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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 633-2013 Defacement of Property, •. • • , . , 1 1. 7 , • • - - • - - • •'� • • � "; 111 • � •' A A- . t • WHEREAS, the City of Anna, Texas ("the City") has previously adopted ordinances, rules and regulations governing nuisances on exterior property areas within the City, such as the defacement of structures with markings, carvings, or graffiti; and WHEREAS, the Texas Legislature, by enactment of Texas Local Government Code 250.006, has provided a process by which municipalities can abate Graffiti; WHEREAS, the City of Anna, Texas City Council has investigated and determined that it would be advantageous and beneficial to the City and its citizens to amend Part II, Article 8, Section 1.20 of the Anna City Code of Ordinances ("Anna Code") by deleting Section 1.20(m) in its entirety and replacing it with a new Section 1.20(m) provided herein; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ANNA, Section 1. Recitals Incorporated. The above -referenced recitals are incorporated herein as if set forth in full for all purposes. Section 2. Amendment. In accordance with Part II, Article 1, Section 9 of Anna, the following amendment is made to Part II, Article 8, Section 1.20 of the Anna Code: MW FS M- ATIVIV1772TVIrr-rT. L. (m) Defacement of property; abatement of Graffiti. No person shall willfully or wantonly damage, mutilate, or deface any exterior surface located on any private Premises or ORD. 633-2013 Amend Code of Ordinances -Defacement of property PAGE 1 OF 4 08-27-13 Public Property by placing thereon any marking, carving, or other condition constituting Graffiti. Such a violation shall be a Class C misdemeanor punishable upon conviction by a fine not to exceed $2,000. (1) "Graffiti" means, but is not necessarily limited to, visual blight which can be observed from any Public Property, right-of-way, or from the private Premises of another person, typically embodied by an unauthorized form of painting, scratching, writinq or inscription (including without limitation initials, slogans, or drawings), regardless of the content or nature of the material that has been applied to any wall, building, fence, sign, or other structure or surface. (2) It shall be the duty of each Owner of a Premises within the territorial limits of the City to keep and maintain their properties, including buildings or fences or other structures or other surfaces, free of Graffiti and to promptly remove such Graffiti from the Premises. The failure to observe this duty shall be a Class C misdemeanor punishable upon conviction by a fine not to exceed $2,000. The Owner is not required to remove Graffiti from the Owner's Premises if the Graffiti is located on transportation infrastructure and the removal of the Graffiti would create a hazard for the person performing the removal. (3) In the event that the Owner of a Premises affected by Graffiti fails to remove the Graffiti, the City may give notice to remove and offer to remove the Graffiti from the Premises free of charge. Any offer to remove Graffiti is at the City's sole election and in addition to and without waiver of any other remedies or enforcement procedures, including but not limited to the issuance of citations. If lowing issuance of the offer remove the Graffiti, the Owner shall be deemed to have refused the City's offer. (4) The notice provided under subsection (m)(3) above shall be either (i) given personally to the Owner in writing; (ii)by letter sent via certified mail, addressed to the Owner at the Owner's address as contained in the records of the Collin County Appraisal District; or, if neither (i) nor (ii) can be accomplished, then the notice shall be (iii) given by publication at least once in a newspaper ofgeneral circulation in the City, posted on or near the front door of each building on the Premises to which the notice relates, or posted on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the Premises to which the notice relates. The notice provided to the Owner must include all exceptions to the removal requirement provided in Texas Local Government Code § 250.006(h)(as amended). (5) If the City makes an offer to remove Graffiti under this subsection and that offer is refused, the City may require the Owner to remove the Graffiti on or before the 15" day after the date the Owner receives notice under subsection (m)(3) above. If the Owner then fails to remove the Graffiti on or before the 15t day after the date of receipt of the notice sent under subsection (m)(3), above, the City may remove the Graffiti and charge the expenses of removal to the Owner in accordance with the City's fee schedule. The fee schedule shall be deemed ORD. 633-2013 Amend Code of Ordinances -Defacement of property PAGE 2 OF 4 08-27-13 to state a charge for Graffiti removal by the City in the amount of the City's actual costs to remove the Graffiti, including an administrative fee of $75. (6) The City may assess the expenses for removal of the Graffiti against the Premises on which the work is performed to remove the Graffiti. If the City desires to make such an assessment, the City will file a statement of expenses with the Collin County Clerk. The statement of expenses shall contain (i) the name of the Premises Owner, if known; (ii) the legal description of the Premises; and (iii) the amount of expenses incurred in the removal of the Graffiti. (7) If the City assesses expenses for Graffiti removal and files a statement of expenses with the Collin County Clerk under this subsection, a lien may be attached to the Premises where the removal was performed by the City. (8) The City may take any actions relating to Graffiti through its Code Enforcement Department, its Police Department, or by a Person designated by the City Manager. The provisions related to removal of Graffiti herein are cumulative of other available actions and remedies, including the issuance of citations against the Owner or Operator of the Premises upon which Graffiti exists and/or the Person(s) who placed the Graffiti on the Premises. Section 3. Penalty. Any violation of any of the terms of this ordinance, whether denominated in this ordinance as unlawful or not, shall be deemed a misdemeanor. Any person convicted of any such violation shall be fined in an amount not to exceed $2,000 for each incidence of violation. Each structure defaced in violation of this ordinance is considered a separate offense and will be punished separately. Separate citations may issue for violations of this ordinance for each day that each violation persists. Section 4. Interpretation, Savings, Severability and Repealing Clauses. The terms of this ordinance are enacted by authority of Texas Local Government Code 250.006 and shall be interpreted in a manner which both conforms to that statute and provides the City with the greatest amount of discretion permissible under the law. All ordinances of the City in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance are repealed to the extent of that conflict. If any provision of this ordinance shall be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of such ordinance shall continue in full force and effect the same as if such invalid or unconstitutional provision had never been a part hereof. The City declares that it would have passed this ordinance, and each section, subsection, clause, or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, and phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid. ORD. 633-2013 Amend Code of Ordinances -Defacement of property PAGE 3 OF 4 08-27-13 Section • • of Date.ective This ordinance shall be in full force and effective from and after its passage and upon the posting and/or publication, if required by law, of its caption and the City Secretary is hereby directed to implement such posting and/or publication. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Anna, Texas, this 27th day of August, 2013. ATTESTED: OC'yecretary, Natha Wilkison APPROVED: ayor, Mike Cri ORD. 633-2013 Amend Code of Ordinances -Defacement of property PAGE 4 OF 4 08-27-13