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GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 91.01 DISTRIBUTION OF SUBSTANCES.
   It shall be unlawful for any person by himself, herself or by another to place, throw, deposit or leave in any private house or building, lot or premises, or other place within the town limits, any animal or vegetable substance, shavings, paper, dirt, rubbish, unclean or noxious water or other liquid, hay, straw, ashes, cinders, soot, garbage or other article or substance whatever, which creates a noisome, offensive or unwholesome smell.
(Prior Code, § 7.08.010) Penalty, see § 91.99
§ 91.02 MAINTENANCE OF ANNOYING CONDITIONS.
   It shall be unlawful for any person by himself, herself or by another, to maintain within the town limits any buildings, fence, sign, bridge, open cellar or pit or open well in such a way or condition as to cause material annoyance, discomfort or hurt to the public generally.
(Prior Code, § 7.08.020) Penalty, see § 91.99
§ 91.03 NOISE.
   (A)   It is hereby prohibited and made unlawful for any person within the town or the police jurisdiction thereof, to shout, make any noise, play any device, including, but not limited to, radios, tape or compact disc players or musical instruments or allow his or her dog to bark in a manner so loud as to be calculated to unreasonably disturb or interfere with the peace and comfort, including sleeping, of the occupants of a nearby residence.
   (B)   (1)   For purposes of this section, DECIBEL means sound levels in decibels measured on an “A” scale of a standard sound level meter having characteristics defined by the American National Standards Institute, Publication S.4-1970.
      (2)   Noise will be measured at the boundaries of a particular lot. Noise radiating from properties or buildings in excess of the decibel limits established for the districts and times listed herein, regardless of the source unless otherwise excepted herein, shall constitute prima facie evidence that such noise is a violation of this section.
      (3)   Noises caused by construction or grounds maintenance are excluded, provided such noises do not exceed limitations specified herein by more than 20 decibels and do not exceed a total of eight hours over a period of two days. At boundaries between zones, the lower of the decibel limits shall be applicable.
 
Districts
Limitation from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Limitations from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Central Business District (CBD)
60 decibels
55 decibels
General Commercial Industrial District (GCID)
70 decibels
55 decibels
Residential A (R-A)
55 decibels
50 decibels
Residential B (R-B)
55 decibels
50 decibels
 
(Prior Code, § 7.08.028) (Ord. 358, passed 6-12-2024) Penalty, see § 91.99
§ 91.04 RAILROAD CAR COUPLING OPERATIONS.
   (A)   As used in this section, CAR COUPLING SOUND means a sound which is heard and identified by the observer as that of a car coupling impact, and that causes a sound level meter indicator to register an increase of at least ten decibels above the level observed immediately before hearing the sound.
   (B)   No railroad shall conduct car coupling operations within the town that exceed an adjusted average maximum A-weighted sound level of 92 decibels at any receiving property measurement location, when measured with fast meter response in accordance with 40 C.F.R. part 201, subpart C; except, such coupling will be found in compliance with this standard and the railroad will be considered in compliance, if the railroad demonstrates that the standard is exceeded at the receiving property measurement locations (where the standard was previously exceeded) when cars representative of those found to exceed the standard are coupled at similar locations at coupling speeds of eight mph or less.
   (C)   Any railroad that engages in a car coupling operation that results in excessive noise as described in division (B) above is responsible for compliance with said part. Such railroad shall modify the car coupling procedure to bring it within the prescribed noise limits.
(Prior Code, § 7.08.026) (Ord. 313, passed 3-14-2011) Penalty, see § 91.99
PUBLIC NUISANCES
§ 91.15 DEFINITIONS.
   For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly requires a different meaning.
   ABATE/ABATEMENT. To repair, replace, remove, destroy or otherwise remedy the condition in question by the means and extent deemed necessary by the town or the Department of Public Works in the interest of the health, safety and general welfare of the community.
   COMMUNITY DECAY. Conditions that are injurious to health, indecent, offensive to the senses or which obstruct the free use of property, including adjacent or nearby property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or the value of any property. This definition does not apply to properly permitted construction and/or demolition projects during the time any necessary permits are in effect.
   OCCUPANT. Any person, as defined herein, who is living in or using a premises as a tenant or owner, or a person who has occupancy of a premises or property. For purposes of this definition, an OCCUPANT does not need to be a tenant or owner, but can be someone living at or using a property.
   OWNER. Any person whose name appears on the public records of the town and/or the county as the owner of premises, whether under deed or contract.
   PERSON. Any individual, firm, partnership, company, association, corporation or other entity whether organized for profit or not.
   PREMISES. Any parcel of real property, including any building or portion thereof, whether improved or unimproved.
   PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY. Any area of real property granted, deeded, dedicated to or otherwise acquired by the town or the public at large for any public purpose, including, but not limited to, alleys, roadways, sidewalks, public streets, water or waterways, storm drains, sanitary sewers, water pipes, electric and telephone conduits, electronic services, overhead wires and supporting structures.
   PUBLIC VIEW. Any area visible from a point, up to six feet above the surface of the center of any public roadway, sidewalk or right-of-way from which a public nuisance is visible.
   SHIELDING. Refers to any natural barriers, fencing or other human-made barriers used to conceal material from public view. Any SHIELDING BARRIER must conform to all local zoning regulations, building codes, covenants and applicable town ordinances. Any SHIELDING is to be of sufficient height and density to conceal any violation on the premises visible to public view. This definition is not intended to require that permanent buildings, utility poles or other similar structures be SHIELDED.
(Ord. 344, passed - -2021)
§ 91.16 MAINTENANCE DUTY; CONTROLLING OFFENDING PREMISES.
   It shall be the responsibility and duty of any person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of any premises in the town, and/or the agent of such person, to maintain such premises and the right-of-way abutting such premises in a safe, sanitary, orderly, clean and aesthetic condition. Failure to do so shall be a violation of this subchapter.
(Ord. 344, passed - -2021)
§ 91.17 DECLARATION OF NUISANCE.
   (A)   The following situations within the boundaries of the town are declared to be public nuisances. The existence of any of the following conditions within the boundaries of the town shall be deemed a violation of this subchapter:
      (1)   Any building or structure which meets the definition of an unsafe building or structure as provided in § 116 of the International Building Code, or any successor provision, as adopted by the town under § 150.15 of this code of ordinances;
      (2)   Any violation of the town’s subdivision and zoning laws and regulations, as may be amended from time to time;
      (3)   Buildings of any kind which are abandoned, boarded up, partially destroyed, structurally unstable, partially constructed and/or uncompleted buildings after building permits have expired;
      (4)   Buildings used for residential purposes which do not have running water, electricity and sewage/septic services. Conditions described in this division (A) shall be deemed unsanitary and hazardous to the health and public safety of the citizens of the town;
      (5)   Buildings with damaged and/or deteriorating exteriors causing, or having the potential to cause, dangerous structural conditions;
      (6)   Any condition which renders air, food or drink unwholesome, unsanitary or detrimental to health;
      (7)   Excessive amounts of animal waste or its byproducts and any amount of human waste;
      (8)   Dead animals;
      (9)   Any public nuisance, as defined by M.C.A. § 45-8-111, or otherwise recognized by the law as a public nuisance;
      (10)   Any condition which poses a fire hazard; and
      (11)   Any condition constituting community decay under this subchapter.
   (B)   The following situations within the boundaries of the town may constitute public nuisances after investigation, as provided in this subchapter:
      (1)   The keeping, storage, depositing or accumulation on the premises and in the public view (as defined in this subchapter) for over 30 days of any personal property or wastes, including, but not limited to:
         (a)   Abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles;
         (b)   Abandoned, wrecked or dismantled boats, vessels, all-terrain vehicles and recreational vehicles;
         (c)   Automotive parts and equipment;
         (d)   Abandoned, discarded or unused furniture, appliances, sinks, toilets, cabinets or other commercial or household fixtures or equipment;
         (e)   Dumping, piling or stacking of bricks; tires; iron; metal; component or machine parts; barrels; concrete blocks; wood; used road blacktop; lumber; building materials; shipping pallets; scrap metal; packing materials; junk; salvaged metal items; rubbish; debris; dirt; sand; gravel; demolition materials or wastes; and/or other similar material and residue from such items (such as mortar, containers, wood splinters and broken and unusable bricks) in public view, unless said material is stacked in neat piles and all items are, within 30 days of their placement on the premises, removed to a licensed solid waste disposal site or to some other location which has been approved by the appropriate authority;
         (f)   Straw, hay or grass trimmings, or similar material, unless the material is to be used as soil conditioner or mulch and, in that case; provided that, the material is plowed into the ground or otherwise mixed and covered with clean soil within 30 days of its placement on the premises; and
         (g)   The storage or accumulation of cardboard boxes or paper, unless the same is specifically accumulated for recycling and is removed from the premises within 30 days of its placement on the premises.
      (2)   Building exteriors, walls, fences, driveways or walkways which have been defaced due to any writing, inscription, scratching and/or any other marking commonly referred to as “graffiti”);
      (3)   Building exteriors, walls, fences, driveways or walkways which are broken, defective, deteriorated or in disrepair, if such condition has existed and persisted on the premises for a period of 30 days;
      (4)   Buildings with broken windows, doors, attic vents, damaged roofs or other appurtenances;
      (5)   Premises having a topography, geology or configuration which, as a result of grading operations or improvements to the land, experience erosion, subsidence, unstable soil conditions or surface or subsurface drainage problems potentially hazardous to adjacent premises;
      (6)   Abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative trailers, campers and boats, unless the same are accumulated as part of an ongoing, active salvage business located in an area properly zoned for such a business and which possess a conditional use permit; and, provided that, such materials are shielded from public view to the standards provided in this subchapter;
      (7)   The presence and enforcement of law with respect to abandoned vehicles is addressed in M.C.A. Title 61, Ch. 12, part 4, as may be amended from time to time, and its terms are hereby incorporated by reference;
      (8)   The presence and enforcement of law with respect to junk vehicles is addressed in M.C.A. Title 75, Ch. 10, part 5, as may be amended from time to time, and its terms are hereby incorporated by reference;
      (9)   Any condition in violation of Chapter 90 of this code of ordinances;
      (10)   Any condition which may otherwise cause unsanitary or hazardous conditions to exist; and
      (11)   Any condition which may reasonably be offensive to other persons by sight or odor and which may detract from the aesthetic qualities or economic value and vitality of any neighborhood within the town.
   (C)   This definition does not apply to properly permitted construction and/or demolition projects during the time any necessary permits are in effect.
   (D)   (1)   The standards and conditions set forth in this section are not intended to be, nor shall the same be considered, the sole or exclusive standards for establishing a public nuisance.
      (2)   The Public Works Department has discretion to determine whether a violation of this subchapter exists.
(Ord. 344, passed - -2021) Penalty, see § 91.99
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