§ 1. TRASH, LITTER, WEEDS AND BRUSH CONTROLS

A.

DEFINITIONS

The following words and terms shall have the meaning respectively ascribed to them in this section:

(1)

Bulky waste : Household furniture, electronic appliances (such as televisions, stereos, microwave ovens), lawn mowers, door and window screens, swing sets, oversized children's toys, lawn furniture, wading pools, barbecue grills, whole or parts of boats and automobiles, and items banned from the landfill such as white goods (stoves, refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc.), tires or other items generated by a household as part of its solid waste which are too large for placement in a garbage container.

(2)

Container : A watertight receptacle made of metal, heavy-duty plastic, or material of similar strength with a tight-fitting cover for storage and disposal of solid waste.

(3)

Litter : Any unsecured or inadequately secured and improperly stored or disposed solid waste placed, thrown, dropped, deposited, blown, leaked or in any other manner distributed as prohibited by the provisions of this article.

(4)

Private property : Includes, but is not limited to, the following exterior locations owned by private individuals, firms, corporations, institutions or organizations: yards, grounds, driveways, entrance ways, passageways, parking areas, working areas, vacant lots, drainage basins and on-site storm water collection/retention or detention areas, loading and unloading areas, storage facilities, contiguous and noncontiguous open lot storage areas and recreation facilities.

(5)

Public property : Includes, but is not limited to, the following exterior locations: streets, street medians, roads, road medians, catch basins, state, county or municipally maintained ditches, sidewalks, strips between sidewalk and street lanes, alleys, public rights-of-way, public parking lots, school grounds, housing project grounds, publicly owned vacant lots, recreational facilities, including, but not limited to, parks, conservation areas, boat landings, and beaches, waterways and bodies of water.

(6)

Solid waste : Garbage, refuse, litter, rubbish, trash or any material including recyclable materials, and arboreal materials resulting from industrial, commercial, agricultural or residential activities not otherwise disposable or reusable in accordance with state regulations.

(7)

Rubbish and Unsightly maintenance of property : Any overgrowth of grasses, bushes, shrubs, weeds, trees, vines, limbs or branches, excessive collection and storage of putrescible or non-putrescible solid waste, loosely strewn construction and demolition debris (including, but not limited to, all residential and commercial building materials, paint, tools, lumber, fencing), automobile repair or reconstruction items (including, but not limited to, used vehicle parts or whole and partial segments of vehicle engines, drive trains, frames, tires, wheels), appliances, household fixtures and furnishings (including, but not limited to, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, washers, drivers, sinks, bathtubs), external to the primary residential, commercial or industrial unit or a defined screen storage area or secondary storage facility, which will or is likely to constitute a nuisance or health hazard.

(8)

Vehicle : Any device capable of being moved upon a public highway or roadway and in, upon or by which any property is, or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway or roadway.

(9)

Weeds : All rank and uncultivated vegetable growth or matter, including grass, which has grown to more than nine inches (9") in height or which regardless of height, is liable to become an unwholesome or a decaying mass or breeding place for mosquitoes or vermin.

(10)

Brush : All trees or shrubbery under seven feet (7') in height which are not cultivated or cared for by persons owning or controlling the premises.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

B.

NUISANCE

(1)

A nuisance shall exist on any parcel of land within the City when either, weeds, brush, trash, debris or an unsightly maintenance of property results in the covering of the surface of any such parcel of land within the corporate limits; or

(2)

A nuisance shall exist if a parcel has any condition upon it which causes such property to hold or retain surface water; or

(3)

A nuisance shall exist when any property's condition causes or contributes to the creation of, or furtherance of, any disease, harboring of insects or spreading of germs, or any activity/action which tends to render the surrounding atmosphere unhealthy, unwholesome or obnoxious; or

(4)

A nuisance shall exist when any condition on such property constitutes a fire hazard, present an unsafe chemical condition, or posses an undue risk to the immediate neighborhood.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

C.

PUBLIC NECESSITY

(1)

For fire or chemical hazard violations, immediately notify the City Fire Marshal.

(2)

Fire and chemical hazard violations shall be immediately abated and verified by the City Fire Marshal.

(3)

Any nuisance creating a habitat or harboring insects, rodents, reptiles or other creatures shall be abated as directed by the Community Services Director or his designee.

(4)

Any solid waste debris shall be properly disposed of as directed by the Community Services Director or his designee at an appropriate solid waste disposal facility.

(5)

No burning of solid waste debris shall occur in the City limits absent of an approved City Burning Permit.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

D.

PEDESTRIANS AND MOTORISTS

(1)

It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, discard, place or deposit solid waste in any manner or amount on any public or private property within City of Santa Fe, except in containers or areas lawfully provided for such purposes.

(2)

In the prosecution charging a violation of the above subsection (a), from any vehicle, proof that the particular vehicle described in the complaint was the origin of the solid waste, together with proof that the defendant named in the complaint was at the time of such violation, the registered owner of said vehicle, shall constitute in evidence a presumption that the registered owner or his designee to whom he gave permission or authorization to operate said vehicle, committed the violation. Origin of the solid waste may be substantiated by documentation or information contained on, within or through the solid waste which establishes ownership of the solid waste to either the registered owner or a designee to whom permission or authorization was granted or because of assumed permission or authorization being granted due to the relationship between the registered owner and the driver.

(3)

It shall be the duty of every person distributing commercial handbills, leaflets, posters, flyers or any other advertising or information materials to take all appropriate and necessary measures to keep such materials from littering public or private property.

(4)

To prevent litter by pedestrians, motorists and property owners, publicly used establishments and institutions, shall provide readily accessible solid waste containers which shall be regularly emptied and maintained in good condition. Such containers shall be of sufficient size and dimension to adequately handle the solid waste generated as a part of the delivery of goods and services to the public. This requirement shall be applicable to, but not limited to, fast-food outlets, shopping centers, convenience stores, supermarkets, service stations, commercial parking lots, mobile canteens, motels and hotels, hospitals, schools, colleges or other public/private institutions.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

E.

LITTER TO BE COVERED TO PREVENT IT FROM ESCAPING FROM VEHICLE DURING TRANSPORTATION

No vehicle which transports litter may be driven or moved on any highway unless the litter is secured by means of a covering which is fastened securely so as to prevent any of its pay-load from dropping, sifting, leaking, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle onto the public right-of-way or private property.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

F.

LOADING AND UNLOADING OPERATIONS

(1)

The owner or principal manager of any establishment or institution where packing and unpacking, and/or loading and unloading of materials takes place at exterior locations, shall provide suitable containers there for the proper collection and storage of waste materials. Such establishment owners and managers shall ensure that all tenants and their employees are aware of good waste handling practices and such practices are being routinely practiced to prevent the blowing, dropping, or scattering of solid waste materials from their storage units or during transfer to a collection vehicle for disposal or recycling.

(2)

It shall be the duty and responsibility of the owner, tenant, lessee or their designees to remove or cause to be removed, at the end of each working day, any solid waste materials in the proximity of the development or establishment or in and around the public access areas of the development or establishment.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

G.

CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION OR DEMOLITION PROJECTS

It shall be the duty and responsibility of the owner, agent, contractor, or subcontractor to have adequate on-site containers and organized temporary storage areas, which are of sufficient size and dimension to prevent the scattering, dropping, sifting, blowing of solid waste on-site and during the transfer of such solid waste to a solid waste collection vehicle for disposal or recycling, for the retention of all solid waste materials produced as a direct or indirect result of a construction, renovation or demolition project. It shall be the responsibility of the owner, agent, contractor or subcontractor to ensure all solid waste materials are properly disposed of in a City designated disposal facility.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

H.

COMMERCIAL MATERIAL CONTAINERIZATION AND REMOVAL

(1)

All establishments, businesses or institutions including, but not limited to, restaurants, schools, convenience stores, offices, retail and wholesale business concerns, which generate solid waste requiring collection, shall make use an appropriate sized onsite solid-waste container to accommodate the normal volume of materials generated therein between collection events.

(2)

It shall be the duty and responsibility of any establishment, institution, business, commercial or industrial activity to make appropriate arrangements for collection and disposal of all solid waste generated by the business or its customers.

(3)

All commercial and industrial containers shall be completely screened from view of adjoining properties, have their own concrete slab and be located to the side or rear of the commercial or industrial structure served by the solid waste container.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

I.

KEEPING PROPERTY CLEAN

(1)

It shall be the duty and responsibility of the owner, agent, occupant or lessee to keep exterior private and public property free of litter. This requirement applies not only to removal of loose litter, but to litter that is or has become trapped at such locations as fences, wall bases, ditches, grassy and planted areas, borders, embankments, bumper stops, curbed area or other such lodging points.

(2)

It shall be unlawful to sweep or push litter from buildings, or property, onto strips in the street, sidewalks or storm drainage ditches.

(3)

Each property owner adjacent to the Santa Fe Railroad is responsible for the cleanliness and upkeep of the land area projecting forward to the edge of the traveled right-of-way.

(4)

It shall be unlawful for the owner or owners of any property in the City of Santa Fe, to disobey or fail to comply with any provision of this article.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

J.

DUMPING AND DEPOSITING MATERIAL IN THE RIVERS, CREEKS, DRAINAGE CANALS AND DITCHES PROHIBITED

No person shall throw or place any refuse, paper, trash, glass, nails, tacks, wire, bottles, cans, grass clippings, brush, yard trash, concrete, earthen fill, garbage, containers, or litter or other debris in any ditch, stream, river, or retention basin that regularly or periodically carries surface water runoff. Any person who deposits any of the above shall remove it or shall cause it to be removed there from immediately.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

K.

INSPECTION

The Community Services Director, or his designee, shall have authority to inspect any property within the City limits of the City, at any reasonable time in order to make a thorough examination thereof for the purpose of determining whether or not any of such unsanitary conditions mentioned herein exist, subject, however, to the restrictions against such inspection and entry of a private residence or private property for said inspection as provided by laws of the State of Texas. The director or his designee is designated as the Code Enforcement Officer for the purpose of being issued a "search warrant" as may be required, pursuant to Section 18.05 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

L.

NOTICE TO ABATE, SERVICE

(1)

Generally

If the owner of any real property fails or refuses to comply with this article, and the Community Services Director or his designee receives information of the existence of any property in violation of this article, he or his designee assigned such responsibility, shall serve the owner of the property with a written notice informing the owner of such condition and directing that action be taken to bring the property into compliance within ten (10) calendar days.

(2)

Service of notice on owner or occupant

The notice authorized by this section shall be given personally to the owner or occupant or both in writing or by letter mailed "certified mail return receipt requested" or equivalent addressed to the owner at the owner's address as recorded in the appraisal district records of the appraisal district in which the property is located and to the occupant at the mailing address of the subject property. If personal service cannot be obtained and the owner is not an individual, then the notice shall be served upon the persons designated under applicable law for service of process on a non-individual or nonresident.

(3)

Service of notice by publication; contents

If personal service of the notice cannot be obtained, service may be given by publication, at least once, in a newspaper of general circulation in the City, addressed to the owner or if the owner is not known, "to the owner of (legal description of the property involved)". The notice shall give the legal description of the property, state the condition which constitutes a violation of this section, and shall state that upon failure of the owner to rectify the situation within ten (10) calendar days of the date the notice is mailed, published or posted, a complaint may be filed in the municipal court of the City for violation of this article, stating the penalties for violation. In addition, the notice shall advise that the City may do work or make the improvements required or pay for the work done or improvements made and charge the owner for the expense involved, and upon failure of the owner to pay the City for such expense, fix a lien on the property for the expense involved as provided in this article.

(4)

Notice by posting; contents

In addition to publication in a local newspaper, notice may be served by posting said notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation relates; or by posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates, if the property contains no buildings. Any notice posted on the property shall be on a placard and shall have the same contents as provided in subsection (3) above.

(5)

Notice returned as "refused or unclaimed"

In the event a notice is mailed to a property owner in accordance with this article and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as "refuse or unclaimed", the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered.

(6)

Additional notice not required

In a notice provided under this section, the City may inform the owner by regular mail and a posting on the property that if the owner commits another violation of the same kind or nature that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the one-year anniversary of the date of the notice, the City without further notice may correct the violation at the owner's expense and assess the expense against the property. If a violation covered by a notice under this section occurs within the one-year period, and the City has not been informed in writing by the owner of an ownership change, then the City without notice may take any action permitted in this article and assess expenses against the property.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

M.

UNLAWFUL NON-COMPLIANCE; FILING OF COMPLAINT; FINES

It shall be unlawful for the owner or tenant of any land within the City to fail to have any weeds, grass, brush or rubbish mowed, cut, removed, or otherwise fail to bring property into compliance with the standards and time frame set forth within the notice after such notice is mailed or published, directing that such standards be met; the Community Services Director or his designee assigned such duties shall, whenever a violation is found, file a complaint with the municipal court; and the prosecutor of the municipal court assigned such duties shall prosecute the case, and upon conviction for violation of this article the owner shall be fined in accordance with Texas Local Government Code, 54C, 54.001 (a), (b) and (c).

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

N.

ABATEMENT BY CITY; PAYMENT OF COSTS BY OWNER; LIEN IMPOSED FOR NON-PAYMENT

(1)

In addition to the remedy provided for in Subsection N., the City may also cause the work necessary to bring any property into compliance with this article to be done if the owner fails to do such work or cause the work to be done within fifteen (15) calendar days from receipt of notice or publication, and to charge the owner for the costs incurred by the City. A statement of the costs incurred by the City to abate such condition shall be mailed to the owner of such premises, if the owner and mailing address are known, and if not known, may be published in the official newspaper designated by the City for notice or other local newspaper having at least weekly issues. The statement shall demand payment within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of receipt or publication.

(2)

In addition to all costs for equipment, manpower and other related expenses, a minimum fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for each lot of record, adjacent lots under common ownership, or tract of land is hereby established for all associated administrative functions as may be required.

(3)

If the statement of the costs served or published pursuant to this section is not paid within such period, the director of finance may file with the County Clerk a statement of expenses incurred to abate and correct such condition on the premises, to be filed in the deed records, sand such statement shall be and the City shall have a privileged lien upon the lot, parcel, or tract of land upon which such expenses were incurred, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements, together with ten percent (10%) interest per annum on the delinquent amount from the date such payment was due. For any such expenditures and interest, as aforesaid, suit may be instituted and foreclosure had in the name of the City; and the statement so made, as aforesaid, or a certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie proof of the amount expended in any such work.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

O.

PENALTIES

(1)

A person violating the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined per offense, per Chapter 1, General Provisions, Section 5, General Penalty for Violations of Code, Ordinance No. 33-98 of November 12, 1998.

(2)

Violations and enforcement of this article shall be executed and prosecuted by the Community Services Director or his designee; or, by the Chief of Police and his officers.

(3)

Anyone interfering with, hindering, or molesting any city officer or official in the performance of any official duty performed in the enforcement of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine.

(4)

In the event that the City deems it necessary to bring civil action to enforce the terms of this section, the violator shall be responsible for all court costs and attorney fees incurred by the City.

(Ordinance No. 06-2005 of May 26, 2005)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 06-2005, adopted May 26, 2005, amended Section 1 and Section 2 of this chapter in their entireties and combined them into a new Section 1 to read as herein set out. Former Section 1 pertained to trash and litter and derived from the ordinance adopting this Code; and former Section 2 pertained to weeds, brush and rubbish and derived from the original codification.