(A) Sanitation. All exterior property and premises shall be maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary condition. The occupant shall keep that part of the exterior property which such occupant occupies or controls in a clean and sanitary condition.
(B) Grading and drainage. All premises shall be graded and maintained to prevent the erosion of soil and to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water thereon, or within any structure located thereon. Exception: approved retention areas and reservoirs.
(C) Sidewalks and driveways. All sidewalks, walkways, stairs, driveways, parking spaces and similar areas shall be kept in a proper state of repair, and maintained free from hazardous conditions.
(D) Weeds. All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of ten inches in height. All noxious weeds shall be prohibited.
(1) Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs; provided, however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens.
(2) Effective for the calendar year commencing January 1, 2018, and each subsequent calendar year, the Property Maintenance Inspector upon finding the owner or agent, including a lessee, having charge of a property has failed to cut or destroy weeds shall serve upon that owner or agent, including a lessee, a citation for violation of this division (D); provided, that if the owner or agent, including a lessee, is not available or cannot be located, the citation shall be served upon the property.
(a) The first citation of the calendar year shall be a warning citation that requires the violation stated thereon to be corrected within five days of issuance of the warning citation. Each citation issued in a calendar year subsequent to the warning citation shall not require the issuance of an additional warning citation.
(b) If the violation stated on the warning citation is not corrected within the five days immediately succeeding issuance of that warning citation, the Property Maintenance Inspector shall issue a citation that requires the violation stated thereon to be corrected within the ten days immediately succeeding the issuance of the citation.
(3) Issuance of a warning citation or a citation shall be prima facie evidence of the violation indicated on the face of the respective citation. Any person alleging he or she was improperly issued a citation may, within ten days after service of the citation, file a petition for appeal of the citation or payment thereof, along with the required bond, with the Municipal Court Clerk in accordance with the following procedure.
(a) In order to properly and timely appeal a citation, the petition for appeal shall be filed within ten days after service of the citation and the alleged violator shall pay the required amount of the applicable fine in full to the Municipal Court Clerk. The amount so paid shall be held by the Municipal Court Clerk as bond pending an evidentiary hearing before and resolution of the case by the Municipal Court. The Municipal Court Clerk shall issue to the alleged violator a receipt showing the amount of bond paid.
(b) If any petition for appeal filed in accordance with this section is not timely filed or is not accompanied with the required bond, the alleged violator shall be deemed to have waived his or her right to appeal the citation, and such petition shall be summarily denied as untimely filed.
(c) Nothing set forth above shall prevent the Municipal Court Judge from finding, upon a proper showing, that an alleged violator suffers from financial hardship, and, as a result, waiving the requirement that the bond be posted as a prerequisite to filing the petition for appeal.
(d) Any petition filed with the Municipal Court Clerk shall be in writing, on the form provided by the Municipal Court Clerk, and signed by the alleged violator affirming that the contents of the petition are true and accurate to the best knowledge of the alleged violator at the time of signing. The petition for appeal shall state the facts and reasons in support of the petition. Upon filing the petition for appeal with the Municipal Court Clerk, the alleged violator shall serve a copy of the petition and receipt showing proof of bond or waiver thereof upon the Property Maintenance Inspector who shall receive the documents as a representative for the City Attorney.
(e) Upon filing a petition for appeal with the Municipal Court Clerk, the Clerk, or his or her designee, shall place the case on the Municipal Court docket, set the case for evidentiary hearing within 30 days from the date of filing the petition, provide a notice of hearing to the alleged violator, and forward a copy to the Property Maintenance Inspector. Upon receipt of the petition, the Property Maintenance Inspector shall cause a copy of the citation at issue to be forwarded to the Municipal Court Clerk who shall file it as the original complaint alleging the violation indicated therein.
(f) The Municipal Court shall treat the citation itself as the original complaint before the court, and shall treat it as prima facie evidence of the violation alleged therein. At the close of all of the evidence, should the Municipal Judge find against the alleged violator, the bond posted by the alleged violator shall be applied as payment for the fine imposed for the violation. In the event the Municipal Court Judge finds that a violator suffers from financial hardship, the Municipal Judge may permit alternative sentencing. Should the court find in favor of the alleged violator, the bond shall be refunded to the alleged violator by the Municipal Court Clerk.
(4) Upon failure to comply with the notice of violation, any duly authorized employee of the city or contractor hired by the city shall be authorized to enter upon the property in violation and cut and destroy the weeds growing thereon, and the fee imposed for such removal shall be calculated in accordance with § 154.004(A)(4) and paid by the owner or agent, including a lessee, responsible for the property.
(E) Rodent harborage. All structures and exterior property shall be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation. Where rodents are found, they shall be promptly exterminated by approved processes which will not be injurious to human health. After extermination, proper precautions shall be taken to eliminate rodent harborage and prevent re-infestation.
(F) Exhaust vents. Pipes, ducts, conductors, fans or blowers shall not discharge gases, steam, vapor, hot air, grease, smoke, odors or other gaseous or particulate wastes directly upon abutting or adjacent public or private property or that of another tenant.
(G) Accessory structures. All accessory structures, including detached garages, fences and walls, shall be maintained structurally sound and in good repair.
(H) Motor vehicles.
(1) Storage of vehicles. Except as provided for in other regulations, no inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, commercial vehicle or trailer shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises, and no vehicle shall at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled; provided, that a vehicle of any type is permitted to undergo major overhaul, including body work, provided that such work is performed inside a structure or similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes. Painting of vehicles is prohibited unless conducted inside an approved spray booth.
(2) Removal of unsafe or abandoned vehicles.
(a) Unsafe vehicles. The Property Maintenance Inspector upon discovering on either public property or private property a motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, commercial vehicle or trailer considered to be unsafe shall attempt to discover the owner of such vehicle and issue to that individual a notice requiring the unsafe condition to be corrected within 30 days; provided, that for purposes of this subchapter, an UNSAFE CONDITION shall include, but not be limited to, broken glass, an open trunk or doors, damage that prevents the vehicle from being driven, and jagged edges on metal; provided, however, that if the owner of the vehicle cannot be located or if located refuses to correct the unsafe conditions, the Property Maintenance Inspector shall recommend to the Code Official that the owner be prosecuted under the authority of § 154.007 and if the vehicle is located upon public property, the City Police Department be notified to have the vehicle towed.
(b) Abandoned, unsafe or “junked” vehicles. The Property Maintenance Inspector upon discovering upon either public or private property a motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, commercial vehicle or trailer that is considered to be abandoned, unsafe or “junked” shall attempt to discover the owner of such vehicle and issue to that individual a notice requiring the abandoned vehicle to be removed from the property within 30 days from the date of the notice; provided, that for purposes of this subchapter, an abandoned, unsafe or “junked” motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, commercial vehicle or trailer is such a vehicle that may not be operated on a public highway or street because its registration had expired at least three months previously, its safety inspection had expired at least three months previously, its on blocks or other devices, or is mechanically inoperable; provided, however, that if the owner of the motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, commercial vehicle or trailer cannot be located or if located refuses to remove the vehicle, the Property Maintenance Inspector shall recommend to the Code Official that the owner be prosecuted under the authority of § 154.007 and if the motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, commercial vehicle or trailer is located upon public property, the City Police Department be notified to have the vehicle towed with the expense therefore to be paid by the owner.
(I) Defacement of property. No person shall willfully or wantonly damage, mutilate or deface any exterior surface of any structure or building on any private or public property by placing thereon any marking, carving or graffiti. It shall be the responsibility of the owner to restore said surface to an approved state of maintenance and repair; provided, that this requirement is not intended to relieve a person, other than the owner, from any civil or criminal liability or responsibility from such acts.
(Ord. 09-05, passed 5-19-2009; Ord. passed 9-5-2017)