(a) 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.
(b) No owner of land, or any lessee, agent or tenant having charge of land, shall place upon such land, or permit to be collected or remain upon such land, litter in any manner so as to be offensive, injurious, dangerous or detrimental to the public health, safety, welfare or comfort.
(c) The City Board of Health shall continually monitor the placing and accumulation of litter upon lands throughout the City. Upon a finding by the Board of Health, or its designee(s), that litter has been placed upon lands, or permitted to collect or remain upon lands, in any manner so as to be offensive, injurious, dangerous or detrimental to the public health, safety, welfare or comfort, the Board of Health, or its designee(s), shall serve a written notice upon the owner of the littered land and, if different, upon the lessee, agent or tenant having charge of the littered land, notifying him (them) that litter is on the land and that the litter must be removed within fifteen days after the service of the notice.
If the address of the owner or other person having charge of the littered land is known or reasonably ascertainable, the notice provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be sent to his address by certified mail. If the address of the owner or other person having charge of the littered land is unknown and cannot be reasonably ascertained, it shall be sufficient to publish the notice provided for in the preceding paragraph once in a newspaper of general circulation in Trumbull County.
If the owner, lessee, agent or tenant having charge of the littered land fails to comply with the aforementioned notice, the Board of Health shall immediately notify the Operations Department of the location of such land and the Operations Department shall forthwith remove such litter.
The Operations Department shall keep an accurate record of the cost of such litter removal. A statement for such cost shall be immediately forwarded to the owner, lessee, agent or tenant having charge of the land in question, which shall be immediately due and payable. The fee shall be thirty dollars ($30.00) for each quarter hour. A second statement, indicating payment due, may be forwarded not later than October 1 each year for the total cost of all litter removal done within the billing period. All payments received shall be credited to the General Fund, but no payments shall be accepted after the certification to the County Auditor as hereinafter provided.
Not later than October 15, of each year the Board of Health shall make a written return to the Auditor of Trumbull County of its actions under this section and Ohio R.C. 731.51 to 731.53, with a statement of the charges for its services, the amount paid for the performing of such labor as certified by the Operations Department, the fees for officers who made the service and notice of return and a proper description of the premises. Such return to the County Auditor shall be for the purpose of having such amounts entered upon the tax duplicate as a lien upon such lands in accord with the provisions of Ohio R.C. 731.54.
(Ord. 9682/86. Passed 6-25-86.)
(d) It is hereby determined that the placing and accumulation of litter upon lands within the City not only pose a harmful or injurious threat to the health or physical well being of the residents but also pose a significant safety hazard. As a result, whoever violates this section, in addition to the assessment of costs for failure to comply with proper notice, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or imprisoned not more than six months, or both, but no person shall be imprisoned for his or her first offense of this section and the prosecution shall always be as and for the first offense unless the affidavit upon which the prosecution is instituted contains an allegation that the offense is a second or repeated offense.
(Ord. 10724/94. Passed 10-26-94.)