§ 14-9. General prohibitions and enforcement.

1.

Violation; penalty . It shall be unlawful for a person to intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly do or perform any act prohibited hereby, and it is an offense for a person to fail to do or perform any act required hereby. Each day's violation hereof shall constitute a separate offense. The person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this chapter shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during which the violation occurs or continues to occur. Any person, firm, corporation or agent or employees thereof who knowingly, intentionally or recklessly violates any of the provisions of burning of solid waste shall be fined an amount not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00). However, in the event a defendant has once previously been convicted under this chapter, the defendant shall be fined an amount nor less than two hundred dollars ($200.00) and shall be fined an amount nor less than three hundred dollars ($300.00) for a third conviction and for each conviction thereafter. Should the court impose or charge a person with a violation in which the fine may be in excess of five hundred dollars ($500.00), the finder of fact must find that the offense was committed knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly. In addition to the foregoing, the city is authorized to seek injunctive relief and/or a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per day, per violation to compel and encourage compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

2.

Unfranchised residential and/or commercial collection prohibited . It shall be unlawful for a person to provide or attempt to provide garbage collections service within the city without first obtaining from the city or its ETJ a franchise to conduct such business on public streets.

3.

Tampering with and defacing receptacles .

A.

It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, displace, injure, deface, destroy, uncover, or in any manner remove, withdraw or disturb any part or portion of the contents thereof.

B.

It shall be unlawful for any person to tamper with, injure or deface any automated/mechanized and/or other containers or public trash receptacle for solid waste in the city.

4.

Placement of public trash receptacles . It shall be unlawful for a person to place public trash receptacles other than mechanized containers upon the streets, plazas, parks and other public property of the city for the reception of such trash without the consent of the city given by the solid waste director of solid waste.

5.

Scavenge or salvage . It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or entity except a duly authorized agent or employee of the city to scavenge or salvage the solid waste or recyclables once they are placed for collections.

6.

Collection of garbage, trash or recyclables by any person, business, corporation or entity other than the city is prohibited . No person, firm, corporation or entity without a permit, except a duly authorized agent or employee of the city, shall collect garbage, trash or recyclables, including but not limited to cardboard of any other person or entity, or convey or transport such garbage, trash, or recyclable on the streets, alleys and public thoroughfares of the city, or dispose of such garbage or trash.

7.

No city employee shall collect refuse located within private property unless as provided below . The collection of refuse shall be made from the public way; and the owner, occupant, tenant or lessee of the premises, whether residential or commercial, may place the receptacles for refuse at the driveway entrance or on the parkway near the public way. Refuse containers shall not be placed in the middle of the street for collection. It will be the responsibility of the owner, occupant, tenant or lessee of the premises to place containers in the appropriate curbside location for pick up as designated by the director of solid waste.

8.

Collection assistance service shall be provided, at the discretion of the director of solid waste, when requested by a residential customer wherein there is no able-bodied individual capable of setting out refuse or recyclables at the public right-of-way. In the event city employees are required to enter onto private property for pick up, the property owner must provide prior written consent to the city using the form designated by the director.

9.

Placement . It shall be unlawful for the owner of a vehicle to park a vehicle within five (5) feet of a recycling or refuse container on collection day.

10.

Cul-de-sac . It shall be an offense to park a vehicle head-in in a cul-de-sac so as to impede refuse or recycling collection on collection day.

11.

Non-compliant loads .

A.

Loads placed for collection which do not meet requirements as set out by this chapter will not be serviced by the city and will be the responsibility of the owner, manager, tenant or occupant of any dwelling, building or premises to correct the situation immediately.

B.

Origin of waste. It shall be unlawful for any person to place brush and or bulky waste that did not originate at the residence from which it is being collected curbside for collection. Furthermore, all materials placed out for collection, and any additional wastes which might accumulate on or contiguous with said piles, are considered the responsibility of the owner, manager, tenant or occupant of any dwelling, building, or premises in front of which the materials are placed.

C.

It shall be unlawful for any person to place for collection by the city any earth, rock, gravel, construction materials or assembled pallets.

D.

It shall be unlawful for any person to place broken glass, ashes, or manure in any receptacle without first wrapping same securely in paper or other combustible material.

E.

No large metal machinery or automotive parts will be collected.

F.

It shall be unlawful for any person to place for collection by the city any liquids in containers.

G.

It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to place hazardous or medical waste for collection.

H.

It shall be unlawful for any person to place syringes from home health care in any refuse container without first securely enclosing them in a sealed canister or bottle. Syringes shall not be placed in recycling containers.

I.

It shall be unlawful for any person to place in a recycling container for collection by the city any item other than those on the listing of acceptable recycling materials.

J.

Loose and scattered waste will not be collected and the owner may be issued a citation for littering.

K.

Tires may not be set out for collection. If any tires are set out for collection, in addition to any fine that may be assessed for a violation of this section, the director may assess a surcharge of five dollars ($5.00) per tire for each tire set out for collection that is picked up, which will be applied to the customer's water bill. A citation may be issued for violation for failure to comply.

L.

It shall be unlawful for any person to place waste or other materials in a residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial container, which was not generated from the same location. If the source of such waste or materials is located or identified, a citation may be issued to the person or persons placing such items in the container. In any situation in which hazardous waste or other prohibited materials are found in such containers, any person in charge of the premises shall be responsible for allowing such materials to be placed in the container.

M.

It shall be unlawful for any person to place at or near curbside on sidewalks, easements or alleys, or on their property or to allow to remain at curbside, sidewalks, alleys or easements any waste, including out of schedule waste, brush or construction and demolition materials regardless of character, for collection, or intended for collection, or to so place or allow any such waste to rest or remain at or near curbside, on sidewalks, alleys or easements for purposes of temporary storage, regardless of disposal intent, which material rests or remains at or near curbside, on sidewalks, alleys or easements in excess of any forty-eight-hour period, inclusive of weekends and holidays. It shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of this prohibition that the responsible person placed the material at or near curbside or sidewalks or allowed the material to rest or remain there in response to official written notice from the city that instructed such waste placement in comportment with a designated or specially scheduled city collection event, for example: the city's brush and bulky item collection program. Such written notice will designate the specific period during which materials may be placed for collections during the official clean up campaign.

N.

It shall be unlawful for any person living outside the city limits to bring MSW or garbage into the city for collection.

12.

Vehicles transporting refuse to be covered. Any authorized vehicle used to transport municipal solid waste in any of the public ways within the corporate limits of the city shall be fitted with a good substantial cover thereon. The covering shall be of wood, metal or canvas and shall be so closely fitted as to prevent the escape or flying about of any of the refuse. All vehicles entering a disposal, recycling, deposit, or waste management facility, whether the facility is city or privately owned, shall have sufficient load restraints to prevent loss or spillage of load due to wind or motion of the vehicle on the road. Any vehicle driver who does not comply, will be required to pay an uncovered or inadequately secured load penalty of fifteen dollars ($15.00) per load at the gate.

13.

The director has authority and discretion to direct collection and disposal of otherwise impermissible waste left at or near curbside in violation of this chapter, when in his respective judgment, the public health, safety or welfare requires removal and legal disposal of such waste, and in such case the responsible party, deemed to be the owner of the property benefited or person in control of the premises, shall pay the city its reasonable costs for loading, transport, and due disposal of the material, plus an administrative fee of ten (10) percent which administrative fee is here deemed reasonable and necessary due to the small and irregular volumes of individual waste to be addressed by this provision for benefit of the health, safety, and welfare, and for which volumes economies of scale and schedule will not be possible. (This fee is separate and independent of any other fees recited in this chapter). Any such costs may include testing and/or analysis of material necessary to its safe and legal disposal. Even if such tests show a benign character capable of disposal as municipal solid waste or household hazardous waste, the benefited property owner or responsible person shall be responsible for such charges, when in the opinion of any of the directors referenced above, such testing was necessary to verify worker safety or legal options for disposal or any other health or safety concern of the city official. Costs for such extraordinary city services may and shall attach as a lien to the benefited property when perfected according to law under such conditions as state law may allow, under authority of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

14.

Unlawful damage to city refuse-collection carts and containers . Except as authorized by the city council, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to remove from a residential or a commercial property at which it is located or to damage any city refuse-collection cart and/or container. The customer shall be liable for any damage to containers located on the customer's premises except for damage caused by the collector.

15.

It is the affirmative duty of any person responsible for solid waste to ensure and perform legal disposal of solid waste . Persons responsible for solid waste are property owners, tenants/occupants, or generators. Persons alleged to be in violation of this chapter must present to the judge or trier of fact a true and credible receipt from a duly licensed and regulated landfill or disposal facility to demonstrate the waste in question has been legally and properly disposed according to its character (type of material).

16.

No bulky waste collection in alleys . It shall be unlawful for any person to place bulky waste in alleys.

17.

Refusing material for disposal, deposit, or recycling . The director or the director's authorized representative, shall have the right to refuse acceptance of any material for disposal or deposit for recycling at any city-owned facility when, in his/her opinion, such material poses by its nature a threat to the health and safety of any employee, may result in pollution of the environment, pose a detriment to the site, or violate state operation permits as a result of its disposal or deposit in facility or site area. This discretionary authority pertains to any city operated facility, including, but not limited to, public works recycling facility, the city's type IV landfill site(s), and any other fixed or temporary sites used by the city for purposes of solid waste management.

18.

It shall be unlawful for the owner, manager, tenant or occupant of any premises or building within the city, or the agent or employee of any such person to place, allow or suffer to remain after it has been emptied by the garbage collector, any container for solid waste, rubbish, or trash in, on, or about any street, plaza, park, sidewalk, or other public place, except in an alley in the rear of such premises.

19.

Burning of solid waste . It shall be unlawful for any owner, manager, tenant, and or occupant of any dwelling unit, building, and/or premises to burn solid waste on any premise within the city or its ETJ, unless approval has been granted by the Texas Air Control Board and/or TCEQ and the fire department, and any other local, state or federal agency whose approval is required.

20.

Objectionable or unsightly matter and dumping declared public nuisances .

A.

It shall be unlawful and declared a nuisance for any person owning, claiming, occupying, or having supervision or control of any real property, occupied or unoccupied, within the corporate limits of the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction to permit or allow any refuse, rubbish, trash, debris, filth, carrion, junk, garbage, impure or unwholesome matter of any kind, or other objectionable or unsightly matter of whatever kind to remain upon any such real property, or within any public easement on or across such real property, or upon any adjacent public street or alley right-of-way between the property line of such real property and where the paved surface of the street or alley begins, or that is visible from another's property.

B.

It shall be unlawful and declared a nuisance for any person, entity, or an agent or employee for a person or entity to cast, throw, drop, place, sweep, deposit, accumulate, or spill refuse, rubbish, trash, debris, filth, carrion, junk, garbage, impure or unwholesome matter of any kind, or other objectionable or unsightly matter of whatever kind in or upon any street, sidewalk, park, canal, stream, drain, sewer receiving basin, or any other public or private property within the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, except as provided in this chapter.

21.

False information . It shall be unlawful for a person to provide false information on a document required under this chapter, including all applications, permits, or request for exceptions or discounts.

22.

Distribution of handbills and other materials .

A.

Applicability . This section shall apply to all persons in the city.

B.

Handbills in public places . No person shall throw, post, or deposit any handbill within the city. Nor shall any person hand out or distribute or sell any handbill in any public place in the city. Provided, however, a person on any sidewalk, street or other public place within the city may hand out or distribute, without charge to the receiver thereof, any handbill to any person willing to accept it.

C.

Placing handbills in or upon vehicles . No person shall throw, post, deposit, hand out or distribute any handbills in or upon any vehicle. Provided, however, a person may hand out or distribute, without charge to the receiver thereof, a noncommercial handbill to any occupant of a vehicle who is willing to accept it.

D.

Depositing handbills on properties . No person shall throw or deposit any handbill in or upon any property except by handing such handbill directly to the owner, occupant or other person then present in or upon such property. In case properties which handbills are prohibited in accordance with this section, such person, unless requested by anyone upon such property not to do so, may place or deposit any such handbill in or upon such inhabited property, if such handbill is so placed or deposited as to secure or prevent such handbill from being blown or drifted about such property or sidewalks, streets or other public places and except that mailboxes may not be so used.

E.

Handbills prohibited . No person shall throw, post, deposit, hand out or distribute any handbill upon or to any private property, if requested by any one thereon not to do so, or if there is placed on said property in a conspicuous position near the entrance thereof a sign bearing the words: "No Trespassing," "No Peddlers or Agents," "No Advertisement" or any similar notice, indicating in any manner that the occupants of said property do not desire to have their right of privacy disturbed, or to have any such handbills left upon such property.

23.

General authority. The city may initiate a civil and/or criminal action to enforce any of the provisions of this chapter, including legal proceedings to compel compliance.

24.

Authority to issue citations. The following city personnel are authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter and shall have the power to issue notices, warnings, or citations to any persons violating the provisions of this chapter:

1.

City manager or his designee;

2.

Code enforcement officers;

3.

Police officers;

4.

Fire marshal or designees;

5.

Planning director or designees;

6.

Municipal solid waste management division director or his designee;

7.

Public works director or his designee;

8.

All city personnel duly authorized by statute, to issue citations for class C criminal misdemeanors, may assist the city in enforcement of this chapter; and

9.

The aforementioned personnel or any private individual may make accompanying affidavits to support prosecution as part of the city's ongoing efforts to regulate and manage wastes for the benefit of the public health, safety, and welfare, in coordination with the office of the city attorney, the municipal courts, the police department, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and any agencies with jurisdictional interests in solid waste regulation and management.

25.

The city personnel designated above are authorized to conduct inspections of any property necessary, conduct audits of records and documents required to be utilized and maintained by this chapter, and to investigate instances of non-compliance with this chapter to enforce the provisions of this chapter. If the persons, occupants or owner in possession of any premises refuses to allow the city officials permission to enter the property, at any reasonable time, those officials shall have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry including obtaining the proper judicial warrants.

(Ord. No. 2012-06, § 1, 3-6-2012)