Repair holes, cracks, breaks, and loose surface materials that are health or safety hazards in or on floors, walls, and ceilings; (10) Provide and maintain a moisture resistant finish or material for the flooring or subflooring of each bathroom, shower room, and toilet room; (11) Provide every habitable room with at least one window or skylights facing directly to the outdoors; -7- DOC #: 489981 (12) Provide every habitable room with at least one window or skylight which can be easily opened, or such other device as will adequately ventilate the room; (14) Provide every bathroom with the light and ventilation requirements for habitable rooms except that no window or skylight shall be required in adequately ventilated bathrooms equipped with an approved ventilating system; (15) Provide that common hall and inside stairway in every building, other then one -family dwellings, be adequately lighted at all times with an illumination of at least 1 foot candle intensity at the floor in the darkest portion of the normally traveled stairs and passageways; (16) Provide and maintain the building foundation system in a safe manner and capable of supporting the load which normal use may cause to be placed thereon; (17) Provide that every exterior wall be free of holes, breaks, loose or rotting boards or timbers, and any other conditions which might admit rain, or dampness to the interior portions of the walls or to the occupied spaces of the building; (18) Provide roofs which are structurally sound and maintained in a safe manner and which have no defects which might admit rain or cause dampness in the walls or interior portion of the building; (19) Provide and maintain all portions, additions or sections of a roof including, but not limited to fascia, eaves, soffit, sheathing, rafter tails, barge rafter, vent screening, gutters, downspouts, roof jacks, and lead or metal flashing.; (20) Provide and maintain every dwelling unit with safe, unobstructed means of egress with a minimum ceiling height of 7 ft. leading to a safe and open space at ground level. Stairs shall have a minimum head room of 6 feet, 8 inches; (21) Provide and maintain protective railings on any unenclosed structure over 30 inches from the ground level or on any steps containing four risers or more; (22) Provide and maintain every window substantially weathertight, watertight and rodent proof, and keep in sound working condition and good repair; (23) Provide every exterior door, basement or cellar door and hatchway to be substantially weathertight, watertight, and rodent proof, and keep in sound working condition and good repair; -8- DOC #: 489981 (24) Provide every exterior door with properly installed hardware that is maintained to insure reasonable ease of operation to open, close and secure in an open or closed position, as intended by the manufacturer of the door and the attached hardware; (25) Provide exterior door frames be properly maintained and affixed with weatherstripping and thresholds as required to be substantially weathertight, watertight and rodent and insect restrictive when the door is in a closed position; (26) Provide exterior door jambs, stops, headers and moldings securely attached to the structure, maintained in good condition without splitting or deterioration that would minimize the strength and security of the door in a closed position; (27) Provide all exterior wood surfaces, other than decay resistant woods, protected from the elements and decay by painting or other protective covering or treatment; (28) Provide and maintain garages, storage buildings and all other accessory structures in good repair and sound structural condition; (29) Provide every floor, interior wall and ceiling be substantially rodent proof, kept in sound condition and good repair and safe to use and capable of supporting the load which normal use may cause to be placed thereon; (30) Provide every toilet, bathroom and kitchen floor surface constructed and maintained so as to be substantially impervious to water and so as to permit such floor to be easily kept in a clean and sanitary condition; (31) Maintain every structural element of the dwelling structurally sound and show no evidence of deterioration which would render it incapable of carrying normal loads; (32) Provide and maintain interior stairs and stairwells more than four risers high with handrails located in accordance with the requirements of the Building Code. Handrails or protective railings shall be capable of bearing normally imposed loads and be maintained in good condition. Section 7. Recovery of Expenses; Lien. (a) The expense of repair, vacation, securing, removal, closure or demolition of a building or structure when performed under contract with the Town or by Town forces, and any civil penalty assessed against the owner thereof as provided for herein, constitutes a lien against the real property on which the building or structure stands or stood, unless it is a homestead protected by the Texas Constitution, and the lien runs with the land. The Town's lien attaches when -9- DOC N: 489981 notice of the lien is recorded and indexed in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the property is located. The notice must contain the name and address of the owner, if reasonably determinable, a legal description of the real property on which the building or structure is or was located, the amount of expenses incurred by the Town, and the balance due. (b) The Town's lien shall have the following priority (1) The Town's lien for expenses incurred in the relocation of tenants or in the repair, removal or demolition of a building are a privileged lien subordinate only to tax liens, if each mortgagee and lienholder is given notice and an opportunity to relocate the tenants or to remove, repair, or demolish the building; (2) Otherwise, the Town's lien to secure the payment of the costs of repair, removal or demolition of a building or the payment of a civil penalty is inferior to any previously recorded bona fide mortgage lien attached to the real property to which the Town's lien attaches if the mortgage lien was filed for record in the county clerk's office of the county in which the real property is located before the date the civil penalty is assessed or the repair, removal, or demolition is begun by the Town, but is superior to all other previously recorded judgment liens. A lien acquired by the Town under this subsection for repair expenses may not be foreclosed if the property on which the repairs were made is occupied as a residential homestead by a person 65 years of age or older. (c) In addition to any other remedy provided herein or provided by other law, the Town may bring a civil action to recover expenses incurred by the Town in the relocation of tenants or in the repair, removal, or demolition of a building. Section 8. Adoption of Uniform Code. The Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, 1994 Edition, together with all appendices thereto, is hereby adopted and is incorporated herein in its entirety; provided, however, that to the extent of any conflict between the said Uniform Code and the terms of this Ordinance, the terms of this Ordinance shall control. A copy of the said Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings shall be kept on file in the office of the Building Official of the Town. Section 9. Savings. This Ordinance shall be cumulative of all other ordinances of the Town affecting buildings and structures 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 10. Penal . It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this Ordinance, and any person violating or failing to comply with any provision hereof shall be fined, upon conviction, in an amount not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), and a separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. -10- DOC #: 489981 Section 11. Severability. 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 12. Effective date. This Ordinance shall become effective from and after its date of passage and publication as provided by law. PASSED AND APPROVED by the Town Council of the Town of Trophy Club, Texas this the 13 t day of.. May , 1997. ATTEST: s 'I1 J ;A Town Secretary, Town of Trophy Club, Texas [SEAL] APPROVED AS TO FORM: Town A orney, Town of Trophy Club, Texas -11- DOC A; 499981 TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS ORDINANCE NO. 97-14 paz AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS INSTRUCTING AND DIRECTING THE TOWN STAFF TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY LEGAL STEPS TO CALL A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING OF THE TOWN PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND TOWN COUNCIL FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING (1) A REPLAT OF LAND, AND (II) A SITE PLAN FOR A TRACT OF LAND; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS: Section 1. The Town Staff is hereby instructed and directed to take all necessary steps in compliance with Chapter 211, Tex. Loc, Gov. Code and the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of the Town, Ordinance No. 94-09, to call a joint public hearing of the Town Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council for the purpose of considering (i) a replat of tracts of land generally located south of Marshall Creek Road and east of the Town of Roanoke (in connection with the development of property owned by the Northwest Independent School District and with property to be conveyed to the Town in connection with the development of The Lakes at Trophy Club), and (ii) a site plan for the said property owned by the Northwest Independent School District. Section 2. The Town Staff is directed to advertise for and give notice of the joint public hearing in as expeditious a manner as is legally possible, and to select a time and location for the public meeting at a public place that is the most reasonable to accommodate the citizens, and any and all actions taken by the Town Staff to give such notice of or prepare for the joint public hearing are hereby ratified. Section 3. That this Resolution shall take effect from and after its passage. PASSED AND APPROVED by the Town Council of the Town of Trophy Club, Texas this the 20th day of ATTEST: Town Secretary, Town of Trophy Club, Texas [SEAL] APPROVED AS TO FORM: 2n7lQ Town ttorney, J/ — Town of Trophy Club, Texas