(A) Public nuisance defined. Whoever by his or her act or failure to perform a legal duty intentionally permits or does any of the following is guilty of maintaining a public nuisance, which is a misdemeanor:
(1) Maintains or permits a condition which unreasonably annoys, injures, or endangers the safety, health, morals, comfort, or repose of the public or a considerable number of members of the public;
(2) Interferes with, obstructs, or renders dangerous for passage, any public highway or right-of-way, or water used by the public; or
(3) Is guilty of any other act or omission declared by law or this section to be a public nuisance and for which no sentence is specifically provided.
(B) Public nuisances affecting health. The following are hereby declared to be nuisances affecting health:
(1) Exposed accumulation of decayed or unwholesome food or vegetable matter;
(2) All diseased animals running at large;
(3) All ponds or pools of stagnant water;
(4) Carcasses of fish or animals not disposed of within 24 hours after death;
(5) Accumulations of manure, refuse, or other debris;
(6) Privy vaults and garbage cans or dumpers which are not rodent-free or fly-tight or which are so maintained as to constitute a health hazard or to emit foul and disagreeable odors;
(7) The pollution of any public well or cistern, steam or lake, canal, or body of water by sewage, industrial waste, or other substances;
(8) Any noxious/poisonous vegetation; poison ivy, poison oak, ragweed, or other noxious/poisonous plants; or any weeds, brush, or plants or any accumulations of grass, leaves, or tree branches which are a fire hazard or otherwise detrimental to the health or appearance of a neighborhood, located on public or private property; provided; however, grass or leaves if they are neat, orderly, and kept contained for the purpose of creating organic matter;
(9) Dense smoke, noxious fumes, gas and soot, or cinders, in unreasonable quantities.
(10) All public exposure of persons having a contagious disease;
(11) Any offensive trade or business as defined by statute not operating under provisions of this code of ordinances; or
(12) All other conditions or things which are likely to cause injury to or endanger the health of the public.
(C) Public nuisances affecting peace and safety. The following are declared to be nuisances affecting public peace and safety:
(1) All trees, hedges, or other obstructions which prevent people from having a clear view of all traffic approaching an intersection; in any residential zone on any corner lot, no fence or accessory structure or planting shall rise over two and one-half feet in height above the level of the public sidewalk within 20 feet of any corner, so as to interfere with traffic visibility across the corner;
(2) All wires and limbs of trees which are so close to the surface of a sidewalk or street as to constitute a danger to pedestrians or vehicles;
(3) All buildings, walls, and other structures which have been damaged by fire, decay, or otherwise to an extent exceeding one-half their market value, and which are so situated as to endanger the safety of the public;
(4) All unnecessary noises and annoying vibrations;
(5) Obstructions and excavations affecting the ordinary public use of streets, alleys, sidewalks, or public grounds except under such conditions as are permitted by this section or other applicable law;
(6) Any “snowbird”, a vehicle parked within 50 feet of an unplowed snow windrow that has not been plowed to the curb;
(7) All dangerous, unguarded machinery, all junked, abandoned, or unlicensed automobiles in any public place, or so situated or operated on private property as to attract and endanger the public;
(8) The burning of rubbish or other material in home trash burner, fireplace, or other type furnace in garage or basement and on any private, public property, parks, public street, alley, or sidewalk within the city limits;
(9) The casting of paper from billboards on the ground and allowing the same to blow across any public street, alley, or sidewalk;
(10) Any dirt, paper, or filth, the sweepings of any house, store, shop, or office; or any ashes, nails, glass, metal, or plastic containers, garbage, leaves, grass, or tree branches, filthy water, offal, straw, wood, stone, earth, manure; or rubbish of any kind thrown, deposited or permitted to be thrown, deposited, or allowed to remain on any street, sidewalk, alley, or public ground;
(11) The accumulations of any discarded or disused machinery, junked vehicles, automobile bodies or parts, household furnishings or appliances, cut and uncut scrap lumber, pipes, brick, concrete block or other material, junk or debris, on public or private property in a manner conducive to the harboring of rats, mice, snakes, or vermin, or the rank growth of vegetation among the items so accumulated, or in a manner which may be creating a fire, health, or safety hazard from such accumulation, or otherwise detrimental to the appearance of a neighborhood.
(a) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
JUNKED VEHICLE. One which is inoperative because it lacks vital component parts essential to the mechanical functioning of the vehicle, including, but not limited to, the motor, drive train, wheels and battery. A JUNKED VEHICLE shall also include any vehicle which, although not lacking any vital component parts, cannot be operated on public roadways due to such things as defective parts of any type and shall also include a vehicle which is not currently licensed for use on public ways in the state.
(b) The storing on private property of an inoperative vehicle, for the purpose of repairing or restoring such vehicle, may be authorized by the Chief of Police for periods of up to 90 days. The owner of said vehicle must procure a permit from the Chief of Police and the permit must be conspicuously displayed on or about the vehicle. No more than four consecutive 90-day permits may be granted by the Chief of Police for any vehicle.
(12) Radio aerials or television antennae erected or maintained in a dangerous manner;
(13) Any use of property abutting on a public street or sidewalk or any use of a public street or sidewalk which causes large crowds of people to gather, obstructing traffic and the free use of the street or sidewalk without permission from the city;
(14) All hanging signs, awnings, and other similar structures over streets and sidewalks, or so situated so as to endanger public safety, or not constructed and maintained as provided by provisions of this code of ordinances;
(15) Any well, hole, or similar excavation which is left uncovered or in such other condition as to constitute a hazard to any child or other person coming on the premises where it is located;
(16) Obstruction to the free flow of water in a natural waterway or a public street drain, gutter, or ditch with trash, grass, leaf, or other materials;
(17) The placing or throwing on any street, sidewalk, or other public property of any glass, tacks, nails, bottles, or other substance which may injure any person or animal or damage any pneumatic tire when passing over such substance;
(18) The depositing of garbage or refuse on a right-of-way or on adjacent private property; other than within 24 hours for a scheduled garbage pickup;
(19) All interference and disturbance of telephone, radios, or television sets caused by electrical appliances and equipment or improper operation of improper electrical connections;
(20) All other conditions or things which are likely to cause injury to the person or property of anyone;
(21) Any “jake-braking” in city limits;
(22) Any device, display, goods, or merchandise, sign, or offer for sale; that is placed or maintained upon, any electric pole, light pole, street sign, traffic sign, boulevard tree, or upon, over, across any traveled or untraveled portion of any street or other public property without written Council approval.
(D) Enforcement and inspection. The Public Works Director shall provide an annual inspection of properties within the city yearly between the months of April and May to complete a list of public nuisances; this list will then be given to the Police Department for their reviewal of the properties in question.
(E) Duties of city officers. The Police Department shall enforce provisions of this section relating to nuisances affecting public safety and shall assist the Public Works Director in the enforcement of additional provisions relating to nuisances. Such officers shall have the power to inspect private premises and take all reasonable precaution to prevent the commission and maintenance of public nuisances.
(2006 Code, § 10.40) Penalty, see § 130.99