Illegal Dumping or Littering

My question involves criminal law for the state of: TX

In the Municipal Code of Ordinances, under Chapter 1: General Provisions, Section 1-11 with the catchline Altering Code states:
It shall be unlawful for any person in the city to change or amend by additions or deletions, any part or portion of this Code, or to insert or delete pages or portions thereof, or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the City of Waxahachie to be misrepresented thereby. Any person violating this section shall be punished as provided in section 1-12 hereof.

So does anyone consider ILLEGAL DUMPING to be the representative of the same act as Littering?

Would you think a sworn complaint which cites the offense as City Ordinance ILLEGAL DUMPING, stating the affiant has reason to believe and does believe that defendant unlawfully throw, discard, place or deposit litter and/or solid waste on public or private property within the City limits, to wit, defendants property in violation of City Code 14-5(b)(1)(a) was going a little overboard since the City code cited states:
Sec. 14-5. - Litter control.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

Containers are city manager approved metal, heavy-duty paper or plastic receptacles used for the disposal and storage of solid waste. Litter is any quantity of paper, metal, plastic, glass or miscellaneous solid waste which may be classified as trash, debris, rubbish, refuse, garbage, junk, or yard waste matter that is not confined to a container. Private property includes, but is not limited to, the following exterior locations owned by private individuals, firms, corporations, institutions or organizations: Yards, grounds, driveways, entranceways, passageways, parking areas, working areas, storage areas, vacant lots and recreation facilities. Public property includes, but is not limited to, the following exterior locations: Streets, street medians, roads, road medians, catch basins, railroad rights-of-way, sidewalks, lanes, alleys, public rights-of-way, public parking lots, school grounds, municipal housing project grounds, municipal vacant lots, parks, beaches, playgrounds, other publicly-owned recreation facilities, and municipal waterways and bodies of water.

(b) Regulations.
(1) Pedestrians and motorists:
a. It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, discard, place or deposit litter in any manner or amount on any public or private property within the corporate limits of the city, except in containers or areas lawfully provided therefore;

I’m having difficulty figuring out exactly what it is you are asking. As far as whether someone filing a complaint was “going a little overboard,” that is impossible to say without knowing the circumstances that led to the complaint.

Or, are you asking:
a) whether it is “overboard” for there to be a law against illegal dumping/littering?
b) whether it is “overboard” for you to be charged when the refuse was on your own private property? Or
c) whether it is “overboard” to use the term “illegal dumping” instead of “littering.”

If a), no, I don’t think it is overboard. Illegal dumping/littering affects the community in a variety of ways and is illegal in pretty much every community in the country.

If b), even if it is on your own property, lose refuse still effects the community as a whole. Lose refuse has a habit of migrating onto other property, it attracts rats and other pests & health hazards, and it is an eyesore that detracts from the property value of your neighbor’s property. So, no, IMHO that is not “overboard” either.

If c), it seems from what you have posted that the terms are used interchangeably by the city and you shouldn’t read too much into it. While you may think of “illegal dumping” as dumping of waste oil or other hazardous liquids, that is not what you have been charged with. In spite of the term used in the complaint, the specific ordinance is stated and defines the offense.

That's an imaginative and amusing way of challenging a citation.

Isn't gonna work.

Pay your fine, clean it up, move on.

Actually, when I think of ILLEGAL DUMPING I think of TEX HS. CODE ANN. § 365.012 : ILLEGAL DUMPING;
CRIMINAL PENALTIES; (b) A person commits an offense if the person receiveslitter or other solid waste for disposal
at a place that is not an approvedsolid waste site, regardless of whether the litter or other solid waste or theland on
which the litter or other solid waste is disposed is owned orcontrolled by the person.

Especially when the Complaint is styled COUNTY v DEFENDANT and not CITY v DEFENDANT and the alleged "litter and/or solid waste"
is dirt with rock to be used to fill in eroded areas on my lot, including flat concrete pads to be used as landscaping stones.

Especially when (g) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if the litter or solid waste to which the offense applies: 1) weighs 1,000 pounds or more or has a volume of 200 cubic feet or more

You are free to argue your position in court.

Again, what terminology is used is irrelevant. What is important is what statute you are being charged under. You are charged with violation of the municipal code 1-11 (according to your first post), the penalty for which is in 1-12. You were NOT charged with violation of the state statute 365.012(g), which can be punished as a felony.

As you still have not seen fit to clarify your question, I can only assume that you are still asking for an opinion of whether filing this complaint is “overboard.” And, as I stated in my first reply, without knowing the circumstances, I have no way of forming such an opinion. The only information you have provided is that the “litter” is dirt and pieces of concrete. Well, has the dirt and concrete been in your yard for 3 days, during which time you have been actively moving it around for your landscaping project? Or, has it been sitting there for 6 months while you have waiting to “get around to it?” Do you live in a rural, suburban, or urban neighborhood? Is it around the back of your house or is it sitting right next to the road/sidewalk that fronts your house? Is it in a location that would tempt neighborhood children to play in/on the pile and constitute a hazard to them? Is there a fence, shrubbery, etc. around your yard, at least partially obscuring it, or is this pile of dirt & rocks clearly visible to all your neighbors from their front door?

Quote:

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You were NOT charged with violation of the state statute 365.012(g), which can be punished as a felony.

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Well, in a sense you are correct, the actual terminology would be "framed" for the offense of ILLEGAL DUMPING

If the City Code is captioned LITTER CONTROL, why would the individual use the term ILLEGAL DUMPING? Excited Utterance?

Why would Code officer use a Animal control officer in the investigation? I have no idea, maybe small town protocol, but seems to resolve the question I had about a comment he had made previous to this incident in it gave me a strong conclusion that he was calling me a dog. I hold to the truth that the spirit of all human beings are created equal, Word up! 0 that is no lie.

But to answer your statement; see UN codification Section 1-12:

Whenever in this Code or in any ordinance of the city an act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, or whenever in such Code or ordinance the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, and no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such provision of this Code or any such ordinance shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00); provided, however, that no penalty shall be greater or less than the penalty provided for the same or a similar offense under the laws of the state.

what are you after here? If you want some valid direction:

state the ordinance charged

explain what caused them to issue the citation

concisely state a question

You seem to want to confuse the situation with odd thoughts that appear to have no application to your actual situation.

Word up? Really?

Really. But to be concise in the following ordinance which states:

Sec. 14-5. - Litter control.

(a)Definitions.

(b)Regulations.

(1)Pedestrians and motorists:

a.It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, discard, place or deposit litter in any manner or amount on any public or
private property within the corporate limits of the city, except in containers or areas lawfully provided therefore;

Would the correct interpetation of "any person" under City Code 14-5(b)(1)[a] Litter Control regulations for pedestians and motorists include even a home owner on his own property?

[QUOTE=jk;718170]what are you after here? If you want some valid direction:

state the ordinance charged

explain what caused them to issue the citation

concisely state a question

You seem to want to confuse the situation with odd thoughts that appear to have no application to your actual situation.