Sec. 233.001. REQUIRING REPAIR, REMOVAL, OR DEMOLITION OF BUILDING OR OTHER STRUCTURE. (a) If the commissioners court of a county that borders the Gulf of Mexico and is adjacent to a county with a population of more than 3.3 million finds that a bulkhead or other method of shoreline protection, hereafter called "structure," in an unincorporated area of the county is likely to endanger persons or property, the commissioners may:

(1) order the owner of the structure, the owner's agent, or the owner or occupant of the property on which the structure is located to repair, remove, or demolish the structure or the part of the structure within a specified time; or

(2) repair, remove, or demolish the structure or the part of the structure at the expense of the county on behalf of the owner of the structure or the owner of the property on which the structure is located and assess the repair, removal, or demolition expenses on the property on which the structure was located.

(b) The commissioners court shall provide by order for:

(1) the assessment of repair, removal, or demolition expenses incurred under Subsection (a)(2);

(2) a method of giving notice of the assessment; and

(3) a method of recovering the expenses.

(c) Promptly after the assessment, the county must file for record, in recordable form in the office of the county clerk in which the property is located, a written notice of the imposition of a lien, if any, that is imposed on the property. The notice must contain a legal description of the property, the amount of the assessment, and the owner if known. The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice of the assessment is recorded and indexed in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the property is located. The notice to secure the assessment is inferior to any previously recorded bona fide mortgage lien attached to the property to which the county's lien attaches if the mortgage lien was filed for record in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the property is located before the date the notice is recorded and indexed in the office of the county clerk. The assessment lien is superior to all other previously recorded judgment liens.

(d) A person commits an offense if the person does not comply with an order issued under Subsection (a)(1). An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

(e) This section does not apply to a:

(1) residential building; or

(2) building or other structure that is owned or held in trust by the state or a political subdivision of this state; or

(3) building or structure used on or in connection with an agricultural operation.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 762, Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 1995. Renumbered from Sec. 239.001 by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 14.002(4), eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1163 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 82, eff. September 1, 2011.