1972-050AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF DENTON,
TEXAS, REGULATING THE MOVING OF BUILDINGS OVER, ALONG OR ACROSS
HIGHWAYS, STREETS AND ALLEYS IN SAID CITY, PROVIDING FOR PROTECTION
OF THE CITY FROM DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF SUCH OPERATIONS, AUTHORIZ-
ING THE CITY BUILDING INSPECTOR TO ISSUE PERMITS, PROVIDING FOR EN-
FORCEMENT, AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATIONS OF ITS PRO-
VISIONS, AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS
PART I
That the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas, is
hereby amended by adding new Sections 5-16 through 5-24 to said
Code of Ordinances which shall hereafter read as follows
Section 5-16 Definitions
For the purposes of this ordinance the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein
(1) "Building" is a structure designed, built or occupied as
a shelter or roofed enclosure for persons, animals or property and
used for residential, business, mercantile, storage, commercial, in-
dustrial, institutional, assembly, educational or recreational pur-
poses Buildings not exceeding twelve (12) feet in width, sixty (60)
feet in length, and thirteen feet six inches (13'6") in height above
the street level are exempted from this definition and terms of this
Ordinance
(2) "Building Inspector" is the Building Inspector of the City
of Denton, Texas
(3) "City" is the City of Denton, Texas
(4) "Person" is any person, firm, partnerhsip, association, cor-
poration, company or organization of any kind
Section 5-1~ Permit Required
No person shall move any building or portion thereof over, along
or across any highway, street or alley in the City without first ob-
taining a permit from the Building Inspector, no moving shall be per-
mitted between the hours of 7 00 a m and9 00 a m or 4 00 p m and
6 00 p m
Section 5-18 General Requirements
No application for any permit to move buildings or other over-
sized loads will be accepted until the applicant shall have the
following on file with the Building Inspector
(a) A bond, approved as to form by the City Attorney, exe-
cuted by a bonding or surety company authorized to do business in
the State of Texas in the amount of Five Thousand ($5,000 00)
Dollars, conditioned upon the assurance that this and other appli-
cable Ordinances and laws will be complied with Such bond shall
run to the City and shall be conditioned on payment for any ex-
pense or damage to public property, and payment of any expenses,
damages or losses resulting from any malfeasons, misfeasons, non-
feasons, or negligence in connection with any of the activities up-
on which a house moving permit applied for is granted
(b) In addition to the foregoing requirement for a bond, a
liability insurance policy in full force and effect shall be re-
quired in the minimum sum of Fifty Thousand ($50,000 00) Dollars
for injury or death of one (1) person or One Hundred ($100,000 00)
Dollars for injury or death to more than one (1) person from any
one accident and the minimum sum of Twenty-Five Thousand ($25,000 00)
Dollars for property damage for any one accident and such policy
shall contain a provision obligating the insurer to give written
notice of cancellation not less than ten (10) days prior to the date
of such cancellation to the Building Inspector
Section 5-19 Application
A person seeking issuance of a permit hereunder shall file an
application for such permit with the Building Inspector
(1) Form The application shall be made in writing upon forms
provided by the Building Inspector, and shall be filed in the office
of the Building Inspector
(2) Contents The application shall set forth
(a) A description of the building proposed to be moved,
giving street number, construction materials, dimen-
sions, number of rooms and condition of exterior
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and interior maximum height of building above ground
level when mounted on moving apparatus,
(b) A legal description of the lot from which the build-
ing is to be moved, giving the lot, block, tract
number, and street address, if located in the City,
(¢) A legal description of the lot to which it is pro-
posed to move such building, giving lot, block,
tract number, and street address, if located in the
City or if outside the City the destination,
(d) The portion of the lot to be occupied by the build-
ing when moved,
(e) The highways, streets, and alleys over, along or
across which the building is proposed to be moved,
(f) Proposed moving date and hours,
(g) Any additional information whi,ch the Building Inspec-
tor shall find necessary to/~a~ir determination of
whether a permit should be issued
(3) Accompanying Papers
(a) Tax Certificate The owner of the building to be
moved shall file with the application sufficient
evidence that the building and lot from which it is
to be removed are free of any encumbrances and that
all taxes and any City charges against the same have
been paid in full
(b) Certificate of Ownership or Entitlement The appli-
cant, if other than the owner, shall file with the
application a written statement or bill of sale
signed by the owner, or other sufficient evidence,
that he is entitled to the building
(c) Texas Highway Department Permit The applicant shall
file with the application a Texas Highway Department
Permit for moving oversized load if any part of the
proposed route is along a designated U S or State
numbered highway route
(4) Fee The application shall be accompanied by a permit fee
in the amount of one and one-fourth cents per square foot for each
square foot of floor space in the building to be moved, or Fifteen
($15 00) Dollars, whichever is greater
Section 5-20 Deposits for Expense or Damage to City
(1) Upon receipt of an application it shall be the duty of
the Building Inspector to procure from the Utilities Department and
other appropriate agencies a~ estimate of the expense that will be
incurred in removing, replacing or altering any electric wires,
street lamps, or pole lines belonging to the City or any other pro-
perty of the City, the removal, replacement or alteration of which
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will be required by reason of the moving of the building, together
with the cost of materials necessary to be used in making such re-
movals, replacements and/or alterations Thereafter, prior to
issuance of the permit, the Building Inspector shall require of
the applicant a deposit of a sum of money equal to three times the
amount of the estimated expense, or Three Hundred ($300 00) Dollars,
whichever sum is greater
(2) Additionally, said deposit shall be used as an idemnity
for any damage which the City may sustain by reason of damage or in-
Jury to any highway, street or alley, sidewalk, fire hydrant, shade
tree, traffic control device, utility line, or other property of
the City, which may be caused by or be incidental to the moving of
any building over, along or across any street of the City
Section 5-21 Duties of Building Inspector
(1) Inspection Prior to the issuance of the permit, the
Building Inspector shall inspect the building and the applicant's
equipment to determine compliance with the standards listed below
(2) Standards for Issuance The Building Inspector shall re-
fuse to issue a permit if he finds
(a) That any application requirement or any fee or deposit
requirement has not been complied with,
(b) That the building is too large to move without en-
dangering persons or property in the City,
(c) That the building has deteriorated more than fifty per
cent (50%) of its original value by fire or other ele-
ment, or is otherwise so structurally unsafe that it
cannot be moved without endangering persons or property
in the City,
(d) That the building is structurally unsafe or unfit for
the purpose for which moved, if the proposed location
is in the City,
(e) That the applicant's equipment is unsafe, unlicensed,
or otherwise not in conformity with the law, or that
persons or property would be endangered by its use,
(f) That any municipal ordinance or other law would be vio-
lated by the building in its new location,
(g) That for any other reason persons or property in the
City would be endangered by the moving of the building
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(3) Fees and Deposits
(a) Deposit The Building Inspector shall deposit all
fees and deposits with the Director of Finance All
bonds and insurance policies shall be filed in the
Building Inspector's Office
(b) Return upon non issuance Upon his refusal to issue
a permit the Building Inspector shall return to the
applicant all deposits A processing fee of Fifteen
($15 00) Dollars will be charged to defray expenses
of inspection Any permit fee in excess of Fifteen
($15 00) Dollars will be returned to the applicant
(c) Return upon allowance for expense After the build-
ing has been moved the Building Inspector shall fur-
nish a written statement of all expenses incurred in
removing and replacing all property belonging to the
City, and of all material used in the moving and re-
placement together with a statement of all damages
inflicted upon property belonging to the City Pro-
vided, however, that if any wires, ooles, lamps or
other property are not located in conformity with
governing ordinances or state law, the permittee shall
not be liable for the cost of removing the same The
Building Inspector shall return to the applicant all
deposits after the Director of Finance deducts the sum
sufficient to pay for all costs, expenses, and damages
to the property of the City by the moving of the build-
ing
(4) The Building Inspector shall secure approval of the proposed
route from the Utilities Department, Department of Public Works, the
Division of Traffic Engineering and other utility service companies
deemed advisable by him before issuing the moving permit
Section 5-22 Duties of Permittee
Every permittee under this ordinance shall
(1) Use approved route Use designated streets and move the
building only over the streets approved for such use in the written
permit
(2) Notify of revised moving time Notify the Building Inspec-
tor in writing of a desired change in moving date and/or time as pro-
posed in the application at least 24 hours before the new moving time
(3) Notify of Damage Notify the Building Inspector in writing
of any and all damage done to property belonging to the City within
twenty-four hours after the damage or injury has occurred
(4) Display Lights Cause red lights to be displayed during
the night time on every side of the building, while standing on a
street, in such a manner as to warn the public of the obstruction
Erect and maintain barricades across the streets in such manner as
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to protect the public from damage or injury by the moving of the
building
(5) Street occupancy Remove the building from City streets
after forty-eight hours of such occupancy, unless an extension is
granted by the Building Inspector
(6) Comply with Governing Law Comply with all applicable
ordinances and laws upon relocating the building in the City
(7) Provide for Escort Provide such escort as may be
required by the Building Inspector to accompany the movement of
the building to protect the public from injury
(8) Clear the old premises Remove all concrete slabs, foun-
dation remnants, rubbish and materials and fill all excavations to
existing grade at the original building site so that the premises
are left in a sanitary condition
(9) Remove Service Connection Permittee shall notify all
utility service companies to terminate and remove their services,
and obtain from each utility service organization a release stat-
ing that all service connections have been properly removed from
the premises terminated
Section 5-23 Enforcement
(1) Enforcing Officers The Building Inspector, the Police
Department, the Utilities Department, and the Department of Public
Works shall enforce and carry out the requirements of this ordinance
(2) Permittee liable for expense above deposit The permittee
shall be liable for any expense, damages or costs in excess of de-
posit amounts of securities, and the City Attorney shall prosecute
an action against the permittee in a court of competent Jurisdiction
for the recovery of such expenses, damages or costs
(3) Original premises left unsafe Where permittee does not
comply with leaving the original premises in a safe and sanitary
condition, the City shall proceed to do the work, and the cost there-
of shall be charged against the general deposit
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Section 5-24 Penalties
(1) Any person who shall violate a provision of this Code, or
fails to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof,
or of a permit or certificate issued thereunder, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not less than ten ($10 00)
dollars nor more than two hundred ($200 00) dollars Each such per-
son shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every
day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the pro-
visions of this code is committed, or continued, and upon conviction
of any such violations 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 movement or relocation
of a building within the terms of the ordinance stated above, or to
restrain, correct or abate a violation of said ordinance, or pre-
vent an illegal act, conduct, business or use in or about any pre-
mises
PART II
That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause,
phrase or word in this ordinance, or application thereof to any
person or circumstances is held invalid by any court of competent
Jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the re-
maining portions of this ordinance, and the City Council of the City
of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have enacted such remain-
ing portions despite any such invalidity
PART III
That this ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days
from the date of its passage, and the City Secretary is hereby di-
rected to cause the caption of this ordinance to be published in
the Denton Record-Chronicle within ten (10) days of the date of its
passage
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PASSED AND APPROVED this the 24th day of October, A D 1972
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
ATTEST
BF~O~A~ HOLT, CITY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
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