This issue was forwarded to the Code Enforcement Officer for this area for investigation. Updates will be posted here. Thank you for reporting this issue.

Not enough information to create a rebuttable presumption that there is a violation of city ordinance.

Sec. 42.07 of the Texas Penal Code states that tracking or monitoring motor vehicles of another person without that person's consent is harassment. If the City of College Station opens an investigation based on the information provided, they are encouraging targeting and harassment and are allowing people to use the code enforcement process to amplify their criminal conduct of harassment.

Code Enforcement has been in contact with the owner and management company of this address to educate them about the Over Occupancy Ordinance. Enforcement will resume on June 1st.

It's important that occupants and owners be aware the comment on Sec 42.07 is incorrect. Cities with civil prosecution of over occupancy routinely use documentation of the observable vehicles to establish guilt. There has been no new law or court ruling that restricts this practices.

Sec. 42.07, Items (9)(A) and (9)(B) of Subsection 9 that are being sited do not apply. It prohibits "using a tracking application" on a personal electronic device for the purpose of "physically following" someone. All cities use vehicle data as evidence of occupancy and will continue to do so. The enforcement practices being implemented now have been defended in both state and federal courts, and there has been no change in the enabling laws.

Sec 42.07 verbatim - (9) tracks or monitors the personal property or motor vehicle of another person, without the other person's effective consent, including by:(A) using a tracking application on the person's personal electronic device or using a tracking device; or (B) physically following the other person or causing any person to physically follow the other person.
Clearly the language the not require electronic tracking. It includes it.
And although you may argue that cities have the right to monitor, the penal code relates to individuals' conduct. If you or any other individual track or monitor my vehicle, or if you track or monitor my tenants' vehicle, we will seek charges for harassment. And if the City uses photos gathered from an individual criminally harassing me or my tenants through the tracking of our vehicles, we will contest with legal action.
Stop criminally harassing tenants and neighbors.

I disagree on the law, but I agree that neighbors need to be fairly confident a home is occupied before reporting it on See-Click-Fix. One way of ensuring that is to collect data. This does not need to be photo documentation, but whatever observations one feels are needed to be confident.

The extensive photo documentation I'm aware of was not done as much to report a home as to understand the city's investigative and enforcement process. The major outcome of this was the change from criminal to civil (no criminal record), and a reduction in fines. Both are good for students.

The civil law also establishes a prima facie definition of the evidence required to cite a home based on vehicle count. The neighbors can count vehicles as well as Code Enforcement. This is the primary evidence a home may be over occupied. But residents should be aware the city will also look for evidence that occupants are related or meet other criterial that allow more than 4-unrelated. The occupants will not be disturbed or contacted until Code Enforcement believes criteria in the civil law have been met.

Altogether, there should be no need for photo documentation, which is pretty uncomfortable for everyone. But a full reading of Sec.42,97 does not appear to prohibit it unless it involves an attempt to "follow" someone. The public cannot even know who the vehicles belong to.

Perhaps you should start watching City Council meetings. As admitted repeatedly, on the record, and as per the file documentation that I have obtained, which was sent to Council Members, members of the High Occupancy Enforcement group have in fact taken photo documentation for the sole purpose of reporting a home. They have also, on the record, stated that this photo documentation done by their members, should be used by the City to initiate investigations. Their intent is to harass, alarm, and annoy.

Per the law, it states "tracks or monitors". Taking photo documentation for over 40 days and collecting over 100s of photos of a single property (now multiply that per additional property they document) is monitoring - plain and simple. You also contradict yourself by stating that occupants will not be disturbed or contacted until Code believes criteria has been met. That is false. Having undergone multiple investigations based on false accusations, I can tell you that Code must in fact disturb the residents to even perform their investigation in order to attempt to collect enough evidence to meet the criteria.

I don't know who you are since you are posting anonymously, but your attempts to dismiss or minimize the effect this has on tenants and landlords will not work. My tenants and I have been subjected to this for years. We are very well aware of how "neighbors" are monitoring the properties with the intent to harass and how they are discriminating against specific tenants.

You may choose not to believe me but you can simply view the statements made countless times on the record at City Council meetings along with the photos that are provided during the statements, and you can Open Records Request for the folders and spreadsheets of photo documentation sent to Council members. It is monitoring and it is harassment.