(A) Public nuisance.
(1) Whoever by an act or failure to perform a legal duty intentionally maintains a public nuisance may be ordered to abate the nuisance as provided in this chapter, and may be charged with a misdemeanor offense or issued an administrative citation.
(2) The following acts or omissions shall constitute a public nuisance:
(a) Maintains or permits a condition which unreasonably annoys, injures, or endangers the safety, health, morals, comfort, or repose of any considerable number of members of the public;
(b) Interferes with, obstructs, or renders dangerous for passage any public highway or right-of-way, or waters used by the public;
(c) Willfully opposes or obstructs a health officer or physician charged with the enforcement of the health laws in performing any legal duties; or
(d) Is guilty of any other act or omission declared by law to be a public nuisance, junk, or blight and for which no sentence is specifically provided.
(B) Permitting public nuisance, junk, or blight. No person shall permit real property under such person’s control to be used to maintain a public nuisance, junk, or blight or let the same knowing it will be so sold.
(C) Permitting unhealthful waste disposal systems. No person shall permit or maintain an offensive, nauseous, hurtful, dangerous, or unhealthful outhouse, privy vault, sewer, or private drain upon said premises or land, or premises or land occupied or used by or under such person’s control.
(D) Permitting unhealthful conditions. No person shall permit, suffer, or maintain or fail to remove any offensive, nauseous, hurtful, dangerous, or unhealthful condition to or for the neighborhood resulting from the failure to properly dispose of sick or unsound flesh, meat, fish, carcass, garbage, sewage, waste, debris, or any other offensive substance, liquid, or thing whatsoever upon said premises or land, or premises or land occupied or used by or under such person’s control, or drop, discharge, pass, deposit, or otherwise deliver the same upon any ground, private or public.
(E) Fertilizer and burial of waste. No person shall leave, deposit, or cause to be placed on any private ground any garbage, sewage, waste, debris, carcass, or other substance or matter which is offensive or unhealthy by decomposition, provided that the use of manure in the normal course for agriculture or horticulture is permitted.
(F) Slaughterhouses. No person shall keep or use any slaughterhouse, nor slay, kill, or butcher any animal, except for their own home use, nor melt or fry out any rough tallow, nor keep or have any stale, putrid, or stinking fat, grease, or meat. No person shall keep within said city any undressed or dry hides, or offensive, nauseous substance or liquid at any place from whence the stench thereof may reach the street, avenue, alley, lane, or public land, or to any dwelling. No owner or occupant of any grocery, cellar, packing house, meat shop, soap factory, tannery, brewery, distillery and dye house, stable, or other place of business shall suffer or permit any litter or garbage to be thereon, or swept therefrom upon any street, avenue, lane, or alley. Nor shall any business owner suffer or permit any foul, unclean, nauseous, or offensive liquid or substance to pass from any premises under the owner’s control adjacent thereto, into, over, or upon any street, avenue, lane, or alley, or open drain, gutter, or sewer, or over or upon any private grounds.
(G) Septic tanks. No person shall cause, permit, or maintain any abandoned cesspool or septic tank without it being properly filled.
(H) Junk. No person, firm, or corporation of any kind shall permit the accumulation of junk that includes, but is not limited to, any of the following: waste material, trash, rubbish, refuse, or litter of any kind upon any land or inside or under any building or structure which may provide harborage or breeding places for mosquitoes, vermin, or rats. No person, firm, or corporation of any kind shall permit on a property the accumulation of: batteries; paper; lumber or salvaged wood; boxes or containers; bottles; cans; discarded chemicals; bricks; stones; old or scrap copper, brass, iron, steel, or other metals; old and/or inoperable appliances; tanks; barrels; cages; clothing; pallets; wire/cable; dismantled, abandoned, or inoperable vehicles, farm equipment, construction equipment, campers, recreation vehicles, boats, or parts thereof; rope; rags; glass; rubber; construction debris; plumbing fixtures; furniture; brush piles; cut down trees and branches; pulled stumps; leaf piles not in a composting container; or other similar objects and materials which may provide harborage or breeding places for mosquitoes, vermin, or rats. Useful items such as firewood and building materials may be stored in compliance with § 152.14, provided they are stored in a manner that will not create any danger or threat to public health.
(I) Blight. No person, firm, or corporation of any kind shall maintain or permit to be maintained any of these causes of blight or blighting factors upon any property owned, leased, rented, or occupied by such person, firm, or corporation:
(1) The building, structure, or parcel of land is in a condition which poses a threat to the safety, health, morals, and general welfare of the community;
(2) It is attracting illegal activity as documented by the Police Department;
(3) It is a fire hazard as determined by the Fire Department;
(4) The existence of the following conditions: missing, damaged, or boarded windows or doors; collapsing or missing walls or roofs; parts of walls that need repair; damaged or missing siding or gutters; a structurally faulty foundation, porch, chimney, or other attached structure; a principal or accessory buildings in need of repair, paint, or sealer; fencing in disrepair; overgrown brush; grass or weeds in violation of § 152.14(D) listed above;
(5) Accumulation of junk as defined in this section;
(6) Sanitary matter, meaning liquid and solid waste intended to be carried off in sewers or drains;
(7) A structure on the property that has been continuously vacant for at least one year, has been condemned as unfit for human occupancy or use by the Building Official in accordance with the State Building Code, but has neither been demolished nor repaired by the owner as directed by the Building Official;
(8) There is evidence of rat or rodent infestation or harborages caused by conditions on the property;
(9) The property has an inadequate sewage, septic, plumbing, well, or heating system;
(10) If the property is vacant, the owner has failed to take adequate precautions to prevent the use of or access to the property by trespassers; or
(11) A potential attractive nuisance to children exists on the property, including, but not limited to, abandoned wells, basements, excavations, or broken fences, refrigerators, and other appliances.
(J) Unlawful occupations or hobbies. No person shall exercise, carry on, follow, or engage in or work at any business, hobby, trade, or calling or occupation which shall be dangerous, hurtful, offensive, or unhealthy to the neighborhood.
(K) Deposit of materials on city streets prohibited. No person shall deposit or permit to be deposited on any public street in this city, leaves, grass, sand, or similar materials, nor shall any person plow, shovel, or blow or permit the plowing, shoveling, or blowing of snow onto a public street in the city, excepting in those commercial districts where property owners have prior permission to deposit snow from the public sidewalk onto a public street. This provision shall not apply to any person who is in the process of constructing or maintaining a yard or drive, provided that the materials are immediately removed from the street. Upon notification of violation, the owner has seven days in which to comply.
(Ord. 2015-02, passed 7-13-2015) Penalty, see § 152.99