(a) No person shall place, throw, deposit, permit to be deposited or sweep into or upon any property which he or she owns, occupies or otherwise has charge of, or into or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, park, public ground or public building, or into or upon any property of another, any junk, garbage, refuse, offal, animal carcass or any similar matter of an unsightly or unsanitary nature, except as otherwise provided or permitted by law.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Junk” includes old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, rubber, lumber, pipe, used building material, roofing, old or scrap iron, steel or other ferrous or nonferrous materials which are not held for sale or remelting purposes by an establishment having facilities for processing such materials and any vehicle or motor vehicle which is inoperable, or unlicensed for the current license year, or dismantled, partly dismantled or wrecked or any vehicle or motor vehicle parts.
(2) “Garbage” includes all putrescible wastes except wastes of the human body and other water-carried wastes; all vegetable and animal wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking or consumption of foods; and containers that have foods or liquids for consumption by humans or other beings.
(3) “Refuse” includes ashes, crockery, bottles, cans, paper and other wood pulp products; boxes, rags, grass clippings, and other cut vegetation; old or discarded clothing, bedding, mattresses, furniture or appliances; rubbish, dirt, nails, oil, and pieces of glass; and other similar nonputrescible wastes.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit and placing, keeping or storage of unlicensed or inoperable motor vehicles machinery or equipment within an enclosed garage, barn or other building.
(d) Whenever it appears to any member of the Police Department that subsection (a) hereof is being violated and that the land on which the violation exists is privately owned, he shall, in writing, notify the owner or tenant in possession of the land on which the violation exists to abate the violation within seven days of the service of the notice. This notice shall be served upon such owner or tenant, if he resides in the Village, personally or by leaving it at his usual place of residence with some member of his household over the age of fourteen years. If any such owner or tenant resides outside of the Village, the notice shall be served upon him by registered or certified mail addressed to him at his usual residence, if ascertainable, or by notice published in the newspaper in which the legal notices of the Village are published. The owner or tenant shall so abate the violation within the time fixed by the notice.
(e) Whenever it appears to any member of the Police Department that subsection (a) hereof is being violated and that the violation exists on public lands or between the right of way of any street or other public way:
(1) He shall determine whether any article constituting the violation is or may become a traffic hazard and, if so, he shall move it or cause it to be moved to a nonhazardous location or into an enclosed storage place.
(2) He shall ascertain, if he can, who is the owner of the article or articles and shall, in writing, notify such owner to abate the violation forthwith and in all events within seven days after the service of the notice upon him, which notice shall be given as required in subsection (d) hereof for the service of notice thereunder.
(3) If any article constituting the violation is or may become a traffic hazard and it cannot be moved to a nonhazardous location, if the name and address of the owner of the article cannot be ascertained or if the violation is not abated in the time required by the notice given under subsection (e)(2) hereof, he shall:
A. Determine whether the article or articles have a value in excess of the cost of removing it or them to enclosed storage and the cost of storing it or them for three months in the case of motor vehicles and for six months for all other articles;
B. Unless the article or articles appear to have a value clearly in excess of such cost, arrange, if he can, for the removal of it or them by someone who will undertake that removal without cost to the Village; otherwise, he shall arrange for that removal at the expense of the Village to an authorized dump;
C. If the article or articles appear to have a value clearly in excess of the cost, remove it or them or cause it or them to be removed at the expense of the Village to an enclosed storage;
D. If the articles or articles are removed under paragraph (e)(1) or (3)B. and (3)C. hereof, he shall, in the manner required by subsection (d) hereof for service of notice thereunder, give notice to the owner of that removal and of the place to which the article or articles have been removed and of the owner’s right to reclaim it or them by paying the cost of removal and interim storage charges.
(f) The remedies provided in subsection (e) hereof shall be in addition to the penalty provided in subsection (g) hereof.
(g) Whoever violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(Ord. 715. Passed 3-13-89.)