(a) Generally, a public nuisance is a thing, act, occupation, condition or use of property which shall continue for such length of time as to:
(1) Substantially annoy, injure, or endanger the comfort, health, repose, or safety of the public; or
(2) In any way render the public insecure in life or in the use of property; or
(3) Greatly offend the public morals or decency; or
(4) Unlawfully and substantially interfere with, obstruct, or tend to obstruct or render dangerous for passage any street, alley, highway, body of water or other public way; or
(5) Hinder the enjoyment of public rights.
(b) Public Nuisances Affecting Health. The following acts, omissions, places, conditions, and things are hereby specifically declared to be public health nuisances, but shall not be construed to exclude other health nuisances coming within the definition of subsection (a) hereof:
(1) All decayed, harmfully adulterated, or unwholesome food or drink sold or offered for sale to the public;
(2) Carcasses of animals, birds or fowl not buried or otherwise disposed of in a sanitary manner within twenty-four hours after death;
(3) Accumulations of non-composting vegetable matter, trash, rotting lumber, bedding, packing material, abandoned vehicles or machinery, scrap metal or any material in which flies, mosquitoes, disease-carrying insects, rats, or other vermin may breed or which may constitute a fire hazard;
(4) Garbage cans which are not fly-tight, or which are overflowing with trash shall not be permitted on the property, in truck beds, or the like;
(5) All stagnant water that results in disease carrying pests, including tires, ditches, depressions, gutters, fountains that do not work properly;
(6) The escape of smoke, soot, cinders, noxious acids, fumes, gases, fly ash or industrial dust within the City limits in such quantities as to endanger the health of persons or cause substantial injury to property;
(7) The pollution of any public well or cistern, stream, lake, canal, or body of water by sewage, or industrial wastes or other substances;
(8) Any use of property, substances or things within the City emitting or causing any foul, offensive, nauseous, noxious, or disagreeable odors, or stenches extremely repulsive to the physical senses of ordinary persons which annoy, discomfort, injure or inconvenience the health of an appreciable number of persons within the City;
(9) Any barn, stable, yard, shed, pen or other place where animals or fowl are kept which is not maintained in a clean condition; or any animals or fowl, which because of disease, unsanitary conditions, odor or noise, discomfort or injure the health or well-being of residents of the City;
(10) All abandoned wells or cisterns not securely covered or secured from public use;
(11) Any obstruction to watercourses, drainage ditches or ravines;
(12) All noxious weeds as defined by the laws of the State or ordinances of the City;
(13) Building materials not being used for immediate construction which are not in an enclosed accessory or other structure which has been approved for such purposes under a building permit;
(14) Exterior tarping used as a storage structure except tarping used to cover firewood or to cover plants in a hoop house;
(15) Outside storage of upholstered furniture constructed for interior use, carpeting, mattresses, box springs, appliances, clothing and any such fabric items or accessory structures designed for interior use that creates a habitat for pests; Outdoor furniture that is designed for outdoor use is permitted;
(16) Any structures intended for outside storage that are not constructed so as to be secure from the elements and pest infestation;
(17) Any existing structure or work undertaken in violation of the State Building Code or International Property Maintenance Code as duly adopted by the City;
(18) Any temporary structure or temporary use, which is employed ancillary to a building permit issued under the State Building Code or International Property Maintenance Code but for which no written temporary permit exists under said Code;
(19) The existence of temporary structures or uses that were once approved by the Building Official under the State Building Code or International Property Maintenance Code but which temporary use or permit has expired;
(20) Any shopping carts not on the premises of the business that owns them;
(21) Any hazardous liquids flowing from one property to another or flowing in a public right of way; and
(22) Any open flow or discharge of sewer.
(c) Public Nuisances Affecting Peace and Safety. The following acts, omissions, places, conditions, and things are hereby declared to be public nuisances affecting peace and safety, but such enumeration shall not be construed to exclude other nuisances affecting public peace or safety coming within the provisions of subsection (a) hereof:
(1) All buildings erected, repaired, or altered within the limits of the City in violation of the provisions of the ordinances of the City relating to materials and manner of construction of buildings and structures;
(2) All unauthorized signs, signals, markings, or devices which purport to be or may be mistaken as official traffic control devices placed or in view of any public highway or railway crossing;
(3) All buildings or structures so old, dilapidated or out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, or unsanitary;
(4) All wires over streets, alleys or public grounds which are strung less than fifteen feet above the surface ofthe street or ground;
(5) All willful or neglectful collection of debris or foreign matter or excess water that obstructs streets, alleys, sidewalks, or crosswalks, except as permitted by the ordinances of the City;
(6) All open and unguarded pits, wells, excavations, or basements freely accessible from any public street, alley, sidewalk, or crosswalk and all excavations in or under the same, except as permitted by the ordinances of the City;
(7) Any structure, material or condition which constitutes a fire hazard or will impair extinguishing a fire;
(8) Any unauthorized or unlawful use of property which causes which causes large crowds of people to gather, obstructing traffic and free use of the streets, alleys, or sidewalks;
(9) Any appliance not properly stored out of public view, or any appliance, visible to the public, that is not being used for its intended purpose;
(10) No more than three (3) small engine equipment shall be permitted to be stored outside. Small engine shall be defined as anything less than 30 horsepower, whether gas powered or other alternative power, and includes such things as riding lawn mowers, push mowers, garden tillers, snow blower/thrower, string trimmer, generator, and the like;
(11) Construction equipment, when not used in conjunction with a licensed business or an active and valid building permit, shall be stored out of sight.
(d) Storing, Parking or Leaving Abandoned. Dismantled or Other Such Motor Vehicle Prohibited. No person shall park, store, leave, or permit the parking, storing, or leaving of any motor vehicle of any kind which is abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, inoperative, rusted, junked, or partially dismantled whether attended or not, upon any public or private property within the City for a period in excess of ten days.
(1) The presence of such vehicles or parts thereof on private or public property shall be declared a public nuisance.
(2) This subsection shall not apply to any vehicle properly enclosed within a building on private property.
(Ord. 2021-004. Passed 5-19-21.)