SECTION 1.  FINDINGS OF FACT

All of the above premises are hereby found to be true and correct legislative and factual findings of the City Council, and are hereby approved and incorporated into the body of this Ordinance as if copied in their entirety.

SECTION 2.    DESIGNATION OF OFFICIAL

The official designated person by the City shall be the City Administrator and those who she or he authorizes and designates to act under his or her authority.

SECTION 3. DECLARATION OF NUISANCE

The City declares every uninhabitable and dangerous building or structure as herein defined to be a public nuisance and subject to repair, vacation or demolition to abate such nuisance as herein provided in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the occupants and the public.

SECTION 4.   INSPECTION

An inspection shall be made of every building located within the City which is suspected of being in violation of this Ordinance. The City Administrator, or his/her official designee, is hereby authorized to conduct inspections of buildings suspected of being in violation of this Ordinance and take such actions as may be required to enforce the provisions of this Ordinance.

SECTION 5.   NOTICE OF VIOLATION

          A.  Service

                    The City Administrator or his or her designated person shall give notice of a violation of this ordinance. Such notice shall be in writing and

                    shall be served by personal delivery or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the recorded owners of the affected property, and

                    each holder of a recorded lien against the affected property as show by the records of the Eastland County Clerk if the address of the

                    lienholder can be ascertained from the deed of trust establishing the lien or other applicable instruments on file in the office of the Eastland

                    County Clerk; and to all unknown owners, by posting a copy of the notice on the front door as practical; and if the owner’s address is

                    different than the address shown for the property involved, to the address of the property, addressed to the occupant of such address. It is

                    not necessary that the notice to the occupant of the property list any occupant by name or that the notice be mailed by certified Service

                    of the notice may be accomplished by first class U.S. mail or by personal delivery to any occupant of the property who is above the age of

                    18 years or older.

          B.  Contents. The notice shall contain the following:

                    1.  The names of all persons to whom the notice is being served;

                    2.  The street address or legal description of the premises;

                    3.  A general description of the building, structure improvements or condition deemed substandard or dangerous or otherwise in violation

                         of this ordinance;

                    4.  An itemized statement or list of defects;

                    5.  Whether or not repairs or correction of the defects shall be made so that the structure(s) will comply with the terms of this ordinance

                         and, if so, a list of the required repairs, or whether the structure(s) shall be demolished;

                    6.  Whether or not the building shall be vacated by the occupants and, if so, the date by which such vacation shall be affected;

                    7.  Whether or not the building constitutes a health or fire menace; and

                    8.  A statement of the time considered reasonable for the party receiving notice to commence to vacate and/or make repairs or otherwise

                         comply with the requirements of this A reasonable time shall not exceed 30 days, except in cases of unusual or extenuating

                         circumstances. The time to commence may be extended by the designated employee for an additional period of 60 days; provided,

                         however an application for an extension is made by the owner occupant, or some other person interested in the property at least five

                         days before the expiration of the time to commence vacation, repairs or demolition or otherwise comply with the notice. A reasonable

                         time to complete the vacation, repair, or complete the vacation, repair, or demolition or otherwise comply as provided in the notice and

                         such reasonable time for completion shall not exceed 90 days from the date of notice.

SECTION 6.  STANDARDS

The following standards shall be utilized in determining whether a building should be ordered repaired, removed or demolished.

                    1.  The building or structure is liable to partially or fully collapse;

                    2.  Any wall or other vertical structural members list, lean or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line passing through the center of gravity

                         falls outside of the middle one-third (1/3) of its base;

                    3.  The foundation or the vertical or horizontal supporting members are twenty­ five (25) percent or more damaged or deteriorated;

                    4.  The nonsupporting coverings of walls, ceilings, roofs, or floors are fifty (50) percent or more damaged or deteriorated;

                    5.  The structure has improperly distributed loads upon the structural members, or the structural members have insufficient strength to be

                         reasonably safe for the purpose used;

                    6.  The structure of any part thereof has been damaged by fire, water, wind, vandalism, or other cause to such an extent that it has become

                         dangerous to the public, health, safety and welfare;

                    7.  The structure does not have adequate light, ventilation, or sanitation facilities as required by the City;

                    8.  The structure has inadequate facilities for egress in case of fire or other emergency or has insufficient stairways, fire escapes or other

                         means of ingress or egress; and/or

                    9.  The structure, because of its condition, is unsafe, unsanitary, or dangerous to the health, safety or general welfare of the City’s citizens

                         including all conditions conductive to the harboring of rats or mice or other disease carrying animals or insects reasonably calculated to

                         spread disease.

SECTION 7. NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

If the owner does not reply within ten (10) days from the date the Notice of Violation was mailed, the City officlal shall request that the board hold a Public Hearing, not less than ten (10) days, to determine whether the building complies with the minimum standards set forth in this article. (The City Council or the Municipal Judge shall act as the board and appeals.)

If a building is found to be in violation of this Ordinance, the City shall require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee of the building to within thirty (30) days repair, remove or demolish the building, unless it is proven at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be done in thirty (30) days.

If the City allows more than thirty (30) days for the building to be repaired, removed or demolished, the City shall establish specific time schedules for the work to be commenced and performed and shall require the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee to secure the property in a reasonable manner from unauthorized entry while the work is being performed, as determined by the hearing official.

The City shall not allow the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than ninety (90) days to repair, remove or demolish the building or fully perform all work required to comply with the order unless a detailed plan and time scheduled for the work are submitted at the hearing and it is proven at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be completed within ninety (90) days because of the scope and complexity of the work. Additionally, the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee must submit work progress report to demonstrate compliance with the time schedule established.

In any case where repairs are estimated to cost fifty (50) percent or more of the appraised value, a building shall be demolished or removed, and in all cases where a structure cannot be repaired so that it will no longer exist in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance, it shall be demolished or removed.

If the record owner does not appear at the Public Hearing required by Section 214.001 b of The Texas Local Government Code, the hearing shall be conducted as if the owner had personally appeared.

SECTION 8. ORDER FOR REPAIR OR DEMOLITION

After the Public Hearing, if a building is found to be in violation of the standards set out in this Ordinance the City may order that the building be repaired, removed or demolished within a reasonable time.

If the building is ordered to be repaired, removed or demolished, the City Administrator, or designee, shall promptly mail by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personally deliver a copy of the order to the owner of the building and to any lienholder or mortgagee of the building. The City shall make a diligent effort to discover each owner, mortgagee and lienholder having an interest in the building or property on which the building is located.

If the ordered action is demolition of the building or structure, demolition shall not occur until a magistrate has issued a seizure and demolition warrant supported by a probable cause affidavit stating that: (1) the building or structure constitute a nuisance; (2) the City has complied with the procedures set forth in the Ordnance: (3) demolition has been ordered by the City: and ( 4) the time for appeal of the order has expired and no appeal has been taken.

SECTION 9. NOTICE OF REPAIR OR DEMOLITION

In addition to the order, each identified mortgagee or lienholder shall be sent a notice containing:

          1.  an identification of the building and property on which it is located (this does not have to be a legal description);

          2.  a description of the violation of the Ordinance; and

          3.  a statement that the municipality may demolish the building if the ordered action is not taken.

If the notice is returned “refused” or “unclaimed,” the validity of the notice is not affected and the notice shall be deemed delivered.

Within ten (10) days after the date that the order is issued, the City shall:

          1.  Publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the City stating:

               a.  the street address or legal description of the property;

               b.  the date of the hearing;

               c.  a brief statement indicating the results of the order; and

               d.  instructions as to where a complete copy of the order may be obtained.

SECTION 10.             APPEAL

The owner, lienholder, or mortgagee shall have the right to appeal the decision made at the hearing to the City’s Municipal Judge. A notice of appeal must be filed with the Municipal Judge within thirty (30) calendar days from the date the order is mailed to the owner, lienholder or mortgagee.

SECTION 11.              DEMOLITION AND REPAIR EXPENSES

Whenever it is discovered upon reinspection that the owner, mortgagee or lienholder has failed to repair, remove or demolish the building or take other ordered action within the allotted time, the City, shall make a diligent effort to discover each mortgagee and lienholder having an interest in the building or in the property which the building is located and shall personally deliver or send by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each a notice containing:

          1.  an identification of the building and property on which it is located (this does not have to be a legal description);

          2.  a description ion of the Ordinance; and

          3.  a statement that the municipality will remove or demolish the building if the ordered action is not taken.

Whenever it is discovered upon reinspection that the owner mortgagee or lienholder has failed to repair, remove or demolish the building or take other ordered action within the allotted time, the City Administrator, or the designated employee, may repair, remove or demolish and remove said building or cause the same to be done and charge the expenses incurred in doing such work or having the same done to the owner, mortgagee or lienholder of said land or otherwise assess the expenses against the property on which the building is located.

If such work is done at the expense of the City, then the said expense shall be assessed against any salvage resulting from the demolition of the building and against the lot, tract, or parcel of land, or the premises upon which such expense was incurred.

For the purposes of this section, any repair, alteration or improvement made to a building by the City will only be to the extent necessary to bring the building into compliance.

SECTION 12.     ASSESSMENT OF LIEN

When the City incurs expenses to repair, remove or demolish a building, the City may asses the expenses on and obtain a lien against the property on which the building is located, unless it is a homestead as protected by the Texas Constitution. The lien arises and attaches to the property when the City has the lien recorded and indexed with the county clerk of Eastland County, in which the property is located. The notice shall contain:

          1.  the name and address of the owner, if that information can be determined with a reasonable effort;

          2.  a legal description of the real property on which the building was located;

          3.  the amount of expense incurred by the City;

          4.  the balance due; and

          5.  the date on which said work was done or improvements.

The City shall have a privileged lien on such lot, lots, or other premises or real estate upon which said building was located, to secure the expenditure so made, second only to other liens as provided by law. It is further provided that for any such expenditure suit may be instituted and foreclosure of said lien may be made in the name of the City; and the statement of expenses so made as aforesaid, or certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie proof of the amount expensed for such work or expense.

The lien is extinguished if the property owner or another person having an interest in the legal title to the property reimburses the City for the expenses.

SECTION 13.PENALTY FOR VIOLATION

The City shall have the power to administer and enforce the provisions of this Ordinance as may be required by governing law.

CIVIL REMEDIES

          1.  A property owner violating any provision of this Ordinance shall, upon conviction, be fined a sum not exceeding one Thousand Dollars

               ($1,000.00) for each and every day of violation, or, if the owner shows the property is the owner’s lawful homestead in an amount not to

               exceed Ten Dollars ($10.00) per day for each violation, provided that:

               a.  The owner was notified of the requirements of the Ordinance and the owner’s need to comply with the requirements; and

               b.  After notification, the owner committed an act in violation of the Ordinance or failed to take action necessary for compliance with the

                    Ordinance.

          2.  If such a civil penalty is assessed, the City Administrator shall file a certified copy of the order containing such amount and duration of the penalty with the County’s District clerk’s office no later than three (3) working days after such order.

OTHER REMEDIES

          1.  The remedies provided herein shall be available to the City in addition to any penal or other remedy provided by law or equity which the City,

               State, or any other person may provide to remedy the unsafe building condition; and/or

          2.  The City may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to collect the amount due plus all associated costs and fees.

SECTION 14.              LIABILITY

Neither the City nor any authorized agent acting under the terms of this Ordinance shall be liable or have any liability by reason of orders issued or work done in compliance with the terms of this Ordinance.

SECTION 15.              EFFECTIVE DATE

This Ordinance shall be and become effective immediately upon and after is passage and publication as may be required by governing law.

SECTION 16.             ADOPTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE, CHAPTER 54, SUBCHAPTER C

The City adopts the provisions of Texas Local Government Code -Chapter 54, Subchapter C, which is entitled “Quasi-Judicial Enforcement of Health and Safety Ordinances and does declare the implementation of that subchapter.

SECTION 17.              REPEALER

All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances in force when the provisions of this Ordinance become effective which are inconsistent or in conflict with the terms and provisions contained in this Ordinance are hereby repealed only to the extent of such conflict.

SECTION 18.              SEVERABILITY

Should any part sentence or phrase of this Ordinance be determined to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance shall not be adversely affected. No portion of this Ordinance shall fail or become inoperative by reason of the invalidity of any other part. All provisions of this Ordinance are declared to be severable.

SECTION 19.              PROPER NOTICE AND MEETING

It is hereby officially found and determined that the meeting at which this revised Ordinance was passed was open to the public and that public notice of the time, place and purpose of said meeting was given as required by the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code.