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2026-44 O - Repealing Article 6.03 Maintenance of Property related to Solid Waste, Regulation of Weeds, Rubbish, BrushTOWN OF PROSPER, TEXAS ORDINANCE NO. 2026-44 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PROSPER, TEXAS, REPEALING EXISTING ARTICLE 6.03, "MAINTENANCE OF PROPERTY," OF THE TOWN'S CODE OF ORDINANCES AND REPLACING IT WITH A NEW ARTICLE 6.03, "MAINTENANCE OF PROPERTY," RELATED TO SOLID WASTE COLLECTION; REGULATION OF WEEDS, RUBBISH, BRUSH, AND OTHER OBJECTIONABLE, UNSIGHTLY, OR UNSANITARY MATTER; AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION FOR ABATEMENT PURPOSES; MAKING FINDINGS; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION OF THIS ORDINANCE; PROVIDING FOR REPEALING, SAVINGS, AND SEVERABILITY CLAUSES; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ORDINANCE AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE CAPTION HEREOF. WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Prosper, Texas (the "Town Council"), has investigated and determined that Article 6.03 of the Town's Code of Ordinances should be amended. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PROSPER, TEXAS, THAT: SECTION 1 The findings set forth above are incorporated into the body of this Ordinance as if fully set forth herein. SECTION 2 From and after the effective date of this Ordinance, existing Article 6.03, "Maintenance of Property," of the Town's Code of Ordinances is hereby repealed and replaced with a new Article 6.03, "Maintenance of Property," to read as follows: "Article 6.03 — Maintenance of Property 6.03.001. Definitions. (a) For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following definitions Agricultural property means property, whether cultivated or uncultivated, that has been granted a property tax exemption, by the county central appraisal district, or equivalent authority, pursuant to the Texas Property Tax Code or Texas Constitution, for agricultural land. Brush means scrub vegetation or dense undergrowth. Carrion means dead and putrefying flesh of any animal, fowl, or fish. Filth means any matter in a putrescent state. Garbage means decayable waste, including, but not limited to, vegetable, animal and fish offal, animal and fish carcasses. Im ure or unwholesome matter means a putrescible or nonputrescible condition, object or matter which tends, may, or could produce injury, death, illness or disease to human beings. Junk means all worn out, worthless, or discarded material, including, but not limited to, old iron or other metal, glass, and cordage. ❑biectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary matter means any matter, condition, or object which is or should be objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary to a person of ordinary sensitivities. Occupant means any person claiming or having possessory control of any property. Owner means a person having record title to real property. Person means any individual, firm, partnership, association, business, corporation, or other entity. Refuse means a heterogeneous accumulation of worn out, used up, broken, rejected, or worthless materials and includes, but is not limited to, garbage, rubbish, paper, or litter and other decayable or nondecayable waste. Rubbish means trash, debris, rubble, stone, useless fragments of building materials, or other miscellaneous useless waste or rejected matter. Sidewalk means that portion of a dedicated right-of-way or easement improved and intended for pedestrian use only. Trash and debris means mounds of dirt; piles of leaves, grass, and weed clippings; paper trash; useless fragments of building materials; rubble; furniture other than furniture designed for outdoor use; useless household items and appliances; items of salvage, such as scrap metal and wood; old barrels; old tires; objects that hold water for an extended period of time; tree and brush trimmings; and other miscellaneous wastes or rejected matter. Weeds means vegetation that because of its height is objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary, but excluding shrubs, bushes, and trees, cultivated flowers, and cultivated crops. (b) Any word not defined herein shall be defined in the context used and by ordinary interpretation. 6.03.002. Solid waste collections, household hazardous waste, and recycling services mandatory; fees. (a) All persons, companies, corporations, businesses, residential, industrial and commercial establishments within the town shall be required to use the solid waste disposal and recycling services provided by the town; all single-family residential accounts receiving monthly bills for solid waste services shall be required to use the household hazardous waste services provided by the town, and pay the solid waste collection, recycling, and household hazardous waste charges as established by Appendix A to this Code. (b) Solid waste and recycling materials shall be collected in the town by one (1) or more contractors which shall operate under a franchise agreement or permit granted by the town. Ordinance 2026-44, Page 2 (c) The town shall be the sole provider of solid waste collection, including temporary roll -off open top construction containers, residential and multifamily recycling services. (d) It shall be unlawful for any person, business, company or corporation to engage in the business of solid waste collection removal and transport in the town without first having obtained a franchise agreement or permit therefor from the town. 6.03.003. Regulation of weeds, rubbish, brush, and other objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary matter. (a) The owner or occupant of any property or a portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, shall not keep, store, allow, maintain, permit, or accumulate upon any property any refuse, trash and debris, stagnant water, filth, carrion, junk, garbage, impure or unwholesome matter, or objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary matter that: (1) Is visible from a street or alley; (2) Creates or may create an unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, rodents, vermin, or disease carrying pests; or (3) Emits a noxious odor. (b) The owner or occupant of any property or a portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, within the town, shall not allow, maintain, or permit upon any property grass, weeds, brush, or other unsightly vegetation to grow thereon to a height greater than 12 inches. Such property shall include the area between the property and the curb or edge of pavement of any adjacent street or alley. With respect to uncultivated or agricultural properties, the owner or occupant of such property shall be required to maintain grass, weeds, brush, or other unsightly vegetation to a height less than 12 inches only within 10 feet of any adjacent public sidewalk, street, or highway, and in accordance with Section 251.0055 of the Texas Agriculture Code, as amended. (c) A violation of this section 6.03.003 is hereby declared to be a nuisance if it exists within the corporate limits of the town or within 5,000 feet of such limits. It shall further be unlawful for a person who owns, manages, or controls a property to allow such property to be used in a manner that violates this section. 6.03.004. Notice of Violation for Abatement Purposes (a) In the event that any owner, occupant, or person in control of any property, occupied or unoccupied, within the town, fails to comply with the requirements of section 6.03.003 of this article, the Town Manager or his/her designee shall give notice of the violation to the property owner as follows, prior to initiating abatement: (1) Personally to the owner in writing; (2) By letter 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; or (3) If personal service cannot be obtained: (A) By publication at least once in the Town's official newspaper; (B) By posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the property Ordinance 202644, Page 3 to which the violation relates; or (C) By posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates. (b) If the town mails a notice to the property owner in accordance with subsection (a) and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as "refused," "unclaimed" or if the address required by subsection (a)(2) was used and the notice is returned as "not deliverable as addressed" (or an equivalent marking), the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered. (c) The owner or occupant of any property or a portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, within the town, shall not allow, maintain, or permit upon any sidewalk or curb associated with such property any grass, weeds, brush, or other unsightly vegetation to grow thereon or onto a sidewalk or curb. The sidewalk shall remain passable, and the owner shall be responsible for mowing, edging and/or removing the grass, weeds, brush, or unsightly vegetation on any sidewalk so as not to create an unsightly appearance or impede safe passage upon sidewalks by those residents who traverse the sidewalks. (d) The gutter associated with any curb associated with such property shall remain passable for the flow or passage of water, and the owner shall be responsible for mowing, edging and/or removing the grass, weeds, brush, or unsightly vegetation on any curb so as not to create an unsightly appearance or impede the flow or passage of water into any gutter associated with such property. (e) In a notice provided under this section, the town shall inform the owner in accordance with subsection (a) 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 first anniversary of the date of the notice, the town, without further notice, shall correct the violation by initiating abatement at the owner's expense and assess the expense against the property. If a violation covered by a notice under this subsection occurs within the one-year period, and the town has not been informed in writing by the owner of an ownership change, then the town may, without notice, take any action permitted in this article and assess its expenses as provided in this article. (f) If the owner or occupant of a property does not comply with the requirements of this article within seven days of notice of violation, the town may: (1) Issue a citation to the owner or occupant for every day that the violation continues to exist; and/or (2) Do the work or make the improvements required to abate the violation; and/or (3) Pay for the work done or the improvements made and charge the expenses to the owner of the property. (g) In the event that the Town must do the work or make the improvements required to abate any violation or pay for the work done or the improvements made, the Town shall impose an Abatement Administrative Fee, as set forth in the Fee Schedule, Appendix A, to the Town's Code of Ordinances, as amended. Ordinance 2026-44, Page 4 6.03.005. Assessment and collection of expenses for work done or improvements made by town. (a) The town may assess expenses incurred under this article against the property on which the work is done or improvements made. (b) In the event that the owner fails to pay the expense incurred under § 6.O3.004(f)(g) within 30 days after the first day of the month following the month in which the work was done, the Town Manager or his/her designee shall obtain a lien against the property by filing a statement of expenses incurred in abating the violation with the County Clerk of the county in which the subject property is located. The statement must also state the name of the owner, if known, and the legal description of the property. The lien attaches upon the filing of the statement with the County Clerk. (c) The lien is security for the expenditures made and interest accruing at the rate of ten percent per annum on the amount due from the date of payment by the town. (d) The town's lien shall be privileged and shall be inferior only to tax liens and liens for street improvements. (e) The town may bring a suit for foreclosure in the name of the town to recover the expenditures and interest due. The statement of expenses or a certified copy of the statement is prima facie proof of the expenses incurred by the town in doing the work or making the improvements. (f) The remedy provided by this section is in addition to the remedy provided by § 6.03.006 below. 6.03.006. Authority to immediately abate dangerous weeds. (a) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing sections, the town may abate, without notification, weeds that: (1) Have grown higher than 48 inches; and (2) Are an immediate danger to the health, life, or safety of any person. (b) The town must give notice, in the manner provided in § 6.03.004, to the property owner no later than ten calendar days after the date the town abates weeds under this section. The notification shall contain: (1) An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the property; (2) A description of the violation(s) of this article that occurred on the property; (3) A statement that the town abated the weeds; and (4) An explanation of the property owner's rights to request an administrative hearing regarding the town's abatement of the weeds. (c) The town, by and through its Town Manager or his/her designee, shall conduct an administrative hearing on the abatement of weeds under this section if, not later than the 3Oth calendar day after the date of the abatement of the weeds, the owner files a written request for a hearing with the town. Ordinance 2026-44, Page 5 (d) The town shall conduct the administrative hearing not later than the 20th day after the date a request for hearing is filed. At the administrative hearing, the owner may testify or present any witnesses or written information relating to the town's abatement of the weeds. (e) The town may assess expenses and create liens under this section in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as set forth in § 6.03.004 above. (f) The authority granted the town by this section is in addition to the authority granted by § 6.03.003. 6.03.007. Penalty for violation. Any person, firm, corporation or business entity violating this article, or as amended, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined as provided in § 1.01.009 of this Code. Each continuing day's violation under this article shall constitute a separate offense. The penal provisions imposed under this section shall not preclude the town from filing suit to enjoin the violation. The town retains all legal rights and remedies available to it pursuant to local, state and federal law. SECTION 3 Should any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance be declared unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, it is expressly provided that any and all remaining portions of this Ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. The Town hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, and phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid. SECTION 4 All provisions of any ordinance in conflict with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent they are in conflict; but such repeal shall not abate any pending prosecution from being commenced for any violation if occurring prior to the repeal of the Ordinance. Any remaining portions of said ordinances shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 5 Any person, firm, corporation, or business entity violating this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to a fine not to exceed the sum of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00), and each and every day such violation shall continue shall constitute a separate offense. SECTION 6 This Ordinance shall become effective after its adoption and publication as required by I aw. DULY PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PROSPER, TEXAS, ON THIS 22"d DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2026. Ordinance 2026-44, Page 6 '• a-pol Day d F. Bristol, Mayor ATTEST: Michelle Lewis Sirianni, Town Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: Terrence S. Welch, Town Attorney Ordinance 2026-44, Page 7