Texas City, TX Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 94.066 of the Texas City Code of Ordinances, titled Depositing in Vacant Lots, states that no person shall throw or deposit litter on any open or vacant private property within the city, whether owned by the person or not. The closing clause removes the obvious defense: an owner cannot treat an empty lot as a private dumping ground, and a neighbor, contractor or passer-by cannot use one as a drop point. The City Commission placed the rule in Chapter 94, Health and Sanitation, so it applies throughout the city inside Galveston County and is enforced as a criminal offense.

It is one of a family of littering rules. Section 94.065 covers streets, sidewalks and other public places, § 94.067 covers occupied private property, § 94.068 covers parks and § 94.069 covers throwing litter from a vehicle. Section 94.073 gives prosecutors an evidentiary shortcut: proof that litter was deposited in violation of the subchapter, together with proof that the name of the person named in the complaint was endorsed on one or more pieces of the litter, is a prima facie presumption that the named person deposited it. Mail, receipts and packaging that carry a name become evidence.

Keeping a vacant lot free of overgrowth is a separate duty under § 94.028, which reaches any lot or premises and sets the weed and tall grass line at 12 inches or higher. The city's notice and cleanup machinery is in §§ 94.029 through 94.032. Those sections are written for the conditions in the subchapter on unsanitary, unsightly conditions on private premises, where the weed rule sits. They give the owner ten days after written notice, then let the city do the work and charge the owner, add the cost to the property's city water bill or place a mechanic's lien, with a $50 charge for the lien paperwork. The statement of expenses is filed with the County Clerk, and the resulting lien bears 10% interest per year from the filing date.