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Ordinance 1990-07 ORDINANCE NO. ~-~ L ~ ~ AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WYLIE, TEXAS, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 84-19, ABANDONED AND JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORITY TO TAKE POSSESSION OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT; PROVIDING FOR DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS TO OWNER AND LIENHOLDERS; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE BY PUBLICATION; PROVIDING FOR FEES FOR IMPOUNDMENT; PROVIDING FOR PUBLIC AUCTION AND DISPOSAL; PROVIDING FOR CUSTODY OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO DEMOLISHER; DECLARING JUNK VEHICLES A PUBLIC NUISANCE; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE TO ABATE PUBLIC NUISANCES; PROVIDING THAT JUNK VEHICLES NOT BE RECONSTRUCTED OR MADE OPERABLE AFTER REMOVAL; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION; PROVIDING FOR EXCEPTIONS TO ABATING NUISANCES; PROVIDING FOR ADMINISTRATION BY CITY EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORITY TO DISPOSE OF JUNKED VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY OR FINE NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS ($200.00) FOR EACH OFFENSE; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND, DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WYLIE, TEXAS: SECTION 1 That Ordinance No. 84-19 of the City of Wylie, Texas, be, and the same is hereby, amended in its entirety to read as follows. SECTION 2 DEFINITIONS A. ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE (1) Inoperable and more than five (5) years old and left unattended on public property for more than forty-eight (48) hours. (2) Motor vehicles illegally on public property for more than forty-eight (48) hours. (3) Motor vehicle illegally on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property. (4) Motor vehicles left unattended for more than forty-eight (48) hours on the right-of-way of a designated county, state, or federal highway within the state or more than twelve (12) hours on a turnpike project constructed by the Texas Turnpike Authority. B. DEMOLISHER (1) A person whose business is to convert a motor vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal or to otherwise wreck or dismantle a motor vehicle. C. GARAGEKEEPER (1) An owner or operator of a parking place or establishment for the servicing, repair, or maintenance of a motor vehicle. D. JUNKED VEHICLE (1) A motor vehicle Chapter 42, Acts of Called Session, 1929. Civil Statutes): as defined in Section 1, the 41st Legislature, 2nd (Article 6701 d-ll, Vernon's a. that is inoperable; and b. does not have lawfully affixed to it either an unexpired license plate or a valid motor vehicle inspection certificate, that is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, or c. discarded, d. remains inoperable for a continuous period of more than forty-five (45) days. E. STORAGE FACILITY A garage, parking lot, or any type of facility or establishment for the servicing, repairing, storing, or parking of motor vehicles. F. MOTOR VEHICLE A motor vehicle subject to registration under the Certificate of Title Act (Article 6687-1, Vernon's Civil Statutes). G. ANTIQUE AUTO (1) A passenger car or truck that was manufactured in 1925 or before. (2) A passenger car or truck that is at least thirty-five (35) years old. H. SPECIAL INTEREST VEHICLE (1) A motor vehicle of any age that has not been altered or modified from original manufacturer's specifications and, because of its historic interest, is being preserved by hobbyists. I. 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 of them for personal use in order to restore, preserve, and maintain an antique or special interest vehicle for historic interest. SECTION 3 AUTHORITY TO TAKE POSSESSION OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES The Police Department may take into custody any abandoned motor vehicle found on public or private property. SECTION 4 ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE NOTIFICATION OF OWNER AND LIENHOLDERS A. The Police Department, after taking into custody an abandoned motor vehicle, shall notify within ten (10) days, by certified mail, the last known registered owner of the motor vehicle and all lienholders of record pursuant to the Certificate of Title Act (Article 6687-1, Vernon's Civil Statutes), or Chapter 31, Parks and Wildlife Code that the vehicle has been taken into custody. B. The notice shall describe the year, make, model, and vehicle identification number of the abandoned motor vehicle, set forth the location of the facility where the motor vehicle is being held, inform the owner and any lienholders of their right to reclaim the motor vehicle not later than twenty (20) days after the date of the notice, on payment of all towing, preservation, and storage charges resulting from placing the vehicle in custody, or garagekeeper's charges if notice is under the provisions of Section 9 of this Ordinance. C. The notice shall also state that the failure of the owner or lienholders to exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle within the time provided constitutes a waiver by the owner and lienholders of all right, title, and interest in the vehicle and their consent to the sale of the abandoned motor vehicle at a public auction. SECTION 5 NOTICE BY PUBLICATION IF THE IDENTITY OF THE LAST REGISTERED OWNER OR LIENHOLDERS OF THE ABANDONED VEHICLE CANNOT BE DETERMINED A. If the identity of the last registered owner cannot be determined, or if it is impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and addresses of all lienholders, notice by one publication in newspaper of general circulation in the are where the motor vehicle was abandoned is sufficient notice under this Ordinance. B. The notice by publication may contain multiple listings of abandoned vehicles, shall be published within the time requirements prescribed for notice by certified mail, and shall have the same contents required by mail. C. The consequences and effect of failure to reclaim an abandoned motor vehicle are as set forth in a notice given under this section. D. Storage fees of abandoned motor vehicles (1) The Police Department or an agent of the Police Department that takes custody of an abandoned motor vehicle is entitled to reasonable storage fees for: a. a period of not more than ten (10) days beginning on the day the Department takes custody and continuing through the day the Department mails notice as provided by this Ordinance; and b. a period beginning on the day Department mails notice and continuing day any accrued charges are paid and is removed. after the through the the vehicle SECTION 6 POLICE DEPARTMENT USE OF CERTAIN ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES A. If an abandoned motor vehicle has not been reclaimed as provided by Section 4 (Abandoned Motor Vehicle Notification of Owner and Lienholders) of this ordinance, the Police Department may use that vehicle for Police Department purposes as provided by this section. (1) The Police Department motor vehicle for Police long as the Department effective. may use the abandoned Department purposes as considers it cost (2) If the Police Department discontinues use of the abandoned motor vehicle, the Department shall auction the vehicle as provided by Section 7 (Auction of Abandoned Motor Vehicles) of this Ordinance. (3) This section does not apply to an abandoned motor vehicle with a garagekeeper's lien. SECTION 7 AUCTION OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES A. If an abandoned motor vehicle has not been reclaimed as provided by Section 4 (Abandoned Motor Vehicle Notification of Owner an Lienholders) of this Ordinance, the Police Department may use the abandoned motor vehicle for the Police Department purposes as provided by Section 6 (Police Department Use of Certain Abandoned Motor Vehicles) of this Ordinance or sell the vehicle at a public auction. B. Proper notice of the public auction shall be given, and in the case of a garagekeeper's lien, the garagekeeper shall be notified of the time and place of the auction. C. The purchaser of the motor vehicle takes title to the motor vehicle free and clear of all liens and claims of ownership, shall receive a sales receipt from the Police Department, and is entitled to register the purchased vehicle and receive a certificate of title. SECTION 8 DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS OF THE SALE OF AN ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE A. The Police Department shall reimburse itself, from the proceeds of the sale of an abandoned motor vehicle, for the expenses of the auction, the costs of towing, preserving, and storing the vehicle that resulted from placing the abandoned motor vehicle in custody, and all notice and publication costs incurred under Section 4 (Abandoned Vehicle Notification of Owner and Lienholders) of this Ordinance. B. Any remainder from the proceeds of a sale shall be held for the owner of the vehicle or entitled lienholder for ninety (90) days and then shall be deposited in a special fund that shall remain available for payment of auction, towing, preserving, storage, and all notice and publication costs that result from placing another abandoned vehicle in custody, if the proceeds form a sale of another abandoned motor vehicle are insufficient to meet these expenses and costs, the City may transfer the amount in the special fund to the City's general revenue account to be used by the Police Department SECTION 9 CUSTODY OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES LEFT IN A STORAGE FACILITY AND CHARGES AND STORAGE FEES AND PROCEEDS OF THE SALE TO GARAGEKEEPERS AND POLICE A. A motor vehicle left for more than ten (10) days in a storage facility operated for commercial purposes after notice is given by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner and to any lienholder of record under the Certificate of Title Act (Article 6687-1, Vernon's Civil Statutes) to pick up the vehicle, or for more than ten (10) days after a period when under a contract the vehicle was to remain on the premises of the storage facility, or a motor vehicle left for more than ten (10) days in a storage facility by someone other than the registered owner or by a person authorized to have possession of the motor vehicle under a contract of use, service, storage, or repair, is considered an abandoned vehicle, and shall be reported by the garagekeeper to the Police Department. If the notice to the owner or lienholder is returned by the post office unclaimed, notice by one publication in one newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the vehicle was left in storage is sufficient notice. B. If a garagekeeper or storage facility acquires possession of a motor vehicle for a purpose other than repair, the garagekeeper or storage facility is entitled to towing, preservation and notification charges and to reasonable storage fees, in addition to storage fees earned pursuant to contract, for a maximum of seven (7) days only until notification is mailed to the last known registered owner and all lienholders of record as provided by subsection (A) of this section. After such notice mailed, storage fees may continue until the vehicle is removed and all accrued charges are paid. A garagekeeper who fails to report the possession of an abandoned vehicle to the Police Department within seven (7) days after it becomes abandoned may no longer claim reimbursement for storage of the vehicle. C. The Police Department, upon receipt of a report from a garagekeeper of the possession of a vehicle considered abandoned under the provisions of this section shall follow the notification procedures set forth in Section 4 of this Ordinance (Abandoned Motor Vehicle Notification of Owner and Lienholders), except that custody of the vehicle shall remain with the garagekeeper until after compliance with the notification requirements of this Ordinance. A fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) shall accompany the report of the garagekeeper to the Police Department. The Five Dollar ($5.00) fee shall be retained by the Police Department receiving the report and used to defray the cost of notification or other costs incurred in the disposition of an abandoned motor vehicle. D. An abandoned vehicle left in a storage facility and not reclaimed after notice is sent in accordance with Section 4 of this Ordinance shall be taken into custody by the Police Department and sold in the manner provided by Section 7 of this Ordinance (Public Auction). The proceeds of a sale under this section shall first be applied to the garagekeeper's charges for servicing, storage, and repair, but as compensation for the expense incurred by the Police Department in placing the vehicle in custody and the expense of auction, the Police Department shall retain two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of the sale of each vehicle auctioned, unless the gross proceeds are less than Ten Dollars ($10.00), the Department shall retain the Ten Dollars ($10.00) to defray expenses of custody and auction. Any surplus proceeds remaining from an auction shall be distributed in accordance with Section 7 of this Ordinance. SECTION 10 A person charging fees under Subsection B of Section 9 commits an offense if the person charges a storage fee for a period of time not authorized by that subsection. An offense under this subsection is punishable by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) and no more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). SECTION 11 DISPOSAL OF VEHICLE TO DEMOLISHER A person, firm, corporation, or unit of government on whose property or in whose possession is found any abandoned motor vehicle and a person who is the owner of a motor vehicle whose title certificate is faulty, lost or destroyed, may apply to the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation for authority to sell, give away, or dispose of a vehicle to a demolisher in accordance with the provisions of Article 6687-9, Vernon's Civil Statutes, as amended. SECTION 12 JUNKED VEHICLES AS A PUBLIC NUISANCE A. A junked vehicle that is located in any place where it is visible from a public place or public right-of-way is detrimental to the safety and welfare of the general public, tends to reduce the value of private property, invites vandalism, creates fire hazards, constitutes an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and is detrimental to the economic welfare of the City by producing urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the City, and such vehicles are declared to be a public nuisance. B. A person commits an offense if that person maintains a public nuisance as determined by this section. A person who commits an offense under this section is, on conviction, subject to a fine not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00). On conviction, the court shall order removal and abatement of the nuisance. SECTION 13 PROCEDURES FOR ABATING NUISANCES The Police Department or Code Enforcement Officer of the City of Wylie, upon receipt of a complaint or its own initiative, is authorized to initiate appropriate official action to remove and abate junked vehicles as public nuisances, on private property, public property, or public rights-of-way in the following manner: (1) For a nuisance on private property, a notice of not less than ten (10) days, stating the nature of the public nuisance on private property, that it must be removed and abated within ten (10) days, and that a request for a hearing must be made before the expiration of the ten (10) day period. The notice must be mailed by certified mail with a five day return requested, to the last know registered owner of the junked motor vehicle, any lienholder of record, and the owner or occupant of the private premises on which the public nuisance exists. If the notice is returned undelivered by the United States Post Office, official action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to date not less than ten (10) days after the date of the return. (2) As for a nuisance on Public Property or Public Right-of-way, a notice of not less than ten (10) days stating the nature of the public nuisance on public property or on a public right-of-way, that the nuisance must be removed and abated within ten (10) days, and that a request for a hearing must be made before expiration of the ten (10) day period. The notice must be mailed, by certified mail with a five day return requested, to the last known registered owner of the junked vehicle, any lienholder of record, and the owner or occupant of the public premises or the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way on which the public nuisance exists. If the notice is returned undelivered by the United States Post Office, official action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not l~ss than ten (10) days after the date of the return. (3) Once a junked motor vehicle has been removed under provisions of this section, it shall not be reconstructed or made operable. (4) When a hearing is requested by the owner or occupant of this public or private premises or by the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way on which the vehicle is located, within ten (10) days after service of notice to abate the nuisance, a hearing must be held prior to the removal of the vehicle or parts thereof, before the Municipal Court of the City of Wylie. If the Municipal Judge finds that such vehicle or vehicle part is a public nuisance as defined herein, he shall enter an order requiring the removal of the vehicle or vehicle part from public or private property or public right-of-way where it is situated, and such order shall include a description of the vehicle and the correct identification number and license number of the vehicle if the information is available at the site. (5) The Police Department or Code Enforcement Officer of the City of Wylie is required to give notice to the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation within five (5) days after the date of removal of the vehicle and said notice must identify the vehicle or vehicle part. (6) The procedures for abating nuisance set out herein shall not apply to a vehicle or vehicle part that is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property, a vehicle or vehicle part that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard, or an unlicensed operable, or inoperable antique or special interest vehicle stored by a collector on the collector's property, if the vehicle and the outdoor storage area are maintained in a manner so that they do not constitute a health hazard and are screened from ordinary public view by means of a fence, rapidly' growing trees, shrubbery, or other appropriate means. (7) The administration of the procedures of this section shall be carried out by regularly salaried, full-time employees of the City, except that the removal of a vehicle or vehicle part from property may be by any person duly authorized by the City. The City Manager, the Chief of Police or Code Enforcement Officer, or their duly authorized representative, is authorized to enter upon private property for the purpose of examining a vehicle or vehicle part, obtaining information as to the identity of the vehicle removing or causing the removal of a vehicle or vehicle part that constitutes a public nuisance in accordance with this Ordinance. (8) If a junked motor vehicle declared to be a public nuisance is not removed and abated and a hearing is not requested within the ten (10) day period provided for by this section, a complaint may be filed for maintaining a public nuisance as defined in this Ordinance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to a fine not to exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for each offense, and each and every day said offense shall continue shall be deemed to constitute a separate offense and the Municipal Court shall order removal and abatement of the public nuisance. SECTION 14 DISPOSAL OF JUNKED VEHICLES A junked vehicle or vehicle part may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard, demolisher, or any suitable site for processing as scrap or salvage. SECTION 15 ENFORCEMENT The administration of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be the responsibility of the city Manager or such department, officer, or employee of the City as he may authorize. The City Manager, Chief of Police, Code Enforcement Officer or their duly authorized representative is authorized to enter upon private property for the purposes specified in the procedures adopted in this Ordinance to examine vehicles or parts thereof, obtain information as to the identity of vehicles and to remove or cause removal of a vehicle or parts thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to the procedures of this Ordinance. The Municipal Court shall have authority to issue any order necessary to enforce th procedures set out in this ordinance. Nothing in this Ordinance shall affect parking or other ordinances of the City of Wylie which permit the immediate removal of a vehicle left upon public property or on public rights-of-way where the vehicle constitutes obstruction of traffic. SECTION 16 Any other ordinance of the City of Wylie in conflict herewith is hereby repealed. SECTION 17 If any portion of this Ordinance shall, for any reason, be declared invalid or held unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the remaining provisions thereof. SECTION 18 This Ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after caption, as provide. its passage and the publication of the the law and Charter in such cases ~~~~~,P~i~~~ ~~DT~i~R~~~D ,~~TH~A~I~~ C7~~~E CITY OF ~/ (!:.-:. Ch~~~imhl e~_!l!>yor ATTEST: //// / // .. f) 6fr~ff/~i'~ C;~~'~':'c~~:ry l. / / (