As used in this chapter, the following definitions shall apply. For purposes of this chapter, these definitions shall supersede any other definitions of the same terms elsewhere in this code.
ABANDONED STRUCTURE. Real property, or any building or structure thereon, that is vacant and is maintained in an uninhabitable condition or a condition of disrepair or deterioration as evidenced by the existence of public nuisances therein, or that is vacant and under a current notice of default, notice of trustee’s sale, and/or pending tax assessor’s lien sale, or that is vacant and has been the subject of a foreclosure sale where title was retained by the beneficiary of a deed of trust involved in the foreclosure. Factors that may also be considered in a determination of an ABANDONED STRUCTURE include, without limitation: present operability and functional utility; the presence of nonfunctional, broken or missing doors or windows, such that entry therein by unauthorized persons is not deterred; the existence of real property tax delinquencies for the land upon which the structure is located; the age and degree of obsolescence of the structure; and the cost of rehabilitation or repair versus its market value.
ABANDONED PERSONAL PROPERTY. Any item, object, thing, material or substance that, by its condition of damage, deterioration, disrepair, nonuse, obsolescence or location on public real property or on private real property, causes a reasonable person to conclude that the owner has permanently relinquished all right, title, claim and possession thereto, or that the object, thing, material or substance cannot be used for its intended or designed purpose. ABANDONED PERSONAL PROPERTY may include junk and vehicles.
ABATEMENT COSTS. All costs, fees, and expenses, incidental or otherwise, including attorney’s fees and costs, incurred by the City in investigating and abating a public nuisance.
ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE. Any building condition, device, equipment, instrument, item or machine that is unsafe and/or unprotected and may prove detrimental to minors whether in a structure or in outdoor areas of developed or undeveloped real property. This includes, without limitation, any abandoned structure that is open or accessible to the public; any abandoned or open and accessible wells, shafts, basements or excavations; any abandoned refrigerators and abandoned or inoperable motor vehicles; any structurally unsound fences or structures; or any lumber, trash, fences, debris or vegetation which may prove hazardous or dangerous to inquisitive minors. An ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE shall also include pools, standing water or excavations containing water, that are unfenced or otherwise lack an adequate barrier, thereby creating a risk of drowning, or which are hazardous or unsafe due to the existence of any condition rendering such water to be clouded, unclear or injurious to health due to, without limitation, any of the following: bacterial growth, infectious or toxic agents, algae, insect remains, animal remains, rubbish, refuse, debris, or waste of any kind.
BUILDING. Any structure designed, used, or maintained for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, equipment, or property of any kind, and shall also include structures wherein things may be grown, made, produced, kept, handled, stored, or disposed of, and all appendages, accessories, apparatus, appliances, and equipment installed as a part thereof.
CITY. The City of Alhambra.
CITY MANAGER. The City manager or his or her designee.
CITY PERSONNEL. Any City employee, representative, agent, contractor, or service provider designated by the City manager to abate a public nuisance.
CODE, CODES, and ALHAMBRA CITY MUNICIPAL CODE. The Alhambra Municipal Code and any code, law, or regulation incorporated therein by reference, including the Alhambra comprehensive zoning ordinance (Municipal Code Title 23), and any adopted and uncodified ordinances.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER and OFFICER. Any City employee with obligations to enforce the Alhambra Municipal Code. ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS shall include the personnel of the Public Works Department, Community Development Department, and Alhambra Police Department. The City Manager may designate additional employees of other City departments to act as officers for purposes of implementing the provisions of this chapter.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE. Any vehicle of a type required to be registered under the state of California Vehicle Code used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit, or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property or for other commercial purposes. Passenger vehicles that are not used for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit, trailers, recreational vehicles, and vanpool vehicles are not COMMERCIAL VEHICLES.
COMPLIANCE PERIOD. The period of time and/or required schedule set forth in a notice of abatement and/or an order of abatement within which all nuisance abatement actions referenced in such notice of abatement and/or order of abatement must be completed.
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES. Any substance that is declared by state or federal law to be a controlled substance.
FIRE HAZARD. Shall include, but shall not be limited to, any device, equipment, waste, vegetation, condition, thing, or act which is in such a condition that it increases or could cause an increase of the hazard or menace of fire to a greater degree than that customarily recognized as normal by persons in the public service regularly engaged in preventing, suppressing, or extinguishing fire or that otherwise
provides a ready fuel to augment the spread and intensity of fire or explosion arising from any cause; or any device, equipment, waste, vegetation, condition, thing, or act which could obstruct, delay, hinder, or interfere with, or may become the cause of obstruction, delay, or hindrance of, the operations of the fire department or other emergency service personnel or the egress of the occupants in the event of fire.
FLAMMABLE LIQUID. A liquid that has a flash point below 100° Fahrenheit, which includes, but is not limited to all forms of alcohol, ethanol, butane and synthetic chemicals.
GRAFFITI. Any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, mark, or design that is written, marked, etched, scratched, drawn, or painted on or otherwise glued, posted, or affixed to or on any real or personal property (including, but not limited to, buildings, structures, and vehicles), regardless of the nature of the material to the extent that the same was not authorized in advance by the owner thereof.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. Any material or substance of any kind that is declared by any federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation to be composed of hazardous material.
HEARING OFFICER. The City employee or representative appointed by the City Manager, or a designee thereof including a contract agent of the City, to hear all timely appeals from a notice of abatement.
INCIDENTAL EXPENSES. Shall include, but shall not be limited to, the actual expenses and costs of the City, such as preparation of notices, specifications, contracts, inspection of work, costs of printing and mailings required hereunder, costs of any filing and/or recordation with the county recorder’s office or other governmental agency, and the costs of administration and legal services.
INOPERABLE VEHICLE. Means and includes, without limitation, any vehicle that is incapable of being lawfully driven on a street and/or highway.
Factors that may be used to determine this condition include, without limitation, vehicles that have a “planned nonoperational” status with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and vehicles lacking a current and valid registration, a working engine, transmission, wheels, inflated tires, doors, windshield or any other part or equipment necessary for its legal and safe operation on a highway or any other public right-of-way.
JUNK. Means and includes, but is not limited to, any cast-off, damaged, discarded, junked, obsolete, salvaged, scrapped, unusable, worn-out or wrecked appliance, device, equipment, furniture, fixture, furnishing, object, material, substance, tire, or thing of any kind or composition. JUNK may include abandoned personal property, as well as any form of debris, refuse, rubbish, trash or waste. Factors that may be considered in a determination that personal property is JUNK include, without limitation, its:
(1) Condition of damage, deterioration, disrepair or nonuse.
(2) Approximate age and degree of obsolescence.
(3) Location.
(4) Present operability, functional utility and status of registration or licensing, where applicable.
(5) Cost of rehabilitation or repair versus its market value.
JUNKYARD. Real property of any zoning classification on which junk is kept, maintained, placed or stored to such a degree that it constitutes a principal use or condition on said premises. The existence of a JUNKYARD is not a nuisance when it is an expressly permitted use in the applicable zone and it is in full compliance with all provisions of Municipal Code Title 23, and all other applicable provisions of the Alhambra Municipal Code, as well as all future amendments and additions thereto.
MAJOR VEHICLE REPAIR. Any maintenance, repair or replacement not listed in the definition of “minor vehicle repair” in this subsection, including, but not limited to, the removal of engines, rebuilding of engines, repair of internal components, repair or removal of differentials or axles, dismantling of vehicles, and/or body work.
MINOR VEHICLE REPAIR. Maintenance, repair or replacement of the alternator, generator, starter, water pump, battery, brakes or parts thereof; minor tune-up (which consists of distributor cap, rotor, and spark plug replacement); change of oil and filters, fan belts, or hoses; lamp replacement; flat tire repairs; and/or lubrication.
NOTICE OF ABATEMENT. A notice of public nuisance and intention to abate with City personnel, as described in Municipal Code § 6.26.070.
ORDER OF ABATEMENT. An order issued by a hearing officer following an appeal of a notice of abatement.
OWNER. Any person having legal title to, or who leases, rents, occupies or has charge, control or possession of, any real property in the City, including all persons shown as owners on the last equalized assessment roll of the Los Angeles County assessor’s office. OWNERS include persons with powers of attorney, executors of estates, trustees, or who are court-appointed administrators, conservators, guardians or receivers. An OWNER of personal property shall be any person who has legal title, charge, control, or possession of such property.
PERSON. Any individual, partnership of any kind, corporation, limited liability company, association, joint venture, renter, lessor, occupant or other organization, however formed, as well as trustees, heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, or any combination of such persons. PERSON also includes any public entity or agency that acts as an owner in the City.
PERSONAL PROPERTY. Property that is not real property, and includes, without limitation, any
appliance, furniture, article, device, equipment, item, material, product, substance or vehicle.
POLICE CHIEF. The highest-ranking officer of the police department or his/her designee.
POLICE DEPARTMENT. The Alhambra police department.
PUBLIC NUISANCE. Anything which is, or is likely to become, injurious or detrimental to health, safety or welfare, or is offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any sidewalk, public park, square, street or highway. All conditions hereafter enumerated in this chapter, or that otherwise violate or are contrary to any provision of the Alhambra Municipal Code, are PUBLIC NUISANCES by definition and declaration, and said enumerated conditions shall not, in any manner, be construed to be exclusive or exhaustive. A PUBLIC NUISANCE shall also exist when a person fails to comply with any condition of a City approval, entitlement, license or permit or when an activity on, or use of, real property violates, or is contrary to, any provision or requirement of the Alhambra Municipal Code.
REAL PROPERTY or PREMISES. Any real property owned by any person and/or any building, structure, or other improvement thereon, or portions thereof. REAL PROPERTY or PREMISES includes any adjacent sidewalk, parkway, street, alley, or other unimproved public easement, whether or not owned by the City of Alhambra.
RESPONSIBLE PERSON. Any person, whether as an owner as defined in this chapter, or otherwise, that allows, causes, creates, maintains, suffers, or permits a public nuisance, or any violation of the Alhambra Municipal Code or county or state law, or regulation thereof, to exist or continue, by any act or the omission of any act or duty. A RESPONSIBLE PERSON shall also include employees, principals, joint venturers, officers,
agents, and/or other persons acting in concert with, or at the direction of, and/or with the knowledge and/or consent of the owner and/or occupant of the lot, building or structure on, or in, which a public nuisance or violation exists or existed. The actions or inactions of a responsible person’s agent, employee, representative or contractor may be attributed to that responsible person.
STRUCTURE. That which is built or constructed, an edifice, wall, fence, or building of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner. For purposes of this chapter, this definition shall supersede any other definition of this term in the Alhambra Municipal Code.
VACANT. Real property or any building or structure thereon that is not legally occupied. Factors that may be used, either alone or in combination, to determine whether real property, or buildings or structures thereon, is VACANT include, but shall not be limited to, overgrown and/or dead vegetation; accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers, and/or mail; past due utility notices and/or disconnected utilities; accumulation of trash, junk, and/or other debris; the absence of window coverings such as curtains, blinds, and/or shutters; the absence of furnishings and/or personal items consistent with residential and/or commercial furnishings consistent with the permitted uses within the zone of the real property; statements by neighbors, passersby, delivery agents, government employees that the property is VACANT.
VEHICLE. Any device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway or other public right-of-way, and includes all vehicles as defined by the California Vehicle Code and all future amendments thereto. VEHICLE does not include devices (1) that are propelled exclusively by human power such as bicycles and wheelchairs, or (2) those that are used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
VIOLATION. A public nuisance as described in this chapter, or any condition, activity, or use that is
caused, allowed to exist, or maintained (whether due to an affirmative act, inaction, or omission) by a responsible person in violation of any other provision, regulation, or requirement of this code, or any applicable county, state, or federal laws or regulations.
WEEDS. Shall include, but shall not be limited to, any of the following:
(1) Any plant, brush, growth, or other vegetation that bears seeds of a downy or wingy nature;
(2) Any plant, brush, growth, or other vegetation that attains such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire hazard;
(3) Any plant, brush, growth, or other vegetation that is noxious or dangerous;
(4) Poison oak and poison ivy when the conditions of growth are such as to constitute a threat to the public hearth; or
(5) Dry grass, rubble, brush, or other flammable plant, growth, or other vegetation that endangers the public safety by creating or tending to create a fire hazard.
(Ord. 4667, passed 2-9-15)