Basketball Goals

Title 7, Chapter 71.031

No person to any extent, entirely or in part, obstruct or encumber any portion of any street, alley, sidewalk or right-of-way in the city with anything whatsoever in any manner whatsoever, including by way of exampled, but not limited to the following: vegetation, poles, posts, lumber, boxes or fences.

*Basketball goals overhanging the street or alleyway or placed to obstruct the sidewalk  are prohibited in those place locations by this section of the Carrollton Code of Ordinances.

Certificate of Occupancy

Article XXX, Section A

All land, buildings, structures or appurtenances thereto which are located within the city of Carrollton, and which are hereafter used, occupied, erected, altered or converted shall be used, occupied, erected, altered or converted in compliance with the provisions of this ordinance; the zoning regulations of the district in which such land, structure, use or occupancy is located; the building codes, and all other applicable codes and ordinances of the city of Carrollton.

Except for any single family, duplex or townhouse dwelling, no use shall hereafter be established, and no building hereafter erected or structurally altered, nor any tenant or lease space, shall be used, occupied or changed in use, tenant, or occupant until a Certificate of Occupancy shall have been issued by the Building Official stating that the use, building or proposed use of a building or premises complies with the building codes and provisions of this ordinance.

A record of all Certificates of Occupancy shall be kept on file in the office of the Building Official, copies of which shall be furnished upon request.

No Certificates of Occupancy for any building shall be issued before application has been made, and a fee paid in an amount established by the City Council, for a Certificate of Occupancy.

The Building Official may, in writing, suspend or revoke a Certificate of Occupancy issued under the provisions of this ordinance whenever the Certificate is issued in error, or on the basis of incorrect information supplied, or when it is determined that the building, structure or use is in violation of any provision of this ordinance or the provisions of any other ordinance of the city of Carrollton.

Dangerous Building Abatement

The City of Carrollton enforces the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings as modified by Ordinance 3233.  All buildings or portions thereof which are determined after inspection to be dangerous as defined in this code are hereby declared a public nuisance and must be either repaired, rehabilitated, or demolished in accordance with the procedures established within this code.

A public nuisance is defined as:

• Any public nuisance known at common law or in equity jurisprudence.
• Overcrowding a room with occupants.
• Insufficient ventilation or illumination.
• Any attractive nuisance that may prove detrimental to children whether in a building, on the premises of a building or on an unoccupied lot.  This includes any abandoned wells, shafts, basements, or excavations; abandoned refrigerators and motor vehicles; any structurally unsound fence structures; or any lumber, trash, fences debris or vegetation that may prove a hazard for minors.
• Whatever is dangerous to human life or is detrimental to health, as determined by the health officer.
• Inadequate or unsanitary sewage or plumbing facilities.
• Uncleanliness, as determined by the health officer.
• Whatever renders air, food, or drink unwholesome or detrimental to the health of human beings as determined by the health officer.

Early Placement of Trash

Title 5, Chapter 50.17

A person commits an offense if he places refuse in any approved container which he neither owns nor leases, when he does not have the permission of the owner or lessee of said container.

Title 5, Chapter 50.24

Residential containers shall be placed on or near the curbline or next to the alley line, as designated by the city.  Residential containers shall be placed at the location designated for collection not earlier than 6:00p.m of the evening before, nor later than 6:30a.m. of the resident's collection day.  Residential containers collected from the front of the house shall be removed to within ten feet of the residence.  Residential containers collected from the alley shall be removed to an area closer to the residence than the alley line.

Title 5, Chapter 50.25

A person commits an offense if he places a residential container or recycling bin on or near the curbline or alley line prior to 6:00p.m. of the evening before the resident's collection day.   A person commits an offense if he leaves a residential container or recycling bin on or near the curbline or alley line after 9:00a.m. on the day after the resident's collection day.

Fence Maintenance

Title 9, Chapter 92.10

It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of land to maintain a fence as follows:

Such that any portion of the fence is more than 15 degrees out of vertical alignment.

Such that there are broken, loose, damaged, removed or missing parts (i.e. pickets, slats, posts, wood rails, bricks, panels).  Replacement or repair of fence shall be made with comparable materials of comparable composition, color, size, shape and quality of the original fence to which the repair is being made.  Products manufactured for other uses including but not limited to plywood, corrugated steel, or fiberglass panels are prohibited as fencing materials.

Braced by guy wires, braces or any other material that may be viewable from any public streets, rights-of-way, alleyways, or property and easements over which the city or the general public has dominion and control.

With any symbols, writings, or graffiti on it, except those which are permitted as a sign under Title 15, Chapter 151 of the Code of Ordinances or which pertain to the address of the property.

Garage Sales

Title 9, Chapter 92.30

Garage sales shall be permitted in all residential districts.  It is a nuisance and shall be deemed unlawful for any person to maintain or conduct a garage sale in violation of these provisions:

1. A maximum of four garage sales per year may be conducted at a dwelling address. Each garage sale may not exceed three (3) consecutive days in duration and there shall be at least 30 days between each separate garage sale.
2. No more than two signs may be located on the premises where the garage sale is to be conducted and those signs may only be displayed on the days the garage sale is in progress.
3. Garage sale signs shall not exceed six (6) square feet in size.
4. No more than three (3) signs advertising a garage sale shall be placed off the premises on which the sale is being conducted.  The signs shall not be attached to any light pole, utility pole, signal pole, sign pole, or other public property including trees thereon.  Signs shall not be placed on or located upon any median of any public street, road or highway.  Of premises garage sale signs shall not be placed except from 12:00 noon Friday to 8:00am Monday.

High Grass and Weeds

Title 9, Chapter 95.02

It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of any property or a portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, within the city to permit grass, weeds, brush or unsightly vegetation to grow thereon to a height greater than 12 inches.

Title 9, Chapter 95.03

It shall be the duty of any owner or occupant of any real property to cut and remove all such grass, weeds, brush, tree limbs or unsightly vegetation.  The limits of the responsibility shall be as follows:   

• From the curb line adjacent to the property, or if no curb line exists, then from ten feet outside the property line including that area to the center line of the alley or public utility easement.
• All that area within 50 feet of the property line of a parcel or tract of land greater than 20 acres under single ownership.  Any property of 20 acres or less must be mowed in its entirety.

Home Occupations

Title 9, Chapter 92.20

Definition: Home Occupation - A business activity customarily carried on in the home by a member of the occupant's family without structural alterations in the building or any of its rooms, without the installation or outside storage of any machinery, equipment or materials other than that customary to the normal household operations, without the employment of persons not residing in the home, without the use of a sign to advertise the occupation, and which does not cause the generation of additional traffic in the street.

Home occupations shall be permitted in all residential zones, provided the home occupation is clearly and obviously subordinate to the main use or dwelling unit for residential purposes.  Home occupations shall be conducted wholly within the primary structure on the premises.  It is a nuisance and shall be deemed unlawful for any person to maintain a home occupation in violation of the following provisions:

1. The home occupation shall not exceed 15 percent of the floor area of the primary structure.
2. No persons other than those living on site or those related by blood, marriage or adoption shall report to work at the home occupation.
3. Inventory and supplies shall not occupy more than 50 percent of the area permitted to be used as a home occupation.
4. There shall be no exterior display of storage of goods, machinery, equipment or materials other than that customary to normal household operations on said premises.
5. Home occupations involving beauty shops, barbershops, nails shops, automotive repair shops are prohibited.
6. Sales and services to patrons shall be arranged by appointment and scheduled so that not more than two patron vehicles are on the premises, street or alley at the same time.
7. No signs shall be used to advertise the home occupation.
8. No alterations of the residential appearance of the property for business purposes, such as the creation of a separate entrance, shall be allowed.

Itinerant Vendors

Article XXX, Section A - Certificate of Occupancy

All land, buildings, structures or appurtenances thereto which are located within the city of Carrollton, and which are hereafter used, occupied, erected, altered or converted shall be used, occupied, erected, altered or converted in compliance with the provisions of this ordinance; the zoning regulations of the district in which such land, structure, use or occupancy is located; the building codes, and all other applicable codes and ordinances of the city of Carrollton.

Except for any single-family, duplex or townhouse dwelling, no use shall hereafter be established, and no building hereafter erected or structurally altered, nor any tenant or lease space, shall be used, occupied or changed in use, tenant, or occupant until a Certificate of Occupancy shall have been issued by the Building Official stating that the use, building or proposed use of a building or premises complies with the building codes and the provisions of this ordinance.

Without proper permits issued by the City of Carrollton Building Inspections Department no person(s) or company may set up a a business on a commercially zoned tract of land.  Any legal business that allows an illegal use of their property by an itinerant vendor violates their certificate of occupancy and may be fined for the violation.

Junked & Inoperable Vehicles

Title 9, Chapter 90.19

An inoperable vehicle, inoperable motor vehicle or junked vehicle that is visible from a public place or public right-of-way and /or is considered detrimental to the safety and welfare of the general public tends to reduce the value of private property, invites vandalism, creates a fire hazard, is an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, produces urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the city, and is declared to be a public nuisance.

It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, agent, occupant or anyone having supervision or control of any real property within the city to maintain a public nuisance as determined under this section.

It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, agent, occupant or anyone having supervisions or control of any real property within the city to have more than two inoperable vehicles, inoperable motor vehicles or junked vehicles upon their property.

Any inoperable vehicle, inoperable motor vehicle, or junked vehicle shall be screened from any public place or public right-of-way by means of a solid opaque fence or shall be enclosed within a building.  In no case shall any cover placed over a vehicle constitute adequate screening.

An inoperable vehicle, inoperable motor vehicle, or junked vehicle or vehicle part may be disposed of by removal to a scrap yard, demolisher or any suitable site.

It shall be be construed that a vehicle that is not demonstrated to be operable upon request of the Designated City Official is an inoperable vehicle.

An inoperable motor vehicle that remains inoperable for more than 30 consecutive days becomes a junked vehicle.

Title 9, Chapter 90.20

On Private Property.  Upon complaint or upon his own initiative, the Designated City Official (DCO) may initiate appropriate official action to remove and abate a public nuisance in the nature of a junked vehicle.  Whenever a public nuisance exists on private property, the DCO shall notify the last known registered owner of the junked vehicle, any lienholder of record, and the owner or occupant of the private premises on which the public nuisance exists, that the nuisance exists, that it must be removed and abated within ten (10) days of the receipt of the notice.  The notice hereinabove described shall be sent by certified mail with a five day return receipt requested.  If the notice is returned undelivered by the post office, further official action to abate the violation shall be continued to a date of not less than ten days after the date of return.

On Public Property.  Whenever a public nuisance in the nature of a junked vehicle exists on public property, the DCO shall notify the last known registered owner of the junked motor vehicle, any lienholder of record and the owner or occupant of the public premises or the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way on which the public nuisance exists, that the nuisance exists, that it must be removed and abated within ten days of the receipt of such notice, or that a request for a hearing must be made by said owner or occupant before the expiration of the ten day period from the receipt of the notice.  The notice hereinabove described shall be sent by certified mail with a five day return receipt requested.  If the notice is returned undelivered by the post office, further official action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not less than ten days after the date of the return.

Definitions

Junked Vehicle: A vehicle that is self-propelled and:;

(A)    Does not have lawfully attached to it:

1. an unexpired license plat; or,
2. a valid motor vehicle inspection certificate; and,

(B)  is:

1. wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, or discarded; or
2. inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than 72 consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property; or 30 consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private property

Inoperable Motor Vehicle: Is a motor vehicle that does not have lawfully affixed either an unexpired license plate or a valid motor vehicle safety inspection certificate, or a vehicle that is not in operating condition because it is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, dilapidated or has one or more flat tires.

Inoperable Vehicle:  A vehicle without a motor, including but not limited to trailers, campers, camper shells, and wheeled towing frames, that is not in operating condition because it is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, dilapidated or has one or more flat tires.

Landscaping Commercial Property

Article XXV

It is the intent of Article XXV of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to establish minimum requirements for the installation and maintenance of landscaping and buffering elements and other means of site improvement on developed commercial property to enhance the community's ecological, environmental, and aesthetic qualities, while at the same time allowing for design flexibility.

Failure to maintain landscaping and buffering on commercial property will lead to code enforcement actions taking place to bring the property into compliance with Article XXV.

Low Tree and Brush Limbs

Title 9, Chapter 95.02

It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of any property within the city to to suffer or permit tree limbs, brush or unsightly vegetation to grow within one foot of the public street or alley adjacent to that private property.

It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of any property within the city to suffer or permit limbs, brush and other vegetation existing above a public street or alley to hang lower than 12 feet above the alley, or street pavement or 7 feet above the sidewalk and other rights-of-way.

Maintenance of Commercial Parking Areas

Title 9, Chapter 92.50

It is a nuisance and shall be deemed unlawful for any owner or lessor occupant of a premises including, but not limited to, shopping centers, retail establishments, clubs, apartments or office complexes, warehouses, and the like which have vehicle access, parking areas and pedestrian walkways, to maintain such areas or cause such areas to fall into disrepair, either by accident, negligence or purpose, so that the whole or any part thereof becomes a danger to life, limb, or property.

It shall also be unlawful for any such owner, lessor or occupant to allow the effective use of such areas to become restricted to any degree.  Proper maintenance shall provide for the drainage of storm runoff without damage to the adjoining property, removal of other liquid wastes and solid debris, removal of dirt deposits and other foreign substances and removal of tree limbs, brush or other vegetation hanging lower than seven (7) feet above sidewalks or lower than twelve (12) feet above driveways and parking areas..  Fire lanes, parking spaces and pedestrian walkways must be clearly delineated.  The surfaces of such parking areas and walkways must be preserved in good condition.

Title 9, Chapter 92.52

It shall be the duty, and be considered unlawful to neglect such duty, for the owner, tenant, or occupant of such premises to maintain said areas in good condition.  Should the area at any time become less effective due to insufficient maintenance, it shall be required for the owner or tenant to correct such inadequacies or dangerous conditions within such time as the city may direct.

Off Street Parking

Title 9, Chapter 92.40

It shall be unlawful for a person to park or store or allow another to park or store any vehicle in excess of 8' 6" in width or 40' in length, including recreational vehicles, travel trailers, boats or boat trailers, in any residential zoned district or the Interim Holding district.

It shall be unlawful for a person to park or store or allow another to park or store a recreational vehicle, travel trailer, boat or boat trailer on a public thoroughfare in any residential zoned district or the Interim Holding district.

 

It shall be unlawful for a person to park or store or allow another to park or store a vehicle in the front yard of any surface other than an improved surface.

It shall be unlawful for any person to park or store or allow another to park or store a vehicle in the side yard or in the rear yard of any lot, upon any surface other than an improved surface unless such vehicle is concealed from view from all points along public streets and alleys by:

• A solid opaque fence or wall providing full screening from the ground to a minimum height of six feet; or
• Vegetation consisting of a solid hedgerow of evergreen shrubs, providing full screening from the ground to a minimum height of six feet; or
• Any combination of the above that effectively conceals the vehicle from view and provides full screening from the ground to a minimum height of six feet.

It shall be unlawful for any owner of a residential lot to allow a driveway, improved parking surface or combination of the two to cover more than 50 percent of the front yard of the lot.

It shall be unlawful for for any person to fail to maintain all improved parking surfaces in good and safe condition, and free of any defects affecting the use, safety, appearance or drainage of the surface or of the adjoining property.

Oversized Vehicles In Residential Areas

Title 9, Chapter 92.42

It shall be unlawful for any person to park any truck-tractor, road-tractor, semi-trailer, bus, truck or trailer with a rated capacity in excess of one ton upon property within any area zoned as either a single-family, two family or multiple-family dwelling district, according to the Zoning Ordinance 1470 of the the city.  The provision shall not prevent the parking or standing of the above described vehicles in such zoned areas for the purpose of expeditiously loading and unloading passengers, freight or merchandise, provided the vehicle is parked behind the rear building line, on private property.

Sign Code

Title 15, Chapter 151

Prohibited Signs and Activities

• A sign shall not be erected in a manner that would confuse or obstruct the view or interpretation of any official traffic sign, signal or device.
• It shall be unlawful for any person to display upon any sign any obscene, indecent or immoral matter.
• Commercial billboards are prohibited.
• No person shall place or suspend from any building, light pole, utility pole, structure, sidewalk, parkway, driveway or parking area, any goods, wares, merchandise or other advertising or display of such items other than a sign, as defined, regulated and permitted by this code.
• No cloth, paper, banner, flag, device or other similar advertising matter shall be permitted to be attached to, suspended from or be allowed to hang from any sign, building or structure, when the same shall create a public menace or danger.
• No person shall attach any sign, paper or other material, or paint, stencil or write any name, number (except address numbers) or otherwise mark on any sidewalk, curb, gutter, street, utility pole, public building, fence or structure except as otherwise allowed by ordinance.
• No person, firm, corporation or association of person, shall paste, stick, tack, nail or otherwise place any advertisement, handbill, placard or printed, pictured or written matter or thing from any purpose upon any fence, railing, sidewalk or public telephone, electric or other utility pole, or any other public property, including trees thereon.
• It shall be unlawful for any person to scatter or throw any handbills, circulars, cards, tear sheets or any other advertising device of any description, along or upon any street or sidewalk in the city.
• No portion of any sign shall be erected on or over public property, unless the same is erected by the city or with the permission of the city.
• No person shall erect, maintain or permit the erection of any balloon or other floating device anchored to the ground or to any other structure within the city.
• It shall be unlawful to attach any sign to or upon any vehicle trailer, skid or similar mobile structure where the primary use is to provide a base for such sign or constitute the sign itself.  Such signs attached to or upon any vehicle or mobile structure shall be prohibited where any such vehicle is allowed to remain parked along a right of way in the same location, or in the same vicinity, at frequent or extended periods of time, where the intent is apparent to be one of using the vehicle and signs for purposes of advertising establishments, services or products.

More information on the sign code and the restrictions it imposes may be found in the Carrollton Code of Ordinances under Title 15, Chapter 151.  This page does not include all of the restrictions or prohibited actions of the sign code.

Substandard Housing

The City of Carrollton enforces the 1997 Uniform Housing Code relating to substandard housing problems.  Violations addressed under this code include:

1. Inadequate Sanitation
2. Structural Hazards
3. Nuisance
4. Hazardous Electrical Wiring
5. Hazardous Plumbing
6. Hazardous Mechanical Equipment
7. Faulty Weather Protection
8. Fire Hazard
9. Faulty Materials of Construction
10. Hazardous or Unsanitary Premises
11. Inadequate Exits
12. Inadequate Fire Protection or Fire Fighting Equipment
13. Improper Occupancy

Click here to review the 1997 Uniform Housing Code in detail.

Trash & Debris

Title 9, Chapter 95.04

It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of any property or a portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, within the city, to keep, store or permit the accumulation upon the property of refuse, trash and debris that is visible from a public street.

It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of any property or a portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, within the city to keep, store or permit the accumulation upon the property of refuse, trash and debris that creates an unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, rodents, vermin or disease carrying pests.

It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of any property or portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, with the city to cause, permit, suffer or allow any unsanitary condition, including but not limited to standing water in any excavation, container, swimming pool or spa, likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, rodents, vermin or disease carrying pests.

It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or allow any trash and debris to be placed, thrown or otherwise deposited onto any parcel of land, street, alley or sidewalk or other place in the city.

Allegation and evidence of a culpable mental state is not required for proof of an offense defined by this section.

Title 9, Chapter 95.05

It shall be the duty of any owner or occupant of any real property, to remove all such refuse, trash and debris as defined in 95.04.

Definitions

Garbage: Decayable waste, including vegetable, animal and fish offal and animal and fish carcasses, but does not include sewage, body waste or an industrial byproduct.

Refuse: Garbage, rubbish, paper and other decayable and nondecayable waste.

Rubbish: Nondecayable waste.

Trash and Debris: All manner of refuse including, but not limited to: mounds of dirt; piles of leaves, grass and weed clippings; paper trash; useless fragments of building material; rubble; furniture other than furniture designed for outside 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 time; tree and brush trimmings and other miscellaneous wastes or rejected matter.

Unsightly Matter: Shall include weeds, garbage, refuse, rubbish, trash and debris, and objectionable or unsightly vegetation.

Zoning Violations

The Neighborhood Integrity Program enforces the City of Carrollton Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.  Due to the extensive nature of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance we are unable to review every type of zoning violation that may occur that code enforcement pursues.  However, if you wish to review the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance then please click here.

The primary enforcement issues dealing with zoning that generally arise are for itinerant vendors, illegal home occupations, and certificate of occupancy violations.