(A) It shall be unlawful for the owner, occupant, or person having control or management of any land within the city to permit a public nuisance to develop thereon.
(B) The following conditions are declared to be public nuisances:
(1) Dangerous trees or stacks adjoining street. Any tree, stack, or other object standing in such a condition that it will, if the condition is allowed to continue, endanger the life, limb, or property of, or cause hurt, damage, or injury to persons or property upon the public streets or public ways adjacent thereto, by the falling thereof or of parts thereof;
(2) Accumulation of rubbish. An accumulation on any premises of filth, refuse, trash, garbage, or other waste material which endangers the public health, welfare, or safety, or materially interferes with the peaceful enjoyment by owners or occupants of adjacent property because of the danger that it will catch or communicate fire, attract and propagate vermin, rodents, or insects, or blow rubbish into any street, sidewalk, or property of another;
(3) Storage of explosives. The storage of explosive material which creates a safety hazard to other property or persons in the vicinity;
(4) Weeds and grass. The excessive growth of weeds, grass, or other vegetation. Unless otherwise provided, EXCESSIVE shall mean growth to a height of 12 inches or more;
(5) Open wells. The maintenance of any open, uncovered, or insecurely covered cistern, cellar, well, pit, excavation, or vault situated upon private premises in any open or unfenced lot or place;
(6) Trees and shrubbery obstructing streets, sidewalks, and drainage. The growing and maintenance of trees or shrubbery which in any way interfere with the use, construction, or maintenance of streets or sidewalks, cause injury to streets or sidewalks, or constitute an obstruction to drainage;
(7) Keeping of animals. The failure to keep an animal’s pen, yard, lot, or other enclosure in a sanitary condition and free from preventable offensive odors;
(8) Junk; scrap metal; motor vehicles. The storage of motor vehicles in an inoperative condition, motor vehicles unfit for further use, automobile parts, or scrap metal within the city limits except on premises authorized by the city for those purposes;
(9) Criminal activity.
(a) No owner of residential, commercial, or vacant property located in the city shall allow his or her property to be used as the site for any criminal activity. For purposes of this section, criminal activity shall be defined as a criminal citation, arrest, or court-issued search warrant for crime involving:
1. Prostitution;
2. Controlled substances or drug related activity;
3. Alcohol intoxication;
4. Menacing;
5. Assault;
6. Terroristic threatening;
7. Resisting arrest;
8. Disorderly conduct;
9. Outdoor gambling; or
10. Violation of KRS Chapter 527 (Offenses relating to firearms and weapons).
(b) Any other provision of this section notwithstanding, it shall not be a public nuisance if the person cited is the victim of the criminal activity that occurred or is an incident of domestic violence perpetrated against a resident, licensee, or invitee of the premises.
(10) Graffiti. No person shall spray, draw, etch, carve, or otherwise create graffiti on any building or structure in the city and any person doing the same shall be subject to a civil fine for the cost of removal;
(11) Environmental nuisance. No person shall use, cause, permit, or omit in the use of property in a manner which causes an annoyance, hazard, or injury which may be detrimental to the property or well-being of others. These actions shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Injures or endangers the welfare, health, or safety of others;
(b) Offends decency;
(c) Creates offensive odors;
(d) Interferes with, obstructs or tends to obstruct, or renders dangerous for passage any public or private street, highway, sidewalk, stream, ditch, or drainage;
(e) Interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property or tends to depreciate the value of the property of others;
(f) Permits the presence, existence, or accumulation of waste, rubbish, trash, or other non-operable appliance or vehicles or vehicles in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled;
(g) Permitting any yard grass, other plant, or weed growth exceeding 12 inches in height, other than crops, trees, bushes, flowers, or other ornamental plants; and
(h) Disposing or accumulating of any foul, decaying, or putrescent substance, stagnant water, animal waste, or other offensive material in or on any lot, tract of land, street, highway, or any sidewalk or alley abutting any of these which shall be the reasons for such offensive odors.
(12) Litter, garbage, and trash. No person shall drop, deposit, permit, or acquiesce to such activity in any manner on any public or private property any trash, litter, garbage, rubbish, debris, refuse, or waste of any kind, or other obnoxious materials whether solid or liquid; and
(13) Dilapidated housing. No person shall cause, allow, or permit any structure to be unfit for human habitation, occupancy, or use. Conditions that warrant a finding of unfit for human habitation include conditions that exist which are dangerous or injurious to the health, safety, or morals of the occupants of such structure, neighboring structures, or other residents of the city. Examples of such conditions include, but are not limited to: defects increasing the hazard of fire, accidents, or other calamities; lack of adequate ventilation, light, or sanitary facilities; violations of any other laws of the state, the State Building Code, or other ordinance of the city.
(Ord. 17-1201, passed 1-4-2018) Penalty, see § 92.99