(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Ottawa Anti-Litter Ordinance”.
(b) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words used in the singular number include the plural number. The word “shall” is always mandatory and not merely directory.
(1) “Aircraft” means any contrivance now known or hereafter invented, used or designated for navigation or for flight in the air. The word “aircraft” includes helicopters and lighter-than-air dirigibles and balloons.
(2) “Authorized private receptacle” means a litter storage and collection receptacle as required and authorized by ordinance.
(3) “Village” means the Village of Ottawa.
(4) “Commercial handbill” means any printed or written matter, any sample or device, dodger, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, paper, booklet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original copies of any matter of literature:
A. Which advertises for sale any merchandise, product, commodity or thing; or
B. Which directs attention to any business or mercantile or commercial establishment, or other activity, for the purpose of either directly or indirectly promoting the interest thereof by sales; or
C. Which directs attention to or advertises any meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition or event of any kind, for which an admission fee is charged for the purpose of private gain or profit; but the terms of this clause shall not apply where an admission fee is charged or a collection is taken up for the purpose of defraying the expenses incident to such meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition or event of any kind, when either of the same is held, given or takes place in connection with the dissemination of information which is not restricted under the ordinary rules of decency, good morals, public peace, safety and good order. However, nothing contained in this clause shall be deemed to authorize the holding, giving or taking place of any meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition or event of any kind without a license, where such license is or may be required by any law of this State, or under any ordinance of this Village; or
D. Which, while containing reading matter other than advertising matter, is predominantly and essentially an advertisement, and is distributed or circulated for advertising purposes, or for the private benefit and gain of any person so engaged as advertiser or distributor.
(5) “Garbage” means putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
(6) “Litter” means “garbage”, “refuse” and “rubbish”, as defined herein and all other waste material which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited, tends to create a danger to public health, safety and welfare.
(7) “Newspaper” means any newspaper of general circulation as defined by general law, any newspaper duly entered with the Post Office Department of the United States, in accordance with Federal statute or regulation, and any newspaper filed and recorded with any recording officer as provided by general law; and, in addition thereto, includes any periodical or current magazine regularly published with not less than four issues per year and sold to the public. In order to be a “newspaper in accordance with this definition as used in this Ordinance, the “newspaper” must be solicited by at least one of the owners or occupants of a private premises.
(8) “Noncommercial handbill” means any printed or written matter, any sample, device, dodger, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, newspaper, magazine, paper, booklet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original or copies of any matter of literature not included in the aforesaid definitions of a commercial handbill or newspaper.
(9) “Park” means a park, reservation, playground, beach, recreation center or any other public area in the Village, owned or used by the Village and devoted to active or passive recreation.
(10) “Person” means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind and includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind who is responsible for the organizing of the distribution of Commercial or Noncommercial Hand Bills by employees or independent contractors.
(11) “Private premises” means any dwelling, house, building or other structure designed or used either wholly or in part for private residential purposes, whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant and includes any yard, grounds, walk, driveway, porch, steps, vestibule or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other structure.
(12) “Public place” means any and all streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys or other public ways and any and all public parks, squares, spaces, grounds and buildings.
(13) “Refuse” means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes (except body wastes), including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles and solid market and industrial wastes.
(14) “Rubbish” means nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes, such as paper, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, leaves, wood, glass, bedding, crockery, and similar materials.
(15) “Vehicle” means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, including devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(c) Litter in Public Places. No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public place within the Village except in public receptacles, in authorized private receptacles for collection or in official Village dumps.
(d) Placement of Litter in Receptacles so as to Prevent Scattering. Persons placing litter in public receptacles or in authorized private receptacles shall do so in such a manner as to prevent it from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon private property.
(e) Sweeping Litter into Gutters Prohibited. No person shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, street or other public place within the Village the accumulation of litter from any building or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or driveway. Persons owning or occupying property shall keep the sidewalk in front of their premises free of litter.
(f) Owners’ and Occupants’ Duty to Keep Sidewalks, Parking Lots and Access Drives Free of Litter. No person owning or occupying a place of business shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, street or other public place within the Village the accumulation of litter from any building or lot or from any public or private sidewalk, parking lot or driveway. Persons owning or occupying places of business within the Village shall keep the sidewalk in front of their business premises, together with parking areas and access drives, free of litter.
(g) Litter Thrown by Persons in Vehicles. No person, while a driver or passenger in a vehicle, shall throw or deposit litter upon any street or other public place within the Village or upon private property.
(h) Truck Loads Causing Litter. No person shall drive or move any truck or other vehicle within the Village unless such vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any load, contents or litter from being blown or deposited upon any street, alley or other public place; nor shall any person drive or move any vehicle or truck within the Village, the wheels or tires of which carry onto or deposit in any street, alley or other public place, mud, dirt, sticky substances, litter or foreign matter of any kind.
(i) Litter in Parks. No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park within the Village except in public receptacles and in such a manner that the litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any part of the park or upon any street or other public place. Where public receptacles are not provided, all such litter shall be carried away from the park by the person responsible for its presence and properly disposed or elsewhere as provided herein.
(j) Litter in Rivers and Streams. No person shall throw or deposit litter in any fountain, pond, stream, river or any other body of water in a park or elsewhere within the
Village.
(k) Throwing or Distributing Commercial Handbills in Public Places. No person shall throw or deposit any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any sidewalk, street or other public place within the Village. Nor shall any person hand out or distribute or sell any commercial handbill in any public place. However, it shall not be unlawful on any sidewalk, street or other public place within the Village for any person to hand out or distribute, without charge to the receiver thereof, any noncommercial handbill to any person willing to accept it.
(l) Placing Commercial and Noncommercial Handbills on Vehicles. No person shall throw or deposit any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any vehicle. However, it shall not be unlawful in any public place for a person to hand out or distribute without charge to the receiver thereof, a noncommercial handbill to any occupant of a vehicle who is willing to accept it.
(m) Depositing Commercial and Noncommercial Handbills on Uninhabited or Vacant Premises. No person shall throw or deposit any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any private premises which are temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant.
(n) Prohibiting Distribution of Handbills Where Properly Posted. No person shall throw, deposit or distribute any commercial or noncommercial handbill upon any private premises, if requested by anyone thereon not to do so, or if there is placed on such premises in a conspicuous position near the entrance thereof, a sign bearing the words: “No Trespassing”, “No Peddlers or Agents”, “No Advertisement” or any similar notice, indicating in any manner that the occupants of such premises do not desire to be molested or have their right of privacy disturbed, or to have any such handbills left upon such premises.
(o) Distributing Commercial and Noncommercial Handbills at Inhabited Private Premises. No person shall throw, deposit or distribute any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon private premises which are inhabited, except by handling or transmitting such handbill directly to the owner, occupant or other person then present in or upon such private premises. However, in case of inhabited private premises which are not posted, as provided in this section, such person, unless requested by anyone upon such premises not to do so, may place or deposit any such handbill in or upon such inhabited private premises, if such handbill is so placed or deposited as to secure or prevent such handbill from being blown or drifted about such premises or sidewalks, streets or other public places, and except that mailboxes may not be so used when so prohibited by Federal postal law or regulations. Placing or throwing said Handbills on the lawn, sidewalk, driveway, street, or gutter is not permitted.
The provisions of this subsection do not apply to the distribution of mail by the United States, nor of newspapers (as defined herein) except that newspapers shall be placed on private property in such a manner as to prevent their being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk, or other public place or upon private property.
(p) No person shall cause any type of hook to be affixed to any mail box or other structure located on any private Premises without the written consent of at least one of the owners of occupants of the private premises.
(q) Dropping Litter from Aircraft. No person in an aircraft shall throw out, drop or deposit within the Village any litter, handbill or any other object.
(r) Posting Notices Prohibited. No person shall post or affix any notice, poster or other paper or device, calculated to attract the attention of the public, to any lamp post, public utility pole or shade tree, or upon any public structure or building, except as may be authorized or required by law.
(s) Litter on Occupied Private Property. No person shall throw or deposit litter on any occupied private property within the Village, whether owned by such person or not, except that the owner or person in control of private property may maintain authorized private receptacles for collection in such a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon any private property.
(t) Owner to Maintain Premises Free of Litter. The owner or person in control of any private property shall at all times maintain the premises free of litter; provided, however, that this section shall not prohibit the storage of litter in authorized private receptacles for collection.
(u) Litter on Vacant Lots. No person shall throw or deposit litter on any open or vacant private property within the Village whether owned by such person or not.
(v) Clearing of Litter from Open Private Property by Village.
(1) Notice to remove. The Municipal Director is hereby authorized and empowered to notify the owner of any open or vacant private property within the Village or the agent of such owner to properly dispose of litter located on such owner’s property which is dangerous to public health, safety or welfare. Such notice shall be by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to such owner at his last known address.
(2) Action upon noncompliance. Upon the failure, neglect or refusal of any owner or agent so notified to properly dispose of litter dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare within five days after receipt of written notice provided for in subsection (u)(1) hereof, or within ten days after the date of such notice in the event the same is returned to the Village Post Office Department because of its inability to make delivery thereof, provided the same was properly addressed to the last known address of such owner, or agent, the Municipal Director is hereby authorized and empowered to pay for the disposing of such litter or to order its disposal by the Village.
(3) Charge included in tax bill. When the Village has effected the removal of such dangerous litter or has paid for its removal, the actual cost thereof, plus six percent (6%) per annum from the date of the completion of the work, if not paid within thirty days after the disposal of such litter as provided for in subsections (1) and (2) above, then the Municipal Director shall cause the Clerk-Treasurer of the Village to certify to the County Auditor the proceedings taken under this section, together with a statement of the cost and expense incurred for the work, the date the work was done and the location of the property on which such work was done. Such amounts shall be entered upon the tax duplicate, and shall constitute a lien upon such property from the date of entry and shall be collected as other taxes and returned to the Village General Fund.
(w) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ord. 1340. Passed 7-12-93; Ord. 06-09. Passed 5-22-06.)