(A) Generally. The following are acts declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance, but shall not be construed to prevent any other thing from being declared a nuisance pursuant to the standards of § 93.01.
(B) Use of buildings. The erecting or using of any building or other place for the exercise of any trade, employment or manufacture which by occasioning noxious exhalations, dense smoke or ash, or other annoyances becomes harmful to the health, safety or property of individuals or the public.
(C) Accumulation of rubbish. No owner, occupant, tenant or any other person having a substantial interest in any real or personal property within the town or any agent thereof shall permit or allow to remain on or within the property or upon public ways abutting the real property, any materials, trash, garbage, debris, or any other matter which is detrimental to public health, comfort, safety, or to the aesthetic well-being of the community.
(D) Obstruction of public ways. The obstructing or encumbering by any means whatsoever, the private ways and the public streets, alleys, sidewalks and places so as to create a physical threat to the public.
(E) Dangerous trees over public ways. Overhanging branches or vegetation which so obstruct and impair the view of any portion of a public street or alley of the town as to render dangerous the use thereof.
(F) Noise.
(1) Violations. No person or property owner of record shall vocalize, play, use or operate any machine, device or thing that produces or reproduces sound, including, but not limited to, constant loud or screaming vocalization, loudspeakers, radios, CD players, television sets, musical instruments, phonographs and cassette players, and fireworks, nor operate any motor vehicle that contains a modified or defective exhaust system, if such machine, tool, vehicle or thing is located in or on any of the following:
(a) Any public property, including any public right-of-way, building, sidewalk, public space, park or thoroughfare and the sound generated therefrom is:
1. Audible 50 feet or more from its source;
2. Is at a level of 80 decibels or more when measured on a dB(A) scale from a distance of not less than 15 feet from its source; or
(b) Any private property and the sound generated therefrom is:
1. Audible 50 feet or more outside of said private property line; or
2. Is at a level of 80 decibels or more when measured on a dB(A) scale from a distance of not less than 15 feet from said private property line.
(2) Exemptions. The following are exempted from the provisions of this section:
(a) Sounds emitted from authorized emergency vehicles.
(b) Lawn mowers, weed blowers, garden tractors, construction and repair equipment, go-carts and power tools, when properly muffled at a reasonable time of day.
(c) Burglar alarms and other warning devices when properly installed, providing the cause for such alarm or warning device sound is investigated and turned off within a reasonable period of time.
(d) Parades, festivals, carnivals, fairs, celebrations, concert performances, scholastic band performances, and town authorized artistic performances, as well as any rehearsals for same, and all other events authorized by the Town Council.
(e) Attendant noise connected with the actual performance of athletic or sporting events and practices related thereto.
(f) The emission of sound for the purposes of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency, or for the performance of emergency construction, snow removal, leaf collection, repair or other any other work perform by the town.
(g) Sounds associated with the use of legal consumer fireworks during the following days or approved by Town Council:
1. June 29 to July 8; and
2. December 31 to January 2.
(h) Garbage and refuse equipment.
(i) Subject to the other provisions of this section, and any other applicable law, rule or regulation, those sounds associated with motor vehicles lawfully operating on town streets.
(j) Sounds associated with equipment or animals lawfully utilized by handicapped persons to accommodate their handicap.
(k) Babies, infants or young children crying under the age of four years old.
(G) Storage of explosives or combustible material. Storage on the premises of combustible or explosive material so as to create a safety hazard to other property or persons in the vicinity.
(H) Burning.
(1) In compliance with I.C. 13-17-9, it shall be unlawful for any person to burn anything other than charcoal or clean wood products within the corporate limits of the town. In addition, these materials may only be burned in a noncombustible enclosure such as a stone hearth or a ventilated metal container specifically designed for burning. Any burning must be done during safe weather conditions and the fire must be extinguished if it creates a fire hazard, nuisance, pollution problem, or threat to public health, as determined by an officer of the town. Any fire must be attended until completely extinguished and fire fighting equipment adequate for the size of the fire must be nearby.
(2) (a) No person or business shall start, kindle, cause, allow or maintain any open burning consisting of a trash fire, leaf fire, bonfire, refuse fire or other open burning, except as allowed in division (H)(2)(b) hereunder.
(b) The following types of fires are permitted:
1. The customary burning of logs or other wood products in a residential fireplace or outdoor fire pit;
2. The burning of charcoal and other food cooking fuels customarily used in an outdoor grill and traditional food cooking devices;
3. Bonfires celebrating school pep rallies or community events;
4. Recreational campfires for scouting and family cookout activities; and
5. Industrial and commercial burnings through methods specifically and previously approved by the State Department of Environmental Management, or other appropriate state, local and/or federal regulatory agency.
(c) Whenever open burning has been permitted under one of the exceptions contained herein, the open burning shall be further subject to the following conditions:
1. A fire shall be attended by a responsible party until completely extinguished;
2. If open burning creates a smoke nuisance, or a hazardous condition exists, the open burning shall be immediately extinguished;
3. Any fire shall be located at least 25 feet away from any structure, fence or right-of-way; and
4. Any fire shall comply with any additional restrictions and rules set forth in 326 I.A.C. 4-1-1.
(I) Littering. No person shall throw, place, deposit or leave upon any public park, playground, street, alley or other public place or property in the town, any tin cans, glassware, broken glass containers, paper, rubbish or refuse of any kind or character. Whenever the town shall have provided for the placing of refuse containers or receptacles on public parks, playgrounds, streets, alleys or other public places or property, it shall be unlawful to deface, mark, damage or overturn the containers or receptacles.
(J) Blocking sidewalks.
(1) It is unlawful for any person, firm or other organization to place any tables, benches, chairs, containers, stands, vending machines or any other items on any areas which have been designated and constructed as sidewalks within the town, or to allow any obstruction to be placed on any sidewalks so as to obstruct complete and full access to all portions of all sidewalks at any time.
(2) The Town Council may, upon proper written application, give permission for the temporary placement or obstruction of the sidewalks in town for special events such as holiday celebrations, special sales or other suitable special occasions. The permission may be granted only for limited specifically designated times and for specifically designated purposes within the discretion of the Town Council.
(3) It shall also be considered a violation when anyone shall remove or otherwise make impassable any sidewalk now existing in the town unless the removal shall be the purpose of the immediate replacement of the sidewalk, or unless the Town Council has given permission for the removal.
(K) Dogs and cats.
(1) Any person, firm or corporation who shall suffer any dog or cat to frequent or remain in his, her or its house, building, dwelling, enclosure or premises and who shall there feed, lodge or otherwise retain the dog or cat, shall be considered as harboring the same within the meaning of this division.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, being the owner or keeper of any dog or cat, to suffer or permit the dog or cat to trespass upon the property of any person within the limits of the town or suffer to permit the dog or cat to be or go unattended upon or over the premises of any person, firm or corporation, or upon a street, sidewalk, alley or other public place within the limits of the town, or upon a park or cemetery of the town. Dogs or cats causing annoyance may be picked up by a police officer of the town and forthwith destroyed within the provisions of this section unless claimed by the owner under the provisions of this section. Cost of destroying a dog or cat, whether the dog or cat is destroyed at owner's request or otherwise, shall be $41 per dog or cat. If, in the best interest of the Town Marshal or dog catcher of the town, in order to protect the citizens from hydrophobia or for other good reason, then any dog may be retained as provided by applicable state statute.
(3) The town shall provide at a suitable location a dog pound, in which all dogs picked up under orders of the Police Department of the town are to be kept. A caretaker shall feed and care for the captured dogs, and it shall be a misdemeanor for anyone without authority from the Police Department or authorized person in charge of the dog pound facility to take from the dog pound any dog or dogs.
(4) It is hereby made the duty of the Chief of Police of the town, or anyone acting under his or her authority, to take to the town dog pound all dogs found running on the streets, alleys or public places or upon the property of one other than the owner of the dog or dogs.
(5) All dogs which are placed in the dog pound by the Police Department must be properly kept in the pound for a period of at least three days, after which the dog may be destroyed or given to a new owner. It is further provided that in every case before a dog is released from the dog pound, a fee of $5 per day shall be paid to the Town Clerk-Treasurer for each day of confinement at the dog pound. This fee applies to each individual dog.
(6) It is hereby made the duty of the Town Marshal, or anyone acting under his or her authority, to call the County Humane Society to pick up all dogs unclaimed within the three-day holding period in the dog pound. In addition, the County Humane Society shall be called to pick up all dogs captured by the Town Marshal, or anyone acting under his or her authority, more than three times. It is also the duty of the Town Marshal, or anyone acting under his or her authority, to call the County Humane Society to pick up all cats found running on the streets, alleys or public places or upon the property of one other than the owner of the cat.
(7) It shall be the responsibility of any person, firm or corporation, being the owner or keeper of any dog or cat, to pick up any excrement left from his, her or its dog or cat.
(L) Farm animals.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to keep, feed, house, lodge, arbor or otherwise retain any farm animal within the limits of the town.
(2) Keeping, feeding, housing, lodging, harboring or otherwise retaining any farm animal within the town limits constitutes an unlawful act and a public nuisance.
(3) Farm animals are defined as those animals that are traditionally kept and/or raised on lands devoted to the raising of domestic animals and include but are not limited to horses, cows, pigs, chickens, and other beasts produced for food and/or human consumption or the production of food and/or human consumption. For this section, farm animals do not include dogs, cats, or other pets. Horses drawing carts and buggies used for transportation purposes on public ways within the town are farm animals but when used for such purposes, are not in violation of this division (L) and are excepted therefrom.
(4) Whenever a person, firm or corporation is found in violation of this division (L) and is responsible for the public nuisance described herein, a notice to abate the nuisance shall be sent to the person, firm, or corporation as well as the property owner of the premises upon which the nuisance may exist in accordance with the notice provisions to abate nuisances presently in affect under general regulations for the town. Any person failing to abate the nuisance shall be subject to having the nuisance removed at his or her cost and shall be subject further to penalties including fines of up to $100 per day.
(5) In the event that is necessary to abate the nuisance through court proceedings, the owner or other party violating this division may be subject to reasonable attorney fees and costs expended by the town to abate the nuisance.
(Ord. 98-001, passed 5-12-1998; Ord. 04-007, passed - -2004; Ord. 04-008, passed - -2004; Ord. 07-014, passed 11-13-2007; Ord. 07-016, passed 11-27-2007; Ord. 2010-009, passed 11-23-2010; Ord. 2012-010, passed 1-8-2013) Penalty, see § 93.99
Cross-reference:
Weeds, see Ch. 97