The City Council finds and declares that it is a public nuisance and unlawful for any person to allow, cause, create, maintain, or permit others to maintain, property or premises in the city in such a manner that:
(A) Any one or more of the following conditions are found to exist thereon:
(1) Land, the topography, geology or configuration of which whether in natural state or as a result of the grading operations, excavation or fill, causes erosion, subsidence, or surface water drainage problems of such magnitude as to be injurious or potentially injurious to the public health, safety and welfare, or to adjacent properties.
(2) Buildings or other structures, or portions thereof, that are partially constructed or destroyed or allowed to remain in a state of partial construction or destruction for an unreasonable period of time. As used herein, an “unreasonable” period shall mean any portion of time exceeding the period given to a responsible person by the city for the complete abatement of this nuisance condition with all required city approvals, permit and inspections. Factors that may be used by the city to establish a reasonable period for the complete abatement of this nuisance include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) The degree of partial construction or destruction and the cause therefore.
(b) Whether or not this condition constitutes an attractive nuisance or if it otherwise poses or promotes a health or safety hazard to occupants of the premises, or to others.
(c) The degree of visibility, if any, of this condition from public or adjoining private real property.
(d) The scope and type of work that is needed to abate this nuisance.
(e) The promptness with which a responsible person has applied for and obtained all required city approvals and permits in order to lawfully commence the nuisance abatement actions.
(f) Whether or not a responsible person has complied with other required technical code requirements, including requesting and passing required inspections in a timely manner, while completing nuisance abatement actions.
(g) Whether or not a responsible person has applied for extensions to a technical code permit or renewed an expired permit, as well as the number of extensions and renewals that a responsible person has previously sought or obtained from the city.
(h) Whether or not a responsible person has made substantial progress, as determined by the city, in performing nuisance abatement actions under a technical code permit that has expired, or is about to expire.
(i) Whether delays in completing nuisance abatement actions under a technical code permit have occurred, and the reason(s) for such delays.
(3) Abandoned structure(s) or abandoned personal property that is/are visible from public or private property.
(4) Interior portions of buildings or structures (including, but not limited to attics, ceilings, walls floors, basements, mezzanines, and common areas) that have become defective, unsightly, or are maintained in a condition of dilapidation, deterioration or disrepair to such an extent as to result in, or tend to result in, a diminution in property values, or interferes with the peaceful use, possession and/or enjoyment of adjacent properties, or where such condition otherwise violates, or is contrary to, this code, or state law.
(5) Exterior portions of buildings or structures (including, but not limited to, roofs, balconies, decks, fences, stairs, stairways, walls, signs and fixtures), as well as sidewalks, driveways and parking areas, that have become defective, unsightly, or are maintained in a condition of dilapidation, deterioration or disrepair to such an extent as to result in, or tend to result in, a diminution in property values, or interferes with the peaceful use, possession and/or enjoyment of adjacent properties, or where such condition otherwise violates, or is contrary to, the this code, or state law.
(6) Clothes lines in front and side yards that are visible from a public right-of-way.
(7) Obstructions of any kind, cause or form that interfere with light or ventilation for a building, or that interfere with, or hinder, ingress and egress therefrom.
(8) Broken, defective, damaged, dilapidated, or missing windows or doors in a building or structure.
(9) Windows or doors that remain boarded up or sealed after ten calendar days after written city notice to a responsible person requesting the removal of these coverings and the installation of fully functional or operable windows or doors. City actions to board up or seal windows or doors in order to deter unauthorized entry into structures shall not relieve responsible persons from installing fully functional or operable windows or doors.
(10) Overgrown vegetation including, but not limited to, any one of the following:
(a) Vegetation likely to harbor, or promote the presence of, rats, vermin and insects.
(b) Vegetation causing detriment to neighboring properties, or that is out of conformity with neighboring community standards to such an extent as to result in, or contribute to, a diminution of property values, including, but not limited to:
(i) Lawns with grass in excess of six inches in height.
(ii) Hedges, trees, or other plant material that are not maintained in a neat, orderly, and healthy manner as a result of lack of adequate mowing, grooming, trimming, pruning, and/or watering.
(c) Vegetation that overhangs or grows onto or into any public property, including, but not limited to, any public alley, highway, land, sidewalk, street or other right-of-way, so as to cause an obstruction to any person or vehicle using such public property.
(11) Dead, decayed, diseased or hazardous trees, weeds, ground cover, and other vegetation, or the absence of healthful vegetation, that causes, contributes to, or promotes, any one of the following conditions or consequences:
(a) An attractive nuisance.
(b) A fire hazard as described in Chapter 8.14.
(c) The creation or promotion of dust or soil erosion.
(d) A diminution in property values.
(e) A detriment to public health, safety or welfare.
(12) Any form of an attractive nuisance.
(13) Items of junk or other personal property that constitute a fire or safety hazard or that are visible from public or adjoining private real property or that are accumulated, kept, placed or stored in exterior portions of premises in such a manner as to constitute a violation of any provision of the code, or that are otherwise out of conformity with neighboring community standards to such an extent as to result in, or tend to result in, a diminution in property values.
(a) The existence of a junkyard is not a nuisance when it is an expressly permitted use or condition in the applicable zone and the premises are in full compliance with all provisions of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (including all approvals and permits required thereby), and all other applicable provisions of the code, as well as all future amendments and additions thereto.
(14) Garbage cans, yard waste containers, and recycling containers that are kept, placed or stored in front or side yards and visible from public streets, except at times that solid or yard waste, or recyclables, are scheduled for collection by the city or its permitted collector(s).
(15) The keeping or disposing of, or the scattering or accumulating of combustible or other materials including, but not limited to, composting, firewood, junk, lumber, packing boxes, pallets, plant cuttings, tree trimmings or wood chips, in interior or exterior areas of building or structures, when such items or accumulations:
(a) Render premises unsanitary or substandard as defined by the Monrovia Housing Code.
(b) Violate the County Public Health Code.
(c) Cause, create, or tend to contribute to, a fire or safety hazard.
(d) Harbor, promote, or tend to contribute to, the presence of rats, vermin and insects.
(e) Cause, create, or tend to contribute to, an offensive odor.
(f) Cause the premises to be out of conformity with neighboring community standards to such an extent as to result in, or tend to result in, a diminution of property values. This use of land or condition shall not constitute a nuisance when expressly permitted under the applicable zone classification and the premises are in full compliance with all provisions of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, and all other applicable provisions of the code, as well as all future amendments and additions thereto.
(16) Vehicles exceeding the permissible gross vehicle weight for the streets or public property upon which they are located. A nuisance also exists under this provision when a vehicle is stopped, kept, placed, parked, or stored on private real property and when such vehicle exceeds the permissible gross vehicle weight for the streets or public property that were utilized in its placement on said private real property.
(17) Any equipment, machinery, or vehicle of any type or description that is ordinarily used in construction that is kept, parked, placed or stored on public or private real property, except when such item is being used during excavation, construction or demolition operations pursuant to an active building and/or other technical code permit. This subpart shall also include personal property that is ordinarily, in accordance with common business or trade practices, not kept, parked, placed or stored on public or private real property in a residential zone.
(18) Trailers, campers, boats, and other mobile equipment stored for unreasonable periods in yard areas contiguous to streets or highways and causing or tending to cause depreciation of nearby property values. As used herein, “unreasonable” is defined as more than 48 hours (whether consecutive or in the aggregate) in a calendar month.
(19) Maintenance of signs, or sign structures, on real property relating to uses no longer lawfully conducted or products no longer lawfully sold thereon, or signs and their structures that are in disrepair or which are otherwise in violation of, or contrary to, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.
(20) Specialty structures that have been constructed for a specific use, and which are unfeasible to convert to other uses, and which are abandoned, partially destroyed or are permitted to remain in a state of partial destruction or disrepair. Such specialty structures include, but are not limited to, the following: tanks for gas or liquid(s), lateral support structures and bulk-heads, utility high-voltage towers and poles, utility high-rise support structures, electronic transmitting antennas and towers, structures which support or house mechanical and utility equipment and are located above the roof lines of existing buildings, high rise freestanding chimneys and smoke stacks, and recreational structures such as tennis courts, pools, spas and cabanas.
(21) Abandoned, dismantled, inoperable or wrecked boats, campers, motorcycles, trailers, vehicles, or parts thereof, in outdoor areas of real property.
(22) Any personal property or structure that obstructs or encroaches on any public property, including, but not limited to, any public alley, highway, land, sidewalk, street or other right-of-way, unless a valid encroachment permit has been issued authorizing said encroachment or obstruction.
(23) Causing, maintaining or permitting graffiti to be present or remain on a building, structure or vehicle, or portion thereof, that is visible from a public right-of-way or from adjoining property. This subpart excludes graffiti on buildings or structures that is subject to removal under a city program with an owner’s consent.
(24) Storage of hazardous or toxic materials or substances on real property, as so classified by any local, state or federal laws or regulations, in such a manner as to be injurious, or potentially injurious or hazardous, to the public health, safety or welfare, or to adjacent properties, or that otherwise violates local, state or federal laws or regulations.
(25) Failure to provide and maintain adequate weather protection to structures or buildings, so as to cause, or tend to cause or promote, the existence of cracked, peeling, warped, rotted, or severely damaged paint, stucco or other exterior covering.
(26) Any condition recognized in local or state law or in equity as constituting a public nuisance, or any condition existing on real property that constitutes, or tends to constitute, blight, or that is a health or safety hazard to the community or neighboring properties.
(27) Any discharge of any substance or material, other than stormwater, which enters, or could possibly enter, the city’s storm sewer system in violation of the code.
(28) Maintenance of any tarp or similar covering on, or over, any graded surface or hillside, except in the following circumstances:
(a) A state of emergency has been declared by local, state or federal officials directly impacting the area to be tarped.
(b) Tarping performed pursuant to an active building or grading permit.
(c) Tarps installed during the period from December 1 through March 30 of each year, when required due to forecasted rain or other weather likely to damage or erode a hillside or graded surface.
(29) Maintenance of any tarp or similar covering on, or over, any roof of any structure, except during periods of active rainfall, or when specifically permitted under an active roofing or building permit.
(30) Unsanitary, polluted or unhealthful pools, ponds, standing water or excavations containing water, whether or not they are attractive nuisances but which are nevertheless likely to harbor mosquitoes, insects or other vectors. The likelihood of insect harborage is evidenced by any of the following conditions: water which is unclear, murky, clouded or green; water containing bacterial growth, algae, insect larvae, insect remains, or animal remains; or, bodies of water which are abandoned, neglected, unfiltered or otherwise improperly maintained.
(B) Any building or structure used by any person to engage in acts which are prohibited pursuant to the laws of the state, the provisions of the code, or any other ordinance of this city, including, but not limited to the following acts:
(1) Unlawful possession and/or use of controlled substances; and/or,
(2) Prostitution; and/or,
(3) Unlawful gambling.
(C) A condition, use or activity is present that constitutes a public nuisance as defined by Cal. Civil Code, §§ 3479 or 3480, and any future amendments thereto.
(D) A violation of any uncodified ordinance or of other provisions of the code, or of any applicable county or state laws and regulations is present.
(Ord. 2007-20 § 2 (part), 2007)