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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 10815 ORDINANCE NO. ~®~~~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE II OF APPENDIX B, CHAPTER 11A OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (1986), AS AMENDED, BY AMENDING SECTION 11A-10 WHICH PROVIDES PROCEDURES FOR ABATEMENT OF HIGH GRASS AND WEED VIOLATIONS BY THE CITY, COSTS OF ABATEMENT TO BE LIEN; BY ADDING SECTION 11A-11 WHICH PROVIDES AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR DISPUTED OR CONTESTED COSTS; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULA- TIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLL- MENT; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL NEWS- PAPER; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That Section 11A-10 of Appendix B, Chapter 11A of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended, be and is hereby amended by repealing Section 11A-10 and replacing it with a new Section 11A-10 thereof which reads as follows: Sec. 11A-10. Abatement by City; costs of abatement to be lien. In addition to any other civil or criminal remedies, it is hereby provided that expenses of abating high grass and weed violations by the City may be assessed against the real estate on which work is done in accordance with the provisions of this section, which are hereby adopted pursuant to Sections 342.004 et seq. of the Texas Health and Safety Code. In the event that the owner of any property situated within the City fails to comply with Sections 11A-8 or 11A-9, the Code Enforcement Division may notify the owner personally in writing, or by letter addressed to him at his post office address, or by publication in the offi- cial newspaper at least twice within ten (10) consecu- tive days if personal service cannot be obtained or the owner's post office address is unknown, of the owner's failure to comply with Sections 11A-8 or 11A-9. Ten (10) days after notification, the City may enter upon the property and may do such work as necessary, or cause it to be done, in order that the property may comply with the requirements in Sections 11A-8 and 11A-9. Thereafter the City shall charge the owner the expenses incurred by the City to do the work, make the improvements, or cause work to be done, consisting of the cost for performing the work and an administrative fee. The administrative fee shall be in an amount established by City Council. A statement of these expenses shall be mailed to the owner of the property on which work was performed. If the expenses have not been paid after thirty (30) days from the date the statement was mailed, the Mayor hereby designates the Director of the Department of City Services or the Superintendent of Code Enforcement as the Municipal Official who shall file with the County Clerk of Tarrant County a statement of expenses incurred to abate such condition on the property, and the City shall have a privileged lien on the property upon which such expense was incurred, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements. Interest accrues on the lien at the rate of ten ( 10 ) percent on the amount due from the date of payment by the City. For any such expenditure and interest, as aforesaid, suit may be instituted and recovery and foreclosure be had in the name of the City, and the statement of expenses so made, as aforesaid, or a certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie proof of the expenses incurred by the City in doing the work or making the improvements. That Appendix B, Chapter 11A of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (1986), as amended, is hereby amended by adding to Chapter 11A thereof a new Section 11A-11, to read as follows: Sec. 11A-11. Administrative procedure for disputed or contested abatement costs. (a) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, an administrative procedure is hereby established for the resolution of a dispute or contested matter relating to the existence of liability by an owner of property for payment of abatement costs incurred under the authority of Section 11A-10 or the correctness of the calcula- tion of these expenses. For the purposes of Section 11A-11, an "owner" of property is defined as the person to whom the statement of expenses is addressed. (b) An owner must give written notice of his dispute or contest of abatement costs to the Superinten- dent of Code Enforcement or his designee. An owner's written notice must be received by the Superintendent no later than sixty (60) days from the date the statement of expenses was mailed to the owner. The owner shall be given the oppor- 2 tunity thereafter to present information to the Superintendent at a hearing which would show that the owner is not responsible for payment of the abatement expenses incurred. The burden of proof shall be upon the owner to demonstrate the owner is not responsible for payment of the abatement expenses. (c) A written response by the Superintendent will be mailed to the owner within seven (7) days after the hearing only in the event the Superintendent determines the owner is not responsible for pay- ment of the abatement expenses or the owner is responsible for payment in a different amount than originally billed. The written response, if given, will be a copy of the Superintendent's memorandum directed to the City Tax Department containing instructions for adjusting the billing. (d) If the owner is dissatisfied with the Superinten- dent's determination as specified in (b) and (c) above, he may make a request in writing to the Director of the Department of City Services or his designee for review. An owner's written request must be received by the Director no later than thirty (30) days from the date of the owner's hearing with the Superintendent. The Director or his designee will review the evidence presented by the owner to the Superintendent and provide the owner an opportunity to present any additional information. The decision of the Director is final, and the owner will be notified in writing of the Director's decision. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordi- nances and of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (1986), as amended, except where the provisions of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 3. If any of the provisions of this ordinance or the applica- tion thereof to any person, property or circumstance is held 3 ~, invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions con- tained herein or the application of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. SECTION 4. All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved as to any and all violations of the provi- sions of Chapter 11A of the Fort Worth City Code which have accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance; and, as to such accrued violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such ordinances, same shall not be affected by this ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts. SECTION 5. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the cap- tion and effective date in the minutes of the City Council and by filing the ordinance in the ordinance records of the City. SECTION 6. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby directed to publish the caption and effective date of this ordinance for two (2) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Section 52.013, Texas Local Government Code. 4 SECTION 7. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage and publication, and it is so ordained. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: City Attorney Date • / I10/~ 2~, rR g I ADOPTED • "~"'' (~ - q EFFECTIVE• 5 MAS fER FILE 1 ACCOUNTING 2 TRANSPURTATION~PUEILiC.Y~QiF/~p//h,ry/~®~ ,ry/~ -// // '®~ ~/~,~1,~ l! ~®~~~U/W~„4J'I.WIV/n ®U lV N4IE(t AOMINISTRA7iUPE ~ J~v~7~~ ((~~(~ (~ /LLl+ll/V ll~./. ((/((/ lj~'lllVll/V '1/lV (li CITY SERVICE ~~~ S "'DATE REFERENCE NUMBER SUBJECT ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE AMENDING PAGE 4-2-91 G-9094 WEED ABATEMENT PROCEDURES IN CHAPTER ,of 1___ RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council: 1. Adopt the attached ordinance which will codify additional legal processes for the filing of weed liens and abatement procedures, and; 2. Reaffirm establishment of the administrative fee for cutting weeds is in the amount of $200. DISCUSSION: Chapter 11A of the Code of the City of Fort Worth presently provides abatement procedures when property owners do not voluntarily comply with cutting high grass and weeds on private property. However, some additional procedures used by the City are informal. The proposed ordinance revisions would: 1. Constitute the Mayor's designation of the Director of City Services or the Superintendent of the Code Enforcement Division as the municipal official responsible for filing with the County Clerk a statement of expenses incurred to abate property conditions;. 2. Establish procedures for an administrative due process hearing for those property owners who dispute the liability or amount of abatement expenses; and 3. Establish that an administrative fee is a part of the abatement expenses of having work performed. On May 10, 1983 by M&C G-5621, City Council approved establishing an amount of $200 for the weed cutting administrative fee. It is recommended that amount be reaffirmed. A~'FRQV~D BY RG:z 21or9664 ~~! Y L~~~~~~ AF' €~ ~ 1;~~~ ~ ~~~~ ..~.~.. city Secx£tarp cf th© city of rn~: wort:l, ~©xaa SUBMITTED FOR IMt CITY MANAGER'S Ramon Guajardo 6143 OFFICE BY DISPOSITION BY COUNCIL. PROCESSED BY ^ APPROVED ORIGINATING Tom Davis 6300 G OTHER (DESCRIBE) DEPARTMENT HEAD __ CITY SECRETARY FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Tom Davi s 6300 CONTACT Adopted Ordinance No• DATE