§ 131.45 CLEARING OF LITTER DEEMED DANGEROUS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE.
   (A)   Authority of the Director of Health. The Director of Health or his authorized agent is authorized to examine all nuisances and sources of filth injurious to the public health, cause the nuisances to be abated and cause to be removed all filth which, in his judgment, may endanger the health of the inhabitants in accordance with the provisions of the state general statutes.
   (B)   Responsibility of the owner or occupant. Any owner or occupant of any property who maintains the property, whether real or personal, or any part thereof, in a manner which violates the provisions of the Public Health Code enacted pursuant to the authority of Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 19a-36 and 19a-37, as amended from time to time, shall be deemed to be maintaining a nuisance or source of filth injurious to the public health.
   (C)   Right of entry. The Director of Health or his authorized agent or a sanitarian authorized by the Director may enter all places within his jurisdiction where there is just cause to suspect any nuisance or source of filth exists, and abate or cause to be abated the nuisance and remove or cause to be removed the filth.
   (D)   Order of the Director of Health. When a nuisance or source of filth is found on private property, the Director of Health shall order the owner or occupant of the property, or both, to remove or abate the same within such time as the Director directs.
   (E)   Failure to comply with order; institution of civil action. In the event the order is not complied with, within the time fixed by the Director:
      (1)   The Director through the Office of the Corporation Counsel may institute and maintain a civil action for injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to require the abatement of the nuisance, the removal of the filth and the restraining and prohibiting of acts which caused the nuisance or filth and the court shall have power to grant the injunctive relief upon notice and hearing;
      (2)   The owner or occupant of the property, or both, shall be subject to a civil penalty as set forth in the schedule of fees, charges, penalties and rewards attached to the annual budget of the city, pursuant to § 41.11 of this code per day or the amount authorized by the state general statutes, for each day such nuisance is maintained or the filth allowed to remain after the time fixed by the Director in his order has expired; except that, the owner or occupant of the property or any part thereof on which a public eating place is conducted shall not be subject to the provisions of this division, but shall be subject to the provisions of division (E)(3) below. The civil penalty may be collected in a civil proceeding by the Director of Health through the Office of the Corporation Counsel and shall be payable to the City of Waterbury; and
      (3)   The owner or occupant of the property, or both, shall be subject to the provisions of Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 19a-36, 19a-220 and 19a-230.
   (F)   Immediate hazard to health; ex parte injunction. If the Director institutes an action for injunctive relief seeking the abatement of a nuisance or the removal of filth, the maintenance of which is of so serious a nature as to constitute an immediate hazard to the health of persons other than the persons maintaining the nuisance or filth he may, upon a verified complaint stating the facts which show the immediate hazard, apply for an ex parte injunction requiring the abatement of the nuisance or the removal of the filth and restraining and prohibiting the acts which caused the nuisance or filth to occur, and for a hearing on an order to show cause why the ex parte injunction should not be continued pending final determination on the merits of the action. If the court finds that an immediate hazard to the health of persons other than those persons maintaining the nuisance or source of filth exists, the ex parte injunction shall be issued, provided a hearing on its continuance pending final judgment is ordered held within seven days thereafter and provided further that any persons so enjoined may make a written request to the court or judge issuing the injunction for a hearing to vacate the injunction, in which event the hearing shall be held within three days after the request is filed.
   (G)   Power to preserve public health and spread of diseases. In furtherance of the purposes of the provisions of this chapter pertaining to nuisances, the Director of Health shall have and exercise all the power for preserving the public health and preventing the spread of diseases.
   (H)   Expense of the owner or occupant. When the nuisance is abated or source of filth is removed from private property, the abatement or removal shall be at the, expense of the owner or occupant of the property, or both, and damages for the abatement or removal may be recovered against them by the city in, a civil action as provided herein or in a separate civil action brought by the Director of Health through the Corporation Counsel.
(Ord. passed 9-20-2004; Ord. passed 8-19-2013)