§ 16-30. Declaration of public nuisances; areas required to be kept clear; stagnant water, carrion and/or filth, weeds, junked vehicles and other unsanitary matter; duty of property owners; time period to abate.

(a)

As provided by V.T.C.A. Health and Safety Code, Chapters 341 and 342, Chapter 365 (Texas Litter Abatement Act), V.T.C.A. Local Government Code, Chapters 51 and 54, and the home-rule powers of the city, all as amended, the following conditions are found to be a threat to the public health, safety, and/or welfare and are hereby declared a public nuisance and a person shall abate a public health nuisance existing in or on a place the person possesses, owns, or controls, as soon as the person knows that the nuisance exists:

(1)

A condition or place that is a breeding place for flies and that is in a populous area;

(2)

Spoiled or diseased meats intended for human consumption;

(3)

A restaurant, food market, bakery, other place of business, or vehicles in which food is prepared, packed, stored, transported, sold, or served to the public and that is not constantly maintained in a sanitary condition, subject to the provisions of article I;

(4)

A place, condition, or building controlled or operated by a state or local government agency that is not maintained in a sanitary condition;

(5)

Sewage, human excreta, wastewater, garbage, or other organic wastes deposited, stored, discharged, or exposed in such a way as to be a potential instrument or medium in disease transmission to a person or between persons;

(6)

A vehicle or container that is used to transport garbage, human excreta, or other organic material and that is defective and allows leakage or spilling of contents;

(7)

A collection of water in which mosquitoes are breeding in the limits of the city or a collection of water that is a breeding area for mosquitoes that can transmit diseases regardless of the collection's location other than a location or property where agricultural activities as defined by V.T.C.A. Water Code, Section 11.002(12)(A) occur. Such agricultural activities are defined by said section as follows:

(A)

Cultivating the soil to produce crops for human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production of fibers;

(B)

The practice of floriculture, viticulture, silviculture, and horticulture, including the cultivation of plants in containers or nonsoil media, by a nursery grower;

(C)

Raising, feeding, or keeping animals for breeding purposes or for the production of food or fiber, leather, pelts, or other tangible products having a commercial value;

(D)

Raising or keeping equine animals;

(E)

Wildlife management;

(F)

Planting cover crops, including cover crops cultivated for transplantation, or leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in any governmental program or normal crop or livestock rotation procedure; and

(G)

Aquaculture, as defined by V.T.C.A. Agriculture Code, Section 134.001.

(8)

A condition that may be proven to injuriously affect the public health and that may directly or indirectly result from the operations of a bone boiling or fat rendering plant, tallow or soap works, or other similar establishment;

(9)

A place or condition harboring rats in a populous area;

(10)

The presence of ectoparasites, including bedbugs, lice, and mites, suspected to be disease carriers in a place in which sleeping accommodations are offered to the public;

(11)

The maintenance of an open surface privy or an overflowing septic tank so that the contents may be accessible to flies;

(12)

An object, place, or condition that is a possible and probable medium of disease transmission to or between humans;

(13)

A vacant lot or vacant parcel, larger than three (3) acres, that contains weeds and/or brush over twelve (12) inches in height within one hundred fifty (150) feet of the curb line of adjacent streets and where no curb exists, to the edge of the street or road surface, or within one hundred fifty (150) feet of a property line belonging to another;

(14)

All lots and parcels of land within the city that are not kept completely free and clear of garbage, trash, debris, rubbish, waste, wood and metal scrap, inoperative or abandoned appliances and furniture. Weed and grass cuttings, however, need not be removed unless they are of such quantity as to be a hazard to pedestrians and notice is issued by the director of code enforcement services ("director") or designee to the property owner, tenant or occupant;

(15)

Bamboo growth that crosses the property line of another; and

(16)

A tract of land that is smaller than three (3) acres, and that is not kept free of weeds and brush over twelve (12) inches in height.

(b)

It is the duty and responsibility of the owner and/or occupant of a lot or parcel of land within the city to keep and maintain said lot or parcel of land free of public nuisances.

(c)

The owner and/or occupant of the lot or parcel must abate any public nuisance other than junk vehicles or weeds over twelve (12) inches within seven (7) calendar days after the date of the postmark on the envelope in which the notice is mailed.

(d)

Exceptions. The following weeds and vegetation in the city shall be exempt from the requirements of this section:

(1)

Regularly cultivated ornamental, fruit bearing, vegetable bearing or flowering plants, bushes or trees, or native desert vegetation;

(2)

Regularly cultivated crops grown on property that is classified as agriculture exempt according to the tax rolls; and

(3)

Pasture lands on property that is classified as agriculture exempt according to the tax rolls.

(Ord. No. 2012-27, § 1, 9-11-2012; Ord. No. 2015-22, § 1, 9-15-2015; Ord. No. 2016-09, § 2, 2-2-2016)