Code Enforcement Department
One of many basic services the City of Lampasas provides are to insure that the buildings in which we live and work are safe and sanitary, and that our neighborhoods are orderly, clean, and free of public nuisances. Our department provides quality services to our community by performing tasks involving the protection and promotion of health, safety and welfare, property value, and environment of the citizens of Lampasas.

Code violations can be reported to the Lampasas Police Department by visiting Code Enforcement at 301 East 4th Street or by calling 512-556-6235.

Code Enforcement & Patrol Officers
Code enforcement and/or patrol officers:

• Conduct field inspections for compliance
• Enforce the city's nuisance ordinances
• Investigate complaints and possible code violations
• Issue citations and prepare cases for criminal and/or civil prosecution

Role of the Code Enforcement Officer
The code enforcement officer performs inspections and investigates complaints concerning:

Accumulations of trash and debris Dangerous buildings High grass and weeds Illegal dumping Junked motor vehicles

Other nuisance related violations Substandard structures Vehicles illegally parked in front and side yards Zoning violations

Code Violations
The code enforcement officer strives for voluntary compliance, if corrective action is not completed in a reasonable manner or time, the code enforcement officer will take criminal and/or civil action. The primary goal is to resolve the code violation through voluntary compliance, and the vast majority of cases are resolved in this manner.

Building & Structures in Need of Repair
Code enforcement has the responsibility for finding and removing substandard and dangerous structures. These are structures that are a health and/or safety issue for the people in the community. The city works with owners / occupants to ensure that all buildings in the city are kept in safe condition.

Junk, Weeds, & Other Unsanitary Matter
Greenery and weeds can become a problem if not checked and maintained. Code enforcement responds to complaints and makes random checks of property conditions for violations. Weeds are a health and a safety concern. Weed removal is required by city ordinance. Property owners are required to keep their property free of junk, weeds, rubbish, brush, and other objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary matter. Vacant lots must also be kept free of weeds, which hide and attract debris.

Residents and business owners are reminded to keep shrubs trimmed low, below windows and away from doors. Overgrown hedges, bushes, and shrubs near ground floor windows and doors are good hiding places for burglars seeking cover as they enter and exit windows and doors.

Property owners may be contacted and warned to remove the weeds on their property. Owners who do not comply with removal can be cited, fined, and/or assessed the cost of weed removal by city crews with a lien placed against the property. Weeds that have grown higher than 48 inches and are deemed as an immediate danger to the health, life, or safety of others; the city may abate without the notice.

Junk, Wrecked, & Abandoned Property
All vehicles parked or stopped on the street, or any public or private parking area, must be in running condition and have a current vehicle registration. Vehicles cannot block a street, driveway, sidewalk, or other vehicle or any public right-of-way. If the vehicle is not able to drive safely or is not in running condition (e.g., missing wheels, windshield, windows, engine, lights or other parts, or has no proof of current registration, etc.), they can be towed away by officers.

Law enforcement may take into custody an abandoned motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor found on public or private property.

Abandoned Vehicles Defined
An abandoned vehicle is defined as:

• Inoperable, more than five years old, and was left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours.
• Has remained illegally on public property for more than 48 hours.
• Has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in charge of the property for more than 48 hours.
• Has been left unattended on the right-of-way of a designated county, state, or federal highway for more than 48 hours or on a turnpike project constructed and maintained by the Texas Turnpike Authority for more than 12 hours.

A major part of code enforcement involves problems with discarded, abandoned, or neglected personal property such as old cars. These old cars go ignored by their owners and are left to decay posing a health and safety risk in violation of state laws and/or city ordinances.

The never-ending repair or restoration project cannot stay in your yard. Cars that people cannot drive go neglected and unregistered. Most people are well meaning and plan to get around to it, fixing or registering their vehicles soon. Others simply store their cars wherever they can. Some of the parked cars we notice for abatement have been motionless and a hazard for many years.

Abandoned & Stored Vehicles
Abandoned and stored cars become a target for vandals. They are also dangerous to children and a home to rodents, stray animals, and illegal activity. They usually have some amounts of old gasoline and oil, often leaking onto the ground and into ground water  posing a risk of fire or explosion if accidentally exposed to flame.

Signs
The placing of garage sale signs on city property, including utility poles and right-of-way, is specifically prohibited.

City Ordinance Codes
Sec. 34-34 Junk, weeds, or other unsanitary matter:

• The owner of a premises in the city shall keep the premises free from junk, weeds, rubbish, brush, and other objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary matter.

Sec.34-172 Acts resulting in noise violations:

• Sound generating devices. The playing of any radio, musical instrument, or other sound generating device or equipment in such manner or with such volume as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of persons of ordinary sensibilities in any public space, dwelling, hotel, residence or other type of structure is prohibited at all times. The operating of any sound generating device or equipment in a vehicle audible or causing vibration 30 feet from the device or equipment is prohibited at all times. (Passed Oct. 11, 2004)