(A) The Board of Trustees shall adopt a noxious weed management plan for all lands within the corporate limits of the town.
(B) The Board of Trustees shall appoint a Noxious Weed Advisory Board with the power and duty to:
(1) Develop a recommended management plan for the integrated management of designated noxious weeds and recommended management criteria for noxious weeds within the town.
(a) The management plan shall be reviewed at regular intervals, but not less often than once every three years by the local advisory board.
(b) The management plan and any amendments made thereto shall be transmitted to the Board of Trustees for approval, modification or rejection.
(2) Declare noxious weeds and any state noxious weeds designated by rule to be subject to integrated management;
(3) Recommend to the Board of Trustees that identified landowners be required to submit an individual integrated management plan to manage noxious weeds on their property; and
(4) The Board of Trustees, at its sole option, shall appoint a commission of landowners, to act as the Noxious Weed Advisory Board for the town.
(a) The Noxious Weed Advisory Board shall consist of five members.
(b) The members of the Noxious Weed Advisory Board shall be residents of the town.
(c) Each Noxious Weed Advisory Board shall annually elect a Chairperson and Secretary.
(d) A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.
(C) The Board of Trustees, through its delegates, agents and employees, shall have the right to enter upon any premises, lands or places, whether public or private, during reasonable business hours for the purpose of inspecting for the existence of noxious weed infestations, when at least one of the following circumstances has occurred:
(1) The landowner or occupant has requested an inspection;
(2) A neighboring landowner or occupant has reported a suspected noxious weed infestation and requested an inspection;
(3) An authorized agent of the town has made a visual observation from a public right-of-way or area and has reason to believe that a noxious weed infestation exists;
(4) No entry upon any premises, lands or places shall be permitted until the landowner or occupant has been notified by certified mail, personal delivery or legal posting (posting on premises after unsuccessful attempt of certified mail delivery) that such inspection is pending. Where possible, inspections shall be scheduled and conducted with the concurrence of the landowner or occupant;
(5) If after receiving notice that an inspection is pending the landowner or occupant denies access to the inspector of the town, the inspector may seek an inspection warrant issued by the town’s Municipal Court.
(a) The court shall issue an inspection warrant upon presentation by the town, through its agent or employee, of an affidavit stating: the information which gives the inspector reasonable cause to believe that any provision of this subchapter is being or has been violated; that the occupant or landowner has denied access to the inspector; and a general description of the location of the affected land.
(b) No landowner or occupant shall deny access to such land when presented with an inspection warrant.
(6) The Board of Trustees shall have the authority, acting directly or indirectly through its agent or staff, to notify the landowner or occupant of such lands, advising the landowner or occupant of the presence of noxious weeds.
(a) Said notice shall name the noxious weeds, advise the landowner or occupant to manage the noxious weeds and specify the best available control methods of integrated management.
(b) Where possible, the town shall consult with the affected landowner or occupant in the development of a plan for the management of noxious weeds on the premises or lands.
(7) Within a reasonable time after receipt of notification, which at no time shall exceed ten days, the landowner or occupant shall either:
(a) Comply with the terms of the notification;
(b) Acknowledge the terms of the notification and submit an acceptable plan and schedule for the completion of the plan for compliance; or
(c) Request an arbitration panel to determine the final management plan.
1. The arbitration panel selected by the Board of Trustees shall be comprised of a weed management specialist or weed scientist, a landowner of similar land in the county, and a third panel member chosen by agreement of the first two panel members.
2. The landowner or occupant shall be entitled to challenge any one member of the panel and the local governing body shall name a new panel member from the same category.
3. The decision of the arbitration panel shall be final.
(8) In the event the landowner or occupant fails to comply with the notice to manage the identified noxious weeds or implement the plan developed by the arbitration panel, the town has the authority to:
(a) Provide for and compel the management of such noxious weeds at such time, upon such notice, and in such manner as the town shall prescribe;
(b) Assess the whole cost thereof, including up to 20% for inspection and other incidental costs in connection therewith, upon the lot or tract of land where the noxious weeds are located; except no tax lien against land it administers as part of a public right-of-way shall be levied;
(c) Such assessment shall be a lien against each lot or tract of land until paid and shall have priority over all other liens except general taxes and prior special assessments;
(d) Such assessment may be certified to the county treasurer of the county in which the property is located and collected and paid over in the same manner as provided for the collection of taxes or any other method of collection available to the town; and
(e) Any funds collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the General Fund.
(9) No local governing body shall provide for or compel the management of noxious weeds on private property, pursuant to division (C)(8) above, without first applying the same or greater management measures to any land or rights-of-way owned or administered by the town that are adjacent to the private property;
(10) The town may not assess the cost of providing for or compelling the management of noxious weeds on private property until the level of management called for in the notice or the management plan developed by the arbitration panel has been successfully achieved;
(11) The town, through its delegates, agents and employees, shall have the right to enter upon any premises, lands or places, whether public or private, during reasonable business hours for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the requirements of this article concerning noxious weed management and any other local requirements; and
(12) No agent, employee or delegate of the town shall have a civil cause of action against a landowner or occupant for personal injury or property damage incurred while on public or private land for purposes consistent with this code, except when such damages were willfully or deliberately caused by the landowner.
(D) The Board of Trustees may declare additional noxious weeds, not on the state list of plant that are designated as noxious weeds after a public hearing with 30 days prior notice to the public.
(Prior Code, § 525.3) (Ord. 358, passed 2-13-1992; Ord. 476, passed 7-11-2002)