For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. If a term used herein is not defined herein but is defined in an applicable State Building Code, that term shall have the meaning as defined in that Code. Terms that are not defined in this subchapter, or as otherwise referred to in other sections of this Code or not defined in an applicable State Building Code section, shall have their ordinary accepted meanings within the context in which they are used, with reference to the most recent unabridged Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language.
ABANDONMENT. Unless otherwise defined more strictly within city code, abandonment means the consequence of ceasing to assert or exercise an interest, right or title to that building or structure, with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting it.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE. A structure not greater than 1,400 square feet in floor area and not over two stories in height, the use of which is customarily accessory to and incidental to that of the dwelling(s) and which is located on the same lot.
ADEQUATE. Sufficient.
BASEMENT. The portion of a building or structure located either totally or partially underground.
BUILDING. A constructed edifice designed to stand more or less permanently, covering a space of land, designed for occupancy and intended for use in one place.
COMMON AREAS. Halls, corridors, passageways, utility rooms, recreational rooms and extensively landscaped areas in or adjacent to a multiple dwelling, not under the exclusive control of one person or family.
COMPONENT. A constituent part.
CONDOMINIUM. A form of individual ownership within a multi-family building which entails joint responsibility for maintenance and repairs; in the CONDOMINIUM each apartment or townhouse is owned outright by its occupant.
CORRECTED. Brought into conformance with all applicable standards of the HMC and all other applicable standards of the city code.
COOPERATIVE HOUSING. A multi-family dwelling owned and maintained by the residents: the entire structure and real property is under common ownership as contrasted to a condominium dwelling where individual units are under separate individual occupant ownership.
DAMAGE. Injury or harm.
DEGRADATION. Impairment in respect to some physical property, including damage by weakening or loss of some property, quality or capability.
DILAPIDATION. A condition of decay or partial ruin.
DISASTER. A sudden or great misfortune.
DWELLING UNIT. As defined in § 155.02, a single unit providing complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.
EXCLUDE DAMPNESS. To shut out moisture.
EXIT. A continuous and unobstructed means of egress to the outdoors and includes intervening doors, doorways, corridors, ramps, stairways, smoke-proof enclosures, horizontal exits, exit passageways, exit courts and yards.
EXTERMINATION. The control and elimination of insects, rodents or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials that serve as their food; by poisoning, spraying, fumigating, trapping; or by any other recognized and legal pest elimination methods approved by the designated city official, and in the absence of a specifically designated health officer.
FIRE HAZARD. A thing or condition that might operate against safety from fire, including a possible source of peril, danger, duress or difficulty, or that tends to create or increase the possibility of loss due to fire.
GARBAGE. Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes, including those resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food, as well as otherwise defined within the city code, including § 111.06.
HABITABLE ROOM. A room or enclosed floor space used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking or eating purposes, but excluding bathrooms, water closet compartments, laundries, furnace rooms, pantries, utility rooms, foyers, corridors, stairways, closets, storage spaces, workshops, hobby and recreation areas, and basements lacking required ventilation, required electrical outlets or required exit facilities.
HAZARD. A thing or condition that might operate against safety, including a possible source of peril, danger, duress or difficulty, or that tends to create or increase the possibility of loss.
HEALTH OFFICER. The legally designated health officer of the city, or his or her authorized representative.
HOTEL or MOTEL. Except as otherwise defined within the city code, means a building or structure or enclosure, or any part thereof, kept, used as, maintained as or advertised as, or held out to the public to be an enclosure where sleeping accommodations are furnished to the public and furnishing accommodations for periods of less than one week.
INADEQUATE. Not adequate.
INFESTATION. The presence, within or around a dwelling, of any insects, rodents or pests.
KITCHEN. A space used or intended to be used for food preparation, which contains a sink, adequate space for installing cooking and refrigeration equipment, and space for the storage of cooking utensils.
MAINTAINED. Preserved from failure or decline.
MAINTENANCE. Preservation from failure or decline.
NUISANCE.
(1) A public nuisance which may prove detrimental to children, whether in a building, on the premises of a building or upon an unoccupied lot. This includes, but is not limited to, the abandonment of any well, cistern, shaft, basement or excavation; the abandonment of any refrigerator or freezer in a hazardous condition; an unlicensed or inoperable motor vehicle; or any lumber, garbage, rubbish or debris which may become a hazard for inquisitive minors; or
(2) Overcrowding a room or portion of a dwelling with long term storage so as to prevent upkeep, maintenance or regular housekeeping. A room may be considered “overcrowded” when storage covers an excessive amount of the floor area of a room, constitutes a potential excessive fire load, prevents access to windows or doors, prevents access to or obstructs mechanical systems or air movement, effectively eliminates use and access to required electrical devices, impedes access and movement of emergency personnel, blocks hallways or limits the operation of doors or provides potential pest harborage.
OBSOLESCENCE. The process of becoming neglected or the condition of being nearly neglected or worn out.
OCCUPANT. Any person, over one year of age, (including owner or operator) living, sleeping, cooking or eating in, or having actual possession of, a dwelling unit or rooming unit.
OPERATOR or RESIDENT AGENT. The owner or owner’s agent who has charge, care, control or management of a building, or part thereof, in which dwelling units or rooming units are let or offered for occupancy.
OWNER. A person who alone, jointly or severally with others:
(1) Shall have legal title to any dwelling or dwelling unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or
(2) Shall have charge, care or control of any dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner or agent of the owner, or as executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this subchapter, and of rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, to the same extent as if he or she were the owner.
OWNER OCCUPIED DWELLING. A dwelling unit occupied by the property owner, including for purposes of the HMC, a single-family dwelling or the discrete portion of a two-family or multi-family dwelling where the owner resides in one unit.
PREMISES. Platted lot(s) or unplatted parcel(s) of land, or any portion thereof, either occupied or unoccupied by any dwelling or non-dwelling structure, including the building, accessory structure or other structure thereon.
PUBLIC AREAS. Those areas which are normally open to the general public or the occupants of more than one dwelling unit of a multi-family dwelling.
RENTAL DWELLING or RENTAL DWELLING UNIT. Any dwelling unit not occupied by the primary homestead owner of record. Such a unit may be a single-family dwelling, a separate and independent housekeeping unit within a single-family dwelling, a group home, one unit of a two-family dwelling or a portion of a multi-family dwelling, any of which are provided or available for actual or potential occupancy whether occupied or vacant by lease, by use, by rent or for any other good and valuable consideration, excluding the portion of a homestead property occupied by a qualified relative, or residential property seasonally occupied by what is commonly referred to as a “house sitter” while the owner of the property is residing elsewhere for a period not to exceed six months. Manufactured homes that are occupied by the owner of the home do not constitute RENTAL DWELLING UNITS even though the underlying lot may be leased by the owner occupant.
RODENT HARBORAGE. A place where rodents are living, nesting or seeking shelter, or likely to live, nest or seek shelter.
RODENT-PROOF. A condition where a structure and all parts thereof are protected from rodent, insect and vermin Infestation by eliminating ingress and egress openings such as cracks in walls and holes in screens. For the purpose of the HMC, the term RODENT-PROOF shall be construed as though it included “insect-proof’ and “vermin-proof”.
ROOMING UNIT. A room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking and eating purposes.
RUBBISH. Non putrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes, such as paper, cardboard, tin cans, grass and shrubbery clippings, wood, glass, brick, plaster, bedding, crockery and similar materials.
SAFE. Secure from threat of danger, harm or loss, including, but not limited to, the threat of unsafe conditions as defined below.
SAFETY. The condition of being safe.
SANITARY. Free from or effective in preventing or checking an agent (such as filth or infection) injurious to health.
SUPPLIED. Paid for, furnished or provided, by or under the control of, the owner or operator.
SYSTEM. A group of devices or artificial objects or an organization forming a network especially for distributing something or serving a common purpose.
UNSAFE. Not safe, and includes, but is not limited to, the following applications:
(1) When referring to a building or structure, one that is structurally unsafe or not provided with adequate egress, that constitutes a fire hazard, or that is otherwise dangerous to human life;
(2) When referring to a use of a building or a structure, a use that constitutes a hazard to safety, health or public welfare by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, fire hazard, disaster, damage or abandonment; and
(3) When referring to parapet walls, cornices, spires, towers, tanks, statuary or other appendages or structural members that are supported by, attached to or a part of a building, one that is in deteriorated condition or otherwise unable to sustain the design loads that are specified in the Guidelines for Rehabilitation of Existing Structures as modified by Minn. Rules Chapter 1300.
YARD. All ground, lawn, court, walk, driveway or other open space constituting part of the same premises.
(Ord. 163, passed 7-1-2013)