(A) No person entitled to the possession of land shall permit the presence of litter as defined in R.C. § 731.51 and division (B) of this section outside of buildings on said land after 15 days notice to desist from the Director of Public Service or his or her designee unless said land is being used as a lawful junk yard, scrap metal processing facility or industrial use.
(B) As used in this section,
LITTER includes any garbage, waste, peelings of vegetables or fruits, rubbish, ashes, cans, bottles, wire, paper, cartons,
boxes, parts of automobiles, wagons, furniture, glass, oil of an unsightly or unsanitary nature, or anything else of an unsightly or unsanitary nature.
(C) Upon a finding by the Director of Public Service that litter has been placed on lands in the municipality, and has not been removed, the Director of Public Service shall cause a written notice to be served upon the owner and, if different, upon the lessee, agent, or tenant having charge of the littered land, notifying him or her that litter is on the land, and that it must be collected and removed within 15 days after the service of the notice. In the event that the certificate of mail notice is returned undelivered, then notice may be given by publication once in a newspaper of general circulation or posted on the subject property.
(D) In the instance of unoccupied property or vacant land, the Director of Public Service, in lieu of a mailed notice, may post the property by affixing a notice to the building or a notice may be affixed to a stake, tree or fence. This notice shall contain the date of posting and the location of the property and notification that the litter shall be collected and removed within 15 days of the date of posting. If the owner or other person in charge of such lands, or the owner or other persons in charge of such lands that have received notice as prescribed in division (C) of this section fails to comply within 15 days from the date of the notice, the Director of Public Service shall cause the litter to be removed and may employ or contract for the necessary labor to perform such work or cause it to be done by an appropriate city employee.
(E) All expense incurred for removing such litter, together with an administrative charge of $250, shall be billed to the owner of the land, if his or her address is known. If, after 30 days, such amount remains unpaid, the Director of Public Service shall certify the total amount of the expenses and administrative charge, the name of the owner of the land and a sufficient description of the premises to the Clerk of City Council to be certified to the County Auditor, to be entered on the tax duplicate, to be a lien on the land from the date of entry and to be collected as other taxes and assessments and returned to the city pursuant to R.C. § 715.261 or 731.54.
(F) Whoever violates division (A) of this section shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor, and each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(G) The provisions of this section shall be in addition to the penalty provided for in division (F) of this section, and also in addition to any other remedies that may be available for the collection of costs incurred pursuant to this section.
(Am. Ord. 08-036, passed 6-18-08)