(a) Exterior Property Areas. No owner or operator of any premises shall maintain or permit to be maintained at or on the exterior property areas of such premises any condition which deteriorates or debases the appearance of the neighborhood, reduces property values in the neighborhood, adversely alters the appearance and general character of the neighborhood, creates a fire, safety or health hazard, or is a public nuisance, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Broken or dilapidated fences, walls or other structures;
(2) Improperly installed or maintained public sidewalks, walks, driveways, driveway aprons and parking lots which are in a defective condition in any of the following particulars:
A. Any block having multiple cracks or any single crack larger than three-fourths inch wide.
B. Adjoining sections of block, or any portion thereof, whose edges differ vertically by three-fourths inch or more.
C. Blocks having a transverse slope in excess of three-fourths inch per horizontal foot toward the street.
D. Blocks having a reverse slope toward property that impound water to a depth of one- half inch or more.
E. Blocks having depressions that impound water to a depth of one-half inch or more.
F. Blocks having multiple cracks or any single crack larger than one-half inch in width extending for a linear distance of one foot.
G. Blocks having disintegrated or deteriorated areas.
H. Public sidewalks constructed of materials other than concrete or stone slab.
(3) Any out-of-use or nonusable appliances, dilapidated automobiles or automobile parts;
(4) Rugs, rags or other materials hung on lines or in other places on such premises, which materials are not being used for general business housekeeping purposes; broken, dilapidated or unusable furniture or other unusable items; temporary displays, plastic materials, paints, miscellaneous coverings and/or any other materials, including those described in this section, placed at or on the premises in such a manner as to be patently unsightly, grotesque or offensive to the senses;
(5) Front, rear and side yard areas which have predominantly dead grass, trees, shrubbery, plantings or lack of landscape maintenance that significantly debases the property with respect to the overall appearance of other properties in the immediate area and the lack of any form of suitable ground cover.
(6) Front, rear and side yard areas that are not kept free and clear from noxious weeds and rank vegetation, and the growth of grass higher than six inches.
(7) The planting of hedges and shrubbery along any public sidewalk shall be so done that the future growth thereof will not encroach upon, overhang or obstruct such public sidewalk.
(8) On every corner business lot within a triangle formed by street lines on such lot and a line drawn between two points, each point being thirty-five feet from the point of intersection of such street lines, no fence, hedge, shrubbery, tree or wall shall be higher than three feet nor shall any other obstruction to vision be between the heights of three feet and ten feet above the ground or the established grade of either street.
(9) No hedge or shrubbery shall be permitted to grow along any driveway between the public sidewalk or the property line to a height greater than three feet above the ground or the established grade level and for a distance of twenty feet from said front sidewalk.
(10) No hedge or shrubbery shall be permitted to grow along the front property line of any lot abutting a public sidewalk of a business or residential lot to a height greater than three feet.
(b) Intent. It is the intention of this section that the maximum amount of landscaping shall be maintained around each business area.
(c) Interior Property Areas. Interior property areas of all premises shall be kept free of any debris, object, material or condition which creates a health, accident or fire hazard.
(d) Abatement by Owner or Occupant; Notice. A violation of division (a)(1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) or (10) of this section is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and the owner, occupant, person having charge or management of, or any person having an equitable or legal interest in such lot or parcel of land, upon written notice, served by the Commissioner of Building as provided in division (f) of this section, upon the owner, occupant, person having charge or management of, or any person having an equitable or legal interest in such lot or parcel of land, shall abate such nuisance, by correcting said violation within a reasonable time as fixed in such notice. For purposes of this section, "reasonable time" is defined as 72 hours.
(e) Abatement by Director of Service. Whenever the Director of Service is informed by the Building Commissioner that a violation as described in division (a) of this section exists, and that the nuisance has not been abated within the time prescribed in the notice as provided in division (d) of this section, the Director of Service is authorized to abate the nuisance and submit a bill for the actual costs to the owner, occupant, person having charge and management of, or any person having an equitable or legal interest in the lot or parcel of land involved. If such costs are not paid as billed, the Director of Service shall report the costs to Council, which shall cause the costs to be collected from the property owner in the manner provided in Ohio R.C. 715.261.
(f) Service of Notice. The notice described in division (d) of this section may be served by delivering it personally upon or by mail to the owner, occupant, person having charge and management of, or any person having an equitable or legal interest in the lot or parcel of land involved, at the person's usual place of business or residence, by posting it in a conspicuous place on the lot or parcel of land involved, or by publishing it once in a newspaper of general circulation within the City if it cannot be served by any of the other ways mentioned herein.
(Ord. 100-99. Passed 12-13-99; Ord. 41-03. Passed 5-27-03; Ord. 44-03. Passed 6-9-03.)