(A) General. No person owning and/or having legal control of any property within the corporate limits of the town shall maintain or permit upon any such land any shrubbery, tree, other landscaping growth, natural growth, fence, sign, billboard, mailbox, earthen berm, object, parked vehicle, or any other obstruction or combination thereof which obstructs the view of motorists using any street or approach to any street intersection in a manner that constitutes a traffic hazard, interferes with the visibility of traffic control or warning signs, interferes with a view of intersecting traffic, or creates a condition dangerous to public safety. Conditions in violation of this prohibition shall constitute a public nuisance.
(B) Obstruction of traffic signs. The view of traffic control and warning signs along public streets and roadways shall be unobstructed for a distance in feet equal to at least six times the speed limit on the street or roadway.
(C) Obstruction of sight distances. The restrictions of this section regarding obstructions that interfere with views of intersecting traffic shall apply to a triangular area at each intersection defined as follows: one side is bounded by the curb line (or the edge-of-pavement line where there is no curb) on the minor (stop) street approaching an intersection for a distance of 20 feet to a point intersecting the curb line of the intersecting major (non-stop) street, a second side is bounded the distance (from the point of intersection) along the major (non-stop, or through) street set forth in the table below, and the third side is a straight line hypotenuse connecting the other two sides of the triangle. Within this triangular area, it shall be unlawful to install, set out maintain, allow, grow, or maintain any plant, feature, or object of any kind that obstructs visibility at a level between two and a half feet and eight feet above the average grade of the adjacent street.
Second Side of Sight Distance Triangle Length: | |
Major Street Speed Limit of 20 mph | 100 feet |
Major Street Speed Limit of 25 mph | 150 feet |
Major Street Speed Limit of 30 mph | 200 feet |
Major Street Speed Limit of 35 mph | 250 feet |
Major Street Speed Limit of 35 mph | 300 feet |
Major Street Speed Limit of 40 mph | 350 feet |
Major Street Speed Limit of 45 mph | 400 feet |
Major Street Speed Limit of 50 mph | 450 feet |
Major Street Speed Limit of 55 mph | 500 feet |
(D) Exceptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to legally-site permanent structures or roadway features (such as legally-sited buildings, bridge railings, and roadway retaining walls), to natural topography that rises, and to fire hydrants, public utility poles, street markers, government signs, and traffic control signs or devices.
(E) Remedies. Upon identification of a sight distance obstruction by the police chief or the public works director, a notice shall be left at the property on which the obstruction exists, identifying the obstruction that needs to be trimmed or removed and advising the property owner or occupant that the obstruction needs to be remedied within ten days. If the sight obstruction has not been removed within ten days, the property owner shall be issued a written order of abatement by registered or certified mail or by witnessed hand delivery of the notice. If the sight obstruction remains unabated ten days after issuance of the order of abatement, the Public Works Director or his or her designee(s) is authorized to enter upon the premises and cause the removal and abatement of the obstruction with municipal personnel or by the work of a contractor. In addition to any other remedies provided in this section, the town shall be entitled to seek an injunction, order of abatement, or other equitable remedy to secure enforcement.
(F) Emergencies. The normal notice procedures set forth in this section shall not apply in instances when the Police Chief or the Public Works Director finds that a condition exists that may constitute an immediate danger to the life or safety of any person or to the safety of property. Upon such a finding, the Public Works Director may deliver a written notice to abate at the property and may, if the obstruction or nuisance is not remedied within 48 hours, proceed to remedy the condition and charge the costs to the property owner as set forth herein.
(G) Appeals. Any person who receives a written notice or order under this section may request, in writing within seven days of receiving such notice, a hearing before the Town Manager, which hearing shall be held in a reasonably expeditious manner. If, following the hearing, the Town Manager finds that a prohibited obstruction exists within the meaning of this section, the appellant shall remedy the condition as ordered within ten days or shall be subject to the other remedies, costs, and penalties, described in this section.
(H) Costs and penalties. Any person who maintains or permits a prohibited public nuisance in the form described in this section or who fails, refuses, or neglects to remove or abate such a public nuisance within the period described in written notices or order shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to prosecution and penalties under the provisions of law for misdemeanor violations. If the town is obliged to remedy the condition after failure, refusal, or neglect of the property owner to do so, the property owner shall be billed for the labor, materials, and equipment cost incurred by the town to effect a remedy, plus a $50 fee to cover the administrative costs and expenses of notifications. Such billing shall be given to the tax collector for collection and shall become a lien on the property.
(Ord. 2010-023, passed 7-20-10)