Ordinance No. 20•
ORDINANCE N0, 20
AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE BUSINESS OF HOUSE MOVING;
REGULATING THE REMOVAL OF HOUSES; REQUIRING A PERMIT
THEREFOR; REQUIRING A BOND; PROVIDING PENALTIES OF NOT
LESS THAN FIFTY DOLLARS NOR MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS
FOR THE VIOLATION OF SECTIONS 2 AND 6 OF THIS ORDINANCE;
REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN:
Section 1: Definitions. By the term "houses', as used in this article,
is meant any building or structure used or designed to be used for human
habitation or occupancy in any manner or for any purpose.
® By the term "housemoving" is meant.the transportation of a house
from place to place along or across any public street within the
corporate limits of the city.
The term "street ", when used in this article, shall mean any part of
the street, including the sidewalk area.
Section 2: License to engage in housemoving required. it shall
be unlawful for any person to move any house along or across any public
street within the corporate limits of the city without being licensed to
engage in the business of housemoving as provided herein.
Section 3: Application for license. Any person desiring to engage
in the business of housemoving shall make application for a license to
the Director of Public Works of the city. Such application shall be in
writing and shall contain the following:
(a) The name of the applicant and his residence and business
address. If a partnership or association, the application shall state
the names of all partners, their residence addresses and the office
address of the partnership or association. If a corporation, the ap-
plication shall state the names and residence addresses of all offices
and directors and the principal office of the corporation.
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(b) That applicant (or officers, if applicant is a corpora-
tion) has--, read and thoroughly understood the terms of this article
and agrees4to abide by its terms in the business of housemoving.
(c) The application shall be signed by the applicant, if an
individual; by a partner, if a partnership; by the president, if an
association or corporation.
(d) Type of equipment to be used and the number of units.
(e) Such other information as may be required by the
Director of Public Works.
® Section 4: License fee; bond. The applicant shall pay a
license fee of $10.00 a year. If application is made subsequent to
January 1st, the fee shall be reduced $2.50 for each entire quarter
of the year which has expired. Simultaneously, the applicant shall
file with the city a bond executed by the applicant and by a good and
sufficientAcorporate surety company, incorporated under the lases of
the State of Texas land having a fully paid --up capital stock of at
least one hundred thousand dollars or a corporation duly authorized
to do business in the State of Texas, having a fully paid -up capital
stock of at least one hundred thousand dollars, which said bond shall
be in the sum of $2,500.00, conditioned that the principal obligor,
if granted a license, will engage in the business of housemoving
within the corporate limits of the city in strict accordance with the
terms of this article and will pay to the city any and all damages
to streets, curbs, gutters, water lines, fire hydrants and o.ther
public property occasioned in any manner by the principal obligor's
moving of houses, and further conditioned that the principal obligor
will pay to the city as minimum liquidated- damages the sum of fifty
dollars per day for each day or part of day that any house being
moved by said obligor shall remain on any street or part of a street
in excess of the number 'of days shown in the permit for-moving such
• house issued to such licensee by the city. The said bond shall con-
tain a provision that the parties recognized that the damages to the
city occasioned by any house remaining on any street or part of a
street in excess of the number of days shown in the permit will in
all-probability be difficult of ascertainment and consequently that
the amount agreed upon is the minimum amount of damages which the
city will sustain in any event, but that the city shall not be pre-
vented from proving and claiming any ascertainable amount in excess
of such minimum sum.
Such bond, while made payable to the city, shall also inure to
the benefit of any person damaged or injured in any manner by the said
principal obligor by reason of the moving of any house within the
corporate limits of the city, except agents, servants or employees of
said principal obligor.
The said bond shall contain a provision that it shall not be
exhausted until recovery of the full amount of same shall be obtained.
Section 51 Issuance of license; nontransferable; expiration
and renewal. The director of public works shall examine the applica-
tion and bond and if he is satisfied that the same are in order and
that the surety signing the bond is good and sufficient, he shall issue
to the applicant a license to engage in the business of housemoving in
® the city. Such license shall be personal to,,-,the licensee, shall not be
transferable and shall expire at midnight the following December 31st.
Upon expiration, a license may be renewed upon filing an application,
license fee and a new bond as in the case of original licenses.
Section 6s Any licensee desiring to move any house shall, prior
to beginning work, apply to the Director of Public Works for a permit,
showing the present location of the house,.the new location, the pro-
posed route of moving, the size and type of construction of the house
and such other information as the Director of Public Works may require.
The follovving schedule of permit fees shall be applicables
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Ground Space of Builrlin�
Not exceeding 100 square feet
101 to 700 square feet
701 to -1,000 square feet
Over 1,000 square feet
Fee
s 5.o0
10.00
15.00
25.00
The permit fees herein provided for are in addition to the
yearly license fee hereinbefore provided. The Director of Public
Works shall examine the application, and if it is in order, he shall
issue the
! (a)
(b)
(C)
(d)
permit. The permit shall show:
The name of the licensee.
The present location of the house.
The proposed new location.
The route of moving, as approved by the director of
public works.
(e) The exact date and time during which the house will
occupy the street and sidewalk.
(f) The time that the house is allowed to remain in the streets.
(g) The size and type of construction of the house.
(h) The receipt of the permit fee.
Each permit shall be issued in triplicate and one posted on
• the house to be moved.
The acceptance by said licensee of said permit shall constitute
a binding obligation and contract on said licensee Is part to abide by
and comply with the terms of said permit and of this article.
The maximum time during which a house may legally remain in a
street, under a permit, shall be forty—eight hours.
During the entire time that the house is occupying the street,
or any portion of same, the licensee shall keep it continuously in
motion toward its destination and shall not allow the work of moving
to stop during such time.
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Section 7r Notice to police chief and fire chief of
issuance of permit. Immediately upon issuance of the permit, the
Director of Public Works shall notify the Chief of Police and the
Chief of the Fire Department of the issuance of the permit, stating
the route of moving, when moving will begin and end and the number
of days allowed.
Section 8:: Notice of completion; inspection of route;
repair; certificate of facts and amount of damage. Whenever a
licensee has completed the work of moving a house under a permit,
® and the house no longer occupies any part of the street, he shall
promptly notify the Director of Public Works of such fact. The
Director of Public Works shall cause an inspection to be made of
the route of moving and the installation of the house. If he
finds that the licensee has caused damage to the streets, curbs.,
gutters., sidewalks or other public property, he shall notify the
licensee of such fact, specifying the damage by mailing to him a
written notification at either of the addresses listed in the
licensee's application. The licensee shall proceed within two
days from the date of such notification to begin the Work of re-
0 pairing the damage, which work shall be promptly done and completed
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under the supervision of and to the entire and complete satisfaction
of the Director of Public Works.
In the event that the licensee fails to begin work in two
days, or fails to continuously proceed therewith promptly and ex-
peditiously or fails to complete it to the entire and complete
satisfaction of the Director of Public Works, the said Director
may promptly and at his discretion cause the damage to be repaired
on behalf of the city. In such case, the Director of Public Works
shall make and execute a certificate., setting out the relevant.
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facts pertaining to the transaction, and shall certify therein the
amount of damage sustained by the city and shall file the said
certificate with the Director of Finance of the city. The licensee
by accepting the permit heretofore provided for does thereby con-
stitute and appoint the said Director of Public Works as his agent
and representative with full power and authority to bind said
licensee and his surety to prepare and file said certificate.
Upon the filing of said certificate, the amount stated therein
shall be and become a sum, liquidated and certain, awing to the
® ' city by the licensee and the surety on his bond and,' in any suit
involving said sum, the facts recited in said certificate and the
amount of damage certified therein shall in all things be pre-
sumed to be true acid binding upon the licensee and his surety in
the absence of clear, convincing and unmistakable proof that the
said Director has acted arbitrarily and without any evidence what-
soever of such facts.
Section 9:: Cutting down trees or branches. It shall be
unlawful for any licensee engaged in moving a house to cut down
any tree growing within any parkway or esplanade of a public street
or to cut any branches therefrom without having first obtained
® permission $om the Director of Public Works,
Section 10: Disconnecting electricity, gas, water or
telephone. It shall be unlawful for any licensee to disconnect
any electric light and pourer connection, gas connection, water
connection or telephone connection from any house which he pro-
poses to move without the consent of the public utility owning
such connection.
Section 11: Removing or destroying poles or wires. It
shall be unlawful for any licensee to remove, tear dawn or destroy
any pole or wire or other property belonging to the city or to any
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electric light and power company, gas,company, telephone or
telegraph company or street railway company without the consent
of such public utility or other person owning the same.
Section 12: Compliance with building code. It shall be
unlawful for any licensee to begin or complete the moving of any
house onto any property in the city unless the permanent location
and installation of such house on such property in all respects
complies with the building code of the city.
Section 13: Suspension or revocation of license. The
Director of Public Works is empowered to suspend or revoke the
license of any licensee who violates any provision of this ordi-
ante and such suspension or revocation shall not bar a prosecution
for the same offense.
Section 14: Negativing and pyoving exceptions.. In any
complaint or other legal proceeding brought for the enforcement
of any provision df this ordiance, it shall not be necessary to
negative any exception, excuse, proviso or exemption, and the
burden of proof of any such exception, excuse, proviso or ex-
emption shall be upon the defendant.
Section 15: Any person who violates Section 2 hereof shall
be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred
dollars.
Any licensee who moves any house upon any street within the
corporate limits of the city without having obtained a permit as
required by Section 6 shall be fined not less than fifty dollars
nor more than two hundred dollars.
Section 16: All ordinances and parts of ordinances incon-
sistent with the terms of this ordinance are hereby repealed;
provided, however, that such repeal shall be only to the extent
of such inconsistency and in all other respects this ordinance
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shall be cumulative of other ordinances regulating and governing
the subject matter covered by this ordinance.
Section 17:. If any-section or provisions, or parts thereof
in this ordinance shall be adjudged invalid or unconstitutional,
such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity
of the ordinance as a whole or of any other section or provision
or part thereof.
Section 18.-- This ordinance shall take effect from and
after ten days from its passage by the City Council. The City
Clerk is hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing the
® caption of this ordinance to be published in the official news-
paper of the City of Baytorm at least twice prior to the effective
date hereof.
INTRODUCED, R M and
PASSED by the
affirmative vote
of a
majority of the City Council
of the City
of Baytown on this
the
day of September, 1948.
ATTEST:
J
Edna Cliver, City Clerk
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E. . Cleveland., Mayor