(A) Sanitation. All exterior property and premises shall be maintained in a clean, safe, and sanitary condition. The occupant shall keep that part of the exterior property which such occupant occupies or controls in a clean and sanitary condition.
(B) 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. The exception is approved retention areas and reservoirs.
(C) Sidewalk and driveways.
(1) All sidewalks, walkways, stairs, driveways, parking spaces, and similar areas shall be kept in a proper state of repair, and maintained free from hazardous conditions. It shall be unlawful for an owner or tenant of the abutting private property to allow ice or snow to remain upon the public sidewalk 24 hours after such snow or ice has ceased to be deposited.
(2) Upon failure of the owner or agent having charge of a property to clear ice or snow from the public sidewalk after service of a notice of violation, or appeal subject to the provisions of §§ 10.025 to 10.033, 10.045 to 10.046, and 10.060 to 10.063, the owner or agent shall be subject to prosecution or penalty in accordance with § 152.99. Upon failure to comply with or appeal the notice of violation, any duly authorized employee of the jurisdiction or contractor hired by the jurisdiction shall be authorized to enter upon the property in violation and remove such ice and snow thereon, and the costs of such removal shall be paid by the owner or agent responsible for the property.
(D) Weeds and grass.
(1) It is unlawful for any owner, occupant, or agent of any lot or parcel of land in the city to allow any weeds or grass growing upon any such lot or parcel of land to grow to a greater height than eight inches, or to allow such weeds or grass to go to seed. All noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants, and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs provided; however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens. Upon notification of violation, the owner has seven days in which to comply.
(2) Upon failure of the owner or agent having charge of a property to cut and destroy weeds or grass after service of a notice of violation, or appeal subject to the provisions of §§ 10.025 to 10.033, 10.045 to 10.046, and 10.060 to 10.063, the owner or agent shall be subject to prosecution or penalty in accordance with § 152.99. Upon failure to comply with the notice of violation, or appeal subject to the provisions of §§ 10.025 to 10.033, 10.045 to 10.046, and 10.060 to 10.063, any duly authorized employee of the jurisdiction or contractor hired by the jurisdiction shall be authorized to enter upon the property in violation and cut and destroy the weeds or grass growing thereon, and the costs of such removal shall be paid by the owner or agent responsible for the property.
(3) A landowner wishing to maintain property in a natural state may be exempted from the requirements of this section by submittal of a natural landscape plan and by following the provisions and conditions set forth for said plan as identified elsewhere in city code.
(E) 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 re-infestation.
(F) 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.
(G) Accessory structures. All accessory structures, including detached garages, fences, and walls, shall be maintained structurally sound and in good repair.
(H) Abandoned and wrecked vehicles.
(1) State laws adopted. The provisions of M.S. Ch. 168B, as it may be amended from time to time, relating to abandoned motor vehicles, is adopted and made a part of this division (H) as if set out in full herein.
(2) Definitions. See § 152.05. Additionally, for the purposes of this division (H), the following words and terms shall have the meanings herein ascribed to them as follows.
(a) ABANDONED VEHICLE. A “vehicle”, as defined below, that has remained for a period of more than four hours on public property illegally, or lacking vital component parts, or has remained for a period of more than four hours on private property without consent of the person in control of such property, or in an inoperable condition such that it has no substantial, potential further use consistent with its usual functions, unless it is kept in an enclosed garage or storage building. It shall include a vehicle which is in a wrecked, junked, or partially dismantled condition. It shall also mean a motor vehicle voluntarily surrendered by its owner to the city or a vehicle offered for sale by its owner parked on public property. It shall also include any vehicle which is not properly and/or currently licensed within the state.
(b) CLASSIC OR PIONEER CAR. As defined in M.S. § 168.10, as it may be amended from time to time, a CLASSIC OR PIONEER CAR shall not be considered an abandoned vehicle.
(c) VEHICLE. Every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(3) Nuisance declared. The City Council has determined that abandoned (including vehicles not currently licensed), wrecked, junked, partially dismantled, or inoperative vehicles within the city create a public nuisance tending to reduce the value of private property, invite plundering, create fire hazards, attract vermin, and constitute a threat to the health and safety of the public. The accumulation and outside storage of such vehicles, in the nature of rubbish, litter, and unsightly debris is a detriment to the environment and is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated as provided herein or as provided under any other ordinance of the city or law of the state.
(4) Abandonment of vehicles. No person shall park, store, or leave, or permit the parking, storing, or leaving of, any abandoned vehicle on public or private property within the city unless:
(a) Within a building;
(b) Such vehicle is stored or parked on private property in connection with a duly licensed or authorized commercial enterprise operated and conducted pursuant to law when such parking or storing of vehicles is necessary to the operation of said commercial enterprise; or
(c) Such vehicle is stored or parked on private property of the owner thereof, or a member of the owner’s family, for the purpose of making repairs thereto; provided, that said repair period is not to exceed 30 days, after which time said vehicle shall be deemed to be abandoned.
(5) Impoundment of abandoned vehicles. The city may take into custody and impound any abandoned vehicle which is in violation of the provisions of this section. Any person, at the direction of the City Administrator, Police Chief, or any other police officer of the city is hereby expressly authorized to enter upon private property for the purpose of enforcing this section.
(6) Sale of abandoned vehicles.
(a) Vehicles over seven years old. When an abandoned vehicle is more than seven model years of age, is lacking vital component parts, and does not display a license plate currently valid in the state, or any other state or foreign country, it shall immediately be eligible for sale at public auction and shall not be subject to the notification and reclamation provisions of this section.
(b) Vehicles seven years old and newer.
1. Notice to owner. When an abandoned vehicle does not fall within the provisions of this section, the City Administrator, Police Chief, or a police officer of the city shall give notice of the taking into custody of the vehicle pursuant to M.S. § 168B.06, as it may be amended from time to time.
2. Public sale of vehicle. An abandoned vehicle taken into custody and not reclaimed under this section shall be sold to the highest bidder at public auction or sale, following ten days’ published notice thereof in the official newspaper of the city.
3. Proceeds of sale. From the proceeds of the sale of the abandoned vehicle, the city shall reimburse itself for the cost of towing, preserving, and storing of the vehicle, and all notice, publication and administrative costs incurred pursuant to this section. Any remainder from the proceeds of a sale shall be held for the owner of the vehicle or entitled lienholder for 90 days and, if not claimed, shall thereafter be deposited in the city treasury.
4. Reclamation of vehicle. The owner, or any lienholder of an abandoned vehicle, or any person in lawful possession or control of the property upon which said vehicle was abandoned, shall have a right to reclaim said vehicle from the city upon payment of all towing and storage charges resulting from the taking of the vehicle into custody within 15 days after the date of the notice required by this section.
(7) Notification. Upon notification of violation, the owner has seven days in which to comply.
(I) 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. Upon notification of violation, the owner has seven days in which to comply.
(J) Household furnishings, appliances, and trade fixtures. It is unlawful for any person to store or keep any household furnishings or appliances or trade fixtures intended for use inside of a building on any property within the corporate limits of the city, unless housed within a lawfully erected building or unless such person has a valid junk dealer’s license.
(K) Storage of wood.
(1) Definition. WOOD shall include, but not be limited to, firewood and lumber, whether rough, precut construction grade, or finished, which is stored or kept on property in the city.
(2) Persons exempt. This division (K) shall not apply to:
(a) Persons having property on which new construction is taking place and the wood on such property is being used for said construction, unless the said wood has remained on the property for more than six months and is not a permanent part of the new construction at the end of that time; and
(b) Persons storing or keeping wood on property when said wood is stored or kept in neat and secure stacks in a covered structure impervious to the elements.
(3) Conditions of outside storage. Wood stored or kept in the city which is not contained within a covered enclosure impervious to the elements shall be stored or kept in neat and secure stacks as follows: there is no minimum width requirement for open stacks under three feet in height. Any open stacks over three feet in height shall have a height which is no more than twice its width with a maximum height of nine feet. Stacks shall be no less than five feet from any side property line on corner lots, 30 feet from any front property line or any front of a house, whichever is closer, and two feet from any rear property line or any side property line of interior lots. Grass height around all wood stacks shall be maintained at a maximum height of six inches.
(4) Number of cords. No more than 15 cords of wood shall be stored on any residential property.
(Ord. 2015-02, passed 7-13-2015) Penalty, see § 152.99