ORDINANCE NO. 134

 

 

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF ST. PAUL, COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, PROVIDING FOR THE PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF SWIMMING POOL ENCLOSURES; PROVIDING FOR ABATEMENT OF HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $1,000.00 FOR EACH DAY OF VIOLATION; PROVIDING FOR ADDITIONAL REMEDIES; AND PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS, SEVERABILITY, PUBLICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

 

WHEREAS, the St. Paul Town Council finds that Texas Government Code ' 214.101 grants to municipalities the authority to establish minimum standards for swimming pool fences and enclosures; and

 

WHEREAS, the St. Paul Town Council finds the regulations adopted herein are in the best interest of the citizens of the Town St. Paul, and will promote the safety, health and welfare of the citizens of the Town of St. Paul.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF ST. PAUL, COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS:

 

 

SECTION 1.   ENCLOSURE REQUIRED.

 

The owner, tenant, property owners' association or any other person who owns, possesses, constructs or maintains a public swimming pool or private residential swimming pool shall completely enclose the pool with a fence, wall or other solid structure meeting the minimum requirements of Chapter 757 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

 

 

SECTION 2.   DEFINITIONS.

 

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Ordinance, shall have the meanings ascribed to them

 

A.     ABuilding Official@ means the administrative official charged with the responsibility for issuing permits and enforcing the Town of St. Paul=s zoning ordinances, subdivision ordinance, and building codes.

 

B.     APool@ or Aswimming pool@ means any structure, basin, chamber, tank or other receptacle capable of containing an artificial body of water for the purpose of swimming, diving or recreational bathing and having a depth at any point of more than eighteen inches (18"), whether located at ground level, aboveground, belowground or indoors.  These terms shall include a permanent swimming pool, a permanent wading pool, and a permanent hot tub or spa unless equipped with a cover intended for removal only during use.

 

C.     APrivate residential swimming pool@ means any swimming pool located on private property under the control of a single homeowner or his tenant, the use of which is limited to members of his family, the tenant's family and their invited guests.

 

D.     APublic swimming pool@ means any swimming pool, other than a private residential swimming pool, intended to be used collectively by numbers of persons for swimming or bathing, however owned or operated and regardless of whether a fee is charged for such use.  Such term includes but is not limited to a swimming pool owned or operated by a residential homeowner=s association.

 

E.      "Self-closing and self-latching device" means a device that causes a gate to automatically close without human or electrical power after it has been opened and to automatically latch without human or electrical power when the gate closes.

 

F.      ATown@ or ASt. Paul@ means the Town of St. Paul, Texas.

 

 

SECTION 3.         ENFORCEMENT.

 

G.     The Building Official is authorized to enforce this Ordinance, making all necessary inspections, issuing citations, giving notice, and otherwise cooperating in the enforcement of this Ordinance.

 

H.     The Building Official may enter any unoccupied premises at a reasonable time to inspect, investigate, or enforce this Ordinance.  After providing a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours notice to the occupant, the Building Official may enter any occupied premises to inspect, investigate, or enforce this Ordinance.

 

I.        The Town, its Building Official, officials, agents or employees, shall be immune from liability for any acts or omissions not knowingly done that are associated with actions taken in an effort to eliminate the dangerous conditions posed by an enclosure or fence that is damaged, deteriorated, substandard, dilapidated, or otherwise in a state that poses a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare and for any previous or subsequent conditions on the property.

 

 

SECTION 4.         PERMITS.

 

A building permit is required prior to constructing, installing, enlarging or altering a swimming pool.

 

J.       Permit Application.  Every application for a pool building permit shall be accompanied by two copies of all plans for the swimming pool, together with such other copies as the Building Official may require for review.  The plans must comply with the requirements of this Ordinance and show the lot lines, lot address, the lot and block numbers, the location of the pool and pool enclosure on the lot, accurate dimensions of the pool, pool enclosure and lot, and such other information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of this Ordinance.  A record of the original copy of such application and plans shall be kept in the office of the Building Official and a duplicate copy of the approved plan shall be at the building at all times during construction.

 

K.     Final Inspection.  The Building Official shall refuse final inspection and approval of the construction, installation, enlargement or alteration of a pool until all requirements of this Ordinance have been satisfied by the owner or permit applicant.

 

 

 

SECTION 5.         INSPECTION, REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE.

 

The owner, tenant, property owners' association or any other person who owns, controls or maintains a pool shall exercise ordinary and reasonable care to inspect, maintain, repair and keep in good working order the pool yard enclosures, gates and self-closing and self-latching devices, as may be required by this Ordinance.  The duty of inspection, repair and maintenance under this section may not be waived under any circumstances.

 

 

SECTION 6.         ABATEMENT OF HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS.

 

L.      Remedy by Town.  The Town may repair, replace, secure or otherwise remedy a pool yard enclosure or fence that is damaged, deteriorated, substandard, dilapidated or otherwise in a state that poses a hazard to the public health, safety and welfare.

 

M.    Remedy by owner of occupied property.  If the Building Official determines that the minimum pool enclosure requirements as set forth in this Ordinance have been violated, the Building Official shall send a notice of violation to the owner of the property on which the swimming pool enclosure or fence is situated detailing the nature of the violation along with a hearing date on which the owner, lienholder or mortgagee will be required to submit at a hearing before the St. Paul Town Council, acting in its capacity as Building Commission, proof of the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this Ordinance and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work.  After the public hearing, if the pool enclosure is found in violation of the standards set out in this Ordinance by the St. Paul Town Council, acting in its capacity as Building Commission, the Building Official may order that the enclosure be repaired, replaced, secured or otherwise remedied by the owner within a reasonable time.  If the owner does not take the ordered action within the allotted time, the Town shall make a diligent effort to discover each mortgagee and lienholder having an interest in the building or in the property on which the pool enclosure is located. The Town shall send to each identified owner, mortgagee and lienholder a notice containing the following:

 

(1)    An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the pool enclosure and the property on which it is located;

 

(2)    A description of the violation; and

 

(3)    A statement that the Town will repair, replace, secure or otherwise remedy the violation if the ordered action is not taken within a reasonable time.

 

N.     Remedy by owner of unoccupied property.  If the Building Official determines that the minimum fencing requirements as set forth in this Ordinance have been violated and if the enclosure or fence is on occupied property or is on property occupied only by persons who do not have a right of possession to the property, the Town may repair, replace, secure or otherwise remedy the pool enclosure.

 

(1)    The Building Official shall, before the eleventh (11^th) day after the date of repair, give notice to the owner by:

 

(a)    Personally serving the owner with written notice;

 

(b)    Depositing the notice in the United States mail addressed to the owner at the owner's post office address;

 

 

 

(c)    Publishing the notice at least twice within a ten (10) day period in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the enclosure is located if personal service cannot be obtained and the owner's post office address is unknown; or

 

(d)    Depositing the notice on or near the front door of the pool if the personal service cannot be obtained and the owner's post office address is unknown.

 

(2)    The notice must contain:

 

(a)    An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the pool enclosure and the property on which it is located;

 

(b)    A description of the violation;

 

(c)    A statement that the Town will repair, replace, secure or otherwise remedy the violation if the ordered action is not taken within a reasonable time.

 

 

SECTION 7.         PENALTY

 

Any person found in violation of any provision of this Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000.00 for each offense.  Each day of the continuance of such violation shall be considered a separate offense, and each and every day shall constitute a separate violation.

 

 

SECTION 8.         ADDITIONAL REMEDIES

 

In addition to the criminal penalties specified in Section 7, the Town may maintain an action against any person who owns, maintains or controls a public swimming pool or private residential swimming pool for failure to comply with the requirements of this Ordinance.  Such action may include but not be limited to the relief afforded the Town pursuant to Texas Health and Safety Code ' 757.012.  The remedies contained in this Ordinance are not exclusive, and are not intended to affect existing remedies allowed by law or other procedure.

 

 

SECTION 9.         CONFLICTS.

 

All ordinances and provisions of the Town of St. Paul, Texas, that are in conflict with this Ordinance shall be and the same are hereby repealed, and all ordinances and provisions of ordinances of said Town not so repealed are hereby retained in full force and effect.

 

 

SECTION 10.       SEVERABILITY.

 

It is the intent of the St. Paul Town Council that each paragraph, sentence, subdivision, clause, phrase, or section of this Ordinance be deemed severable and, should any such paragraph, sentence, subdivision, clause, phrase, or section be declared invalid or unconstitutional for any reason, such declaration of invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not be construed to affect the validity of those provisions of this Ordinance left standing.