The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this chapter.
ACCESSORY BUILDING OR STRUCTURE. A detached building or structure in a secondary or subordinate capacity from the main or principal building or structure on the same premises.
APPROVED. Approved by the local or state authority having the administrative authority.
ASHES. The residue from the burning of combustible materials.
ATTIC. Any story situated wholly or partly within the roof, and so designed, arranged or built as to be used for business, storage or habitation.
BASEMENT. A portion of the building located partly underground, but having not more than one-half of its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground.
BUILDING. A fixed construction with walls, foundation and roof, such as a house, factory, garage and the like.
BULK CONTAINER. Any garbage, rubbish and/or refuse container having a capacity of two cubic yards or greater and which is equipped with fittings for hydraulic and/or mechanical emptying, unloading and/or removal.
CELLAR. A portion of a building located partly or wholly underground, and having more than one-half of its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground.
CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM. A single system supplying heat to one or more dwelling unit(s) or more than one rooming unit.
CHIMNEY. A vertical masonry shaft of reinforced concrete, or other approved non-combustible, heat-resisting material enclosing one or more flues, for the purpose of removing products of combustion from solid, liquid or gaseous fuel.
DILAPIDATED. A decayed or deteriorated state which shall render the structure inadequate for the purpose or use for which it was originally intended.
DORMITORY. A building or any part thereof used for institutional living and sleeping purposes by four or more persons.
DWELLING. Any enclosed space wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating; provided that, temporary housing, as hereinafter defined, shall not be classified as a dwelling. Industrialized housing and modular construction which conform to nationally accepted industry standards and used or intended for use for living, sleeping, cooking and eating purposes shall be classified as DWELLINGS. A mobile home, as hereinafter defined, shall be classified as a DWELLING.
DWELLING UNIT. A room or group of rooms located within a dwelling forming a single habitable unit with facilities used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating purposes.
EGRESS. An arrangement of exit facilities to assure a safe means of exit from buildings.
EXTERMINATION. The control and elimination of insects, rodents or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials that may serve as their food; by poisoning, spraying, fumigating, trapping or by any other recognized and legal pest elimination methods approved by the Health Officer.
FLUSH WATER CLOSET. A toilet bowl which is flushed with water which has been supplied under pressure and equipped with a water sealed trap above the floor level.
GARBAGE. The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, serving and non-consumption of food.
GRADE. The finished ground level.
HABITABLE ROOM. A room or enclosed floor space used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking or eating purposes, excluding bathrooms, water closet compartments, laundries, furnace rooms, pantries, kitchenettes and utility rooms of less than 50 square feet of floor space, foyers or connecting corridors, stairways, closets, storage spaces and workshops, hobby and recreation areas.
HEALTH OFFICER. The Boone County Public Health Officer or his or her authorized representative.
HEATED WATER. Water heated to a temperature of not less than 120°F at the outlet.
HEATING DEVICE. All furnaces, unit heaters, domestic incinerators, cooking and heating stoves and ranges and other similar devices.
INFESTATION. The presence within or around a dwelling of any insects, rodents or other pests.
JUNK VEHICLE. Any vehicle which is no longer operable or which does not display a current license.
LEAD-BASED PAINT. Any paint containing more lead than the level established by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as being the safe level of lead in residential paint and paint products.
MEANING OF CERTAIN WORDS. Whenever the words “dwelling”, “dwelling unit”, “rooming units”, “premises”, “structure” are used herein, they shall be construed as though they were followed by the words “or any part thereof”. Words used in the singular include the plural, and the plural the singular, the masculine gender includes the feminine and the feminine the masculine.
MOBILE HOME. Any vehicle which is constructed to permit its being used as a conveyance, either self-propelled or non-self-propelled, upon the public streets and highways, and which is designed and constructed to permit its occupancy as a dwelling or sleeping place for one or more persons and which has no foundation other than wheels, jacks, skirting or other temporary support.
MULTIPLE DWELLING. Any dwelling containing more than two dwelling units.
OCCUPANT. Any individual, over one year of age, living, sleeping, cooking or eating in or having possession of a dwelling unit or a rooming unit.
OPERATOR. Any person who has charge, care, control or management of a building, or part thereof, in which dwelling units or rooming units are let.
ORDINARY SUMMER CONDITIONS. A temperature 10°F below the highest recorded temperature in Boone County for the prior ten-year period.
ORDINARY WINTER CONDITIONS. A temperature 15°F above the lowest recorded temperature in Boone County for the prior ten-year period.
OWNER. Any one or more of the following:
(1) The owner or owners in fee simple or parcel of real estate including the life tenant or tenants if any;
(2) The record owner or owners as reflected by the Boone County Recorder’s Office;
(3) The purchaser or purchasers of the real estate under any contract for the conditional sale thereof;
(4) The person or persons in control of the property as executor, executrix, trustee, receiver or guardian of the owner; or
(5) Any person acting as agent, or property manager, for the owner shall not be construed to be an owner within the terms of this chapter, but shall be bound to notify the owner, by means of registered letter addressed to the owner at his or her last known address, of any order or notice issued by the Health Officer relating to the property of the owner.
PERMISSIBLE OCCUPANCY. The maximum number of individuals permitted to reside in a dwelling unit, rooming unit or dormitory.
PERSON. Any individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, cooperative or governmental agency.
PLUMBING. All of the following supplied facilities and equipment: gas pipes, gas burning equipment, water pipes, garbage disposal units, waste pipes, water closets, sinks, installed dishwashers, lavatories, bathtubs, shower baths, installed clothes washing machines, catch basins, drains, vents and any other similar supplied fixtures, and the installation thereof, together with all connections to water, sewer or gas lines.
PREMISES. A platted lot or part thereof or unplatted lot or parcel of land or plot of land, either occupied or unoccupied by any dwelling or non-dwelling structure, and includes any such building, accessory structure, adjoining alley easement or drainage way.
PRIVACY. The existence of conditions which will permit an individual or individuals to carry out an activity commenced without interruption or interference, either by sight or sound by unwanted individuals.
PROPERLY CONNECTED. Connected in accordance with all applicable codes and ordinances of Boone County or the State of Indiana.
RAT HARBORAGE. Any conditions or place where rats can live, nest or seek shelter.
RATPROOFING. A form of construction which will prevent the ingress or egress of rats to or from a given space or building, or from gaining access to food, water or harborage. It consists of the closing and keeping closed of every opening in foundations, basements, cellars, exterior and interior walls, ground or first floors, roofs, sidewalk gratings, sidewalk openings and other places that may be reached and entered by rats by climbing, burrowing or other methods, by the use of materials impervious to rat gnawing and other methods approved by the Health Officer.
REFUSE. All putrescible and non-putrescible solids including garbage, rubbish, ashes and dead animals.
REFUSE CONTAINER. A watertight container that is constructed of metal, or other durable material impervious to rodents, that is capable of being serviced without creating insanitary conditions; or such other containers as have been approved by the Health Officer. Openings into the container such as covers and doors shall be tight fitting.
ROOMING HOUSE. Any dwelling or that part or any dwelling, containing one or more rooming units and/or one or more dormitory rooms and in which persons either individually or as families are housed with or without meals being provided.
ROOMING UNIT. Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking purposes.
RUBBISH. Non-putrescible solid wastes consisting of either:
(1) Combustible wastes such as paper, cardboard, plastic containers, yard clippings and wood; or
(2) Non-combustible wastes such as tin cans, glass and crockery.
SAFETY. The condition of being reasonable free from danger and hazards which may cause accidents or disease.
SPACE HEATER. A self-contained heating appliance of either the convection type or the radiant type and intended primarily to heat only a limited space or area such as one room or two adjoining rooms.
SUPPLIED. Paid for, furnished by, provided by or under the control of the owner, operator or agent.
TEMPORARY HOUSING. Any tent, trailer or any other structure used for human shelter which is designed to be transportable and which is not attached to the ground, to another structure or to any utility system on the same premises for more than 30 consecutive days.
TOXIC SUBSTANCE. Any chemical product applied on the surface of or incorporated into any structural or decorative material which constitutes a potential hazard to human health at acute or chronic exposure levels.
UNDEFINED WORDS. Words not specifically defined in this chapter shall have the common definition set forth in a standard dictionary.
WEEDS. Vegetation which as attained a height of 12 inches or more and which constitutes a potential rat harborage or any other health or safety hazard.
(Ord. 91-4, passed 7-15-1991)