Section 46-4

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL

Sec. 46-1. Designation and citation of chapter.

The ordinances embraced in this chapter, including all sections now or hereafter amended, added or altered shall constitute and be designated the "City Infrastructure Code," and may be so cited.
(Ord. No. O-04-32, § 1, 7-6-2004)

Sec. 46-2. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Building official means the chief building official of the city or his designee.
Collector streets means street routes that have short travel distances and collect traffic from intracity streets and funnel it into major thoroughfares or other collector streets.
Commercial/industrial developments means any land area zoned or devoted primarily to commercial or industrial use, including areas zoned as LC-O, LC, LC-1, LC-2, LC-3, LC-4, I, BP or any PD and SUP devoted primarily to commercial or industrial use.
Director of public works means the city director of public works or his designee.
Driveway means an entrance to and exit from premises where it is possible to park completely off the street, and which is not open for vehicular traffic except by permission of the owner of such private property.
Driveway approach means a way or place including paving and curb returns between the street travel lanes and private property that provides vehicular access between the roadway and such private property.
Dwelling unit means a building or portion thereof designed exclusively for residential occupancy.
Highway, street or roadway means a general term denoting a public or private way for the purpose of vehicular travel.
Infrastructure means any facility or structure proposed to be constructed, reconstructed, repaired, or regarded wholly or partially within right-of-way public easements or connecting to right-of-way, including, but not limited to, streets, driveways, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, culverts, open ditches, storm drains, and irrigation facilities owned or maintained by a public entity.
 Major thoroughfare means highways, streets, and roadways devoted to moving large volumes of traffic over long distances. Major thoroughfares shall be set forth in the major thoroughfare plan adopted by the city council, and may from time to time be amended.
Residential developments means all areas zoned as R, R-1, R-1-A, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-6, MF-1, MF-2, MH, or otherwise zoned or devoted primarily to residential use, and shall include all other areas not zoned or used primarily for commercial or industrial use.
Right-of-way means property that is publicly owned or upon which a governmental entity has an express or implied property interest (e.g.fee title, easement, etc.) held for a public purpose. Examples of such public purpose include, by way of example and not limitation, highways, streets, sidewalks, drainage facilities, sewerage and water facilities.
Sidewalk means the section of pavement between the curb lines of a roadway and the adjacent property lines intended for the use of pedestrians.
Soils means dirt, sand and other similar earth matter, and shall also mean rocks and other solid or semisolid mass material, whether produced by man or nature, but shall not include the matter composing the infrastructure or appurtenances thereto.
Utility means any privately or publicly owned entity which uses public rights-of-way to furnish to the public any general public service, including, without limitation, water, sanitary sewer, gas, electricity, telephone, petroleum products, telegraph, heat, steam or chilled water, together with the equipment, structures, and appurtenances belonging to such entity and located within and near the right-of-way.
(Ord. No. O-04-32, § 1, 7-6-2004)

 Sec. 46-3. Penalty.
Any person who causes, allows or permits another to violate any provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punishable as provided in section 1-13 of the Missouri City Code of Ordinances. Each day such violation shall be permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. The permittee, owner, occupant or resident of the premises or part thereof where anything in violation of this chapter shall be placed or shall exist, or any lessee, tenant, employee, agent or corporation employed in connection therewith who may have assisted in the commission of such violation, shall be guilty of a separate offense, and upon conviction shall be subject to the penalties stated in this section.
(Ord. No. O-04-32, § 1, 7-6-2004)

Sec. 46-4. Duty of abutting property owners to construct or repair improvements.
  1. It shall be the duty of every owner of real estate in the city, abutting on any public street or alley in the city in front of which real estate or along which street the building official may order the construction, reconstruction, repair or bringing to grade of driveways, driveway approaches, sidewalks, culvert pipes, gutters or other infrastructure, to cause such improvement to be constructed, reconstructed or repaired, or bring such improvement to grade as the case may be, in accordance with the terms of such order and the specifications set out in this chapter and on the line and grade as established by the building official for the particular block, street or community in which the real estate may be situated. The order of the building official shall direct the owner to take action within a time certain. The order shall also state that the owner has a right to appeal to the city manager or his designee within ten days of the issuance of the notice. Review of such order shall be made by the city manager or his designee and a decision will be issued promptly.
  2. The order of the building official shall be given:
    1. Personally to the owner in writing; or
    2. By certified mail, return receipt requested, 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.
  3. If personal service cannot be obtained:
    1. By publication at least once;
    2. By posting the notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the order relates; or
    3. By posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the order relates, if the property contains no buildings.
  4. If the city mails a notice to a property owner in accordance with subsection (b), and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as "refused" or "unclaimed," the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered.
  5. Such property owners shall cause to be constructed such improvement in front of their property after the giving of notice as prescribed in this chapter within the necessary timeframe fixed by the building official.
  6. If the owner fails or refuses to comply with the order of the building official within the timeframe specified by his order, or fails to appeal the order to the city manager as provided in subsection (a), then the city shall have the right to construct the improvement in accordance with the order for the improvements, this chapter and the city design manual, and may assess its expenses as provided in subsections (f) and (g).
  7. The city manager shall file a lien statement containing a statement of expenses incurred pursuant to subsection (e), giving the amount of such expense, the date on which such work was done, and a description of the premises upon which such work was done or improvements made, with the county clerk of the county in which the premises are located.
  8. The lien statement must state the name of the owner, if known, and the legal description of the property and abutting property if relevant. The lien attaches upon the filing of the lien statement with the county clerk. The city shall have a privileged lien on such lot or real estate upon which such work was done or improvements made, to secure the expenditures so made. Such amount shall bear ten percent interest from the date of payment or occurrence of such expenditure by the city. For any such expense and interest, suit may be instituted and recovery and foreclosure of such lien may be had in the name of the city, and the statement of expenses so made as provided in the section, or a certified copy thereof, shall be prima facie proof of the amount expended for such work or improvements.
(Ord. No. O-04-32, § 1, 7-6-2004)

Sec. 46-5. Applicability of chapter to utilities and transportation network.
  1. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all persons, and political subdivisions of the state, designing or installing or causing to be designed or installed utilities or transportation facilities within the corporate limits of the city or within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, as that term is defined by the Municipal Annexation Act, compiled as V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 42.001 et seq. The installation of any utility system or portion thereof not in accordance with this chapter or the city design manual shall constitute a violation subject to the penalty provision set forth in section 1-13 of the Missouri City Code of Ordinances.
  2. The city shall not be responsible for damage to any utility system or component thereof when such system or component is not installed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the city design manual.
(Ord. No. O-04-32, § 1, 7-6-2004)

Sec. 46-6. Duties incurred when vehicular transportation network is disrupted.
In the event any excavation, building operation or similar activity on or adjacent to the right-of-way causes a deviation in the vehicular transportation network, the person responsible for such activity shall be responsible for installing traffic control devices to manage such deviation. All such traffic control devices shall comply with the requirements set forth in the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. All such devices shall be detailed in a plan, and such traffic control device plan shall be approved as part of the permitting process.
(Ord. No. O-04-32, § 1, 7-6-2004)
Secs. 46-7--46-19. Reserved.

References

Sec. 1-13. General penalty; continuing violations.
Whenever in this Code or in any other ordinance of the city, or in any rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency of the city under authority duly vested in him or it, any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, or whenever the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of such provision of this Code or anysuch ordinance, rule, regulation or order shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500.00. If the maximum penalty provided by this Code for any such offense is greater than the maximum penalty provided for the same or a similar offense under laws of the state, the maximum penalty for such violation provided by state statute shall be the maximum penalty under this Code. Except where otherwise provided, each day any violation of this Code or of any such ordinance, rule, regulation or order shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
(Code 1981, § 1-6; Ord. No. O-05-60, § 1, 11-21-2005)
Charter references: General powers granted to city by the constitution and laws of the state, § 2.01.
State law references: Authority of city to prescribe penalties for violation of Code, V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 54.001; jurisdiction of municipal courts, V.T.C.A., Government Code § 29.003.
 Link to ordinance
Back to penalty
Back to top

Excerpt from minutes (07/06/2004):

7. CONSIDERATION OF ZONING ORDINANCES

  1. An ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Missouri City, Texas, by making amendments to Chapter 46, Infrastructure Standards, of the Code of Ordinances; providing rules and regulations relating to the construction and repair of infrastructure in the City; providing a penalty; providing for severability; and consider an ordinance on the second and final reading.
Councilmember Reiter moved to approve the ordinance on final reading.
Councilmember Jimerson seconded. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Mayor Pro Tem Wyatt (al1), Councilmembers Reiter(A), Jimerson (al2), Burton (C), and Smith (B) Noes: None
Link to minutes Note: Those present that did not vote: Kolaja (D)
Mayor Owens was absent.