(A) Lots or pieces of ground within the city or within the city's one-mile zoning jurisdiction shall be drained or filled so as to prevent stagnant water or any other nuisance accumulating thereon.
(B) The owner or occupant of any lot or piece of ground within the city or within the city's one-mile zoning jurisdiction shall keep the lot or piece of ground and the adjoining street and alleys free of any growth of eight inches or inure in height of weeds, grasses, or worthless vegetation.
(C) The throwing, depositing, or accumulation of litter on any lot or piece of ground within the city or within the city's one-mile zoning jurisdiction is prohibited; provided, that grass, leaves, and worthless vegetation maybe used as a ground mulch or in a compost pile.
(D) It is hereby declared to be a nuisance to permit or maintain any growth of eight inches or more in height of weeds, grasses, or worthless vegetation or to litter or cause litter to be deposited or remain thereon except in proper receptacles.
(E) Any owner or occupant of a lot or piece of ground shall, upon conviction of violating this section, be guilty of an offense.
(F) Notice to abate and remove such nuisance shall be given to each owner or owner's duly authorized agent and to the occupant, if any, by certified mail or in person by a duly authorized city official or police officer. Within five days after receipt of such notice, the owner or occupant of the lot or piece of ground may request a hearing with the city to appeal the decision to abate or remove a nuisance by filing a written appeal with the office of the City Clerk. A hearing on the appeal shall be held within 14 days after the filing of the appeal and shall be conducted by the Mayor of the city, or if the may is unavailable by the City Administrator of the city. The hearing officer shall render a decision on the appeal within five business days after the conclusion of the hearing. Within five days after receipt of such notice, if the owner or occupant of the lot or piece of ground does not request a hearing with the city or fails to comply with the decision to abate and remove the nuisance, the city may have such work done. In the event that notice to abate and remove the nuisance is attempted at the last known address of the owner(s) and/or occupant(s), without success, or in the event that the owners of record cannot be found in this state, or successfully served in another state, then official notice under this section shall be achieved via the City Clerk's publication, in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, such notice to abate and remove the nuisance for two consecutive weeks. The costs and expenses of any such work shall be paid by the owner. If unpaid for two months after such work is done, the city may either:
(1) Levy and assess the costs and expenses of the work upon the lot or piece of ground so benefitted in the same manner as other special taxes for improvements are levied and assessed; or
(2) Recover in a civil action the costs and expenses of the work upon the lot or piece of ground and the adjoining streets and alleys.
(G) In addition to assessing costs of abatement to the property owner, the city may issue a citation.
(H) For purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(1) LITTER shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Trash, rubbish, refuse, garbage, paper, rags, and ashes;
(b) Wood, plaster, cement, brick, or stone building rubble;
(c) Grass, leaves, and worthless vegetation;
(d) Offal and dead animals; and
(e) Any machine or machines, vehicle or vehicles, or parts of a machine or vehicle which have lost their identity, character, utility, or serviceability as such through deterioration, dismantling, or the ravages of time, are inoperative or unable to perform their intended functions, or are cast off, discarded, or thrown away or left as waste, wreckage, or junk.
(2) WEEDS shall include, but not be limited to, bindweed (convolvulus arvensis), puncture vine (tribulus terrestris), leafy spurge (euphorbia esula), Canada thistle(cirsium arvense), perennial peppergrass (lepidium draba), Russian knapweed (centaurea picris), Johnson grass (sorghum halepense), nodding or musk thistle (sonchus arvensis), quack grass (Agropyron repens), perennial sow thistle (sonchus arvenis), horse nettle (solanum carolinense), bull thistle (cirsium lanceolatum), buckthorn (rhamnum sp.) (tours); hemp plant (cannabis sativa), and ragweed (ambrosiaceae). Weeds regardless of height, shall be removed, sprayed, or treated so as to kill and/or retard the spread of the same.
(I) Failure to remove, spray or treat shall be deemed a violation of this section and subject owner or occupant to a fine per § 10.99 of this code.
(1973 Code, § 8-106) (Ord. 824, passed 6-9-2011; Ord. 898, passed 10-8-2016; Ord. 916, passed 3-9-2017)