(A) Public nuisances affecting health, safety, comfort or repose. The following are declared to be public nuisances affecting health, safety, comfort or repose:
(1) All ponds or pools of stagnant water except retention/detention ponds designated wetlands and/or lakes;
(2) All decayed or unwholesome food offered for sale to the public;
(3) Carcasses of animals not buried or destroyed within 24 hours after death, excluding game animals;
(4) Accumulations of manure or rubbish;
(5) Privy vaults, garbage cans and garbage receptacles which are not fly-tight;
(6) The effluence from any cesspool, septic tank, drain field or sewage disposal system discharging upon the surface of the ground;
(7) The pollution of any public well or cistern, stream or lake, canal or body of water by sewage, industrial waste or other substances;
(8) Any accumulation of cans, bottles, trash or debris of any nature or description, the throwing, dumping or depositing of any dead animals, manure, garbage, waste decaying matter, ground, sand, stones, ashes, rubbish cans, glass food containers, construction material such as concrete, scrap, metal or other materials of any kind on private or public property;
(9) Trades and businesses, as defined by statute or ordinance, not licensed as provided by law;
(10) Dense smoke, noxious fumes, gas and soot or cinders in quantities as to render the occupancy of property uncomfortable to a person;
(11) The distribution of samples of medicines or drugs unless such samples are placed in the hands of an adult person by someone properly licensed;
(12) The failure to maintain basic repairs and upkeep on a vacant residence or building, including, but not limited to snow removal, lawn maintenance and exterior maintenance;
(13) Ownership of a HAZARDOUS BUILDING, defined as any building which because of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, physical damage, unsanitary condition or abandonment constitutes a fire hazard or a hazard to public safety or health;
(14) All other acts, omissions of acts, occupations and uses of property which are deemed to be a menace to the health of the inhabitants of the city or a considerable number thereof.
(B) Public nuisances affecting morals and decency. The following are declared to be public nuisances affecting public morals and decency:
(1) All gambling devices, slot machines and punch boards not lawfully allowed by Minnesota State statutes;
(2) Betting, bookmaking and all apparatus used in such operations;
(3) All places where intoxicating liquors are manufactured, sold, bartered or given away in violation of the law or where persons are permitted to resort for the purpose of drinking intoxicating liquors as a beverage contrary to law or where intoxicating liquors are kept for sale, barter or distribution in violation of the law and all liquor, bottles, kegs, pumps, bars and other property kept at and used for maintaining such a place;
(4) Any vehicle used for the illegal transportation of intoxicating liquor and/or illegal controlled substances;
(5) The looking into or peeping through doors, windows or openings or private homes by methods of stealth and without proper authority and by surreptitious methods or what is commonly known as window peeping;
(6) All houses kept for the purpose of prostitution or promiscuous sexual intercourse, gambling houses, houses of ill fame and bawdy houses.
(C) Public nuisances affecting peace and safety. The following are declared to be nuisances affecting public peace and safety:
(1) All trees and hedges, billboards or other obstructions which prevent persons from having a clear view or street signs and/or a clear view of all traffic approaching an intersection;
(2) All limbs of trees which are less than eight feet above the surface of any public street or alley;
(3) The outside piling, storing or keeping of old machinery, junk, furniture, household furnishings or appliances or component parts thereof, rusting metal, inoperable/unusable equipment or debris visible on private or public property;
(4) The placing or throwing on any street, alley, road, highway, sidewalk or other public property of any glass, tacks, nails, bottles or other substances which may injure any person or animal or damage any pneumatic tire when passing over the same;
(5) The intentional throwing or depositing of, maintaining, permitting or failing to remove garbage, trash, rubbish, bottles, cans and other refuse on any property within the city, including large quantities of organic debris and materials, which accumulated by other than natural means, except properly maintained compost piles;
(6) Property in a residential district not seeded, sodded or otherwise planted with a ground cover more than 240 days after any disturbance to the property caused by construction, grading or other activity or any time prior to the 240 days if the property is causing erosion or drainage problems on the same or nearby properties, including public streets;
(7) Ownership of a HAZARDOUS BUILDING, defined as any building which because of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, physical damage, unsanitary conditions or abandonment constitutes a fire hazard or a hazard to public safety or health;
(8) Subject to the above, nuisances shall include, but not be limited to violations of the following requirements:
(a) No part of any exterior surface shall have deterioration, holes (greater than one inch square in size), breaks (greater than one inch in width), loose or rotten board or timbers;
(b) Every exterior surface that has had a surface finish such as paint applied shall be maintained to avoid noticeable deterioration of the finish. No wall or other exterior surface shall have pooling, cracked, chipped or otherwise deteriorated surface finish on more than 20% of:
1. Any one wall or other flat surface; or
2. All door and window moldings, eaves, gutters and similar projections on any on side or surface;
(c) All wires which are strung less than 15 feet above the surface of any public street or alley;
(d) All exterior doors and shutters shall be hung properly and have an operable mechanism to keep them securely shut or in place;
(e) All cornices, molding, lintels, bay or dormer windows and similar projections shall be kept in good repair and free from cracks and defects which make them hazardous or unsightly;
(f) Roof surfaces shall be tight and have no defects that admit water. All roof drainage systems shall be secured and hung properly;
(g) Chimneys, antennae, air vents and other similar projections shall be structurally sound and in good repair. Such projections shall be secured properly, where applicable, to an exterior wall or exterior roof;
(h) All foundations shall be structurally sound and in good repair;
(9) All buildings, walls and other structures that have been damaged by fire, decay or otherwise to an extent exceeding one-half of their fair market value or which are so situated as to endanger the safety of the public;
(10) Any structure or portion thereof in a residential district whose exterior is not completed in accordance with city approved construction plans within 360 days after the date the city building permit was issued;
(11) Any construction materials, including piles of dirt, sand and sod left on the property more than 60 days after construction has been completed or a certificate of occupancy has been issued, whichever occurs first;
(12) All buildings and all alterations to buildings made or erected in violation of Minnesota State Building Code concerning manner, materials or construction;
(13) Any vehicle that deposits mud, dirt, sticky substances, litter or other material on any street or highway;
(14) Any discarded construction material or other litter at a construction site which is not placed in an adequate waste container and thereafter removed from the site or which is buried on or under the construction site or which is allowed to blow around or off the site;
(15) All explosives, inflammable liquids and other dangerous substances or materials stored or accumulated in any manner or in any amount other than provided by law or ordinance;
(16) Obstructions and excavations affecting the ordinary use of the public streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds, except under such conditions as provided by ordinance and any other excavation left unprotected or uncovered indefinitely or allowed to exist in such a manner as to attract people;
(17) All use or display of fireworks, except as provided by law or ordinance;
(18) Radio aerials strung or erected in any manner except that provided by law or ordinance;
(19) Any use of property abutting on a public street or sidewalk or any use of a public street or sidewalk which causes large crowds or people to gather obstructing traffic and the free use of public streets or sidewalks;
(20) All hanging signs, awnings and other similar structures over public streets or sidewalks or so situated as to endanger public safety, not constructed and maintained as provided by law or ordinance or without proper permit;
(21) All dangerous, unguarded machinery, equipment or other property in any public place or so situated or operated on private property so as to attract the public;
(22) The distribution of handbills, except as provided by law or ordinance;
(23) Throwing, dropping or releasing printed matter, paper or any other material or object over the city from an airplane, balloon or other aircraft or in such manner as to cause such material to fall or land in the city;
(24) Placing entrance culverts or doing any act which may alter or affect the drainage of public streets or alleys or the surface or grade of public streets, alleys or sidewalks without proper permit;
(25) Making repairs to motor vehicles or tires in public streets or alleys, except for emergency repairs when it will not impede or interfere with traffic;
(26) The placement of mailboxes and other delivery receptacles on public right-of- way, except those which are in compliance with United States Postal Service requirements for location and type;
(27) The placement, erecting or painting of unauthorized traffic signs or advertising signs in streets or alleys or on sidewalks;
(28) The making or causing of loud, unnecessary or disturbing noise is prohibited.
(a) General provision. It shall be unlawful for any person to make or cause to be made any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise which either annoys, disturbs or affects the comfort, repose, health or peace of others.
(b) Loud or disturbing noises enumerated; restrictions. The following acts set forth in the following subsections are declared to be loud, disturbing and unnecessary noises in violation of this chapter, but said enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive.
1. Construction or repairing of buildings. The erection, including excavating, demolition, alteration or repair of any building between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on weekdays and 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays and all day Sunday, except where single individuals or families work on single-family residences for their own occupancy owned by them, except that the Clerk-Treasurer, or their designee in case of emergency, grant permission to repair at any time when he or she finds such repair work will not affect the health and safety of persons in the vicinity.
2. Nighttime noise in residential areas; parties.
a. No person shall between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on any weekday or between the hours of 12:00 midnight to 7:00 a.m. on the weekend day participate in any loud party or gathering of people from which noise emanates of a sufficient volume as to disturb the peace, quiet or repose of persons residing in any residential areas.
b. Loud noises between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on any weekday or between the hours of 12:00 midnight to 7:00 a.m. on weekend days or such volume as to be plainly audible at a distance of 100 feet from the residential premises or within an apartment building or a townhouse complex the volume is plainly audible in the adjoining housing unit or across the apartment hallway wherein such loud party or gathering is located shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this chapter.
c. No persons shall visit or remain within any residential dwelling unit wherein such loud party or gathering is taking place, except the owner, persons residing in that unit or persons who are there for the sole purpose of abating the disturbance.
3. Loud sound amplification systems. No person operating or occupying a motor vehicle on a street, highway, alley, parking lot, driveway or public/private property shall operate or permit the operation of any sound amplification system (“SAS”) from within the vehicle.
a. Sound amplification system (SAS). Any radio, tape player, compact disc player, loud speaker or other electronic device used for the amplification of sound.
b. Plainly audible. Any sound produced by an SAS from within the vehicle that clearly can be heard at a distance of 50 feet or more. Measurement standards shall be by the auditory senses, based upon direct line of sight. Words or phrases need not be discernible and bass reverberations are included. The motor vehicle may be stopped, standing, parked or moving on a street, highway, alley, parking lot or driveway on either public or private property.
c. Defense. It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this section that the operator was not otherwise prohibited by law from operating the SAS and that any of the following apply:
i. The SAS was being operated to request medical or vehicular assistance or to warn of a hazardous road condition;
ii. The vehicle containing the SAS was an emergency or public safety vehicle;
iii. The SAS was owned and operated by the city or a gas, electric, communications or refuse company and said system was being used for a bona fide function of said entity;
iv. The SAS was being used for the purpose of giving instructions, directions, talks, addresses, lectures or transmitting music or assemblages of persons in compliance with the ordinances of the city;
v. The SAS was used for a bona fide public activity, including but not necessarily limited to, parades, fireworks, sports events, musical productions and other activities for which a permit has otherwise been licensed or been expressly approved by the City Council.
(29) Obstructions. lt is unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or display any fence, goods, or other obstructions upon, over, across or under any public property without first having obtained a written permit from the Council, and then only in compliance in all respects with the terms and conditions of such permit, and taking precautionary measures for the protection of the public. An electrical cord or device of any kind is hereby included, but not by way of limitation, within the definition of an obstruction.
(Ord. 561, passed 10-14-99; Am. Ord. - -, passed 3-23-05; Am. Ord. 2018-01, passed 3-22-16; Am. Ord. 2024-01, passed 5-14-24)