CHAPTER 343. ABATEMENT OF PUBLIC NUISANCES SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 343.002. Definitions. In this chapter: (1) "Abate" means to eliminate by removal, repair, rehabilitation, or demolition. (2) "Building" means a structure built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of a person, animal, chattel, machine, equipment, or other moveable property. (3) "Garbage" means decayable waste from a public or private establishment or restaurant. The term includes vegetable, animal, and fish offal and animal and fish carcasses, but does not include sewage, body waste, or an industrial by-product. (4) "Neighborhood" means: (A) a platted subdivision; or (B) property contiguous to and within 300 feet of a platted subdivision. (5) "Platted subdivision" means a subdivision that has its approved or unapproved plat recorded with the county clerk of the county in which the subdivision is located. (6) "Premises" means all privately owned property, including vacant land or a building designed or used for residential, commercial, business, industrial, or religious purposes. The term includes a yard, ground, walk, driveway, fence, porch, steps, or other structure appurtenant to the property. (7) "Public street" means the entire width between property lines of a road, street, way, thoroughfare, or bridge if any part of the road, street, way, thoroughfare, or bridge is open to the public for vehicular or pedestrian traffic. (8) "Receptacle" means a container that is composed of durable material and designed to prevent the discharge of its contents and to make its contents inaccessible to animals, vermin, or other pests. (9) "Refuse" means garbage, rubbish, paper, and other decayable and nondecayable waste, including vegetable matter and animal and fish carcasses. (10) "Rubbish" means nondecayable waste from a public or private establishment or residence. (11) "Weeds" means all rank and uncultivated vegetable growth or matter that: (A) has grown to more than 36 inches in height; or (B) may create an unsanitary condition or become a harborage for rodents, vermin, or other disease-carrying pests, regardless of the height of the weeds. (12) "Flea market" means an outdoor or indoor market, conducted on non-residential premises, for selling secondhand articles or antiques, unless conducted by a religious, educational, fraternal, or charitable organization. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Sec. 343.003. Effect of Chapter on Other State Law. This chapter does not affect a right, remedy, or penalty under other state law. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. SUBCHAPTER B. PUBLIC NUISANCE PROHIBITED Sec. 343.011. Public Nuisance in Certain Counties. (a) This section applies to the unincorporated area of a county with a population of 125,000 or more. (b) A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public nuisance under this section on any premises. (c) A public nuisance is: (1) keeping, storing, or accumulating refuse on premises in a neighborhood unless the refuse is entirely contained in a closed receptacle; (2) keeping, storing, or accumulating rubbish, including newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood for 10 days or more, unless the rubbish or object is completely enclosed in a building or is not visible from a public street; (3) maintaining premises in a manner that creates an unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, rodents, vermin, or disease-carrying pests; (4) allowing weeds to grow on premises in a neighborhood if the weeds are located within 300 feet of another residence or commercial establishment; (5) maintaining a building in a manner that is structurally unsafe or constitutes a hazard to safety, health, or public welfare because of inadequate maintenance, unsanitary conditions, dilapidation, obsolescence, disaster, damage, or abandonment or because it constitutes a fire hazard; (6) maintaining on abandoned and unoccupied property in a neighborhood a swimming pool that is not protected with: (A) a fence that is at least four feet high and that has a latched gate that cannot be opened by a child; or (B) a cover over the entire swimming pool that cannot be removed by a child; or (7) maintaining a flea market in a manner that constitutes a fire hazard. (d) This section does not apply to a site or facility that is permitted and regulated by a state agency. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 28, 1995. Sec. 343.0111. Public Nuisance Generally Applicable. (a) This section applies to the unincorporated area of a county, regardless of the population size of the county. (b) A person may not cause, permit, or allow a public nuisance under this section. (c) A public nuisance is: (1) discarding refuse or creating a hazardous visual obstruction on: (A) county-owned land; or (B) land or easements owned or held by a special district that has the county commissioners court as its governing body; or (2) discarding refuse on the smaller of: (A) the area that spans 20 feet on each side of a utility line; or (B) the actual span of the utility easement. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 28, 1995. Sec. 343.012. Criminal Penalty. (a) A person commits an offense if: (1) the person violates Section 343.011(b) or 343.0111(b); and (2) the nuisance remains unabated after the 30th day after the date on which the person receives notice from a county official, agent, or employee to abate the nuisance. (b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $50 or more than $200. (c) If it is shown on the trial of the defendant that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under this section, the defendant is punishable by a fine of not less than $200 or more than $1,000, confinement in jail for not more than six months, or both. (d) Each day a violation occurs is a separate offense. (e) The court shall order abatement of the nuisance if the defendant is convicted of an offense under this section. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 4, eff. Aug. 28, 1995. Sec. 343.013. Injunction. (a) A county or district court may by injunction prevent or restrain a violation of this chapter in the unincorporated area of the county. (b) A county or a person affected or to be affected by a violation under this chapter, including a property owner, resident of a neighborhood, or organization of property owners or residents of a neighborhood, may bring suit under Subsection (a). If the court grants the injunction, the court may award the plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees and court costs. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. SUBCHAPTER C. COUNTY AUTHORITY RELATING TO NUISANCE Sec. 343.021. Authority to Abate Nuisance. A county may abate a nuisance under this chapter by demolition or removal if the county adopts abatement procedures that are consistent with the general purpose of this chapter and that conform to this chapter. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Sec. 343.022. Abatement Procedures. (a) The abatement procedures adopted by the commissioners court must be administered by a regularly salaried, full-time county employee, but the removal or demolition of the nuisance may be made by a person authorized by the person administering the abatement program. (b) The abatement procedures must require that written notice be given to: (1) the owner, lessee, occupant, agent, or person in charge of the premises; and (2) the person responsible for causing a public nuisance on the premises when: (A) that person is not the owner, lessee, occupant, agent, or person in charge of the premises; and (B) the person responsible can be identified. (c) The notice must state: (1) the specific condition that constitutes a nuisance; (2) that the person receiving notice shall abate the nuisance before the 31st day after the date on which the notice is served; (3) that failure to abate the nuisance may result in: (A) abatement by the county; (B) assessment of costs to the person responsible for causing the nuisance when that person can be identified; and (C) a lien against the property on which the nuisance exists, if the person responsible for causing the nuisance has an interest in the property; and (4) that the person receiving notice is entitled to submit, before the 31st day after the date on which the notice is served, a written request for a hearing. (d) The notice must be given: (1) by service in person or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested; or (2) if personal service cannot be obtained or the address of the person to be notified is unknown, by posting a copy of the notice on the premises on which the nuisance exists and by publishing the notice in a newspaper with general circulation in the county two times within 10 consecutive days. (e) The abatement procedures must require a hearing before the county abates the nuisance if a hearing is requested. The hearing may be conducted before the commissioners court or any board, commission, or official designated by the commissioners court. The commissioners court may designate a board, commission, or official to conduct each hearing. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 123, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 5, eff. Aug. 28, 1995. Sec. 343.023. Assessment of Costs; Lien. (a) A county may: (1) assess the cost of abating the nuisance, the cost of legal notification by publication, and an administrative fee of not more than $100 on the person receiving notice under Section 343.022; or (2) by resolution or order, assess the cost of abating the nuisance, the cost of legal notification by publication, and an administrative fee of not more than $100 against the property on which the nuisance exists. (b) The county may not make an assessment against property unless the owner or owner's agent receives notice of the nuisance in accordance with Section 343.022. (c) To obtain a lien against the property to secure an assessment, the commissioners court of the county must file a notice that contains a statement of costs, a legal description of the property sufficient to identify the property, and the name of the property owner, if known, with the county clerk of the county in which the property is located. (d) The county's lien to secure an assessment attaches when the notice of lien is filed and is inferior to a previously recorded bona fide mortgage lien attached to the real property to which the county's lien attaches, if the mortgage was filed for record in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the real property is located before the date on which the county files the notice of lien with the county clerk. (e) The county is entitled to accrued interest beginning on the 31st day after the date of the assessment against the property at the rate of 10 percent a year. (f) The statement of costs or a certified copy of the statement of costs is prima facie proof of the costs incurred to abate the nuisance. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 771, Sec. 6, eff. Aug. 28, 1995. Sec. 343.024. Authority to Enter Premises. (a) A county official, agent, or employee charged with the enforcement of health, environmental, safety, or fire laws may enter any premises in the unincorporated area of the county at a reasonable time to inspect, investigate, or abate a nuisance or to enforce this chapter. (b) Before entering the premises, the official, agent, or employee must exhibit proper identification to the occupant, manager, or other appropriate person. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 499, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Sec. 343.025. Enforcement. A court of competent jurisdiction in the county may issue any order necessary to enforce this chapter. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989