(A) General.
(1) Intent. It is the intent of this subchapter to prevent, and abate, nuisances within the municipal boundaries of the city. For the purposes of this suchapter, the word NUISANCE is defined as any act, omission, or property condition that is detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the public in that it:
(a) Injures, or endangers, the comfort, repose, health, or safety of others;
(b) Is offensive to the senses;
(c) Unlawfully interferes with, obstructs, or tends to obstruct, or renders dangerous for passage, any public, or private, street, highway, sidewalk, stream, ditch, or drainage;
(d) In any way renders other persons insecure in life, or the use, of property; or
(e) Essentially interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property, or tends to depreciate the value of the property of others.
(2) Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person, or entity, to cause, permit, maintain, or allow the creation, or maintenance, of a nuisance.
(3) Illustrative enumeration of a nuisance. The maintaining, using, placing, depositing, leaving, or permitting to be, or remain, on any public, or private, property of any of the following items, conditions, or actions is hereby declared to be, and constitute, a nuisance; provided, however, this enumeration shall not be deemed, or construed, to be conclusive, limiting, or restrictive:
(a) Noxious weeds and other rank vegetation;
(b) Accumulations, or storage, of rubbish, garbage, materials, metals, lumber, tires, and other materials;
(c) Any condition which provides harborage for rats, mice, snakes, and other vermin;
(d) Dilapidated structures;
(e) All unnecessary, or unauthorized, noises and annoying vibrations, including animal noises;
(f) All disagreeable, or obnoxious, odors and stenches, as well as the conditions, substances, or other causes which give rise to the emission, or generation, of such odors and stenches;
(g) The carcasses of animals or fowl not disposed of within a reasonable time after death;
(h) The pollution of any public well or cistern, stream, lake, canal, or body of water by sewage, dead animals, creamery, industrial wastes, or other substances;
(i) Any building, structure, or other place, or location, where any activity which is in violation of local, state, or federal law is conducted, performed, or maintained;
(j) Any accumulation of stagnant water permitted, or maintained, on any lot, or piece of ground;
(k) Dense smoke, noxious fumes, gas, soot, or cinders in unreasonable quantities;
(l) Graffiti;
(m) Inoperable, or abandoned, motor vehicles;
(n) The use of tarpaulins, canvas, plastic, oil cloth, sheeting, and other similar materials as fencing, or to shield, or enclose any structure (including, without limitation, openings for windows, doors, walls, roofs, garage doors, or carports), except when temporarily necessary to perform repairs under a properly-issued building permit; and
(o) Permanent, or temporary, basketball goals (except those approved by the city) on any public street, or on any right-of-way adjacent to a public street.
(Prior Code, § 5.07.01)
(B) Unsightly appearances.
(1) Uncut weeds, grass, and other unsightly, and unsanitary, articles. All property owners and occupants within the municipal boundaries of the city are required to cut weeds and grass, remove garbage, rubbish, and other unsightly, and unsanitary, articles and things from their property, and to eliminate, fill up, or remove stagnant pools of water, or any other unsanitary thing, place, or condition which might become a breeding place for mosquitoes, flies, and germs harmful to the health of the community. For specific requirements related to the required maintenance of grass and weeds, refer to § 90.03(B)(5).
(2) Nuisance structures. Any building, or other structure, which is in such a dilapidated condition that it is unsafe, or unfit, for human habitation, or kept in such an unsanitary condition that it is a menace to the health, or safety, of people residing in the vicinity thereof, or presents a more than ordinarily dangerous fire hazard in the vicinity where it is located, shall constitute a nuisance.
(a) An unsafe structure is one that is found to be dangerous to the life, health, property, or safety of the public, or the occupants of the structure by not providing minimum safeguards to protect, or warn, occupants in the event of fire, or because such structure contains unsafe conditions due to lack of abandonment or lack of maintenance, or unsafe equipment, or is so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, structurally unsafe, or of such faulty construction, or unstable foundation, that partial, or complete, collapse is possible.
(b) A structure is unfit for human occupancy whenever the Code Official finds that such structure is unsafe, unlawful or, because of the degree to which the structure is in disrepair, or lacks maintenance, is unsanitary, vermin or rat infested, contains filth and contamination, or lacks ventilation, illumination, sanitary or heating facilities, or other essential equipment required by this subchapter, or because the location of the structure constitutes a hazard to the occupants of the structure, or to the public.
(c) An unlawful structure is one found in whole, or in part, to be occupied by more persons than permitted under this subchapter, or was erected, altered, or occupied contrary to law.
(Prior Code, § 5.07.02)
(C) Additional remedies.
(1) Authorized abatement. If the owner of any lot, or other real property, within the city shall neglect, or refuse, to remove, abate, or eliminate any condition, violation, or prohibition as may be provided for in this subchapter, after having been given a notice of violation with seven days’ notice, in writing, to do so by the appropriate city official, the city is hereby authorized to do whatever is necessary to correct the condition, including, but not limited to, entering upon the property and having such weeds, rank grass, or other vegetation cut, and removed, or eliminating any unsanitary and unsightly condition, or causing necessary repairs to be made, and charging the cost thereof to the owner of such premises, which shall constitute a lien thereon. The above mentioned seven days’ notice shall be calculated by counting the first day of the seven-day period as the day after written notice is given to the owner, by counting every calendar day, including weekends and holidays, and by establishing the deadline to take the above required actions as 11:59 p.m. on the seventh day. Condemnations shall follow the procedures established in § 90.01(G). The city reserves the right to secure a priority cleanup lien pursuant to A.C. § 14-54-903.
(2) Authorized removal of basketball goals. Code Enforcement Officers shall have the authority to order the immediate removal of any permanent, or temporary, basketball goal (unless approved by the city) that is on any public street, or on any right-of-way adjacent to a public street. If the apparent owner of the basketball goal is unknown, unavailable, or unwilling to remove the basketball goal, a Code Enforcement Officer may cause the goal to be removed.
(3) Vacating of unfit, or unsafe, structures and utility services. Any dwelling, or dwelling unit, declared as unfit for human habitation, or unsafe, by the City Code Enforcement Department as so designated, and placarded, by a Code Enforcement Officer, shall be vacated within seven days after notice of such action has been given by the Building Official to both the owner and occupant of the building. On the eighth day after said notice, the Code Enforcement Department shall notify all utility services that no such services shall be provided to the dwelling, or dwelling unit. After utility services are cutoff, no further services shall be made available until a rehabilitation permit is obtained, or until the Director of Code Enforcement notifies utilities that service may be provided to the dwelling, or dwelling unit.
(Prior Code, § 5.07.03)
(D) Placarding.
(1) General. Upon failure of the owner, or person responsible, to comply with the notice of violation for a nuisance structure, or equipment, within the time given, the Code Official shall then post on the premises, or on the defective equipment, a placard bearing the word “NUISANCE”, and a statement of the penalties provided for occupying the premises, operating the equipment, or removing the placard.
(2) Placard removal. The Code Official shall remove unfit for human habitation, or unsafe structure, placards whenever the defect, or defects, upon which the condemnation and placarding action were based have been eliminated. Any person who defaces, or removes, a condemnation placard without the approval of the Code Official shall be subject to the penalties provided by this subchapter.
(Prior Code, § 5.07.04)
(E) Prohibited occupancy. Any occupied structure condemned, and placarded, by the Code Official shall be vacated, as ordered by the Code Official. Any person who shall occupy placarded premises, or shall operate placarded equipment, and any owner, or any person responsible for the premises, who shall let anyone occupy placarded premises, or operate placarded equipment, shall be liable for the penalties provided by this subchapter.
(Prior Code, § 5.07.05)
(Ord. 2015-10, passed 11-9-2015) Penalty, see § 90.99