(A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to protect, promote, and enhance the welfare, safety, health, and property of the general public by prohibiting the keeping or maintaining of properties at variance with and inferior to the level of maintenance of surrounding properties.
(B) Application. The provisions of this section shall apply to buildings and premises located in areas zoned for residential use.
(C) Condition. It shall be unlawful for any person owning, leasing, occupying, or having charge or possession of any buildings or premises in the city to keep or maintain such building or premises in a manner which is at variance with and inferior to the level of maintenance of surrounding properties.
(D) Declared nuisance. A building or premises that is maintained or kept in a manner which is at variance with and inferior to the level of maintenance of surrounding properties is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance and where there exists upon any building or premises any of the following condition or conditions:
(1) Buildings that are abandoned, boarded up, partially destroyed, or partially constructed and uncompleted subsequent to the expiration of building permit;
(2) Exterior surfaces including, but not limited to, doors, door and window frames, cornices, porches, trim, balconies, decks, and fences that are not maintained in good condition; exterior wood surfaces, other than decay-resistant woods, which are not protected from the elements and decay by painting or other protective covering or treatment; peeling, flaking, and chipping paint which have not been eliminated and had surfaces repainted; siding and masonry joints as well as those between the building envelope and the perimeter of windows, doors, and skylights that are not maintained to be weather-resistant or watertight; and metal surfaces subject to rust or corrosion which have not been coated to inhibit such rust and corrosion and surfaces with rust or corrosion that have not been stabilized and coated to inhibit future rust and corrosion;
(3) Windows, skylights, doors, and frames not kept in sound condition, good repair, and weather-tight; glazing materials not maintained free from cracks and holes; and windows, other than a fixed window, not easily capable of being opened or held in position by window hardware;
(4) Overgrown vegetation that is unsightly and/or likely to harbor rats or vermin;
(5) Dead, decayed, or diseased trees, weeds, and other vegetation;
(6) Trash, garbage, or refuse cans, bins, boxes, bags, or other such containers stored in front yards visible from public streets except when placed for pickup and, in that event, for no longer than 48 hours;
(7) Garbage, rubbish, solid waste, trash, or refuse as defined. Junk, tires, and debris or salvage materials visible from a public street, alley, or adjoining property;
(8) Premises having a topography, geology, or configuration which, as a result of grading operations or improvements to the land, causes erosion, subsidence, unstable soil conditions, or surface or subsurface drainage problems as to pose a threat to or be injurious to adjacent premises;
(9) Building exteriors, walls, fences, driveways, or walkways that are in serious disrepair or defaced; and
(10) Any other like and similar condition(s).
(E) Act or omission. It shall be unlawful to permit, by act or omission, the following specific acts, conditions, and things that are hereby also declared to be public nuisances:
(1) Failing, refusing, or neglecting to keep the sidewalk in front of a house, place of business, or premises in a clean and safe condition;
(2) (a) Maintaining upon a premise any unsightly, partly complete, or partly destroyed buildings, structures, or improvements in the city.
(b) This may endanger or injure neighboring properties, including the value thereof, or threaten the public health, safety, and general welfare; and
(3) Maintaining any such premises or upon the sidewalk abutting or adjoining such lot, parcel, tract, or piece of land any WASTE MATERIALS defined as mounds of soil, fill material, asphalt, or concrete rubble except for those waste materials used for construction or landscaping upon premises.
(4) In such a case, it shall be the duty of the owner, lessee, occupant, or persons in possession of premises wherein the waste materials exist to maintain weed control during construction and to level or remove waste materials after construction is completed or, in any event, within eight months from time of placement of waste materials upon premises.
(F) Duty to remove waste materials. For sites where filling, grading, or excavation activities that have or will span more than one year, it shall be the duty of the owner, lessee, occupant or person in possession of said premises to level or remove the waste materials from said premises at least once each year during the months of either June, July, or August for the purpose of maintaining weed and rodent control.
(Prior Code, § 5.3.2) (Ord. 598, passed 5-18-2020) Penalty, see § 92.99