CHAPTER 93: NUISANCES
Section
General Provisions
   93.01   Assessable current services
   93.02   Tree diseases
   93.03   Open burning
Nuisances
   93.15   Public nuisance defined
   93.16   Public nuisances affecting health
   93.17   Public nuisances affecting morals and decency
   93.18   Public nuisances affecting peace and safety
   93.19   Duties of city officers
   93.20   Abatement
   93.21   Recovery of cost
Weeds
   93.35   Short title
   93.36   Jurisdiction
   93.37   Definitions; exclusions
   93.38   Owners responsible for trimming, removal and the like
   93.39   Filing complaint
   93.40   Notice of violations
   93.41   Appeals
   93.42   Abatement by city
   93.43   Liability
Noise
   93.50   Definitions
   93.51   Noise prohibited
   93.52   Hourly restriction on certain operations
   93.53   (Reserved)
   93.54   Air circulation devices
   93.55   Exception for emergency work
   93.56   Noise Control Officer; powers and duties
   93.57   Variances
 
   93.99   Penalty
Cross-reference:
   Abandoned Vehicles, see Chapter 90
   Alcoholic Beverages, see Chapter 111
   Dogs and other animals creating nuisances, see § 92.07
   Excavation, see Ch. 153
   Peddlers and Solicitors, see Chapter 113
GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 93.01 ASSESSABLE CURRENT SERVICES.
   (A)   Definition. For the purpose of this section, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
      CURRENT SERVICE. One or more of the following: snow, ice or rubbish removal from sidewalks; weed elimination from street grass plots adjacent to sidewalks or from private property; removal or elimination of public health or safety hazards from private property, excluding any hazardous building included in M.S. §§ 463.15 through 463.26, as they may be amended from time to time; installation or repair of water service lines; street sprinkling, street flushing, light street oiling or other dust treatment of streets; repair of sidewalks and alleys; trimming and care of trees and removal of unsound and insect-infected trees from the public streets or private property; and the operation of a street lighting system.
   (B)   Snow, ice, dirt and rubbish.
      (1)   Duty of owners and occupants. The owner and the occupant of any property adjacent to a public sidewalk shall use diligence to keep the walk safe for pedestrians. No owner or occupant shall allow snow, ice, dirt or rubbish to remain on the walk longer than 24 hours after its deposit thereon. Failure to comply with this section shall constitute a violation.
      (2)   Removal by city. The City Clerk or person designated by the Council may cause removal from all public sidewalks all snow, ice, dirt and rubbish as soon as possible beginning 24 hours after any matter has been deposited thereon or after the snow has ceased to fall. The City Clerk or designated person shall keep a record showing the cost of the removal adjacent to each separate lot and parcel.
   (C)   (1)   Weeds as a nuisance. Any weeds, whether noxious, as defined by law, or not, growing upon any lot or parcel of land outside the traveled portion of any street or alley in the city to a greater height than 12 inches or which have gone or are about to go to seed are a nuisance. The owner and the occupant shall abate or prevent the nuisance on the property and on land outside the traveled portion of the street or alley abutting on the property.
      (2)   Notice. On or before June 1 of each year and at other times as ordered by resolution of the City Council, the City Clerk shall publish once in the official newspaper a notice directing owners and occupants of property within the city to destroy all weeds declared by division (C)(1) of this section to be a nuisance and stating that if not so destroyed within ten days after publication of the notice, the weeds will be destroyed by city employees at the expense of the owner and that if not paid, the charge for the work will be made a special assessment against the property concerned.
      (3)   Removal by city. If the owner or occupant of any property in the city fails to comply with the notice within ten days after its publication, city employees may cut and remove the weeds. The City Clerk shall keep a record showing the cost of the work attributable to each separate lot and parcel.
   (D)   Public health and safety hazards. When the city removes or eliminates public health or safety hazards from private property under city ordinance, the administrative officer responsible for doing the work shall keep a record of the cost of the removal or elimination against each parcel of property affected and annually deliver the information to the City Clerk.
   (E)   Installation and repair of water service lines. Whenever the city installs or repairs water service lines serving private property, the City Clerk shall keep a record of the total cost of the installation or repair against the property.
   (F)   Repair of sidewalks and alleys.
      (1)   Duty of owner. The owner of any property within the city abutting a public sidewalk or alley shall keep the sidewalk or alley in repair and safe for pedestrians. Repairs shall be made in accordance with the standard specifications approved by the City Council and on file in the office of the City Clerk.
      (2)   Inspections; notice. The City Council or its designee shall make inspections as are necessary to determine that public sidewalks and alleys within the city are kept in repair and safe for pedestrians or vehicles. If it is found that any sidewalk or alley abutting on private property is unsafe and in need of repairs, the City Council shall cause a notice to be served, by registered or certified mail or by personal service, upon the record owner of the property, ordering the owner to have the sidewalk or alley repaired and made safe within 30 days and stating that if the owner fails to do so, the city will do so. The expense thereof must be paid by the owner, and if unpaid it will be made a special assessment against the property concerned.
      (3)   Repair by city. If the sidewalk or alley is not repaired within 30 days after receipt of the notice, the City Clerk shall report the facts to the City Council and the City Council shall by resolution order the work done by contract in accordance with law. The City Clerk shall keep a record of the total cost of the repair attributable to each lot or parcel of property.
   (G)   Personal liability. The owner of property on which or adjacent to which a current service has been performed shall be personally liable for the cost of the service. As soon as the service has been completed and the cost determined, the Clerk, or other designated official, shall prepare a bill and mail it to the owner. The amount shall be immediately due and payable at the office of the Clerk.
   (H)   Damage to public property. Any person driving any vehicle, equipment, object or contrivance upon any street, road, highway or structure shall be liable for all damages which the surface or structure thereof may sustain as a result of any illegal operation, or driving or moving of the vehicle, equipment or object or contrivance; or as a result of operating, driving or moving any vehicle, equipment, object or contrivance weighing in excess of the maximum weight permitted by statute or this code. When the driver is not the owner of the vehicle, equipment, object or contrivance, but is so operating, driving or moving the same with the express or implied permission of the owner, then the owner and the driver shall be jointly and severally liable for any damage. Any person who willfully acts or fails to exercise due care and by that act damages any public property shall be liable for the amount thereof, which amount shall be collectable by action or as a lien under M.S. § 514.67, as it may be amended from time to time.
   (I)   Assessment. On or before September 1 of each year, the City Clerk shall list the total unpaid charges for each type of current service and charges under this section against each separate lot or parcel to which they are attributable under this section. The City Council may then spread the charges against property benefitted as a special assessment under M.S. § 429.01 and other pertinent statutes, as they may be amended from time to time, for certification to the County Auditor and collection along with current taxes the following year or in annual installments, not exceeding ten, as the City Council may determine in each case.
Cross-reference:
   Streets and Sidewalks, see Chapter 94
§ 93.02 TREE DISEASES.
   (A)   Declaration of policy. The City Council determines that the health of the elm and oak trees within the city is threatened by fatal diseases known as Dutch Elm and Oak Wilt diseases, and other trees may be threatened by other epidemic diseases of shade trees. The City Council further determines that the loss of elm, oak and other trees growing upon public and private property would substantially depreciate the value of property within the city and impair the safety, good order, general welfare and convenience of the public. It is declared to be the intention of the City Council to control and prevent the spread of those diseases and this section is enacted for that purpose.
   (B)   Designated enforcement officer. It shall be the duty of the officer designated by the City Council to coordinate, under the direction and control of the City Council, all activities of the city relating to the control and prevention of Dutch Elm disease and Oak Wilt disease and other epidemic diseases of shade trees. The officer shall recommend to the City Council the details of a program for the control of the diseases, and perform the duties incident to a program adopted by the City Council.
   (C)   Trees constituting nuisance declared. The following are public nuisances whenever they may be found within the city:
      (1)   Any living or standing elm tree or part thereof infected to any degree with the Dutch Elm disease fungus Ceratocystis Ulmi (Buisman) Moreau or which harbors any of the elm bark beetles Scolytus Multistriatus (Eichh.) or Hylungopinus Rufipes (Marsh);
      (2)   Any dead elm tree or part thereof, including branches, stumps, firewood or other elm material from which the bark has not been removed and burned or sprayed with an effective elm bark beetle insecticide;
      (3)   Any living or standing oak tree or part thereof infected to any degree with the Oak Wilt fungus Ceratocystis fagacearum;
      (4)   Any dead oak tree or part thereof which in the opinion of the designated officer constitutes a hazard, including but not limited to logs, branches, stumps, roots, firewood or other oak material which has not been stripped of its bark and burned or sprayed with an effective fungicide; or
      (5)   Any other shade tree with an epidemic disease.
   (D)   Inspection and investigation. As often as practical, the designated officer shall inspect all public and private premises within the city which might harbor any plant pest, as defined in M.S. § 18.46 (13), as it may be amended from time to time, to determine whether any condition described in division (C) of this section exists thereon. The designated officer shall investigate all reported incidents of infestation of Dutch Elm fungus, elm bark beetles, Oak Wilt fungus or any other epidemic disease of shade trees.
   (E)   Entry on private premises. The designated officer or his or her duly authorized agents may enter upon private premises at any reasonable time for the purpose of carrying out any of the duties assigned under this section.
   (F)   Abatement of nuisance. It is unlawful for any person to permit any public nuisance, as defined in division (C) of this section, to remain on any premises the person owns or controls within the city. The nuisances may be abated in the manner prescribed by this section. In abating a nuisance, defined in division (C) of this section, the designated officer shall cause the infected tree or wood to be sprayed, removed, burned or otherwise effectively treated so as to destroy and prevent as fully as possible the spread of epidemic diseases such as Dutch Elm disease and Oak Wilt disease. The designated officer shall also take other steps as are necessary to prevent root graft transmission of the diseases. The abatement procedures shall be carried out in accordance with current technical and expert opinions and plans as may be designated by the Commissioner of Agriculture.
   (G)   Procedure for removal of infected trees and wood.
      (1)   Action by the designated officer. Whenever the designated officer finds with reasonable certainty that the infestation, defined in division (C), exists in any trees or wood in any public or private place in the city, the designated officer shall in writing notify the owner of the existence of a nuisance, which notice shall state that the owner has 60 days to abate the nuisance and avoid city action. A copy of the notice shall be transmitted to the City Clerk for the information of the City Council. If within the 60-day period the property owner has not abated the nuisance, the designated officer shall report all the facts surrounding the unabated nuisance to the City Council.
      (2)   Action by the City Council.
         (a)   Upon receipt of the designated officer’s report required in division (G)(1) of this section, the City Council shall by resolution order the nuisance abated. Before action is taken on the resolution, the City Council shall publish notice of its intention to meet to consider taking action to abate the nuisance. This notice shall be mailed to affected property owners and published once no less than one week prior to the meeting. The notice shall state the time and place of the meeting, the streets affected, action proposed, the estimated cost of the abatement and the proposed basis of assessment, if any, of costs.
         (b)   At the hearing or adjournment thereof, the City Council shall hear property owners with reference to the scope and desirability of the proposed project.
         (c)   The City Council shall thereafter adopt a resolution confirming the original resolution with modifications as it considers desirable and provide for the doing of the work by day labor or by contract.
      (3)   Record. The designated officer shall keep a record of the costs of abatement done under this section and shall report monthly to the City Clerk or other appropriate officer all work done for which assessments are to be made, stating and certifying the description of the land, lots, parcels involved and the amount chargeable to each.
      (4)   Assessment. On or before September 1 of each year, the City Clerk shall list the total unpaid charges for each abatement against each separate lot or parcel to which they are attributable under this section. The City Council may then spread the charges or any portion thereof against the property involved as a special assessment under M.S. § 429.101 and other pertinent statutes, as they may be amended from time to time, for certification to the County Auditor and collection the following year along with the current taxes.
   (H)   Interference prohibited. It is unlawful for any person to prevent, delay or interfere with the designated officer or his or her agents while they are engaged in the performance of duties imposed by this section. However, it is a defense to prosecution under this division that the interference alleged consisted of constitutionally protected speech only.
§ 93.03 OPEN BURNING.
   (A)   Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
   BURNING PERMIT. A permit issued by the City Fire Marshal authorizing fires exempted from the general provisions hereof, and setting conditions therefore.
   CAMP FIRE. A fire set for cooking, warming or ceremonial purposes, which is not more than three feet in diameter by three feet high, and has had the ground five feet from the base of the fire cleared of all combustible material.
   OPEN FIRE or OPEN BURNING. A fire burning in matter, whether concentrated or dispersed, which is not contained within a fully enclosed fire box, structure or vehicle, and from which the products of combustion are emitted directly to the open atmosphere without passing through a stack, duct or chimney.
   PERSON. As defined in M.S. § 116.06(8), as it may be amended from time to time.
   RECREATION FIRE. See CAMP FIRE.
      (1)   RECREATION FIRE BURN. When a camp fire is used for recreation purposes, it must be ignited with an approved starter fluid using, dry clean wood, producing little detectable smoke, odor or soot beyond the property line, conducted with an adult tending the fire at all times, extinguished completely before quitting the occasion, and respecting weather conditions, neighbors, burning bans and air quality so the threat of nuisance health or safety hazards will not be created. Mobile cooking devices such as manufactured hibachis, charcoal grills, wood smokers and propane or natural gas devices are not defined as camp or recreation fires.
      (2)   RECREATION FIRE SITE. An area of no more than a three-foot diameter circle (measured from the inside of the fire ring or border) completely surrounded by non-combustible and non- smoke or odor producing material, either of natural rock, cement, brick, tile or block of ferrous metal only and which area is depressed below ground, on the ground or on a raised block. Included are permanent outdoor wood burning fire places. RECREATION FIRE SITES shall not be located closer than 15 feet to any structure. Burners are not a RECREATION FIRE SITE, as defined herein.
   STARTER FUELS. Dry, untreated, unpainted wood or charcoal fire starter. Paraffin candles and alcohols are permitted as starter fuels and as aids to ignition only. Propane gas torches or other clean gas burning devices causing minimal pollution must be used to start an open fire.
   WOOD. Dry, clean fuel only such as twigs, branches, limbs, “presto logs,” charcoal, cordwood or untreated dimensional lumber. WOOD does not include wood that is green, with leaves or needles, rotten, wet, coil soaked or treated with paint, glue or preservatives. Clean pallets may be used for recreation fires when cut into three foot lengths.
   (B)   Open burning prohibited. From and after the effective date of this section, except as herein otherwise provided, open burning shall be prohibited within the city.
   (C)   Exemptions. Open burning of the types, and subject to the conditions, as hereinafter stated, shall be exempt from the prohibition of division (B) above.
      (1)   Recreational fires;
      (2)   Fires under managed supervision for which a burning permit has been obtained from the City Fire Marshal and, where required by state law, from the Department of Natural Resources, but limited to the following:
         (a)   Fires purposely set for the instruction and training of public and industrial fire fighting personnel;
         (b)   Fires set for the elimination of a fire hazard which cannot be abated by any other practicable means;
         (c)   Fires purposely set for forest and game management purposes; and
         (d)   The burning of trees, brush, grass and other vegetable matter in the clearing of land, the maintenance of street, road and highway right-of-way, and in accepted agricultural land management practices.
      (3)   An exception to conduct fires under this section does not excuse a person from the consequences, damages or injuries which may result therefrom nor does it exempt any person from regulations promulgated by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency or any other governmental unit exercising jurisdiction in matters of pollution or fire hazard regulation.
   (D)   Rules adopted by reference. M.S. §§ 88.02 through 88.22, 88.75 and 88.76 and the Minnesota Uniform Fire Code, as they may be amended from time to time, are hereby adopted by reference and made a part of this section as if fully set forth at this point.
(Ord. 84, passed 1-10-94; Am. Ord. 179, passed 5-14-12) Penalty, see § 10.99
NUISANCES
§ 93.15 PUBLIC NUISANCE DEFINED.
   (A)   Whoever by his or her act or failure to perform a legal duty intentionally does any of the following is guilty of maintaining a public nuisance, which is a misdemeanor:
      (1)   Maintains or permits a condition which unreasonably annoys, injures or endangers the safety, health, morals, comfort or repose of any considerable number of members of the public;
      (2)   Interferes with, obstructs or renders dangerous for passage any public highway or right-of-way, or waters used by the public; or
      (3)   Is guilty of any other act or omission declared by law or this subchapter to be a public nuisance and for which no sentence is specifically provided.
Statutory reference:
   Similar provisions, see M.S. § 609.74
§ 93.16 PUBLIC NUISANCES AFFECTING HEALTH.
   The following are hereby declared to be nuisances affecting health:
   (A)   Exposed accumulation of decayed or unwholesome food or vegetable matter;
   (B)   All diseased animals running at large;
   (C)   All ponds or pools of stagnant water;
   (D)   Carcasses of animals not buried or destroyed within 24 hours after death;
   (E)   Accumulations of manure, refuse or other debris;
   (F)   Privy vaults and garbage cans which are not rodent-free or fly-tight or which are so maintained as to constitute a health hazard or to emit foul and disagreeable odors;
   (G)   The pollution of any public well or cistern, stream or lake, canal or body of water by sewage, industrial waste or other substances;
   (H)   All noxious weeds and other rank growths of vegetation upon public or private property;
   (I)   Dense smoke, noxious fumes, gas and soot, or cinders, in unreasonable quantities;
   (J)   All public exposure of people having a contagious disease; and
   (K)   Any offensive trade or business, as defined by statute, not operating under local license.
§ 93.17 PUBLIC NUISANCES AFFECTING MORALS AND DECENCY.
   The following are hereby declared to be nuisances affecting public morals and decency:
   (A)   All gambling devices, slot machines and punch boards, except as otherwise authorized by federal, state or local law;
   (B)   Betting, bookmaking and all apparatus used in the occupations;
   (C)   All houses kept for the purpose of prostitution or promiscuous sexual intercourse, gambling houses, houses of ill fame and bawdy houses;
   (D)   All places where intoxicating liquor is manufactured or disposed of in violation of law or where, in violation of law, people are permitted to resort for the purpose of drinking intoxicating liquor, or where intoxicating liquor is kept for sale or other disposition in violation of law, and all liquor and other property used for maintaining such a place; and
   (E)   Any vehicle used for the unlawful transportation of intoxicating liquor, or for promiscuous sexual intercourse, or any other immoral or illegal purpose.
Cross-reference:
   Alcoholic Beverages, see Chapter 111
§ 93.18 PUBLIC NUISANCES AFFECTING PEACE AND SAFETY.
   The following are declared to be nuisances affecting public peace and safety:
   (A)   All snow and ice not removed from public sidewalks 12 hours after the snow or other precipitation causing the condition has ceased to fall;
   (B)   All trees, hedges, billboards or other obstructions which prevent people from having a clear view of all traffic approaching an intersection;
   (C)   All wires and limbs of trees which are so close to the surface of a sidewalk or street as to constitute a danger to pedestrians or vehicles;
   (D)   All unnecessary noises and annoying vibrations;
   (E)   Obstructions and excavations affecting the ordinary public use of streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds, except under conditions as are permitted by this code or other applicable law;
   (F)   Radio aerials or television antennae erected or maintained in a dangerous manner;
   (G)   Any use of property abutting on a public street or sidewalk or any use of a public street or sidewalk which causes large crowds of people to gather, obstructing traffic and the free use of the street or sidewalk;
   (H)   All hanging signs, awnings and other similar structures over streets and sidewalks, or so situated so as to endanger public safety, or not constructed and maintained as provided by ordinance;
   (I)   The allowing of rain water, ice or snow to fall from any building or structure upon any street or sidewalk or to flow across any sidewalk;
   (J)   Any barbed wire fence less than six feet above the ground and within three feet of a public sidewalk or way;
   (K)   All dangerous, unguarded machinery in any public place, or so situated or operated on private property as to attract the public;
   (L)   Waste water cast upon or permitted to flow upon streets or other public properties;
   (M)   The accumulation or storage in the open of partially dismantled, deteriorated, wrecked, discarded, disused, inoperable or derelict property of any kind, including, but not limited to, vehicles of any kind including automobiles, trucks, buses, vans, campers, bicycles, watercraft of any kind including boats, motors, pontoons, canoes, jet skis, machinery and equipment, tools, household appliances, including stoves, refrigerators, washing and drying machines, plumbing fixtures, household and office furniture and fixtures, and all other material or articles in such condition in a manner conducive of the harboring of rats, mice, snakes, rodents, vermin, insects, or the rank growth of vegetation or odor among the items so accumulated or stored, or in a manner conducive to or creating fire, health or safety hazards from such accumulation or storage;
   (N)   Any well, hole or similar excavation which is left uncovered or in other condition as to constitute a hazard to any child or other person coming on the premises where it is located;
   (O)   Obstruction to the free flow of water in a natural waterway or a public street drain, gutter or ditch with trash of other materials;
   (P)   The placing or throwing on any street, sidewalk or other public property of any glass, tacks, nails, bottles or other substance which may injure any person or animal or damage any pneumatic tire when passing over the substance;
   (Q)   The depositing of garbage or refuse on a public right-of-way or adjacent private property; and
   (R)   All other conditions or things which are likely to cause injury to the person or property of anyone.
(Am. Ord. 129, passed 8-14-06) Penalty, see § 10.99
§ 93.19 DUTIES OF CITY OFFICERS.
   The City Engineer, Street Superintendent, Police Department or other designated official shall enforce the provisions of this subchapter relating to nuisances affecting public safety. The Police Department shall enforce provisions relating to other nuisances and shall assist the other designated officers in the enforcement of provisions relating to nuisances affecting public safety. The officers shall have the power to inspect private premises and take all reasonable precautions to prevent the commission and maintenance of public nuisances.
§ 93.20 ABATEMENT.
   (A)   Notice. Written notice of violation, notice of the time, date, place and subject of any hearing before the City Council, notice of City Council order, and notice of motion for summary enforcement hearing shall be given as set forth in this section.
      (1)   Notice of violation. Written notice of violation shall be served by the officer charged with enforcement on the owner of record or occupant of the premises either in person or by certified or registered mail. If the premises is not occupied, the owner of record is unknown, or the owner of record or occupant refuses to accept notice of violation, notice of violation shall be served by posting it on the premises.
      (2)   Notice of City Council hearing. Written notice of any City Council hearing to determine or abate nuisance shall be served on the owner of record and occupant of the premises either in person or by certified or registered mail. If the premises is not occupied, the owner of record is unknown or the owner of record or occupant refuses to accept notice of the City Council hearing, notice of City Council hearing shall be served by posting it on the premises.
      (3)   Notice of City Council order. Except for those cases determined by the city to require summary enforcement, written notice of any city council order shall be made as provided in M.S. § 463.17 (Hazardous and Substandard Building Act), as it may be amended from time to time.
      (4)   Notice of motion for summary enforcement. Written notice of any motion for summary enforcement shall be made as provided for in M.S. § 463.17 (Hazardous and Substandard Building Act), as it may be amended from time to time.
   (B)   Procedure. Whenever the officer charged with enforcement determines that a public nuisance is being maintained or exists on premises in the city, the officer shall notify in writing the owner of record or occupant of the premises of the fact and order that the nuisance be terminated or abated. The notice of violation shall specify the steps to be taken to abate the nuisance and the time within which the nuisance is to be abated. If the notice of violation is not complied with within the time specified, the enforcing officer shall report that fact forthwith to the City Council. Thereafter, the City Council may, after notice to the owner or occupant and an opportunity to be heard, determine that the condition identified in the notice of violation is a nuisance and further order that if the nuisance is not abated within the time prescribed by the City Council, the city may seek injunctive relief by serving a copy of the City Council order and notice of motion for summary enforcement.
   (C)   Emergency procedure; summary enforcement.
      (1)   In cases of emergency, where delay in abatement required to complete the notice and procedure requirements set forth in divisions (A) and (B) of this section will permit a continuing nuisance to unreasonably endanger public health safety or welfare, the City Council may order summary enforcement and abate the nuisance. To proceed with summary enforcement, the officer charged with enforcement shall determine that a public nuisance exists or is being maintained on premises in the city and that delay in abatement of the nuisance will unreasonably endanger public health, safety or welfare.
      (2)   The enforcement officer shall notify in writing the occupant or owner of the premises of the nature of the nuisance and of the city’s intention to seek summary enforcement and the time and place of the City Council meeting to consider the question of summary enforcement.
      (3)   The City Council shall determine whether or not the condition identified in the notice to the owner or occupant is a nuisance, whether public health, safety or welfare will be unreasonably endangered by delay in abatement required to complete the procedure set forth in division (A) of this section, and may order that the nuisance be immediately terminated or abated.
      (4)   If the nuisance is not immediately terminated or abated, the City Council may order summary enforcement and abate the nuisance.
   (D)   Immediate abatement. Nothing herein shall prevent the city, without notice or process, from immediately abating any condition which poses an imminent and serious hazard to human life or safety.
§ 93.21 RECOVERY OF COST.
   (A)   Personal liability. The owner of premises on which a nuisance has been abated by the city shall be personally liable for the cost to the city of the abatement, including administrative costs. As soon as the work has been completed and the cost determined, the City Clerk or other official designated by the City Council shall prepare a bill for the cost and mail it to the owner. Thereupon the amount shall be immediately due and payable at the office of the City Clerk.
   (B)   Assessment. If the nuisance is a public health or safety hazard on private property, the accumulation of snow and ice on public sidewalks, the growth of weeds on private property or outside the traveled portion of streets, or unsound or insect-infected trees, the City Clerk shall, on or before September 1 next following abatement of the nuisance, list the total unpaid charges along with all other such charges as well as other charges for current services to be assessed under M.S. § 429.101, as it may be amended from time to time, against each separate lot or parcel to which the charges are attributable. The City Council may then spread the charges against the property under that statute and other pertinent statutes for certification to the County Auditor and collection along with current taxes the following year or in annual installments, not exceeding ten, as the City Council may determine in each case.
WEEDS
§ 93.35 SHORT TITLE.
   This subchapter shall be cited as the “Weed Subchapter.”
§ 93.36 JURISDICTION.
   (A)   The jurisdiction of this subchapter shall be the corporate limits of the city, as presently defined, or as may be modified from time to time by annexation or city ordinance.
   (B)   This subchapter shall be in addition to any state statute or county ordinance presently in effect, subsequently added, amended or repealed.
§ 93.37 DEFINITIONS; EXCLUSIONS.
   (A)   For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
      DESTRUCTION ORDER. The notice served by the City Council or designated city official, in cases of appeal, on the property owner of the ordinance violation.
      PROPERTY OWNER. The person occupying the property, the holder of legal title or a person having control over the property of another, such as a right-of-way, easement, license or lease.
      WEEDS, GRASSES and RANK VEGETATION.
         (1)   Includes but is not limited to the following:
            (a)   Noxious weeds and rank vegetation shall include but not be limited to: alum (allium), Buckthorn, Bur Cucumber, Canada Thistle, Corncockle, Cressleaf Groundsel, Curly Dock, Dodder, Field Bindweed, French Weed, Hairy Whitetop, Hedge Bindweed, Hoary Cress, Horsenettle, Johnsongrass, Leafy Spurge, Mile-A-Minute Weed, Musk Thistle, Oxeye Daisy, Perennial Sowthistle, Poison Hemlock, Purple Loosestrife, Quackgrass, Russian Knapweed, Russian Thistle, Serrated Tussock, Shatter Cane, Sorghum, Wild Carrot, Wild Garlic, Wild Mustard, Wild Onion, Wild Parsnip;
            (b)   Grapevines when growing in groups of 100 or more and not pruned, sprayed, cultivated or otherwise maintained for two consecutive years;
            (c)   Bushes of the species of tall, common or European barberry, further known as berberis vulgaris or its horticultural varieties;
            (d)   Any weeds, grass or plants, other than trees, bushes, flowers or other ornamental plants, growing to a height exceeding 12 inches; and
            (e)   Rank vegetation includes the uncontrolled, uncultivated growth of annuals and perennial plants.
         (2)   The term WEEDS does not include shrubs, trees, cultivated plants or crops.
   (B)   In no event shall cultivated plants or crops include plants which have been defined by state statute or administrative rule as being noxious or detrimental plants.
§ 93.38 OWNERS RESPONSIBLE FOR TRIMMING, REMOVAL AND THE LIKE.
   All property owners within the corporate limits of the city shall be required and be financially responsible for the removal, cutting or disposal and elimination of weeds, grasses and rank vegetation or other uncontrolled plant growth on their property, which at the time of notice, is in excess of six inches in average height, and in no event, exceeds 15 inches maximum height on at least 20% of the surface area of the property.
§ 93.39 FILING COMPLAINT.
   (A)   Any person, including the city, who believes there is property located within the corporate limits of the city which has growing plant matter in violation of this subchapter shall make a written complaint signed, dated and filed with the City Clerk.
   (B)   If the city makes the complaint, an employee, officer or Council member of the city shall file the complaint in all respects as set out above.
§ 93.40 NOTICE OF VIOLATIONS.
   (A)   (1)   Upon receiving notice of the probable existence of weeds in violation of this subchapter, a person designated by the City Council shall make an inspection and prepare a written report to the City Council regarding the condition. The City Council, upon concluding that there is a probable belief that this subchapter has been violated, shall forward written notification in the form of a destruction order to the property owner or the person occupying the property as that information is contained within the records of the City Clerk or any other city agency.
      (2)   The notice shall be served in writing by certified mail. The notice shall provide that within seven regular business days after the receipt of the notice that the designated violation shall be removed by the property owner or person occupying the property.
   (B)   (1)   All notices are to be in writing and all filings are to be with the City Clerk.
      (2)   Certified mailing to the City Clerk or others is deemed filed on the date of posting to the United States Postal Service.
§ 93.41 APPEALS.
   (A)   The property owner may appeal by filing written notice of objections with the City Council within 48 hours of the notice, excluding weekends and holidays, if the property owner contests the finding of the City Council. It is the property owner’s responsibility to demonstrate that the matter in question is shrubs, trees, cultivated plants or crops or is not otherwise in violation of this subchapter, and should not be subject to destruction under the subchapter.
   (B)   An appeal by the property owner shall be brought before the City Council and shall be decided by a majority vote of the Council Members in attendance and being at a regularly scheduled or special meeting of the City Council.
§ 93.42 ABATEMENT BY CITY.
   In the event that the property owner shall fail to comply with the destruction order within seven regular business days and has not filed a notice within 48 hours to the City Clerk of an intent to appeal, the City Council may employ the services of city employees or outside contractors and remove the weeds to conform to this subchapter by all lawful means.
§ 93.43 LIABILITY.
   (A)   The owner is liable for costs of removal, cutting or destruction, as defined by this subchapter.
   (B)   (1)   The property owner is responsible for all collection costs associated with weed destruction, including but not limited to court costs, attorney’s fees and interest on any unpaid amounts incurred by the city.
      (2)   If the city uses municipal employees, it shall set and assign an appropriate per hour rate for employees, equipment, supplies and chemicals which may be used.
   (C)   All sums payable by the property owner are to be paid to the City Clerk and to be deposited in a general fund as compensation for expenses and costs incurred by the city.
NOISE
§ 93.50 DEFINITIONS.
   Words and phrases defined in this section have, when used in this subchapter, the meanings given below. Any word or phrases used in this subchapter, and defined in regulations of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Noise Pollution Control Section, NPC-1 and NPC-4, has the meaning given in those regulations.
   AIR CIRCULATION DEVICE. A mechanism designed and used for the controlled flow of air used in ventilation, cooling, or conditioning, including, but not limited to, central and window air conditioning units.
   L10. The sound level, expressed in decibels (dBA) which exceeded 10% of the time for a one-hour period, as measured by a sound level meter having characteristics as specified in the latest standards, S1.4, of the American National Standards Institute and using test procedures approved by the Noise Control Officer.
   L50. The sound level similarly expressed and measured which exceeded 50% of the time for a one- hour period.
   PERSON. An individual, firm, partnership, corporation, trustee, association, or any body of persons whether incorporated or not. With respect to acts prohibited or required herein, PERSON shall include employees and licensees.
(Ord. 116, passed 4-25-05)
§ 93.51 NOISE PROHIBITED.
   (A)   General prohibition. No person shall make or cause to be made any distinctly and loudly audible noise that unreasonably annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, safety, peace, or welfare of any persons or precludes their enjoyment of property or affects their property’s value. This general prohibition is not limited by the specific restrictions of the following divisions.
   (B)   Motor vehicles. No person shall operate a motor vehicle in the city in violation of the motor vehicle noise limits of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
   (C)   Horns, audible signaling devices, and the like. No person shall sound any signaling device on any vehicle except as a warning of danger (M.S. § 169.68).
   (D)   Exhaust. No person shall discharge the exhaust, or permit the discharge of the exhaust of any steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine, motor boat, motor vehicle, or snowmobile except through a muffler or other device that effectively prevents loud or explosive noises therefrom and complies with all applicable state laws and regulations.
   (E)   Defective vehicles or loads. No person shall use any vehicle so out of repair or so loaded as to create loud and unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling, or other noise.
   (F)   Loading, unloading, unpacking. No person shall create loud and excessive noise in loading, unloading, or unpacking any vehicle.
   (G)   Radios, audio/media devices, paging system, and the like. No person shall use, operate, or permit the use or operation of any radio receiving set, musical instrument, audio/media device, paging system, machine, or other device for the production or reproduction of sound in a distinctly and loudly audible manner as to disturb the peace, quiet, and comfort of any person nearby. Operation of any such set, instrument, audio/media device, machine, or other device between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in such a manner as to be plainly audible at the property line of the structure or building in which it is located, in the hallway or apartment adjacent, or at a distance of 50 feet if the source is located outside a structure, mobile home, or building shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.
   (H)   Participation in noisy parties or gatherings. No person shall participate in any party or other gathering of people giving rise to noise, disturbing the peace, quiet, or repose of another person. When a police officer determines that a gathering is creating such a noise disturbance, the officer may order all persons present, other than the owner or tenant of the premises to leave the premises or shall make every reasonable effort to see that the disturbance is stopped.
   (I)   Loudspeakers, amplifiers for advertising, and the like. No person shall operate or permit the use or operation of any loudspeaker, sound amplifier, or other device for the production or reproduction of sound on a street or other public place for the purpose of commercial advertising or attracting the attention of the public to any commercial establishment or vehicle.
   (J)   Animals. No person shall keep any animal that disturbs the comfort or repose of persons in the vicinity by its frequent or continued noise.
   (K)   Schools, churches, and the like. No person shall create any excessive noise on a street, alley, or public grounds adjacent to any school, institution of learning, church, nursing home, homes for the elderly, or hospital when the noise unreasonably interferes with the working of the institution or disturbs or unduly annoys its occupants or residents and when conspicuous signs indicate the presence of such institution.
(Ord. 116, passed 4-25-05; Am. Ord 197, passed 1-12-15) Penalty, see § 93.99
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