IN GENERAL.

Dallas City Code ch. 40, art. I

in effect

Dallas City Code § 40-1 DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 40-1. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: (1) BUSINESS BUILDING means any structure, whether public or private, regardless of the type of material used in its construction, located within the boundaries of the city that is adapted to the occupancy for transaction of business, whether vacant or occupied, for the rendering of professional services, for the display, sale or storage of goods, wares or merchandise, or for the performance of work or labor, including hotels, rooming houses, beer parlors, office buildings, public buildings, stores, markets, restaurants, grain elevators and abattoirs, warehouses, workshops and factories. (2) DIRECTOR means the director of the department designated by the city manager to enforce and administer this chapter and includes representatives, agents, or department employees designated by the director. (3) OPENING means and refers to any opening in the foundation, side, or walls of any business building, including roof, chimney eaves, grills, windows, sidewalk grates, and sidewalk elevators, through which a rat may pass. (4) PERSON means any owner, occupant, agent, individual, partnership, or corporation, or any other person in custody of any business building. (5) PREMISES means all business buildings, outhouses, sheds, barns, garages, docks, wharves, piers, grain elevators, and abattoirs, whether public or private, and any and all other structures used in connection with the operation of any business building. (6) RAT HARBORAGE means any condition found to exist under which rats may find shelter or protection, and includes any defective construction that would permit the entrance of rats into any business building. (7) RAT STOPPAGE means an inexpensive form of rat-proofing designed to prevent the ingress of rats into business buildings. It is essentially the closing or protecting of all openings in exterior walls and foundations or the gates in a sidewalk of business buildings with rat-proof materials installed in such a manner as to prevent rats from gaining entrance. (Ord. Nos. 7847; 27697)

Dallas City Code § 40-2 PLACES WHERE FOOD EXPOSED OR OFFERED FOR SALE.

SEC. 40-2. PLACES WHERE FOOD EXPOSED OR OFFERED FOR SALE. Curb or farmers’ markets in which fruit or vegetables or any other food products are exposed and offered for sale, on racks, stands, platforms and in vehicles outside of business buildings, shall have floors paved with concrete or asphalt for the entire surface area of the market. Display racks, stands or platforms on which fruit or vegetables or any other food products are displayed or offered for sale shall be of sufficient height that all such fruit, vegetables or other food products shall be kept at a distance of not less than 18 inches above the floor pavement and be so constructed that rats cannot harbor therein or thereunder. (Ord. 7847)

Dallas City Code § 40-3 DUMPING OR PLACING GARBAGE AND WASTE ON LAND OR WATER.

SEC. 40-3. DUMPING OR PLACING GARBAGE AND WASTE ON LAND OR WATER. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to dump or place on any land or on any water or waterway within the city any dead animal, butchers’ offal, seafood, or any waste vegetables, animal matter, or any food products whatsoever. (b) No garbage, rubbish, waste, or manure may be placed, left, dumped, or permitted to accumulate or remain in any building or premises in the city so that it shall or may afford food for or a harboring or breeding place for rats. Rat burrows and other exterior harborage shall be treated under methods directed by the director. (Ord. Nos. 7847; 27697)

Dallas City Code § 40-4 ACCUMULATION OF LUMBER, BOXES, ETC.

SEC. 40-4. ACCUMULATION OF LUMBER, BOXES, ETC. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit any premises, improved or unimproved, and all open lots and alleys in the city, to accumulate lumber, boxes, barrels, bricks or stones and similar materials that may be permitted to remain thereon and that may be used as a harborage by rats, unless same shall be placed on open racks and elevated not less than 18 inches above the ground, with a clear intervening space underneath, to prevent the harborage of rats. (Ord. 7847)

Dallas City Code § 40-5 PENALTY.

SEC. 40-5. PENALTY. (a) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, except where it is shown that the person has endeavored to obtain the necessary materials required to ratproof the buildings covered by this chapter and that such materials were not available, is guilty of an offense. (b) An offense under this chapter is punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000 and, upon a first conviction of a violation of Section 40-4 of this chapter, not less than $200. (c) The minimum fine established in Subsection (b) shall be doubled for the second conviction of the same offense within any 24-month period and trebled for the third and subsequent convictions of the same offense within any 24-month period. At no time shall the minimum fine exceed the maximum fine established in Subsection (b). (Ord. Nos. 7847; 19963; 20599)

Source: City of Dallas, Dallas City Code and City Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dallas/latest/dallas_tx/0-0-0-118100Fetched: 10/26/2026