(a) No person, being the owner, tenant or otherwise in control of or having legal responsibility for any real property, shall have or permit on any lot, vegetation of any nature, to include, but not limited to bushes, shrubbery, hedges, evergreens, trees, plants, grass or weeds, which shall in any manner obstruct the safe view of a driver of a vehicle to traffic at any intersection.
(b) The owner, tenant or other person otherwise in control of or having legal responsibility for any real property shall be responsible for the removal of any vegetation on his property which shall in any manner obstruct the safe view of a driver of a vehicle to traffic at any intersection.
(c) Property owners must trim all vegetation within the intersection sight triangle to a height no greater than three feet high. The intersection sight triangle and intersection sight distance specifications shall be based upon the most current version of the ODOT Location and Design Manual, Vol. 1, - Roadway Design.
(d) If the Director of Public Safety determines that there is a violation of Section 903.07, the Director will order the property owner to correct the condition within ten days, and that if they do not, then Canton will do so at the property owner's expense. The order will also inform the property owner of their right to appear under paragraph (g), and the potential penalties under Section 903.99.
(e) If any owner, tenant or person otherwise in control of or having legal responsibility for any real property, fails to comply with the provisions of this section, the Director of Public Safety, or his/her designee, shall effect the removal of any offending vegetation from the property which obstructs the safe view of a driver of a vehicle to traffic at any intersection. For such purpose, the Director may employ city employees or a private entity.
(f) All expenses effecting the removal of any offending vegetation pursuant to this section, including the costs of inspection, record search, notification and billing, so incurred by the city, shall be recorded by the Director of Public Safety, or designee, who shall also mail a statement thereof to the owner of such land if a current address is known. If after thirty days the amount remains unpaid, Council, by ordinance shall certify the total amount of the expenses, the name of the owner of the land, and a sufficient description of the premises, to the County Auditor to be entered upon the tax duplicate to be lien upon such land from the date of entry, and to be as other taxes and assessments and returned to the appropriate fund.
(g) Any person affected by an order under Section 903.07 or an assessment hereunder may file an appeal with the Director of Public Safety no later than 30 days after the date of the order or assessment. The appeal must include the appellant's name, address, phone number, and. a brief statement of the grounds for the appeal. The Director must set a time for a hearing when the appellant will be given an opportunity to be heard and show cause why the order or assessment should be modified or dismissed. The Director may affirm, modify, or dismiss the order or assessment. If the appellant fails to appear, the Director may dismiss the appeal.
(Ord. 87-2018. Passed 4-16-18.)