(A) Generally. A public nuisance is a thing, act, occupation, condition or use of property which shall continue for the length of time as to:
(1) Substantially annoy, injure or endanger the comfort, health, repose or safety of the public;
(2) In any way render the public insecure in life or in the use of property;
(3) Greatly offend the public morals or decency; or
(4) Unlawfully and substantially interfere with, obstruct or tend to obstruct or render dangerous for passage any street, alley, highway, navigable body of water or other public way.
(B) Public nuisances affecting health. The following acts, omissions, places, conditions and things are hereby specifically declared to be public health nuisances, but shall not be construed to exclude other health nuisances coming within the definition of subsection (A) above:
(1) All decayed, harmfully adulterated or unwholesome food or drink sold or offered for sale to the public;
(2) Carcasses of animals, birds or fowl not buried or otherwise disposed of in a sanitary manner within 24 hours after death;
(3) Accumulations of decayed animal or vegetable matter, trash, rubbish or rotting lumber; furniture, bedding or upholstered items or packing material, household appliances, tires or scrap metal left outdoors; abandoned automobiles or machinery; any material in which flies, mosquitoes, disease- carrying insects, rats or other vermin may breed; or accumulations of any material that may constitute a fire hazard;
(4) All stagnant water in which mosquitoes, flies or other insects can multiply;
(5) Garbage cans which are not fly-tight;
(6) The escape of smoke, soot, cinders, noxious acids, fumes, gases, fly ash or industrial dust within the village limits in quantities as to endanger the health of persons of ordinary sensibilities or to threaten or cause substantial injury to property; or any act in violation of the State Environmental Protection Act;
(7) The pollution of any public well or cistern, stream, lake, canal or body of water by sewage or industrial wastes or other substances;
(8) Any use of property, substances or things within the village emitting or causing any foul, offensive, noisesome, nauseous, noxious or disagreeable odors, effluvia or stenches extremely repulsive to the physical senses of ordinary persons which annoy, discomfort, injure or inconvenience the health of any appreciable number of persons within the village;
(9) All abandoned wells not securely covered or secured from public use;
(10) Any barn, stable or shed used for keeping animals other than household pets;
(11) Any obstruction in or across any water course, drainage ditch or ravine;
(12) Any open burning contrary to the regulations of the State Pollution Control Board;
(13) The deposit of garbage, rubbish, junk or any offensive substance on any street, sidewalk or public place or on any private property, except as may be permitted by ordinance;
(14) The deposit or placement of abandoned or dismantled vehicles, and appliances, furniture and other household effects (whether abandoned or held for use, storage or repairs) on any street, sidewalk or public place or on any private property unless located in an enclosed building, except for the furniture and household effects as are intended or designed for outdoor use; and
(15) To engage or permit any agent or person (other than employees and independent contractors of the village and independent contractors of the state or any agency thereof acting with express authorization of the Village Board of Trustees) employed on premises owned or occupied in the village, to engage in any business, occupation, work or activity, including the use of any machine, tool or other apparatus, the use of which is attended with loud or unusual noise, which disturbs the peace and quiet of any individual, family or neighborhood, before the hour of 7:00 a.m. and after the hour of 6:00 p.m. on any day Monday through Friday, before the hour of 9:00 a.m. and after the hour of 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, or at any time on Sundays or on the following legal holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Engaging in the business, occupation, work or activity on Sundays and these legal holidays, or between the hours herein specified on week days, may be summarily abated by any officer of the village, and the failure of any person to cease and desist from the disturbance of the peace and quiet shall make the person or persons guilty of maintaining a nuisance and of disorderly conduct. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply:
(a) In the event of a bona fide emergency to which a response is required; or
(b) To any work ordered or required by the village.
(C) Public nuisances affecting morals and decency. The following acts, omissions, places, conditions and things are hereby specifically declared to be public nuisances offending public morals and decency, but the enumeration shall not be construed to exclude other nuisances offending public morals and decency coming within the definition of subsection (A) above:
(1) All disorderly houses, bawdy houses, houses of ill fame, gambling houses and buildings or structures kept or resorted to for the purpose of prostitution, promiscuous sexual intercourse or gambling;
(2) All gambling devices and slot machines, excluding the state lottery; and
(3) Any place or premises within the village where ordinances or state laws relating to public health, safety, peace, morals or welfare are openly, continuously, repeatedly and intentionally violated.
(D) Public nuisances affecting peace and safety. The following acts, omissions, places, conditions and things are hereby declared to be public nuisances affecting peace and safety, but the enumeration shall not be construed to exclude other nuisances affecting public peace or safety coming within the provisions of subsection (A) above:
(1) All buildings erected, repaired or altered in violation of the provisions of the ordinances of the village relating to materials and manner of construction of buildings and structures;
(2) All unauthorized signs, signals, markings or devices which purport to be or may be mistaken as official traffic control devices placed or maintained upon or in view of any public highway or railway crossing;
(3) All trees, hedges, billboards or other obstructions which prevent persons driving vehicles on public streets, alleys or highways from obtaining a clear view of traffic when approaching an intersection or pedestrian crosswalk;
(4) All limbs of trees which project over a public sidewalk less than eight feet above the surface thereof or less than ten feet above the surface of a public street;
(5) All possession, use or display of fireworks except as provided by the laws of the state and ordinances of the village;
(6) Any building or structure so old, dilapidated, out of repair or otherwise in a condition as to be dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unfit for normal human use;
(7) Any project or work involving the demolition, construction, structural alteration, repair, renovation or remodeling of any exterior feature of any building in the village if for any reason no substantial progress is made toward completion of the project or work during any period of 30 consecutive days;
(8) Any open or accessible, unguarded or unoccupied structure with respect to which demolition, construction, structural alteration, repair, renovation or remodeling is in progress, whether or not any substantial progress towards completion thereof shall be made;
(9) Any accumulation of debris or waste materials attributable to the demolition, construction, structural alteration, repair, renovation or remodeling of any structure or any part of any structure, unless the debris or waste materials are deposited in appropriate, secure containers for temporary holding pending removal thereof;
(10) Any open or accessible, unguarded excavation, pit, hole or well more than one foot in depth;
(11) Any open or accessible, unguarded basement, cellar, crawl space or foundation structure;
(12) All wires over streets, alleys or public grounds which are strung less than 15 feet above the surface of the street or ground;
(13) All loud and discordant noises or vibrations of any kind;
(14) All obstructions of streets, alleys, sidewalks or crosswalks and all excavations in or under the same, except as permitted by ordinances of the village or which, although made in accordance with the ordinances, are kept or maintained for an unreasonable length of time after the purpose thereof has been accomplished;
(15) All refrigerators, iceboxes and other appliances and furniture left outdoors or otherwise accessible to small children and from which the doors and other covers have not been removed or which are not equipped with a device for opening from the inside by pushing only with the strength of a small child;
(16) Any unauthorized or unlawful use of property abutting on a public street, alley or sidewalk or of a public street, alley or sidewalk which causes large crowds of people to gather, obstructing traffic and free use of the streets or sidewalks;
(17) Any advertisements or signs affixed to any building, wall, fence, sidewalk, street or other private or public property without permission of the owner thereof;
(18) Any sign, marquee or awning which is in an unsafe condition, or which overhangs any roadway, or which overhangs any sidewalk less than eight feet above the surface thereof;
(19) Any barbed wire fence or barbed wire railing fronting on any street;
(20) Any structure, material or condition which constitutes a fire hazard or will impair the extinguishing of any fire;
(21) The presence in any residential district of any hazardous materials (excepting any hazardous materials of a kind and quantity customarily used for household purposes) including any substance that is toxic, corrosive, flammable, explosive, radioactive, infectious, carcinogenic, mutagenic or otherwise hazardous or which contains petroleum hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenols, mercury or lead, or which is intended for use as a pesticide or herbicide, or the presence in any residential district of empty or spent containers for any hazardous materials; and
(22) Any water discharge that is conveyed by any sump pump, downspout, yard drain or gravity pipe and:
(a) Empties into or onto a parkway, sidewalk, drainage ditch, storm sewer, sanitary sewer or other public property without approval from the village; or
(b) Empties into or onto any public property in manner or volume that creates standing water that remains for a period of more than 72 hours; or
(c) Empties into or onto any property in a manner or volume that allows formation of ice of any thickness on any public property including, but not limited to, sidewalks or paved roads.
(23) The use of any gasoline- powered leaf blower, whether backpack- mounted, wheel-mounted, or handheld, which includes electric leaf blowers connected to portable gasoline-powered electric generators:
(a) At all times from May 15 through September 30;
(b) From October 1 of any year through May 14 of the next year, before 8:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and before 9:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and at all times on Sundays and holidays; or
(c) That exceed 75 decibel levels when in use.
(d) Exemptions. This subsection (D)(23) shall not apply to the following:
1. The use of electric-powered leaf blowers plugged into permanently installed electrical outlets attached to a permanent structure such as a residential single family or multi-family dwelling or battery- powered units; provided, however, the electric- powered leaf blowers do not exceed 75 decibel levels when in use.
2. In the event of a storm, emergency, or special project, upon determining that it is in the best interests of the safety and welfare of the village to use gasoline-powered leaf blowers in cleanup or restoration activities, the Village Manager may waive the enforcement of the foregoing restrictions.
(24) Any nuisance so defined by laws of the state or other provisions of this code or ordinances of the village.
(Ord. 766, passed 9-10-1990; Ord. 801, passed 4-12-1993; Ord. 872, passed 6-12-2000; Ord. 941, passed 7-12-2005; Ord. 1169, passed 3-28-2016; Ord. 1264, passed 8-17-2020)