Chapter 1. General Provisions

The chapters, articles, divisions and sections embraced in this Code of Ordinances shall constitute and be designated as "The Code of Ordinances of the City of Bellaire, Texas," and may be so cited. This Code may also be cited as the "Bellaire City Code."

In the construction of this Code and of all ordinances of this city, the following rules of construction and definitions shall be observed, unless such construction or definition would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the city council, be repugnant to the context of the provisions or the context clearly requires otherwise.

Generally. All words and phrases shall be construed and understood according to the common and approved usage of language; but technical words and phrases as may have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in the law shall be construed and understood according to such peculiar and appropriate meaning.

City. The term "city" means the City of Bellaire in the County of Harris in the State of Texas.

City council. The term "city council" means the governing body of the city.

Code. The term "Code" means the Code of Ordinances, City of Bellaire, Texas, as designated and cited in section 1-1 above.

County. The term "county" means the County of Harris in the State of Texas.

Delegation of authority. Whenever a provision appears in this Code requiring an officer of the city to do some act or make certain inspections, it is to be construed to authorize such officer to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to perform the required act or make the required inspection unless the terms of the provision or section expressly designate otherwise.

Easement. A right, liberty, privilege or advantage without profit which the owner of one parcel of land may have in the lands of another. A right in the owner of one parcel of land, by reason of such ownership, to use the land of another for a special purpose not inconsistent with a general property right in the owner.

Gender. A word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships, associations and corporations as well as to males.

In the city. The terms "in the city" or "in this city" mean and include any territory within the corporate limits of the city and the police jurisdiction thereof, and any other territory over which regulatory power has been conferred on the city by general or special act, except as otherwise specified.

Joint authority. Words purporting to give authority to three or more officers or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such officers or other persons, unless it is otherwise specifically declared.

Law. Any statute, ordinance or regulation promulgated by the United States, the state, the county, the city or any agencies thereof, as well as the rules and regulations of other bodies politic that may be appropriate.

Month. The term "month" shall mean a calendar month.

Number. Any word importing the singular number shall include the plural and any word importing the plural number shall include the singular.

Oath. The term "oath" shall be construed to include an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such cases the terms "swear" and "sworn" shall be equivalent to the terms "affirm" and "affirmed."

Official time standard. Whenever certain hours are named in this Code they shall mean standard time or daylight savings time as may be in current use in the city.

Officials, employees, boards, commissions, etc. Whenever reference is made to officials, employees, boards, commissions or other agencies of the city by title only, i.e., "mayor," "clerk," "manager," "chief of police," etc., they shall be deemed to refer to the officials, employees, boards, commissions or other agencies of this city.

Or, and. The term "or" may be read "and" and the term "and" may be read "or" if the context of the provision requires it.

Owner. The term "owner" shall, when applied to a building or land, include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of the whole or of a part of such building or land.

Person. The term "person" shall include and be applied to a firm, partnership, association, corporation, organization, club, society, group acting as a unit, or body politic and corporate, as well as to an individual.

Personal property. The term "personal property" shall include money, goods, chattels, evidences of debt, things in action, and any other species of property, except real property.

Preceding, following. The terms "preceding" and "following" shall mean next before and next after, respectively.

Property. The term "property" shall include, real, personal and mixed property.

Public place. Any public way, park, cemetery, school yard or open space adjacent thereto; any public lake or stream; and any place or business open to the use of the public in general, open to public view or to which the public has access.

Public way. Any street, alley, boulevard, parkway, highway, sidewalk or other public thoroughfare.

Real property. The terms "real property" shall include lands, tenements and hereditaments.

Reasonable time. In all cases where any section of this Code or city ordinance shall require any act to be done in a reasonable time or reasonable notice to be given, such reasonable time or notice shall be deemed to mean such time only as may be necessary for the prompt performance of such duty, or compliance with such notice.

References. A reference to any portion of a statute, ordinance or rule applies to all reenactments, revisions or amendments of the statute, ordinance or rule.

Residence. The place adopted by a person as his place of habitation, and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning. When a person eats at one place and sleeps at another, the place where such person sleeps shall be deemed his residence.

Roadway. That portion of a street improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic.

Shall, may. The term "shall" is mandatory, and the term "may" is discretionary.

Sidewalk. The term "sidewalk" shall mean any portion of the street between the curb, or the lateral line of the roadway and the adjacent property line intended for the use of pedestrians.

Signature, subscription. The term "signature" or "subscription" shall include a mark when the person cannot write, when his name is written near such mark and is witnessed by a person who writes his own name as witness.

State. The terms "the state" or "this state" shall mean the State of Texas.

Street. The term "street" shall mean and include public streets, avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts, bridges, public ways and approaches thereto and other public thoroughfares in the city devoted to public use.

Tenant, occupant. The terms "tenant" and "occupant," applied to a building or land shall mean any person who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.

Tense. Words used in the past or present tense shall include the future as well as the past or present.

Tex. Admin. Code. The term "Tex. Admin. Code" means the Texas Administrative Code.

V.T.C.A. The designation "V.T.C.A." means Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated, as amended.

Writing, written. The terms "writing" and "written" shall include typewriting, printing on paper and any other mode of representing words and letters.

Year. The term "year" shall mean a calendar year.

The rules of construction and definitions set forth in section 1-2 shall not be applied to any section of this Code or city ordinance which shall contain any express provision excluding such construction or definition, or when the subject matter or context of such provisions or ordinances may be repugnant thereto.

All standard codes, rules, regulations, and other subject matter herein or hereafter properly incorporated by reference, together with subsequent amendments thereto, pursuant to state law, and future incorporations by reference shall be kept and preserved in the office of the city clerk.

The matter in parentheses at the ends of sections is for information only and is not a part of the Code. Citations to ordinances indicate only the source of such section and the text may or may not be changed by this Code. Reference matter not in parenthesis is for information only and is not a part of this Code.

The catchlines of the sections of this Code which are printed and underscored herein are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the sections and shall not be deemed to be titles or parts of such sections, nor shall they be so deemed when any section, including its catchline, is amended or reenacted unless expressly so stated; provided, however, this provision shall not be applicable to the catchlines of the sections contained in chapter 24 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 86-025, § 1, 3-3-1986)

In addition to the rules of construction and definitions specified in this chapter, the following rules shall be observed in the construction of this Code.

(a) All references to chapters, articles or sections are to the chapters, articles and sections of this Code unless otherwise specified.

(b) If the provisions of different chapters of this Code conflict with or contravene each other, the provisions of each chapter shall prevail as to all matters and questions growing out of the subject matter of such chapter.

(c) If conflicting provisions be found in different sections of the same chapter, the provisions of the section which is last in numerical order shall prevail unless such construction would be inconsistent with the meaning of such chapter.

The police power of the city is hereby extended to include all lands or property owned or leased by the city or any agency of the city and the general ordinances of the city shall be applicable to such property.

It shall be unlawful for any person to change or amend by additions or deletions, any part or portion of this Code, or to insert or delete pages, or portions thereof, or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the city to be misrepresented thereby; provided, that supplementation of this Code by authorized persons shall be permitted.

(a) Whenever, in this Code, an act is prohibited, is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, or whenever, in this Code, the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, and no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such section, part or portion of the Code shall be punished by a fine not to exceed the maximum lawful fine which the municipal court is empowered to assess pursuant to the provisions of the laws of the state.

(b) Each day any such violation or failure to perform such act shall continue shall constitute a separate offense, unless otherwise specifically provided.

(c) There shall be no requirement that each amendment to the Code state a penalty; and in the case of an amendment to the Code for which a penalty is not stated, the general penalty as provided in this section shall apply to the section of the Code as amended; or, in case such amendment contains provisions for which a penalty, other than the aforementioned general penalty, is provided in such other section shall be held to relate to the section so amended, unless such penalty is specifically repealed therein.

(d) If the city council amends any section of this Code, for which a penalty is not provided, the general penalty provision of section 1-10 of this Code shall apply to the section as amended. However, if an amendment contains provisions for which a penalty is provided in another section of the same chapter, such penalty shall relate to the amended section, unless such amendment specifies that such penalty shall not apply.

(Ord. No. 86-025, § 2, 3-3-1986; Ord. No. 88-029, § 1, 8-1-1988; Code 2000, § 2-31)

(a) The imposition of a penalty under the provisions of this Code shall not prevent the revocation or suspension of any license, franchise or permit issued or granted under the provisions of this Code.

(b) In the event any violation of this Code is designated as a nuisance under the provisions of this Code, such nuisance may be summarily abated by the city in addition to the imposition of a fine or imprisonment.

The sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this Code are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this Code shall be declared invalid, unenforceable or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity, unenforceability or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this Code.

The repeal of an ordinance shall not review any ordinance in force before or at the time the ordinance repealed took effect. The repeal of an ordinance shall not affect any punishment or penalty incurred before the repeal took effect, nor any suit, prosecution or proceeding pending at the time of the repeal, for an offense committed or cause of action arising under the ordinance repealed.

Any person or corporation who permits, aids, assists or employs another person or corporation in doing any act or failing to do any act as shall be required in this Code, shall be deemed in violation of the chapter or section prohibiting or requiring such act as if such person or corporation had actually committed such act or failed to actually perform such act as herein required. Such person or corporate representative need not be actually present at the time of violation; and a person or corporation may be deemed in violation of such chapter or section whether the act of permitting, aiding, assisting or employing occurs before or after the violation.

(Ord. No. 80-009, 2-4-1980)

The Charter of the city, article I, section 1, contains a designation of various boundaries as evidenced by reference to fixed land marks which existed at the time the Charter of the city was initially adopted. In order to provide a clear designation as to the boundaries of the city, the provisions of the Charter referring to Post Oak Road are designated to mean and provide:

Thence easterly along the south right-of-way line of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad to its intersection with the east line of Avenue "C" (Interstate Highway 610 east service road); thence southerly along the east line of Avenue "C" (Interstate Highway 610 east service road) to its intersection with the south line of Sycamore Street (Glenmont Street).

(Ord. No. 93-079, 12-20-1993)

(a) By contract or by city personnel, supplements to this Code shall be prepared and printed whenever authorized or directed by the city council. A supplement to the Code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances passed by the city council or adopted by initiative and referendum during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the Code, and shall also include all amendments to the Charter during the period. The pages of a supplement shall be so numbered that they will fit properly into the Code and will, where necessary, replace pages which have become obsolete or partially obsolete, and the new pages shall be so prepared that, when they have been inserted into the Code, they will be current through the date of the adoption of the latest ordinances included in the supplement.

(b) In preparing a supplement to this Code, all portions of the Code which have been repealed shall be excluded from the Code by the omission thereof from reprinted pages.

(c) When preparing a supplement to this Code, the codifier (meaning the person, agency or organization authorized to prepare the supplement) may make formal, nonsubstantive changes in ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the supplement, insofar as it is necessary to do so to embody them into a unified Code. For example, the codifier may:

(1) Organize the ordinance material into appropriate subdivisions;

(2) Provide appropriate catchlines, headings and titles for sections and other subdivisions of the Code printed in the supplement, and make changes in such catchlines, headings and titles;

(3) Assign appropriate numbers to sections and other subdivisions to be inserted in the Code and, where necessary to accommodate new material, change existing section or other subdivision numbers;

(4) Change the words "this ordinance" or words of the same meaning to "this chapter," "this article," "this division," etc., as the case may be, or to "sections ________ to ________" (inserting section numbers to indicate the sections of the Code which embody the substantive sections of the ordinance incorporated into the Code); and

(5) Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original meaning of ordinance sections inserted into the Code; but, in no case, shall the codifier make any change in the meaning or effect of ordinance material included in the supplement or already embodied in the Code.

(Code 2000, § 2-32)