1982-0306896A
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 14, ARTICLE II, DIVISION 2,
SECTIONS 14-26 THROUGH 14-33 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, 1966 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO JUNKED
VEHICLES, DECLARING SUCH VEHICLES TO BE A PUBLIC NUISANCE AND
UNLAWFUL, PROVIDING PROCEDURES FOR ABATEMENT, PROVIDING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A PENALTY NOT TO EXCFED TWO
HUNDRED DOLLARS ($200 00), AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I
That Chapter 14, Article II, Division 2 of the Code of
Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas is hereby amended by
deleting the existing Sections 14-26 through ]4-33 inclusive,
and substituting therefor new Sections 14-26 through 14-33 to
said Code of Ordinances, which shall hereafter read as follows
DIVISION 2 JUNKED VEHICLES
Section 14-26 DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of th~s Division, the following words shall
have the meanings ascribed to them by this section
1 "Administrator" means the City Manager of the City of
Denton, Texas or his designated representative
2 "Antique Motor Vehicle" means any passenger car or truck
that was manufactured in 1925 or before, or which becomes 35 or
more years old
3 "Board" means the Board of Adjustment of the City of
Denton, Texas
4 "Collector" means 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 of them for his own use in order to restore, preserve, and
maintain an antique or special interest vehicle for h~storlc
interest
5 "Junked Motor Vehicle" means any motor vehicle as
defined ~n Section I of Article 6701d-11, Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes, as amended, which
(a) is inoperative and which does not have
lawfully affixed thereto both an unexpired
license plate or plates and a valid motor
vehicle safety inspection certificate and
which is one or more of the following
wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, or
discarded, or
(b) remains inoperable for a continuous period of
more than one hundred twenty (120) days
6 "Motor Vehicle" means a vehicle ag defined in Section 1
of Article 6701d-11, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, as amended
7 "Special Interest Vehicle" means a motor vehicle of any
age which has not been altered or modified from original manu-
facturer's specifications and, because of its historic interest,
is being preserved by hobbyists
Section 14-27 JUNKED VEHICLES DECLARED A PUBLIC NUISANCE,
DECLARED UNLAWFUL
(a) The presence of any 3unked motor vehicle on any private
lot, tract or parcel of land, or portion thereof, occupied or
unoccupied, improved or unimproved, or on any public
right-of-way or other public property within the City of Denton
is deemed to be a public nuisance
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or maintain
such a public nuisance by wrecking, dismantling, partially
dismantling, rendering inoperable, abandoning, or discarding a
motor vehicle on a public right-of-way or other public property
or on the real property of another or to permit a ]unked motor
vehicle to be parked, left, or maintained on his own real
property or real property under his control, provided, that this
section shall not apply to
1 a junked motor vehicle or part thereof which
is completely enclosed within a building in a
lawful manner where it is not visible from the
street or other public or private property,
2 a 3unked motor vehicle or part thereof which
is stored or parked in a lawful manner on
private property in connection with the
business of a licensed vehicle dealer or
]unkyard,
3 a 3unked motor vehicle in an appropriate
storage space or depository maintained at a
location officially designated and in a manner
approved by the city,
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4 an unlicensed, operable or Inoperable antique
or special interest motor vehicle stored by a
collector on his property, any motor vehicle in
operable condition specifically adapted for
racing or operation on privately owned draq
strips or raceways, or any motor vehicle stored
as the property of a member of the armed forces
of the United States who is on active duty
assignment, provided, that in the foregoing
circumstances the vehicle and the outdoor
storage areas are maintained in such a manner
that they do not constitute a health hazard and
are screened from ordinary public v~ew by means
of a fence, rapldly growing trees, shrubbery or
other appropriate means
Section 14-28 PROCEDURES FOR ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE
(a) Whenever the administrator determines that a violation
of Section 14-27 exists, he shall send a notice to the last
registered owner of the vehicle and all l~en holders of record,
and, (1) if the vlolat~on exists on private premises, to the
owner or occupant of the private premises or, (2) if the
violation exists on public property, to the owner or occuDant of
the public premises, or, (3) ~f the violation exists on a public
right-of-way, to the owner or occupant ad3acent to the public
right-of-way, ~nformlng the person of the violation and ordering
the abatement or removal of the public nuisance
(b) The notice and order shall
(1) be in writing,
(2) state the nature of the public nuisance and
1ts location,
(3) specify the corrective measures required,
(4) require compliance within ten (10) days after
service of the written notice,
(5) advise the addressee that a public hearlnq
regarding the administrator's order and notice
to abate the public nuisance specified in such
order is available ~f a written request for a
hearlnq ~s received by the administrator
before the expiration of ten (10) days from
the date of service of the notice and order to
abate the nuisance
(c) All notices shall be sent by certified or registered
mall with a f~ve (5) day return requested If the mailed notice
is returned undellvered by the United States Post Off~ce,
offlclal action to abate sa~d nuisance shall be continued to a
date not less than ten (10) days from the date of such return
PAGE 3
(d) If, within ten (10) days after service of the notice and
order from the admInistrator to abate the nuisance, as herein
provided, the owner, occupant or Derson in control of the
premises where the nulsance exists or the owner or occupant of
the pr~mlses adjacent to the public r~ght-of-way on which the
nuisance exists shall g~ve h~s written permission to the
administrator for removal of the junked motor vehicle, the
givingI of such permIssion shall be considered compliance with
the provisions of this Division
Section 14-29 RIGHT OF ENTRY
The administrator or h~s representative may enter upon
private property for the purposes specified in this Division II
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
th~s D~lvlslon The Municipal Court of the City of Denton, Texas
shall have authority to issue all orders necessary to enforce
the procedures of th~s D~vlslon
SeQt~on 14-30 APPEALS FROM ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTICE AND ORDER
(a) A person receiving from the Administrator a notice and
order to remove and abate the public nuisance may appeal the
order to the Board of Adjustment by filing with the
admlnllstrator a request, in writing, for a public hearlnq before
said ~oard In addition, a fll~ng fee of Twenty-five Dollars
($25 00) must be paid along with such request The request for
a hearing must be filed with, and payment of the filing fee must
be pa~d to, the administrator within ten (10) days after service
of th~ not~ce and order to abate the nuisance Upon receiving a
timely request for a hearing and upon timely payment of the
filing fee the administrator shall schedule a hearing date
before the board and shall not~fy the person requesting the
hearing of the date of the hearing
(~) Upon the scheduled hearlnq date the board shall hear and
receive such evidence and facts concerning the alleged public
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