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O-79-716 - 9/27/1979ORDINANCE NO. 7f6 AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE POSTING OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SIGNS; DEFINING CERTAIN TERMS; PROVIDING FOR A :PROCEDURE TO REMOVE SIGNS; PROVIDING FOR STORAGE OF SIGNS; PROVIDING A FEE FOR REMOVAL; DECLARING ILLEGAL SIGNS A NUISANCE; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY, PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND RE- PEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS, THAT; Section 1. Definitions, Unless it appears from the context that a different meaning is intended, the following words shall have the meanings given them in this section; a, "City" means the City of Round Rock, a municipal corporation in the State of Texas. b. "Director of public works" means the city engineer/ director of public works. c. "Person" means any person, firm, partnership, associ- ation, corporation, company, or organization of any kind. d. "Political campaign sign" means any sign urging the election or defeat of any candidate seeking any political office, or urging the passage or defeat of any ballot measure, but does not mean or include any billboard owned or maintained by a commercial firm or advertising company. e. "Public property" means all publicly owned property, including streets, rights-of-way, easements, and every- thing affixed thereto and thereover. f "Sign" means and includes any bill, poster, placard, handbill, flyer, painting, sign or other similar object in any ,form whatsoever which contains printed or written matter in words, symbols, or pictures, or in any combination thereof. Section 2. Posting on public property prohibited, It shall be unlawful for any person to post a political campaign sign on or over any public property in the city, Section 3, Posting time limits. It shall be unlawful for any person to post a political campaign sign more than ninety days prior to the election for which the sign is posted, and it shall be unlawful to fail to remove a political campaign sign within thirty days after the election for which the sign was posted. Section 4. Removal of illegal signs, a. The director of public works or his authorized agents are hereby authorized to remove any political campaign sign found posted within the corporate limits of the city when such sign is in violation of the provisions of this article. b. For the purpose of removing political campaign signs, the director of public works or his authorized agents are empowered to enter upon the property where the signs are posted, and the director is further authorized to enlist the aid or assistance of any other department of the city and to secure legal process to the end that all suchsigns shall be expeditiously removed from any property where posted. Section 5. Removal procedure. When the director or his agents find that a. political campaign sign has been posted in violation of this article, he shall attempt to contact the candidate, committee or person responsible for the posting of such sign. If successful, he shall give twenty-four hours advance telephonic notice of his intention to remove the sign, indicate the nature of the violation and the location of the sign. If, after such notification, the illegal sign remains in violation, the director or his agents shall remove said sign and store it in a safe location. If, after reasonable diligence, the director is unable to contact the candidate, committee, or person responsible for the sign, he may dispense with the notice requirement and remove the sign, storing it in a safe location. Section 6. Storage, notice, return, If the director or his agents remove any political campaign sign, he shall keep a record of the location from which the sign was removed. He shall store the political campaign sign in a safe location for at least thirty days and shall immediately notify by telephone the candidate, committee or person responsible for the posting of the sign, indicating the fact of removal and the location where it may be retrieved. If the director is unable to make telephone contact, he shall provide written notice, if the address of the candidate, committee, or person is known or can be ascertained. The director shall return any political v campaign sign upon the payment of the fee provided in section 7. 2 Section 7. Removal of sign Charge, The city shall be entitled to receive the sum of '4/(9,,00 dollars for every political campaign sign removed by the director, to cover the expense of removal, notice and storage. In cases where unusual effort is needed to remove a sign, such as the cutting or removal of supporting structures, use of aerial devices, towing of "trailer signs," or other unusual situation, the city shall collect from the person responsible a sum sufficient to cover the costs and hourly wages of employees so utilized. Section 8, Persons responsible. In a campaign for political office, the candidate for such office shall be deemed the person responsible for the posting of political campaign signs, unless he first notifies the city secretary and the director of public works of another person who is responsible, In such case, the candidate shall provide the name, address, telephone number, and signed consent of suchother responsible person. In a campaign regarding a ballot measure, the president of the committee supporting or op- posing such ballot measure shall be, deemed responsible, unless he first notifies the city secretary and director of public works of some other person responsible, in the manner described above. The candidate, or in the case of a ballot measure, the committee president, or other responsible person if so designated, shall be liable to pay any fees or costs for the removal and storage of illegal signs, as set out herein. Further, such candidate, commit- tee president, or other designated person, shall be subject to prosecution for any violation of this ordinance, Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to make any person liable, civilly or criminally, for any sign posted by persons unknown to him or her, or by persons over whom he or she has no control. Section 9.. Illegal signs, public nuisance, Political campaign signs in violation of this article are hereby declared to be public nuisances, and may be abated as such by the city. The collection of removal fees shall not preclude the city from prosecuting any person for violating this article. - 3 _. Section 10. Penalty,. Any person, firm, partnership, associ- ation, corporation, company, or organization who shall violate any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum not exceeding Two. Hundred Dollars 0200.00), and each and every day the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. Section 11. Savings Clause, The invalidity of any section or provision of this ordinance shall not invalidate other sections or provisions thereof. Section 12, Repealing Conflicting Ordinances, All ordinances, parts of ordinances, or resolutions in conflict herewith are expressly repealed. READ and APPROVED on first reading this the L. J day of 1 JW 1979, READ, APPROVED and ADOPTED on second reading this the ,27 day of , 1979, ATTEST,, dO "NE LAND, i.ty Secretary Y L. BONN, Mayor City of Round Rock, Texas 4