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Ordinance No. 6,531Published: The Baytown Sun 930128 -23 Thursday, Feb. 18, 1993 Friday, Feb. 19, 1993 ORDINANCE NO. 6531 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 18, "MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC," ARTICLE IX, "ABATEMENT AND REMOVAL OF JUNKED VEHICLES," SECTION 18 -80 "DEFINITIONS "; SECTION 18 -84 "NOTICE TO ABATE; CONTENTS; SERVICE; HEARING; DISPOSAL; RECONSTRUCTION "; SECTION 18-86 "PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO ABATE OR ALLOW ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE "; ADDING SECTION 18 -87 "REMOVAL OF ABANDONED VEHICLES "; ADDING SECTION 18-88 "DISPOSITION OF ABANDONED VEHICLES "; DELETING SECTION 18 -85 "NOTICE TO TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS: Section 1: That Chapter 18, "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," Article IX, "Abatement and Removal of Junked Vehicles," Section 18 -80, "Definitions" of the Code of Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 18 -80. Definitions. (a) Junked vehicle. Any motor vehicle as defined in Section 1 of Article 670ld -11, Texas Revised Civil Statutes, as amended: (1) That is inoperative; or (2) That does not have lawfully affixed to it either an unexpired license plate or a valid motor vehicle safety inspection sticker, or which is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, or discarded; provided however that any motor vehicle that remains inoperable for a continuous period of more than 45 days shall be considered a junked vehicle. (b) Demolisher. Any person whose business is to convert a motor vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal, or otherwise to wreck or dismantle vehicles. (c) Motor vehicle. Any motor vehicle subject to registration under the Texas Certificate of Title Act (V.C.S. art. 6687 et.seq), except that for purposes of this Title, a motor vehicle shall include a motorboat, outboard motor, or vessel subject to registration under the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code. (d) Person. Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind. 930128 -23a (e) Antique auto. A passenger car or truck that was manufactured in 1925 or before, or which has become thirty -five (35) or more years old. (f) Special interest vehicle. A motor vehicle of any age which has not been altered or modified from original manufacturer's specifications and, because of its historic interest, is being preserved by hobbyists. (g) Collector. The owner of one or more antique or special interest vehicles who collects, purchases, acquires, trades, or disposes of special interest or antique vehicles or parts thereof for his own use in order to restore, preserve, and maintain an antique or special interest vehicle for historic interest. (h) Inoperative shall mean a motor vehicle which is either mechanically incapable of being driven or which due to mechanical defects cannot be lawfully operated on public roads. (i) Abandoned motor vehicle shall mean any motor vehicle that: (1) Is inoperable and more than five years old and left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours; or (2) Has remained illegally on public property for more than 48 hours; or (3) Has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of said property for more than 48 hours; or (4) Has been left unattended on the right -of -way of a designated state, county, or federal highway for more than 48 hours; or (5) Has been left unattended for more than 12 hours on a turnpike project constructed and maintained by the Texas Turnpike Authority. Section 2: That Chapter 18, "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," Article IX, "Abatement and Removal of Junked Vehicles," Section 18 -84 "Notice to Abate; Contents; Service; Hearing; Disposal; Reconstruction" of the Code of Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 18 -84. Notice to Abate; Contents; Service; Hearing; Disposal; Reconstruction. 2 930128 -23b (a) Whenever any such public nuisance exists in the City, the City Manager or his designee shall send written notice by certified mail, with a return receipt requested, to the owner or occupant of the private premises, or private premises adjacent to the public right -of -way upon which such public nuisance exists. Such notice shall state: (1) The nature of the public nuisance; (2) That the nuisance must be removed or abated within ten days of receipt of said notice; (3) That the recipient of the notice may request a public hearing within ten days of receipt of the notice. Such hearing shall be held before the judge of the municipal court of the City of Baytown. At such hearing it shall be presumed that the vehicle is inoperable, unless otherwise demonstrated by the owner. (b) Such notice shall also be sent to the last known registered owner of the junked motor vehicle and any lien holder of record. (c) If the postal address of the last known registered owner of the junked vehicle is unknown, then notice to the last known registered owner shall be placed on the motor vehicle. (d) If any notice is returned undelivered by the U.S. Post office, official action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not less than ten days after the date of the return. (e) No vehicle which has been removed by the City or on behalf of the City under this ordinance may be reconstructed or made operable after it has been removed. (f) Any order requiring the removal of the vehicle or vehicle part must include a description of the vehicle or vehicle part and the correct identification number and license number of the vehicle if such information is available at the site. (g) Any vehicle which is found to be a public nuisance under this article and which is ordered to be removed and abated shall not be considered to be abated until such time as the vehicle is removed to an authorized location or restored to such a condition that it no longer constitutes a public nuisance under the provisions of this article. 3 930128 -23c (h) If no hearing is requested within the time provided in this article, or if a hearing is held and the hearing officer orders that the vehicle be removed and the owner of the vehicle or occupant of the premises shall fail to comply with an order of the court to remove the vehicle, then the City Manager or his designee shall cause the vehicle to be removed and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this article. (i} In the event that a hearing is requested and upon order by the judge of the municipal court of the City of Baytown, or other hearing officer designated of the City Council of the City of Baytown, that a junked vehicle be removed as a public nuisance, the City Manager or his designee shall cause such junked vehicle to be removed from the premises where it is located at the time. (j) Upon such removal the City Manager's designee shall cause said junked vehicle to be transported to a scrapyard, demolisher, or other suitable site where the junked vehicle shall be disposed of as scrap or salvage. (k) The City Manager's designee may enter private property to examine a vehicle or vehicle part, obtain information as to the identity of the vehicle or vehicle part, and to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or vehicle part that constitutes a nuisance. The judge of the municipal court of the City of Baytown may issue orders necessary to enforcement of this section. (1) Upon removal of a junked vehicle under the provisions of this article, the City Manager's designee shall cause notice to be sent to the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation not later than five days after the date of the removal. Such notice shall identify the vehicle or vehicle part and shall request the department to cancel the certificate of title to the vehicle. (m) The City Manager or his designee or the Chief of Police may arrange for or employ such assistance or means as is necessary to carry out the duties herein prescribed. (n) The City Manager may authorize any regularly salaried, full time employee of the City of Baytown to issue citations for violations of the provisions of this section. Section 3: That Chapter 18, "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," Article IX, "Abatement and Removal of Junked Vehicles, ", Section 18 -86 "Penalty for Failure to Abate or Allow Abatement of Nuisance," of the Code of Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows: 4 930128 -23d Sec. 18 -86. Penalty for Failure to Abate or Allow Abatement of Nuisance. (a) Whenever a junked vehicle is a public nuisance as defined in Section 18 -81 of this title, any owner or occupier of the premises upon which such nuisance is located or owner or occupier of the premises adjacent to the public right - of -way on which such nuisance is located who shall fail, refuse or neglect to remove or abate such nuisance or refuse notice as herein set out, or refuse to abide by any order requiring the removal of said vehicle or part thereof commits an offense and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine of not less than ONE HUNDRED AND NO/ 100 DOLLARS ($100.00) nor more than TWO HUNDRED AND N01100 DOLLARS ($200.00) and each day such violation continues to exist shall constitute a separate offense. (b) Upon conviction under this section, the court shall order the abatement and removal of the junked vehicle which is the subject of such conviction upon a finding by said court that such vehicle continues to constitute a public nuisance. Section 4: That Chapter 18, "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," Article IX, "Abatement and Removal of Junked Vehicles," of the Code of Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended by adding Section 18 -87 "Removal of Abandoned Vehicles" to read as follows: Sec. 18 -87. Removal of Abandoned Vehicles. The Chief of Police of the City of Baytown may take into custody any abandoned motor vehicle found on public or private property within the corporate limits of the City of Baytown by causing the removal of such vehicle to the police impound lot or other appropriate facility designated by the Baytown Police Department. (a) Upon taking an abandoned motor vehicle into custody, the Chief of Police or his designee shall notify by certified mail the last know registered owner of the abandoned motor vehicle and all lienholders of record that the abandoned motor vehicle has been taken into custody. Such notice shall be given not later than ten days after taking the motor vehicle into custody. Such notice shall include: (1) A description of the year, make, model, and vehicle identification number of the abandoned vehicle. (2) The location of the facility where the motor vehicle is being held. 5 930128 -23e (3) Inform the owner and lienholders of their right to reclaim the vehicle and the requirements and procedures for reclaiming the vehicle. (4) State that the owner or lienholder's failure to reclaim the vehicle within 20 days of the date of notice provided, constitutes a waiver of all right, title, and interest in the vehicle and their consent to the sale of the abandoned vehicle at a public auction. (b) If the identity or address of the last registered owner of the abandoned motor vehicle cannot be determined, or if the identity or addresses of all lienholders cannot be determined with reasonable certainty, then notice shall be given by publication. Such notice shall: (1) Be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the motor vehicle was abandoned. (2) Such notice shall be published not later than 10 days after taking the motor vehicle into custody. (3) Such notice shall have the same contents required for a notice by certified mail. Section 5: That Chapter 18, "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," Article IX, "Abatement and Removal of Junked Vehicles," of the Code of Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended by adding Section 18 -88 "Disposition of Abandoned Vehicles" to read as follows: Sec. 18 -88. Disposition of Abandoned Vehicles. If an abandoned motor vehicle has been taken into custody and has not been reclaimed as provided by this article, the Police Department may sell the vehicle at public auction. (a) Proper notice of the auction shall be given. (1) If a vehicle being auctioned is encumbered with a garagekeepers lien, the garagekeeper shall be notified of the time and place of the auction. (2) Proper notice of the auction shall consist of a single publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the vehicle was abandoned and shall include the following information: (i) The time, date and place of the auction. C7 930128 -23f A description of the year, make, model of the vehicle. (iii)The vehicle identification number, if known. (3) The purchaser at auction shall receive a sales receipt from the Police Department. (b) From the proceeds of the sale of the vehicles, the Police Department shall reimburse itself for the following: (1) expenses of the auction (2) the costs of towing, preserving and storage of the vehicle (3) all notice and publication costs (c) Any remainder from the proceeds of the sale shall be held for 90 days and for the benefit of the owner or entitled lien holder. (1) After the expiration of 90 days, any remainder from the proceeds of the sale shall be deposited in a special fund for payment of auction, towing, preservation, and storage costs of other abandoned vehicles where sale of such other vehicle is insufficient to defray these costs. (2) Any amounts in said special fund exceeding $1,000 shall be transferred to the City of Baytown general revenue account for use by the Police Department. Section 6: That Chapter 18, "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," Article IX, "Abatement and Removal of Junked Vehicles" of the Code of Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended by deleting Section 18 -85 "Notice to Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation" and reserving that section for future use. Section 7: All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent 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 shall be cumulative of other ordinances regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this ordinance. Section 8: If any provisions, section, exception, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application of same to any person or set of circumstances, shall for any reason be held unconstitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this ordinance or their application to other persons 7 930128 --23g or sets of circumstances and to this end all provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. Section 9: This ordinance shall take effect from and after ten (10) 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 newspaper of the City of Baytown at least twice within ten (10) days after passage of this ordinance. INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City of Baytown, this the 11th day of February, 1993. td�by ED Mayor f' ATTEST: I EEN P. HALL, City Clerk ACIO RAMIREZ, S ., City Attorney 8