ORD 1480 01/14/2025or C
,
l C X A 5
"City of Choice"
ORDINANCE NO. 1480
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CIBOLO, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 46
OF THE CIBOLO CODE OF ORDINANCES; PROVIDING RULES AND
REGULATIONS FOR JUNKED VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR ABATEMENT OF
JUNKED VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, REPEAL, SAVINGS,
PUBLICATION, AND CODIFICATION; DECLARING ADOPTION IN
COMPLIANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT; PROVIDING A
PENALTY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Council finds the City of Cibolo, Texas (the "City") is a home -rule
municipality with the authority to enact laws to protect the public, health, and safety of
residents and visitors to the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that junked vehicles pose a threat to the health, safety,
and welfare of the public by creating urban blight, inviting vandalism, and decreasing
property values; and
WHEREAS, the City Council seeks to regulate the storage and disposal of junked vehicles
within the city limits to mitigate these threats; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the City Code of Ordinances does not presently
regulate removal and abatement of junked vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that Texas Transportation Code Chapter 683,
Subchapter E authorizes municipalities to regulate the removal and abatement of junked
vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds it necessary and proper to amend the City Code of
Ordinances to include provisions for the regulation and abatement of junked vehicles; and
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CIBOLO, TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Incorporating Recitals. The City Council approves the recitals hereto and
incorporates them herein as findings of fact as if recited verbatim.
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SECTION 2. Amendments. The Code of Ordinances of the City of Cibolo is hereby amended
by adding a new article VI to Chapter 46, to provide as set forth in Attachment A attached hereto.
SECTION 3. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or illegal by final judgment of a court
of competent authority, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed and ordained
all the remaining portions of this Ordinance without the inclusion of such portion or portions
found to be unconstitutional or invalid.
SECTION 4. Repeal. All resolutions, ordinances, or parts thereof conflicting or inconsistent
with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. In
the event of a conflict or inconsistency between this Ordinance and any other resolution, code
or ordinance of the City, or parts thereof, the terms and provisions of this Ordinance shall
govern.
SECTION 5. Savings. All rights and remedies of the City are expressly saved as to any and
all violations of the provisions of any ordinances which have accrued at the time of the
effective date of this Ordinance; and such accrued violations and litigation, both civil and
criminal, whether pending in court or not, under such ordinances, shall not be affected by
this Ordinance but may be prosecuted until final disposition by the courts.
SECTION 6. Publication and Codification. The City shall publish this Ordinance in the
newspaper designated as the official newspaper of the City twice as required by Section
3.13(3) of the City Charter. This Ordinance will be codified in the Cibolo Code in the next
appropriate update.
SECTION 7. Open Meeting Compliance. The City Council finds that the meeting at which
this Ordinance passed was conducted in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act.
SECTION S. Penalty. It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this
Ordinance. Any person who violates, or any person who causes or allows another person to
violate, any provision of this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).
Each occurrence of any violation of this Ordinance shall constitute a separate offense. Each day
in which any violation of this Ordinance occurs shall constitute a separate offense.
SECTION 9. Effective Date. This Ordinance will become effective upon the required
newspaper publication.
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PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED on this / ` day of January 2025.
ATTEST:
z
Peggy Cimics, TRMC
City Secretary
Mark Allen, M
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
14 <�Nm
de Kelley LL
City Attorney
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Attachment A
Cibolo Code of Ordinances
CHAPTER 46. NUISANCES
ARTICLE VI. - JUNKED VEHICLES
Sec. 46-140. Definition of junked vehicle
(a) For the purposes of this article, "junked vehicle" shall have the meaning prescribed
in § ,683.071 of the Texas Transportation Code, currently in effect or as hereafter
amended.
(b) "Junked vehicle" does not include a vehicle or vehicle part described in § 683.077 of
the Texas Transportation Code, currently in effect or as hereafter amended.
Sec. 46-141. Public hazards of junked vehicles
(a) Junked vehicles, including a part of a junked vehicle, that is visible from a public
place or public right-of-way:
(1) Are detrimental to the safety and welfare of the public;
(2) Tend to reduce the value of property;
(3) Invite vandalism;
(4) Create a fire hazard;
(5) Are an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of
minors;
(6) Produce urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing
development of municipalities; and
(7) Are a public nuisance.
Sec. 46-142. Notice
(a) If a junked vehicle is located on property in violation of this article, the Chief of Police
or the Chief of Polices designee shall mail by certified mail, five-day return requested,
a written notice to:
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(1) The last known registered owner of the junked vehicle or motor vehicle part;
(2) Each lienholder of record of the junked vehicle or junked vehicle part; and
(3) The owner or occupant of
a. The property on which the junked vehicle or junked vehicle part is
located; or
b. If a junked vehicle or junked vehicle part is located on a public right-
of-way, the owner or occupant of the property adjacent to the right-of-
way.
(b) The notice required under subsection (a) shall:
(1) State the nature of the public nuisance;
(2) Order the recipient to remove and abate the vehicle no later than the tenth
(10th) day after receipt of the notice;
(3) Describe the right to request a hearing within ten (10) days of the date on
which the notice was mailed; and
(4) State the consequences of a failure to request a hearing as set forth in this
section.
(c) If the post office address of the last known registered owner of the junked vehicle or
junked vehicle part is unknown, notice may be placed on:
(1) The junked vehicle or junked vehicle part; or
(2) If the owner is located, hand delivered.
(d) If the notice is returned undelivered, notice will be posted on the car, and action to
abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not earlier than the eleventh (11th) day
after the date of the return, or the date the notice was posted on the car, whichever is
later.
Sec. 46-143. Removal and abatement without hearing
(a) If a person to whom notice was required under 46-142 does not timely request a
hearing:
(1) It is conclusively presumed that the vehicle is a junked vehicle; and
(2) The Chief of Police or their designee shall:
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a. Remove the vehicle; and
b. Take possession of the vehicle.
Sec. 46-144. Public hearing
(a) A person to whom notice is required under section 46-142 may request a hearing to
determine whether a vehicle is a junked vehicle.
(1) The owner or occupant must make the request to the Chief of Police not later
than the tenth (10th) day after the date of notice to the owner or occupant.
(2) The request may be made in person or in writing, without the requirement of
bond.
(b) When a hearing is requested by a person to whom notice was required under section
46-142, the Chief of Police or the Chief of Polices designee shall deliver notice of the
hearing according to the procedures in section 46-142. The notice shall contain the date,
time, and location of the hearing. The hearing shall be held not earlier than the eleventh
(11th) day after the date of the service of notice.
(c) Hearings required under this article shall be conducted by the Assistant Chief of
Police.
(1) The Assistant Chief of Police shall determine by a preponderance of the
evidence whether the vehicle is a junked vehicle.
(2) At the hearing, the alleged junked vehicle or vehicle part is presumed
inoperable unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner.
(d) On a finding that a vehicle is a junked vehicle, the Assistant Chief of Police shall
issue a directive that:
(1) The owner or occupant shall remove the vehicle and abate the nuisance no
later than the tenth (10th) day; and
(2) If the owner or occupant fails or refuses to abate or remove the vehicle as
ordered, the Chief of Police or their designee shall:
a. Remove the vehicle; and
b. Take possession of the vehicle.
(e) If the information is available at the location of the junked vehicle or junked vehicle
part, an order requiring removal of the junked vehicle or junked vehicle part shall
include the following vehicle information:
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(1) Description;
(2) Vehicle identification number; and
(3) License plate number;
(4) If a watercraft, the watercraft's description and identification number as set
forth in the certificate of number.
Sec. 46-145. Removal
(a) A junked vehicle, including parts of a junked vehicle, may be removed to a scrap
yard, a motor vehicle demolisher, or a suitable site operated by a municipality, county,
or other political subdivision of the State of Texas. The junked vehicle or junked vehicle
part shall not be reconstructed or made operable after removal.
(b) The Chief of Police or their designee shall furnish notice of the removal of a junked
vehicle or junked vehicle part to the Texas Department of Transportation within five (5)
days after the date of removal.
Sec. 46-146. Enforcement
(a) The Chief of Police or their designee may enter private property to examine a junked
vehicle or junked vehicle part to obtain information to identify the junked vehicle or
junked vehicle part, and to remove or direct the removal of the junked vehicle or junked
vehicle part.
(b) The relocation of a junked vehicle or junked vehicle part to another location in the
city after a proceeding for the abatement and removal of the junked vehicle or junked
vehicle part has commenced has no effect on the proceeding if the junked vehicle or
junked vehicle part constitutes a public nuisance at the new location.
Sec. 46-147. Junked vehicles prohibited; penalties
(a) A person commits an offense under this article if the person creates or maintains a
public nuisance described by this article.
(b) A culpable mental state is not required, and need not be proved, for an offense under
this section.
(c) Each day that such a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to
exceed $200.00.
(e) The city shall furthermore be entitled to injunctive relief against any violation of this
section and for any damages that may result to the city or to the general public by reason
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of such violations. The Cibolo Municipal' Court may issue orders necessary to enforce
the procedures in this article.
(f) The Municipal Court shall order abatement and removal of the nuisance on
conviction.
Sec. 46-148. Interference with impoundment prohibited, penalties
(a) A person commits an offense if the person interferes with the impoundment,
abatement, or final disposition of property under this section.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by fine not to
exceed $200.00.
(c) The city shall furthermore be entitled to injunctive relief against any violation of this
section and for any damages that may result to the city or to the general public by reason
of such violations. The Cibolo Municipal Court may issue orders necessary to enforce
the procedures in this article.
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