Ordinance 2025-07 – Yard Waste
May 29, 2026
ORDINANCE NO. 2025-07
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEYMOUR, TEXAS, UPDATING ARTICLE 7.201 PARTICULAR LOTS DECLARED A NUISANCE (B) DEFINITIONS, ADDING “YARD WASTE” UNDER THE SUB-HEADING OF PUBLIC NUISANCE REFLECTING THE TEXAS HEALTH & SAFETY CODE SEC 365.12 ADDRESSING ILLEAGAL DUMPING AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the accumulation of stagnant water, carrion, filth, weeds, rubbish, brush, and other unsightly or unsightly or unsanitary matters constitute a health hazard for the citizens of Seymour, Texas, and constitute a public nuisance; and
WHEREAS, such public nuisance shall be abated by the property owner or, in the event of his failure to do so, by the City of Seymour, as the prompt abatement of such nuisance is a public necessity.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Seymour as follows:
§ 7.201Particular Lots Declared a Nuisance.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation who shall own or occupy any lot or lots in the city to permit, cause, or allow a public nuisance under this section on any premises.
(b) Includes the following definitions:
Premises. All privately owned property, including vacant land or a building designed or used for residential, commercial, business, industrial, or religious purposes, and includes a yard, ground, walk, driveway, fence, porch, steps, or other structure appurtenant to the property.
Public Nuisance.
(1) Keeping, storing, or accumulating refuse on premises 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 for 10 days or more, unless the rubbish or object is completely enclosed in a building or it 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) 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;
(5) Construction materials, including all waste, debris, concrete, lumber, rock/brick, metal, or other materials resulting from construction or demolition;
(6) Earth materials, including substances such as dirt, sand, gravel, mud, clay, wood chips, limbs or brush capable of blowing or spilling thereby creating unsightliness and/or creating a hazard for the general public;
(7) Junk, including worn out, used and/or discarded material or items, including, but not limited to, odds and ends, lawn maintenance equipment, dilapidated or junked trailers, travel trailers or boats, automotive parts or other machinery parts, furniture, iron or other scrap metal, tires, and glass;
(8) Fences in deteriorated condition or subject to falling down due to lack of maintenance or damage, or that have been repaired with materials that are not comparable to the original fence construction;
(9) Appliances intended for indoor use, working or nonworking, used, stored, abandoned or located anywhere in the public view.
(10) Yard Waste disposed of or allowed/permitted to be disposed of in a City Street, right-of-way, on other public or private property, or into inland water of the state. (see Texas Health & Safety Code Sec. 365.012)
Refuse. Garbage, rubbish, paper, and other decayable and nondecayable waste, including vegetable matter, yard waste, and animal and fish carcasses.
Weeds. All rank and uncultivated vegetable growth or matter that:
(1) Has grown to more than 8–12 inches in height; or
(2) May create an unsanitary condition or become a harborage for rodents, vermin, or other disease-carrying pests regardless of the heights of the weeds.
(c) There is a criminal penalty for any violation of Texas Administrative Code, Section 343.011 which remains unabated after the 30th day after the date on which a person receives notice from a county official, agent, or employee to abate the nuisance. An unabated offense is a class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $50.00 or more than $200.00. A fine of up to $500.00 may be assessed for subsequent convictions in the same year under this section. Each day a violation occurs is a separate offense. The city may assess the costs of abating the nuisance against the violator, and may place a lien on the property to secure the assessment.
(d) Such condition is hereby declared a public nuisance, the prompt abatement of which shall be a public necessity.
Passed and approved this day the 17th of July 2025.
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MAYOR MARK MCCORD
ATTEST:
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LAUREN BUSH, CITY SECRETARY