1985-0481033L
NO -9
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY REPEALING AND REENACTING ARTICLE VI
THEREOF DECLARING THE ROOSTS OF PROTECTED MIGRATORY BIRDS A PUBLIC
NUISANCE WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS, PROVIDING FOR IDENTIFICATION OF
SUCH BIRD ROOSTS WITH PROCEDURES FOR ABATEMENT AND APPEAL, ADDING
A NEW ARTICLE VII TO BE RESERVED FOR FUTURE USE, ADDING A NEW
ARTICLE VIII TO PROVIDE FOR A PENALTY, AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I
That Article VI of Chapter 12 of the Code of Ordinances of the
City of Denton, Texas, heretofore relating to penalties, is hereby
repealed in its entirety and reenacted to hereafter read as
follows
ARTICLE VI PROTECTED MIGRATORY BIRD ROOSTS
Sec 12-31 Definition
A protected migratory bird roost shall mean any place where
migratory birds, whose species is protected by applicable law or
treaty, live, gather or nest for a period of at least seven (7)
consecutive days, congregating in numbers of fifty (50) or more
and returning to such habitat annually
Sec 12-32 Declared a Nuisance
Protected migratory bird roosts are hereby determined to be a
health hazard which constitutes a public nuisance
Sec 12-33 Elimination of Roosts
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation,
partnership, association, owner, agent, lessee, occupant, or
anyone having control or supervision of any lot, tract, or parcel
of land, or portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, improved or
unimproved, within the corporate limits of the City to suffer or
permit trees to exist within fifteen (15) feet of one another,
measured from trunk to trunk, on premises which has been used as a
protected migratory bird roost or to leave debris or remains of
vegetation upon the premises after the same has been cut to
eliminate the roost
(b) It shall be a defense to any proceeding to enforce the
provisions of this Article that protected migratory birds are
presently occupying the roost or that the premises upon which the
roost is located is a lot, tract or parcel of land of four (4) or
more acres, is zoned agricultural, is under signle ownership, and
the roost is located more than two hundred (200) feet from any
adjacent property under different ownership on which habitable
dwellings exist and more than two hundred (200) feet from any
public street or right of way
(c) It shall be the duty of any person referred to in
paragraph (a) hereof to cut, or cause to be cut, and remove, or
cause to be removed, such trees as may be necessary to comply with
the provisions of this Article
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Sec 12-34 Notice to Owner of Violations, Abatement by City,
Collection of Costs
In the event that the owner of any lot, tract or parcel of
land or portions thereof shall fail or refuse to comply with
Section 12-33 the City Manager or his designee shall notify such
owner by letter addressed to him at his post office address, or by
publication in the newspaper at least two (2) times within ten
(10) consecutive days, if service by mail may not be had as
aforesaid or if the owner's address be not known, and at the
expiration of ten (10) days after notification as provided herein,
the city may enter upon such premises and may do such work as
necessary, or cause the same to be done, in order that the
premises may comply with the requirements of this Article A
statement of the cost incurred by the city to abate such condition
shall be mailed to the owner of said premises, which statement
shall be paid within thirty (30) days of the date of the mailing
thereof Such costs shall include an administrative fee of eighty
dollars ($80 00), in addition to the actual cost of cutting and
removing such trees as may be necessary to comply with this
Article In the event that said statement has not been paid
within such period, the City Manager or his designee may file a
statement with the County Clerk of the expenses incurred to abate
such condition on said premises, and the city shall have a
privileged lien on any lot, tract or parcel of land upon which
such expense is incurred second only to tax liens and liens for
street improvements, together with ten (10) percent on the
delinquent amount from the date such payment is due For any such
expenditure and interest suit may be instituted and recovery and
foreclosure had in the name of the city and the statement so made,
or a certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie proof of the
amount expended in any such work performed by the City
Sec 12-35 Appeals from Amount Billed
Within fifteen (15) days of the date a statement of costs is
mailed to the owner of the premises, such owner may appeal the
reasonableness of the charges billed for abating the condition to
the City Council by filing a written statement with the City
Manager or his designee stating why such charges are
unreasonable Such appeal shall be submitted to the City Council
within a reasonable time after filing The City Council shall
review the charges and may, upon finding such charges
unreasonable, assess such costs as it deems reasonable The
administrative fees shall not be appealable
Sec 12-36 to 12-39 Reserved
SECTION II
That Chapter 12 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of
Denton is hereby amended by adding a new Article VII, Sections
12-40 to 12-50, to be reserved for future use
SECTION III
That Chapter 12 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of
Denton is hereby amended by adding a new Article VIII, heretofore
codified and published as Article VI, to read as follows
ARTICLE VIII PENALTIES
Sec 12-51 Penalties
(1) Any person who shall violate a provision of this chapter,
or fails to comply therewith or with any of the requirements
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thereof, or of a permit, license or certificate issued thereunder,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not less
than ten dollars ($10 00) nor more than two hundred dollars
($200 00) Each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate
offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any
violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is committed,
or continued, and upon conviction of any such violation such
person shall be punished within the limits provided above
(2) The imposition of the penalties herein prescribed shall
not preclude the City Attorney from instituting an appropriate
action or proceeding to prevent an unlawful accumulation,
collection and/or movement or garbage within the terms of the
chapter stated above, or to restrain, correct or abate a violation
of said ordinance, or prevent an illegal act, conduct, business or
use in or about any premises or any public nuisance or health
hazard
SECTION IV
That this ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days
from the date of its passage, and the City Secretary is hereby
directed to cause the caption of this ordinance to be published
twice in the Denton Record-Chronicle, the official newspaper of
the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the date of its
passage
PASSED AND APPROVED this the 15" day of March, 1985
~ D
CIT OF DE TON, TEXAS
ATTEST
6&4Z?L ZHAKOTTE Z ALLEN, C1TY S'L
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
JOE D MORRIS, ACTING CITY ATTORNEY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
BY V d ) wr~
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