Ord 2772 2/20/1973 •
1/17/73
ORDINANCE NO. 01,2>2%22
ORDINANCE DECLARING JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLES
TO BE A PUBLIC NUISANCE; PROVIDING FOR
NOTICE TO OWNER OR OCCUPANT TO REMOVE AND
ABATE SUCH NUISANCE; PROVIDING FOR THE RE-
MOVAL OF SUCH NUISANCE FROM PUBLIC OR PRI-
VATE PROPERTY; PROVIDING FOR PENALTY AND
DECLARING FOR AN EMERGENCY.
SECTION 1. This ordinance is adopted under authority of the
Texas Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act, Article 1436-3, Vernon' s
Annotated Penal Code.
SECTION 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this ordinance,
the following words shall have the meanings hereinafter given:
A. Junked Vehicle: Any motor vehicle which is self-propelled
and which 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, dismantl-
ed, partially dismantled, or discarded.
B. Person: Any individual, firm, partnership, association,
corporation, company or organization of any kind.
C. Demolisher: Any person whose business is to convert a motor
vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal, or otherwise to wreck
or dismantle motor vehicles.
SECTION 3. Junked Vehicles Declared a Public Nuisance.
Junked vehicles which are located in any place where they are visible
from a public place or public right-of-way 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 there-
fore declared to be a public nuisance. Provided, however, this
ordinance shall not apply to:
a. A vehicle or part thereof which is completely enclosed
within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from
r
A '
•
2/16/73
the street or other public or private property, or,
b. A vehicle or part thereof which is stored or parked
in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the busi-
ness of a licensed vehicle dealer or junk yard.
SECTION 4. Notice to Owner or Occupant to Abate Public
Nuisance. Whenever any such public nuisance exists in violation
of Section 3, the Chief of Police or his duly authorized representa-
tive shall order the owner of the premises, if in possession thereof,
or the occupant of the premises, on which such nuisance exists,
to remove and abate the same within ten days after service of such
notice. Such order shall be in writing, and shall state the nature
of the public nuisance and its location. The order shall further
state that, if the owner or occupant desires a public hearing prior
to the removal of such vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance,
a request for such a hearing must be made, either in person or in
writing, before the expiration of said ten-day period to the Clerk
of the Municipal Court. Such order shall be served upon the owner
of the premises or the occupant by serving him personally or by
sending said order by certified or registered mail with a five day
return requested. 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 days from the date
of such return.
SECTION 5. Removal of Nuisance by City. If the owner of occu-
pant of the premises fails or refuses to comply with such order, and
does not request a public hearing, then, not less than ten days after
the service of such order, or not less than ten days from the date of
the return of such notice undelivered by the post office, the Chief
of Police or his duly authorized representative, or any other person
duly authorized by the Board of Aldermen, shall take possession of
said junked motor vehicle and remove it from thepremises. Such junked
vehicles or parts thereof shall thereafter be disposed of by removal
- 2 -
2/1/73
to a scrapyard, demolisher, or any suitable site operated by the
City for processing as scrap or salvage. The City may operate such
a disposal site when the Board of Aldermen determines that commercial
channels of disposition are not available or are inadequate, and the
City may make final disposition of such vehicles or parts, or the
City may transfer such vehicle or parts to another.
SECTION 6. Removed Vehicle Not to be Reconstructed or Made
Operable. After any such junked motor vehicle has been removed
by the City, it shall not be reconstructed or made operable; it
shall be demolished and disposed of as scrap or salvage.
SECTION 7. Public Hearing Before Municipal Court on Request
of Owner or Occupant of the Premises. When the owner or occupant
has, within ten days after service of notice to abate the nuisance,
made a request for a public hearing, the Clerk of the Municipal
Court shall set a date and a time for a trial on the court docket.
The clerk shall notify the owner or occupant, and the city attorney
or his deputy, of the date and time of such hearing. The city
attorney or his deputy shall cause to be prepared and filed a
written complaint charging that the owner or occupant of the premises,
as the case may be, has violated this ordinance. The judge of the
Municipal Court shall hear any such case brought before said court,
as set out herein, and shall determine whether or not the defendant
is, in fact, in violation of this ordinance. Upon a finding that
said defendant is in violation of this ordinance, he shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine in accordance with
the penalty provision hereinafter set forth if he fails to remove
such nuisance in accordance with the court' s order. The judge of
the court shall further order such defendant to remove and abate
said nuisance within ten days, the same being a reasonable time.
The order shall further provide that, if the defendant shall fail
and refuse within said ten days to remove and abate the nuisance,
the Chief of Police shall be directed to have the same removed, and
3
2/16/73
The Chief of Police or his duly authorized representative or any other
person duly authorized by the Board of Aldermen shall take possession
of such junked motor vehicle and remove it from the premises, and
shall thereafter dispose of it in accordance with the provisions of
Section 5 of this ordinance. 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.
SECTION 8. Removal from Unoccupied Premises by Order of Muni-
cipal Court. If there is a junked motor vehicle on premises that
are unoccupied, and neither the owner of the premises nor the owner
of said vehicle can be found and notified to remove same, then, upon
a showing of such facts to the judge of the Municipal Court, the
Court may issue an order directing the Chief of Police to have the
same removed, and the Chief of Police or his duly authorized represen-
tative
or other person duly authorized by the Board of Aldermen shall take
possession of said junked motor vehicle, remove it from the premises,
and dispose of it in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 of
this ordinance. Such order of the court shall include a description
of the vehicle, and the correct identification number and license
number of the vehicle, if available at the site.
SECTION 9. Notice of Removal to Texas Highway Department.
Whenever a junked motor vehicle or part thereof is removed by the
City under the provisions of this ordinance, the Chief of Police
shall give notice to the Texas Highway Department within five days
after the date of such removal, identifying the vehicle or part
thereof. Said department shall forthwith cancel the certificate
of title to such vehicle pursuant to Article 1436-1, Vernon' s
Texas Penal Code, as amended.
SECTION 10. Transfer of Such Junked Vehicle to a Demolisher.
A junked vehicle which is removed from private or public property
by authority of this ordinance, and which is disposed of to a de-
molisher, must be transferred to such demolisher on a form accept-
- 4 -
able to the Texas Highway Department. The transfer receipt must
stipulate that the dispostion of the vehicle is for demolition
only, and must contain a complete description of the vehicle, in-
cluding the license number if ascertainable, and must make reference
to this ordinance under the authority of which such transfer is made.
The transfer receipt must be listed on the demolisher' s inventory
list and surrendered to the Texas Highway Department in lieu of the
certificate of title under the provisions of Article 1436-2, Vernon's
Texas Penal Code.
SECTION 11. Administration by City Employees. This ordinance
shall be administered by regularly salaried, full-time employees
of the City, except that the removal of vehicles or parts thereof
from property may be by any other duly authorized person.
SECTION 12 . Authority to Enforce. Any police officer of the
City, and any city employee designated by the Chief of Police, may
enter upon private property for the purposes specified in this ordi-
nance to examine vehicles or parts thereof, and to obtain informa-
tion as to the identity of vehicles. Any police officer of the City,
any city employee designated by the Chief of Police, and any other
person duly authorized by the Board of Aldermen, may enter upon pri-
vate property to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or parts
thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this ordinance. The
Municipal Court of the city shall have authority to issue all orders
necessary to enforce this ordinance.
SECTION 13. Nothing in this ordinance shall affect statutes
or ordinances that permit immediate removal of a vehicle left on
public property which constititutes an obstruction to traffic.
SECTION 14. Penalty. Any person violating any of the pro-
visions of this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and
upon conviction therefor, shall be subject to a fine of not more
than $200.00. Each transaction in violation of any of the provis-
ions hereof shall be deemed a separate offense.
SECTION 15. Severability Clause. If any phrase, clause,
sentence or sentences of this ordinance shall be declared invalid
r ,
•
2/1/73
or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such
invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the re-
maining phrase, clauses and sentences of the ordinance.
SECTION 16. Repeal. Section 20-1. 1 of the Code of Ordinances
of the City of Wichita Falls is hereby repealed.
SECTION 17. The provisions of this ordinance shall be included
and incorporated in the Code of Ordinances of the City of Wichita
Falls, as an addition thereto, and shall be appropriately renumbered
to conform to the uniform numbering system of the code.
SECTION 18. The fact that there are presently no adequate
provisions regulating public nuisances created by junked motor ve-
hicles, making the regulation thereof necessary in the public
interest, creates an urgent public need for the preservation of
the peace, health and safety of the city, and therefore this ordi-
nance is declared an emergency measure, and it shall become effec-
tive immediately.
PASSED AND APPROVED THIS THE t - DAY OF
1973.
///2
� ' //4'44� vOG�( t �Y/ MAYOR
ATTEST:
City Clerk
- 6 -
pus 'algeuielJaose li Jagwnu asua° ii,
.ORDINANCE NO. 2772
ORDINANCE DECLARING JUNKED
MOTOR VEHICLES TO BE A PUBLIC
NUISANCE; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE
TO OWNER OR OCCUPANT TO
REMOVE AND ABATE SUCH NUISAN-1
CE; PROM ?HE REMOVAL
Affidavit of Publication
OF-SUCH NUISANC FROM PUBLIC
OR PRIVATE PROPERTY; PROVIDING
FOR EMERGENCY.PENALTY AND DECLARING FOR
:°°SECTION 1. This ordinance is adopted THE STATE OF TEXAS
0,under authority of the Texas Abandoned
0,Motor Vehicle Act, Article 1436-3, Ver- COUNTY OF WICHITA
0 non's Annotated Penal Code.
ol SECTION 2. Definitions. For the purposes
.0 of this ordinance, the following words ere)
01 shall have the meanings hereinafter
01 given; On this . 23 day of February
olA. Junked Vehicle: Any motor vehicle y -
0lwhich is self-propelled and which is
O,inoperative end which does not have
IT lawfully plate or both an unexpired 1973 Personally appeared undersigned `y
n plates and a valid A.D. �...... ersonall a area before me, the undersi ed authorlf
of motor vehicle safety inspection certificate
o and which Is wrecked, dismantled, par-
e tially dismantled, or discarded. Katherine Parrish , bookkeeper
0,B. Person: Any individual, firm, partner-
°ship, association, corporation, company
0 or organization of any kind.
0 C. Demolisher: Any person whose bu- for the Times Publishing Company of Wichita Falls, publishers of the
r siness is to convert a motor vehicle
motor vehicles.
into processed scrap or scrap metal,
or otherwise to wreck or dismantle Wichita Falls Record News, a newspaper published at Wichita Falls in
o SECTION 3. Junked Vehicles Declared are located in any place where they
O a Public Nuisance. Junked vehicles which Wichita County. Texas, and upon being duly sworn by me, on oath states
r
c are visible from a public place or
c public right-of-way are detrimental to that the attached,advertisement is a true and correct copy of advertising
O the safety and welfare of the general '
01 public, :ending to reduce the value
onto private property, to invite vandalism,
ute published in_. One (1) .issues thereof or. the following
o to create fire hazards, to constitute '
O an attractive nuisance creating a hazard
o t0 the health and safety of, minors, dates:
o and are detrimental to the economic
O welfare of the city, by producing urban ' February 23. 1973
n blight which is adverse to the mainte- i •
o nance and continuing development of 1
o the city, and such vehicles are therefore c
o declared to be a public nuisance. Provid- i -
0 ed, however, this ordinance shall not • , : �4i-.�.(J /��.i ,�
° apply to:
o!a. A vehicle or part thereof which I Bookkeeper for Times Publishing Company
of is completely enclosed within a building
O in a lawful manner where it is not - of Wichita Falls
0 visible from the street or other public I 1
O or private property, or, t
o b. A vehicle or part thereof which I c
o is stored or parked in a lawful manner 1, Subscribed and sworn to before me this the day and year first above
u on private property in connection with'F
o the business of a licensed vehicle dealer 1�L) writ teo n•
r' or sunk yard. f+
r' SECTION 4. Notice to Owner or Occupant S /
r'to Abate Public Nuisance. Whenever F �j / / {r9�
r any such public nuisance exists in viola- i / /�//f /�j
r lion hiof s Section 3, the Chief es of Police r' / l C/�U '
r or his duly authorized representative I
/ L
rrshell order the owner of the premises, c • 74,. , ;, 1fft'1 7- Jr o Foe, -- r---1 JJJ
If in possession thereof, or the occupant P
w of the premises, on which such nuisance s 7!.7. R ,;;��;° 1r ...n lic S, ,:.�ii
r:exists, to remove and abate the same I c
Si within ten days after service of such n
of notice. Such order shall be in writing, Ii
uiand shall state the nature of the F
ut public nuisance and its location. The 21
W order shall further state that, if the 1 V
owner or occupant desires a public .1