(A) General.
(1) Scope. The provisions of this section shall govern the minimum conditions and the responsibilities of persons for maintenance of structures, equipment, and exterior property.
(2) Responsibility. The owner of the premises shall maintain the structures and exterior property in compliance with these requirements, except as otherwise provided for in this subchapter. A person shall not occupy as owner-occupant, or permit another person to occupy premises, which are not in a sanitary, and safe, condition, and which do not comply with the requirements of this section. Occupants of a dwelling unit, rooming unit, or housekeeping unit are responsible for keeping in a clean, sanitary, and safe condition the part of the dwelling unit, rooming unit, housekeeping unit, or premises which they occupy and control.
(3) Vacant structures and land. All vacant structures, and premises thereof, or vacant land, shall be maintained in a clean, safe, secure, and sanitary condition, as provided herein, so as not to cause a blighting problem, or adversely affect the public health, or safety.
(Prior Code, § 5.06.01)
(B) Exterior property areas.
(1) Sanitation. All exterior property, and premises, shall be maintained in a clean, safe, and sanitary condition. The occupant shall keep the part of the exterior property, which such occupant occupies or controls, in a clean, and sanitary, condition.
(2) Grading and drainage. All premises shall be graded, and maintained, to prevent the erosion of soil, and to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water thereon, or within, any structure located thereon.
(3) Illegal dumping. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to drop, dispose of, throw, toss, or otherwise deposit leaves, paper, debris, brush, limbs, grass, or other similar articles in drainage ditches, curbs, and along gutters of city streets.
(4) Sediments and mud. All public roadways shall be kept clean of sediment and soil erosion from soil disturbing activities.
(a) Any person engaging in soil disturbing activities within the city limits shall be required to implement measures to minimize the tracking of sediments, and mud, onto adjacent streets, and roadways, by vehicles leaving the site.
(b) The following activities are specifically excluded from the requirements of this division (B)(4): emergency street; storm drainage; or utility repairs. The following properties are specifically excluded from the requirements of this division (B)(4): approved retention areas; and reservoirs.
(c) If a soil disturbing activity creates a violation, the violator shall cleanup the material daily, or as frequently as needed, to avoid a hazard or nuisance. If an activity is found in violation of the provisions of this subchapter, the city’s appointed representative shall issue a cease and desist order for all activities on the site until the appropriate cleanup measures are implemented, and provisions are made to prevent additional pollution. The city’s approval of construction, building permit approvals, payments, release of payments, or bonds, and final approvals, shall also be withheld, or revoked, until a violation is corrected, and appropriate sediment control measures are in place.
(5) Grass or weeds. Grass or weeds shall not exceed eight inches in height in all zoning districts. This restriction will not apply to:
(a) Property that is zoned A-1, except when abutting developed property. A-1 property shall be maintained with a 15-foot buffer along the lot line adjacent to the developed property with grass and weeds, and such buffer shall not exceed eight inches in height; and
(b) Areas specifically designated, or recognized, by the city, the state, or the United States as wetlands, open spaces, natural or wild flower areas, or other designated preservation areas.
(6) Rodent harborage. All structures and exterior property shall be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation. Where rodents are found, they shall be promptly exterminated by approved processes which will not be injurious to human health. After extermination, proper precautions shall be taken to eliminate rodent harborage, and prevent reinfestation.
(7) Exhaust vents. Pipes, ducts, conductors, fans, or blowers shall not discharge gases, steam, vapor, hot air, grease, smoke, odors, or other gaseous, or particulate, wastes directly upon abutting, or adjacent, public or private property, or that of another tenant.
(8) Accessory structures. All accessory structures, including detached garages, fences, and walls, shall be maintained structurally sound and in good repair.
(9) Motor vehicles. Except as provided for in other regulations, no inoperative, or unlicensed, motor vehicle shall be parked, kept, or stored on any premises, and no motor vehicle shall, at any time, be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled. Painting of motor vehicles is prohibited unless conducted inside an approved spray booth.
(a) No person shall park, store, leave, or permit the parking, storing, or leaving of any motor vehicle, and/or trailer of any kind, which is wrecked or inoperable, whether attended or not, upon any private property within the city, except as allowed by the following exceptions:
1. Any subject item parked, or stored, within a building, or enclosed garage, on private property;
2. Any subject item held in connection with a business enterprise lawfully licensed by the city for servicing, and repair, of subject items, and properly zoned, and operated, in an appropriate business zone pursuant to the zoning ordinances of the city;
3. Any subject vehicle within a carport that is being actively repaired on at least a weekly basis. Subject vehicles and its parts when not being repaired shall be neatly, and completely, covered with an opaque cover;
4. Inoperable vehicles deemed inoperable only due to not having a current vehicle license plate, or vehicle registration tag, may be stored in a covered carport; and/or
5. Inoperable vehicles may be stored on private property when provided with a fitted, and maintained, cover designed for such vehicle.
(b) Code Enforcement Officers shall have the authority to remove inoperable motor vehicles on private property 30 days after written notice has been affixed to the subject item. Such notice shall state that the subject item is a nuisance, and order whoever has an interest in the subject item to remove the item from the property. If such nuisance is found upon private property, in addition to the foregoing notice, a copy of such shall be placed on the residence or business. The presence of such subject items on private property is hereby declared a public nuisance, which may be abated in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter. Any inoperable vehicle sitting on city streets can, and will be, removed immediately at the owner’s expense.
(c) The exception to this division (B)(9) shall be a motor vehicle of any type is permitted to undergo major overhaul, including body work; provided, that such work is performed inside a structure, or similarly enclosed area designed, and approved, for such purposes.
(10) Defacement of property. No person shall willfully, or wantonly, damage, mutilate, or deface any exterior surface of any structure, or building, on any private, or public, property by placing thereon any marking, carving, or graffiti. It shall be the responsibility of the owner to restore said surface to an approved state of maintenance and repair.
(Prior Code, § 5.06.02)
(C) Swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs. Swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas shall be maintained in a clean, and sanitary, condition, and in good repair. (See A.C. § 14-54-901.)
(Prior Code, § 5.06.03)
(D) Exterior structure.
(1) General. The exterior of a structure shall be maintained in good repair, structurally sound, and sanitary so as not to pose a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare.
(2) Premises identification. Buildings shall have approved address numbers placed in a position to be plainly legible, and visible, from the street, or road, fronting the property. These numbers shall contrast with their background. Address numbers shall be Arabic numerals or alphabet letters. Numbers shall be a minimum of three inches in height on residential structures, and shall be a minimum of four inches in height on commercial structures.
(Prior Code, § 5.06.04)
(E) Rubbish and garbage.
(1) Accumulation of rubbish or garbage. All exterior property and premises of every structure shall be free from any accumulation of rubbish or garbage.
(2) Disposal of rubbish. Every occupant of a structure shall dispose of all rubbish in a clean, and sanitary, manner by placing such rubbish in approved containers.
(3) Appliances and furniture. Appliances and furniture, and similar equipment, not in operation shall not be discarded, abandoned, or stored on premises outside of any enclosed building, such as a storage shed or accessory building.
(4) Disposal of garbage. Every occupant of a structure shall dispose of garbage in a clean, and sanitary, manner by placing such garbage in an approved garbage disposal facility, or an approved, leak-proof garbage container.
(a) No trash or garbage container shall be stored in a front, or side, yard abutting a street so as to be closer to the street than the building on the lot, except on trash days.
(b) Garbage and trash containers must be placed within five feet of the curb no earlier than 5:00 p.m. the day before, and removed before 7:00 p.m. the day garbage is picked up.
(Prior Code, § 5.06.05)
(F) Sanitary drainage system.
(1) General. All plumbing fixtures shall be properly connected to either a public sewer system, or to an approved private sewage disposal system.
(2) Maintenance. Every plumbing stack, vent, waste, and sewer line shall function properly, and be kept free from obstructions, leaks, and defects.
(Prior Code, § 5.06.06)
(Ord. 2015-10, passed 11-9-2015) Penalty, see § 90.99