05/28/2026
Thanks to everybody who read and commented on today's post about the three ordinances. The conversation has been lively. Most of it supportive, some of it skeptical, and that's how it should be. A lot of the questions and concerns folks raised are fair ones, and I want to answer the big ones here.
About our neighbors on fixed incomes, disabled folks, and elderly residents who physically can't clean up their property:
This is the comment that stuck with me the most. These ordinances are not aimed at people who are struggling. The honest truth is that the worst properties in town almost always belong to owners who don't even live here anymore. Absentee owners. Vacant lots nobody has touched in years. Buildings rotting because the owner is two states away and isn't paying attention.
For neighbors who genuinely can't do the work themselves, the City is putting together a community volunteer program. We're going to partner with our local churches, civic groups, and volunteer organizations to help clean up properties of elderly, disabled, and low income residents at no cost to them. If you know somebody who fits that description, or if that's you, please reach out to City Hall before anything else happens. That's the kind of community Joaquin has always been. Neighbors helping neighbors.
About the property rights concerns:
I hear you. But these ordinances are not Joaquin inventing something new. They come straight out of Texas state law, including Chapter 217 and Chapter 214 of the Local Government Code, Chapter 683 of the Transportation Code, and Chapter 342 of the Health and Safety Code. Just about every Texas city of any size has these on the books. Ours were drafted and reviewed by our city attorney to make sure they line up with state law and protect due process.
The City does not want to take anyone's property. Liens and forced cleanups are a last resort, and they only come into play after a property owner has been notified, given a hearing, given time to comply, offered help, and refused all of it. That is a long road, and one I hope we never have to walk with anybody.
About how we are actually going to roll this out:
I want to be straight with everybody. The City is not going on a notification spree all over town. Our first focus is going to be abandoned properties that pose a real danger to the occupied homes around them. Tall w**ds and brush growing right up against a family's house. A collapsing building that could fall onto a neighbor's property. Junked vehicles leaking into somebody else's yard. Properties whose owners have been gone for years while the place falls apart. That is where we are starting, and we are going to work through it with care and common sense.
When a structure does need to come down, we are also partnering with the Joaquin Volunteer Fire Department along with property owner's permission. JVFD can use some of these condemned structures for live fire training exercises. That gives our firefighters the kind of real world training that makes them better at protecting all of us, and it takes a dangerous building down at little or no cost to the property owner. It is a good deal all the way around, and it ties right in with the volunteer cleanup effort I mentioned above.
About due process:
It's built into the ordinances at every step.
A property owner gets a written notice before anything happens.
The owner has 10 days to respond and can request a hearing in front of the City Council.
At the hearing, the owner can explain their situation, ask for more time, or request an exception.
For substandard building cases, owners can also appeal to district court within 30 days.
Nobody is going to have their property touched without their day in front of Council, in front of their neighbors, first.
A few other questions that came up:
Does this apply only inside city limits? Yes. These ordinances only apply inside the corporate limits of the City of Joaquin.
What about antique cars or vehicles with sentimental value? The ordinance specifically exempts antique and special interest vehicles owned by hobbyists and collectors, as long as they are kept orderly and screened from public view by a fence, shrubs, a garage, or something similar. If grandpa's old truck means something to you, keep it covered and you're fine.
Active farmland? Working cropland and grazing pastures are exempt from the w**d and grass rules.
Who handles inspections? The City will use qualified inspectors as required by state law. We'll share contact information as we move forward.
Where this all lands:
The State of Texas gives cities the responsibility, and the tools, to protect public health, safety, and property values. We're going to use those tools fairly, and with a strong emphasis on helping folks come into compliance instead of penalizing them. The community volunteer effort and the partnership with JVFD are going to be a real and meaningful part of that.
If you have a concern about a specific property, yours, a neighbor's, or someone you think the volunteer program should know about, please reach out to City Hall. We'd a whole lot rather hear from you now than have to send a notice later.
Joaquin is our home. Let's keep it one we're proud of.
Rusty Wilson, Mayor
