(a) Notice to cut or remove.
(1) Upon written or verbal information that noxious weeds are growing on lands in the city and are about to spread or mature seeds, the Law Enforcement Officer for the City of Ironton shall have cause to investigate the information and/or complaint.
(2) Upon finding that noxious weeds are growing on lands in the city and are about to spread or mature, the Law Enforcement Officer for the City of Ironton shall cause a written notice to be served upon the owner, lessee, agent or tenant having charge of such land, notifying him or her that noxious weeds are growing on such land and that they must be cut and destroyed within five days after the service of such notice.
(3) Upon a finding by the Law Enforcement Officer for the City of Ironton that litter has been placed on lands in the city and has not been removed, and constitutes a detriment to public health, the Law Enforcement Officer for the City of Ironton shall cause a written notice to be served upon the owner and, if different, upon the lessee, agent or tenant having charge of the littered land, notifying him or her that litter is on the land and that it must be collected and removed within five days after the service of the notice.
(4) In residential areas, all outdoor storage of any kind, including inoperative or abandoned vehicles, shall be enclosed and obscured from view in a fenced in area and/or garage out of view from the public. The storage of standard items, such as firewood, toys, bicycles and cookout equipment, shall be exempt from the foregoing requirement.
(5) For purposes of this section, an inoperative or abandoned vehicle shall be defined as set forth in R.C. § 4513.63(A), (B), (C), (D) and (E). The definition of an inoperative vehicle shall also include any vehicle which is not properly registered or licensed.
(6) The Law Enforcement Officer for the City of Ironton is hereby authorized and empowered to notify and direct any person who is responsible for outside storage that is in violation of the provisions of this chapter to comply with the provisions hereof.
(7) Notice required by division (a)(2), (a)(3) and (a)(4) of this section shall be served by one of the following means:
A. The Sheriff or a Deputy of the county or an officer of the Ironton Police Department in one or more of the methods provided in the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure;
B. Certified or registered mail, overnight delivery service, hand delivery, or any other method which includes a written evidence or receipt;
C. If the owner or other person having charge of the land is a nonresident of the city whose address is known, the notice shall be sent to his or her address by certified mail. If the address of the owner or other person having charge of the land is unknown, it is sufficient to publish the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.
D. The means provided in division (H) of R.C. § 1701.07, if the person is a corporation.
E. At the discretion of the Law Enforcement Officer for the City of Ironton, service of the foregoing notice may be accomplished by personal service.
F. For purposes of this section, service is complete upon receipt of the party being served, except as provided in division (H) of R.C. § 1701.07. If the service is attempted upon the owner, lessee, agent or tenant having charge of such land at the address contained in the Lawrence County Auditor's tax duplicate for such property, and if the notice is returned unclaimed or refused for any reason not the fault of the parties serving the notice, service is complete when first attempted.
(b) Noncompliance with notice. If the owner, lessee, agent or tenant having charge of the lands mentioned in division (a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4) of this section fails, neglects or refuses to comply with the provisions of this chapter within five days after receipt of the written notice provided for in division (a)(6) of this section or within ten days after the date of such notice in the event the same is returned to the city by the Post Office because of its inability to make delivery thereof, provided the same was properly addressed to the last known address of such person, the Law Enforcement Officer for the City of Ironton shall cause such noxious weeds to be cut and destroyed, litter removed and vehicles towed and may employ the necessary labor to perform the task. All expenses incurred shall, when approved by Council, be paid out of any money in the city treasury not otherwise appropriated.
(c) Written return to County Auditor; amount of lien upon. The Law Enforcement Officer for the City of Ironton shall make a written return to the County Auditor of his or her action under this section, with a statement of the charges for the city's services, the amount paid for the performing of such labor, the fees of the officers who made the service of the notice and return and a proper description of the premises. Such amounts, when allowed, shall be entered upon the tax duplicate, shall be a lien upon such lands from the date of the entry and shall be collected as other taxes and returned to the city with the General Fund.
(d) Penalty. Whoever fails to comply with notice required by this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in the amount not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.
(e) Exceptions. This section does not apply to land being used under a municipal building or construction permit or license, a municipal permit or license, a conditional zoning permit or variance to operate a junk yard, scrap metal processing facility or similar businesses, or a permit or license issued pursuant to R.C. Chapter 3734, §§ 4737.05 to 4737.12, or Chapter 6111.
(f) Definitions.
(1) “Litter" includes any "garbage," "refuse," and "rubbish" as defined herein and all other waste material which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited tends to create a danger to the public health, safety and welfare.
(2) "Garbage" includes any putrescible animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
(3) "Law Enforcement Officer" means a law enforcement officer as defined in R.C. § 2901.01, code enforcement officer, building inspector, health commissioner, or other officer authorized to enforce any code, ordinance, resolution, or regulation described in this section.
(4) "Refuse" includes any putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes, including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, tires, and solid market and industrial waste.
(5) "Rubbish" includes any nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible waste, such as paper, bottles, wire, wrappings, parts of automobiles, furniture, cardboard, cans, wood, glass, bedding, crockery and anything else of an unsightly or unsanitary nature.
(6) "Weeds" shall be defined as noxious weeds, all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or scrubs provided; however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens.
(g) Fee schedule for property assessment.
Lot size | |
Less than 1 lot | $100.00 |
1 lot | $150.00 |
1.5 lots | $200.00 |
2.0 lots | $300.00 |
Grass/weed height | |
Trash/debris/brush removed from property | |
1 level P.U. truck load | $140.00 |
Each additional load | $160.00 |
Removal of appliance/furniture from property | |
1st item | $60.00 |
Each additional item | $40.00 |
Tire removal | |
Each tire | $100.00 |
Use of bush hog | |
Per lot | $100.00 |
Use of front end load and/or dump truck per hour | |
First hour | $160.00 |
Additional hours | $80.00 |
(Ord. 14-12, passed 3-27-2014; Am. Ord. 18-28, passed 6-14-2018)