2000-058-ORD AMENDING CHAPTER 19 OF CODE OF ORDINANCES BY REPEALING CURRENT ARTICLE II OF CHAPTER 19
ORDINANCE NO, 2000-058
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS,
PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 19 OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PARIS BY REPEALING THE CURRENT
ARTICLE II OF CHAPTER 19 , SECTIONS 19-16 THROUGH 19-22,
ENTITLED "JUNKED VEHICLES"; ADOPTING THERETO A NEW
ARTICLE II, SECTIONS 19-16 THROUGH 19-25, ENTITLED "JUNKED
VEHICLES; PUBLIC NUISANCE; ABATEMENT"; ESTABLISHING THE
DEFINITION OF JUNKED VEHICLES AS A PUBLIC NUISANCE;
PROVIDING FOR PROCEDURES TO ABATE JUNKED VEHICLES AS A
PUBLIC NUISANCE; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE; PROVIDING FOR A
HEARING; PROVIDING FOR DISPOSAL OF JUNKED VEHICLES;
PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $200.00; MAKING
OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT;
PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS
CLAUSE; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES
IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Paris, Paris, Texas, in conjunction with other
governmental entities, private groups, and private individuals, has supported and participated in a
community-wide beautification program intended to remove junk, litter, aold other unsightly
materials, generally improve blighted areas of the City, protect and preserve the public health, safety,
and welfare, and generally improve the overall appearance of the community; and,
WHEREAS, in pursuit of such goals, the City Council desires to protect the public health
and safety while at the same time protecting the rights of individual property owners; and,
WHEREAS, Subchapter E, of Chapter 683 of the Transportation Code authorizes
municipalities to adopt procedures for the abatement and removal from private or public property
or a public right-of-way of a junked vehicle or part of a junked vehicle as a public nuisance; and,
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to adopt this ordinance as a means of applying and
implementing the requirements of Subchapter E, Chapter 683 of the Transportation Code of the State
of Texas; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS,
TEXAS:
Section 1. That the findings set out in the preamble to this ordinance are hereby in all things
approved,
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Section 2. That Article II of Chapter 19, Sections 19-16 through 19-22 of the Code of
Ordinances, City of Paris, Paris, Texas, entitled "Junked Vehicles," be, and the same is hereby, as
of the effective date of this ordinance, repealed and declared null and void and of nO further force
and effect, save and except as otherwise specified herein,
Section 3. That there is hereby adopted to the Code of Ordinances ofthe City of Paris, Paris,
Texas, a new Article II to Chapter 19, Sections 19-16 through 19-25, entitled, "Junked Vehicles;
Public Nuisance; Abatement," to read as follows:
"ARTICLE II. JUNKED VEHICLES
Sec. 19-16. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
herein described:
Antique Vehicle, A passenger car or truck that is at least 35 years old,
Demolisher, Any person whose business is to COnvert a motor vehicle into
processed scrap or scrap metal or otherwise wreck or dismantle a motor vehicle,
Junked Vehicle, A vehicle that is self-propelled and:
(a) does not have lawfully attached to it:
(1) an unexpired license plate; or
(2) a valid motor vehicle inspection certificate;
(b) is wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, or discarded; or
(c) is inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than:
(1) seventy-two (72) consecuti ve hours, if the vehicle is On public
property; or
(2) thirty (30) consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private
property,
Motor Vehicle Collector, A person who:
(a) oWnS one or more antique or special interest vehicles; and
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(b) acquires, collects, or disposes of an antique or special interest vehicle
or part of an antique or special interest vehicle for personal use to restore and
preserve an antique or special interest vehicle for historic interest.
Person, Any indi vidual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company,
or organization of any kind,
Special Interest Vehicle, A motor vehicle of any age that has not been
changed from original manufacturer's specifications and, because of its historic
interest, is being preserved by a hobbyist.
Sec. 19-17. Junked vehicle declared to be a public nuisance.
A junked vehicle, including a part of a junked vehicle, that is visible from a
public place or public right-of-way:
(a) is detrimental to the safety and welfare of the public;
(b) tends to reduce the value of private property;
(c) invites vandalism;
(d) creates a fire hazard;
(e) is an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of
mInors;
(f) produces urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing
development of municipalities; and,
(g) is a public nuisance,
Sec. 19-18. Offense; actions of municipal court.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person maintains a public nuisance as
described by Sec, 19-17 ofthis ordinance, orfails to comply with an order following
public hearing as provided in Sec, 19-21 herein,
(b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor, subject to prosecution in the
Municipal Court of Paris, Texas, and is punishable by a fine not to exceed two
hundred dollars ($200.00),
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(c) The municipal court shall have the authority to have a person convicted of the
offense described in subsection (a) herein to abate and remove the nuisance, or to
issue any other orders necessary to enforce the provisions of this article,
Sec. 19-19. Authority to enforce.
The Chief of Police, his agent, any city police officer, or the code
enforcement officers of the city may enter upon private property for the purposes
specified in this article to examine vehicles or parts thereof, obtain information as to
the identity of vehicles, and to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or parts
thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this article,
Sec. 19-20. Notice.
(a) Whenever any public nuisance as provided in Sec, 19-17 exists in the city in
violation hereof, the persons authorized by See, 19-19 to administer this article shall
send written notice, by certified mail with a five (5) day return requested to:
(1) the last known registered owner of the nuisance;
(2) each lienholder of record of the nuisance; and
(3) the owner or occupant of
A, the property on which the nuisance is located; or
B. if the nuisance is located on a public right-of-way, the
property adjacent to the right-of-way,
(b) Such notice shall state:
(1) the nature of the public nuisance;
(2) that the nuisance must be abated and removed not later than the tenth
(10th) day after the date on which the notice was mailed; and
(3) that any request for a hearing must be made before the ten (10) day
period expires,
(c) If the post office address of the last known registered owner of the nuisance
is unknown, notice may be placed on the nuisance or, if the owner is located, hand
deli vered,
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(d) If notice is returned undelivered, action to abate the nuisance shall be
continued to a date not earlier than the eleventh (lIth) day after the date of the return,
(e) The relocation of a junked vehicle that is a public nuisance under Sec. 19-17
hereof to another location in the city after notice has been given in accordance with
this section shall have no affect on the city's ability to continue to remove and destroy
the vehicle if the junked vehicle constitutes a public nuisance at the new location,
Sec. 19-21. Hearing prior to abatement of nuisance by city.
When timely requested in accordance with this article, a heanng shall be
conducted prior to the removal of the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance,
The hearing shall be held not earlier than the eleventh (lIth) day after the date ofthe
service of notice, The hearing provided for herein shall be conducted by the City
Manager, or his designee, At the hearing, the junked motor vehicle is presumed,
unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable, Following such
hearing, and if the information is available at the location of the nuisance, an order
requiring removal of the nuisance shall include the vehicle's description, vehicle
identification number, and license plate number. Failure to comply with any order
issued as a result of a hearing shall constitute an offense in accordance with Sec, 19-
18 of this ordinance,
Sec. 19-22. Removal with permission.
If, within ten (10) days after receipt of notice as provided in Sec, 19-20
hereof, the owner or occupant of the premises on which a nuisance is located shall
give written permission to an authorized representative of the City as provided in
Sec, 19-19 hereof for removal of the junked motor vehicle from the premises, the
giving of such permission shall be considered compliance with the provisions of this
article,
Sec. 19-23. Disposal of junk vehicles.
(a) If a public nuisance, as described in Sec, 19-17 hereof, is not abated after
notice is given in accordance with this article, the City may take action to abate such
nuisance, Junked vehicles or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrap
yard, demolisher, or any suitable site operated by the city or Lamar County for
processing as scrap or salvage, A junked vehicle disposed of to a demolisher, in
accordance with this article, shall be transferred to such demolisher by a form or
forms required by the Texas Department of Transportation,
(b) After a vehicle has been removed pursuant to this article, it shall not be
reconstructed or made operable by any person,
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(c) Notice shall be gi ven to the Texas Department of Transportation not later than
the fifth (5th) day after the date of removal identifying the vehicle or part of a vehicle
so removed,
Sec. 19.24. Inapplicability of procedures adopted under this article.
Procedures adopted under this article do not apply to a vehicle or vehicle part:
(a) that is completely enclosed in a building in a lawful manner and is not visible
from the street or other public or pri vate property; or
(b) that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection
with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard, or that is an antique or
special interest vehicle stored by a motor vehicle collector on the collector's property,
if the vehicle or part and the outdoor storage area, if any, are:
(1) maintained in an orderly manner;
(2) not a health hazard; and
(3) screened from ordinary public view by appropriate means, including
a fence, rapidly growing trees, or shrubbery,
Sec. 19-25. Application.
Nothing in this article shall effect ordinances that permit immediate removal
of a vehicle left on public property which constitutes an obstruction of traffic,"
Section 4. That any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty
of a Misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined in any sum not to exceed $200,00,
Section 5. That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council of the City of
Paris that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this ordinance are severable
and, if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this ordinance shall be declared
unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such
unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, or
sections of this ordinance, and such remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 6. That Section 2 of this ordinance notwithstanding, the repeal of prior Article II of
Chapter 19, Sections 19-16 through 19-22 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris, Paris,
Texas, shall not affect any pending or subsequent prosecution or other litigation for violations of the
provisions of Chapter 19 repealed herein, when such violations occurred prior to the effective date
of this ordinance, it being the intention of the City Council that the aforesaid repealed provisions be
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continued in full force and effect to the extent necessary and as required by law, to effectuate the
prosecution of all such outstanding violations, or to effectuate the continuation of other litigation
related thereto, and for such purposes only,
Section 7. That all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith and not
expressly addressed herein are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict only,
Section 8. That this ordinance shall become effective on December 1,2000,
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 13th day of November, 2000,
M~~
ATTEST:
Mattie Cunningham, City Clerk
Larr~ ' Schenk, City Attorney
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