(a) Upon failure of the owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or person having care or control of a plot of ground to cut and remove trees, plants or shrubbery along public streets and highways, as required in this chapter, the City shall cause written notice to be served on the owner, lessee, tenant or agent having charge of such land, notifying him or her that such trees, plants or shrubbery are growing on such lands and that they must be cut and destroyed within five days after service of such notice. If there is not an imminent hazard, and upon agreement of the City Arborist and the Zoning Administrator, the period of time for compliance may be extended up to 90 days.
(b) Upon failure of the owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or person having care or control of a plot of ground to cut and remove noxious weeds and undesirable vegetation, as required in this chapter, the City shall cause written notice to be served on the owner, lessee, tenant or agent having charge of such land, notifying him or her that such noxious weeds and undesirable vegetation are growing on such lands and that they must be cut and destroyed within five days after service of such notice. For purposes of this division, only one notice per calendar year is required for a lot or parcel. If, after a notice has been served in accordance with this section, the Zoning Administrator determines that a continuing violation is occurring or a subsequent violation has occurred, the City may proceed with the remedy set forth in this chapter without further notice.
(c) Upon a finding by the City that litter has been placed on lands in the City, has not been removed and constitutes a detriment to public health, the City shall cause written notice to be served upon the owner, or upon the lessee, agent or tenant having charge of the littered land, notifying him or her that litter is on the land and that it must be collected and removed within 15 days after service of such notice.
(d) As used in this section and Section 668.06, “litter” includes, but is not limited to, any garbage, waste which shall include yard waste, peelings of vegetables or fruits, rubbish, ashes, cans, bottles, wire, paper, cartons, boxes, parts of automobiles, wagons, furniture, glass or oil of an unsightly or unsanitary nature, and anything else of an unsightly nature.
(e) Notice shall be served by regular mail, addressed to the last known address of the owner as shown in the office of the Lorain County Auditor. If the last known address of the owner cannot be ascertained, it is sufficient to publish the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the County. In either case, the notice shall be posted in a conspicuous manner on the property when possible. Date of service of the notice shall be determined (where service is by mail) as the day following the day of mailing for notices to addresses within the City and as of the fourth day after the day of mailing for notices to addresses outside the City. Where the day of service would fall upon a Sunday or other day when mail is not ordinarily delivered, then the day of service shall be the next regular delivery day. When notice is published, date of service shall be date of publication.
(f) This section does not apply to land being used under a permit or license issued pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 3734, Sections 4737.05 to 4737.12 or Chapter 6111.
(g) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalty provided in Section 698.02.
(Ord. 40-92. Passed 3-23-92; Ord. 123-05. Passed 7-11-05; Ord. 58-09. Passed 6-8-09.)