(A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to protect, preserve, and promote the public health, safety, and the general welfare of the people of the city; to prevent exterior building conditions that adversely affect or are likely to adversely affect the life, safety, general welfare, and health of persons occupying buildings within the city; to provide an adequate level of maintenance; to preserve the value of land and buildings throughout the city; and to provide for the administration and enforcement thereof
(B) Discrimination and privacy. This section shall be enforced in a non-discriminatory manner and exclusively for the purpose of promoting public, as opposed to private welfare. Except as may be specifically provided herein or incidental to the enforcement hereof, this section is not intended to interfere with personal privacy or with private legal rights and liabilities, including without limitation landlord/tenant and lessor/lessee relationships, and in enacting and enforcing this section, the city neither expressly nor by implication assumes any obligations or liabilities respecting such private rights or disputes, including those which involve or arise out of the nonconformity of any premises in the city to the provisions of this section.
(C) Applicability. Every building and its premises used in whole or in part as a residence, or as an accessory structure thereof, for a single family or person, and every building used in whole or in part as a residence of two or more persons or families living in separate units, except rest homes, convalescent homes, nursing homes, hotels, and motels, shall conform to the requirements of this section, irrespective of when such building may have been or may be constructed, altered, or repaired. This section establishes minimum exterior standards for buildings, accessory structures, and related premises.
(D) Responsibility of owners and occupants.
(1) Responsibility of owners. The owner of buildings shall be responsible for the maintenance of that structure and for meeting the provisions of the building maintenance regulations.
(2) Joint responsibility of occupants and owners.
(a) Generally. It is unlawful for any owner, agent, or occupant of any building to allow the accumulation of rubbish or garbage on the premises which he or she occupies or controls in a manner that could create a health hazard to the building occupants or the general public.
(b) Rodent harborage in occupied areas. It is unlawful for any owner, occupant, or agent to allow formation of rodent harborage in or about the premises that he or she occupies or controls.
(c) Pest extermination. Every occupant of a dwelling containing a single-dwelling unit shall be responsible for the extermination of rodents, insects, or vermin on a premises. Every occupant of a dwelling unit in a dwelling containing more that one-dwelling unit shall be responsible for such extermination whenever his or her dwelling unit is the only one infested. Notwithstanding; however, whenever infestation is caused by the failure of the owner to maintain a dwelling in a reasonable rodent-proof condition, extermination shall be the responsibility of the owner. Whenever infestation exists in two or more of the dwelling units, or in the shared or public parts of any dwelling containing two or more dwelling units, extermination thereof shall be the responsibility of the owner.
(d) Nuisances. It is unlawful for the owner, agent, or occupant of any dwelling unit to allow the formation or presence of any nuisance (as defined in §§ 130.08 or 130.09) in or about the premises he or she occupies or controls.
(E) Standards.
(1) Exterior standards.
(a) Foundations, exterior walls, and roofs.
1. The foundation, exterior walls, and exterior roof shall be water-tight, rodent-proof, and shall be kept in sound condition and repair. Every window, exterior door, and hatchway shall be substantially tight and shall be kept in sound condition and repair. The foundation shall adequately support the building at all points. Exterior walls shall be maintained and kept free from dilapidation by cracks, tears, or breaks or from deteriorated plaster, stucco, brick wood, or other material that is extensive and gives evidence of long neglect. The protective surface on exterior walls of a building above the ground level shall be maintained in good repair so as to provide a sufficient covering and protection of the structural surface underneath against its deterioration.
2. Without limiting the generality of this section, a protective surface of a building shall be deemed to be out of repair if:
a. The protective surface is paint which is blistered to an extent of more than 25% of the area of any plane or wall or other area including window trim, cornice members, porch railings, and other such areas;
b. More that 10% of the pointing of any chimney or 25% of the pointing of any brick or stone wall is loose or has fallen out; or
c. More than 25% of the finish coat of stucco wall is worn through or chipped away.
(b) Exterior surfaces. Any exterior surface or plane required to be repaired under the provisions of this section shall be repaired in its entirety. If a weather-resistant surface such as brick, plaster, or metal is covered with paint that is more than 25% blistered, it shall be repainted unless the defective paint covering is removed in its entirety.
(c) Accessory structure maintenance. Accessory structures supplied by the owner, agent, or tenant on the premises shall be structurally sound, and be maintained in good repair and appearance. Exterior walls of accessory structures shall be maintained in accordance with the standards set forth for principal structures.
(d) Retaining walls. Retaining walls shall be kept in good condition, repair, and appearance. A retaining wall shall be deemed out of repair when it has substantially shifted or slumped out of its position.
(e) Yard cover. All exposed areas surrounding (or within) a principal or accessory use, including street boulevards which are not devoted to parking, drives, sidewalks, patios, or other such uses, shall be landscaped with grass, shrubs, trees, or other ornamented landscape material. Such landscaping shall be maintained in good condition and free of noxious weeds. Grass and weeds may not exceed eight inches in height at any time.
(f) Gutters and downspouts. Existing gutters, leaders, and downspouts shall be maintained in good working condition as to provide proper drainage of stormwater. In no case shall stormwater be channeled into the sanitary sewer system. Neither shall stormwater, ice, or snow be directed onto, or channeled into the sanitary sewer. Neither shall stormwater, ice, or snow be directed onto, or channeled across walkways or streets where it is likely to be a hazard to life or health.
(2) Structural standards; stairways, porches, and balconies. Every stairway, outside of a building and every porch or balcony, shall be kept in safe condition and sound repair. Every flight of stairs and every porch and balcony floor shall be free of deterioration. No flight of exterior stairs shall have settled out of its intended position or have pulled away from the supporting or adjacent structures enough to cause a hazard. No flight of exterior stairs shall have rotting, loose, or deteriorating supports.
(F) 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 its review of the properties in question.
(G) Duties of city officers. The Police Department shall enforce provisions of this section and shall assist the Public Works Director in the enforcement of provisions relating to building maintenance affecting the public safety. Such officers shall have the power to inspect private ) premises and take all reasonable precaution to prevent the commission and maintenance of public nuisances.
(H) Abatement.
(1) Whenever the officer in charge of enforcement determines that a public nuisance due to violation of the building maintenance regulations exists on premises in the city, the officer shall notify in writing the owner or occupant of the premises of such fact and order that such nuisance be terminated and abated. The notice shall be served in person or by mail. If the premises are not occupied and the owner is unknown, the notice may be served by posting it on the premises.
(2) The notice shall specify the steps to be taken to abate the nuisance and a reasonable time limit, not exceeding 30 days, within which the nuisance is to be abated. If the notice is not complied with within the time specified, the enforcing officer shall report that fact therewith to the Council. Thereafter the Council may, after notice to the owner or occupant, provide an opportunity to be heard, or provide for abating the nuisance by the city.
(3) The notice shall be served in the same manner as notice by the enforcing officer is served and shall be given at least ten days before the date stated in the notice when the Council will consider the matter. If notice is given by posting, at least 30 days shall elapse between the day of posting and the hearing.
(I) Recovery of cost.
(1) The owner of premises on which a nuisance due to violation of the building maintenance regulations has been abated by the city shall be personally liable for the cost to the city of the abatement, including administrative costs. As soon as the work has been completed and the cost determined, the City Administrator shall prepare a bill for the cost and mail it to the owner. Thereupon the amount shall be immediately due and payable at the office of the City Administrator.
(2) In the event that the charges remain unpaid, the City Administrator shall, on or before September 1 next following abatement of the nuisance, list the total unpaid charges along with all other such charges as well as other charges for current services to be assessed under M.S. § 429.101, as it may be amended from time to time, against each separate lot or parcel to which the charges are attributable.
(3) The Council may then spread the charges against such property under that statute and other pertinent statutes for certification to the County Auditor and collection along with current taxes the following year or in annual installments, not exceeding ten, as the Council may determine in each case.
(2006 Code, § 4.51) (Ord. 132, Second Series, passed 7-24-1998)
Cross-reference:
Owner or occupant permitting a public nuisance, see § 130.09
Public nuisance, § 130.08