New Ordinances, Affecting Our Community

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New Ordinances, Affecting Our Community – The City of Aransas Pass recently modified or added new ordinances to the Aransas Pass Code of Ordinances. To remain up-to-date on the changing laws, we’d like to share the following council approved and adopted ordinances. These ordinances remain in full force and effect as of Wednesday August 26, 2015.

If you would like to see a complete list of all city ordinances, please visit us at Municode.com.

Summary of Changes

  • Chapter 1 General Provisions – Added the fix-it ticket option as a remedy to all municipal code violations.
  • Chapter 14 Health and Sanitation – Added a section about discarding trash in unapproved ways and in unapproved locations.
  • Chapter 28 Traffic – Several sections were updated within this chapter:
    1. 28-1 – Updated legal authority and added new definitions.
    2. 28-2 – Updated legal authority which governs municipal traffic codes.
    3. 28-11 – Added tree trimming rules. Trees may not overhang a sidewalk by less than 7 feet or a roadway by less than 12 feet.
    4. 28-53 – Added that no person may leave an unhitched trailer parked along a public street.

Most Notable Changes

[highlight]Fix-it Tickets[/highlight] – We first started with fix-it tickets for certain rampant code violations. We found the program to be very successful. We see fix-it tickets as a win-win for the community and code enforcement.
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How they work is simple. If a code enforcement officer views a violation, the officer has the option to issue a warning, citation, or fix-it ticket. With a fix-it ticket, the person receiving the ticket has a certain amount of time to remedy the violation. Once remedied, the ticket and charges are dismissed. If the violation remains, the recipient will be required to appear in court on the designated ticket date.

This process cuts down on excess paperwork and staff time consumption. Further, when residents work together with the city, the city saves by avoiding extensive abatement or lien processes. Saving on what the City spends on enforcement helps the City operate more efficiently overall.

[highlight]Tree Trimming Ordinance[/highlight] – This ordinance serves two purposes. The first purpose is to keep trees and limbs from obstructing traffic or potentially causing damage to vehicles. Trees must remain 12 feet or higher above roadways. The City recently received a new ambulance and has a new fire truck on the way. We’d hate to see these emergency vehicles or your larger personal vehicles damaged from a low-lying tree limb.

Lastly, low-lying tree limbs pose a hazard to pedestrian traffic. Therefore, in areas where there are sidewalks, trees must remain 7 feet or higher above the sidewalk.

Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share here or on our Facebook posting.