(A) It shall be the duty and responsibility of every such owner or responsible party to keep the premises of such residential and commercial property clean. It shall be the duty of every person occupying, owning or having control of property abutting a street or alley to maintain said property to the edge of the street where water is carried by a ditch, or to the edge of the gutter where the street is curb and guttered, or to the edge of the travel portion of the alley.
(B) It is hereby found and determined that there exists within the area subject to the city limits of the city premises that, because of the existence of the conditions herein determined to be unlawful, constitute a visual blight and detriment upon the surrounding neighborhood and create substantial and unreasonable interference with the reasonable and lawful use and enjoyment of other premises in the neighborhood or conditions inhibit property values, deter tourism, interfere with the public health and safety or otherwise discourage the comfort, happiness and emotional stability and general welfare of all citizens.
(C) The existence of any of the following conditions on any lot or parcel of land within the city limits is hereby declared to be unlawful and a violation of the provisions of this section:
(1) Any of the following conditions in open places (for the purpose of this section, OPEN PLACES are defined as areas of properties or positions thereof that are open to the exterior, including building openings of residential dwelling units, such as carports or porches and any other exterior portions of properties ordinarily exposed to the outside and/or public view, including front, side and rear yards):
(a) Any litter consisting of man-made and used materials which is scattered, cast thrown, blown, placed, swept or deposited anywhere on a persistent, continuous or ongoing bases so as to accumulate on any property in open places. The owner and occupant of any dwelling unit shall exercise reasonable diligence at all times to keep exterior premises clean of fitter, including but not limited to: glass, bottles, waste paper, wrapping paper, paper napkins, cartons, package containers and other used or waste materials intentionally or unintentionally scattered, discarded, thrown or haphazardly left on the premises on a continuous, ongoing or persistent basis and to prevent the same from drifting or blowing to adjoining premises by removing the waste or ensuring that the same is placed in approved rollout refuse containers and/or locations for collection by the city;
(b) Any concentration of unusable building materials, including concrete, steel, masonry, which due to deterioration or age are no longer suitable for building construction, alterations or repair and which are in open places;
(c) Any worn out, deteriorated or abandoned household or office furniture, appliances or other similar products of any kind which are kept in open places;
(d) Any products with jagged edges of metal or glass which are kept in open places;
(e) Any junk, waste materials, unusable building materials, trash, garbage, oily rags, barrels, cans, papers, bricks or brickbats and other litter, refuse, rubbish or combustible materials which is scattered, cast, placed or deposited in a yard or yards, so as to constitute an accumulation or concentration in an open area;
(f) The uncontrolled growth of noxious weeds or grass to a height in excess of ten inches causing or threatening to cause a hazard detrimental to the public health or safety. See definition for “undeveloped/developed lot;”
(g) Any dangerous building or structure thereon, 144 square feet or smaller, maintained in such condition that it causes or will cause an ascertainable deterioration of the property values of surrounding properties or be otherwise materially detrimental to adjacent properties, interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of nearby properties, and causes a hazard detrimental to public health or safety;
(h) All dangerous fences not maintained in such conditions that causes or will cause ascertainable deterioration of the property values of surrounding properties or be otherwise materially detrimental to adjacent properties, interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of nearby properties, and causes a hazard detrimental to public health or safety;
(i) Abandoned or discarded containers. It shall be unlawful for any person to discard, abandon, leave or allow to remain in any place, any icebox, refrigerator or other container, device or equipment of any kind with an interior storage area of more than two cubic feet of clear space which is airtight, without first removing the door or hinges from such icebox, refrigerator, container, device or equipment. This division (C)(1)(i) shall not apply to any icebox, refrigerator, container, device or equipment which is being used for the purpose for which it was originally designed or is being used for display purposes by any retain or wholesale merchant or is crated, strapped or locked to such an extent that it is impossible for a child to obtain access to any airtight compartment thereof; and/or
(j) Pools of stagnant water causing or threatening to cause infestation by mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects which are or may be dangerous or prejudicial to the public health.
(2) The presence, accumulation, storage or placement of:
(a) Junk, including but not limited to deteriorated, unusable or inoperative furniture, appliances, machinery, equipment, building materials, worn out and disused automobiles and parts, tires or any other human-made items which are either in whole or in part, wrecked, junked, disused, worn out, dismantled or inoperative.
1. Storage of junk shall only be allowed on any properties used for non-residential purposes if in compliance with all other city codes or if not addressed by a city code, completely enclosed within a building or otherwise evenly placed or neatly stacked and concealed by a solid fence, cover or other means so as to not be visible at the property line from abutting properties or a public street.
2. Storage of junk as an accessory use shall only be allowed on any property used for residential purposes if completely stored in an enclosed building or limited to 100 square feet in area and completely concealed by a solid fence, cover or other means so as not to be visible at the property line from abutting properties or a public street, concentrated in one area within the rear yard and neatly arranged or stacked so as not to exceed six feet in height. Whether stored on a residential or nonresidential property, the storage of junk shall be maintained in such a manner so as to prevent overgrown grass or weeds or an infestation of wild animals, reptiles, snakes and rodents.
(b) Usable building materials, unless permitted as an authorized storage in the Code of Ordinances or if stored on any residential lot where construction has stopped or never commenced for a period of one year and there is not a current, valid outstanding building permit issued for construction on the residential lot, the storage is inside a completely enclosed building (if otherwise permitted on the lot) or placed in the rear of the lot and stored in accordance with the specifics stated above.
(c) Firewood, except when the storage is neither in excess of a total area of 100 square feet nor stacked to a height more than six feet above the ground, and stacked in a location so as to not be visible at the property line from abutting properties or a public street.
(Ord. 2010-13, passed 6-8-2010; Ord. 2012.03, passed 2-14-2012)