(a) (1) No person having charge of the following described lots or lands within the City shall fail to cut noxious weeds upon them as hereinafter described:
A. All sublets in a recorded subdivision in their entirety;
B. All land which lies within twenty feet of a lot line which is adjacent to lots or lands upon which a residential or commercial building exists;
C. All land which lies within 120 feet of a dedicated thoroughfare;
D. No person being the owner, occupant, lessee, agent, tenant or person in charge of any lot or parcel within the City shall allow or maintain on such lot or parcel of land between May 1 and November 1 of each year any growth of grass, weeds or other similar types of vegetation in excess of six inches in height.
(2) No person having charge of any lot or land described in this section shall fail to keep such lands free from Russian, Canadian or common thistle, wild lettuce, wild mustard, wild parsley, ragweed, and all other noxious weeds growing or upon the lot or lands. Such weeds shall be destroyed by spraying with a chemical compound approved by the Director of Public Service, by cutting or digging under or by any other method approved by the Director.
(3) Upon written information that noxious weeds are growing on lands as hereinbefore described and are about to spread or mature seeds, the Director of Public Service shall cause a written notice to be served upon the owner, lessee, agent or tenant having charge of such land, notifying him that noxious weeds are growing on such lands and that they must be cut and destroyed within five days after the service of such notice.
(b) (1) As used in this chapter, "litter" includes weeds, grass and similar types of vegetation in excess of six inches in height, garbage, waste, peelings of vegetables or fruits, rubbish, ashes, cans, bottles, wire, paper, cartons, boxes, parts of automobiles, wagons, furniture, glass, debris, oil of an unsightly or unsanitary nature or anything else of an unsightly or unsanitary nature.
(2) Upon a finding by the Director of Public Service that litter has been placed on lands, has not been removed and constitutes a detriment to public health, the Director of Public Service shall cause a written notice to be served upon the owner, and, if different, upon the lessee, agent or tenant having charge of the littered land notifying him that litter is on the land, and that it must be collected and removed within 72 hours from the date of the service of the notice.
(3) If the owner or other person having charge of the land is a nonresident whose address is known, the notice shall be sent to his address by certified mail. If the last known address of the owner cannot be ascertained, the notice shall be posted on the outside front entrance of the building, or, if the premises are vacant land, then the notice shall be posted anywhere upon the vacant land.
(4) Service shall be perfected by any of the following methods:
A. Ordinary mail;
B. Certified mail;
C. Personal service; and/or
D. Posting in a conspicuous place on the premises.
(5) This notice shall be served only one time during the year. After such service it shall be mandatory for the owner, occupant, lessee, agent, tenant or person in charge of any lot or parcel of land to maintain the property or the City shall cause such weeds, grass or other similar type of vegetation to be cut during the growing season, as set forth above.
(6) The City will continue to maintain such lot or parcel of land until such time as the Director of Public Service is notified by the owner, occupant, lessee, agent, tenant or person in charge of such lot or parcel that arrangements have been made to properly landscape and maintain the lot or parcel of land.
(c) (1) Upon a finding by the Director of Public Service that the natural growth of lawns, landscaping and trees on land constitutes a blighting and deteriorating effect on the neighborhood in violation of Section 1363.08(b) of the Building Code, the Director shall cause a written notice to be served upon the owner, and, if different, upon the lessee, agent, tenant or person having charge of the land, notifying them that the violation of Section 1363.08(b) of the Building Code must be removed within 72 hours from the date of the service of notice.
(2) As used in this division, the natural growth of lawns in excess of six inches in height shall constitute a blighting or deteriorating effect on the neighborhood. If the owner or other person having charge of the land is a nonresident whose address is known, the notice shall be sent to the nonresident by certified mail. If the last known address of the owner cannot be ascertained, the notice shall be posted on the outside front entrance of the building, or, if the premises are vacant land, then the notice shall be posted anywhere upon the vacant land.
(3) Upon the completion of abatement, the Director of Public Service shall bill the property owner the price of the contractor's service and an additional ten dollars ($10.00) for the City's administrative costs. The total costs shall be forwarded by the Director of Public Service to the Director of Finance who shall make a return in writing to the County Fiscal Officer of such total charge which shall be entered upon the tax duplicate of the county and be allocated on the taxes in accordance with Ohio R.C. 731.54.
(d) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(Ord. 1998-14. Passed 6-22-98; Ord. 2012-33. Passed 6-25-12; Ord. 2022-20. Passed 6-27-22.)