(a) Nuisance Control Required. No person, whether the owner, lessee, agent, tenant or other person or entity having charge or care of land in the City, shall erect, contrive, cause, continue, maintain or permit to exist any public nuisance outside of any building within the City. These requirements are not intended to restrict any use permitted by this Zoning Ordinance provided all regulations pertaining to that use are followed.
(b) Public Nuisance Defined. As used in this Ordinance, a public nuisance shall mean any act, thing, occupation or use of property which shall be of such a nature and shall continue for such length of time as to do any of the following:
(1) Substantially annoy, injure or endanger the public health and safety of the public.
(2) Cause conditions which adversely affect the legitimate use and enjoyment of surrounding areas.
(3) Unlawfully and/or substantially interfere with, obstruct or tend to obstruct or render dangerous for passage any street, alley, highway, navigable body of water or other public way.
(c) Illustrative Enumeration. Public nuisances shall include but not be limited to the following acts, conduct, omissions, conditions or things:
(1) Any accumulation of garbage, refuse, rubbish, trash, junk or accumulation of metals, plumbing fixtures, appliances, auto parts, lumber, furniture, clothing, household items or other materials, such as to create an unsightly appearance or in a manner in which flies, mosquitos, disease-carrying insects, rodents, or other vermin may breed or may reasonably be expected to breed.
(2) Abandoned unlicensed or inoperable motor vehicles and equipment including inoperable, disabled, obsolete, cannibalized and/or incomplete contractor equipment, construction equipment or farming equipment.
(3) Any concentration of building materials including concrete, wood, steel or masonry which are not suitable for building construction, alterations or repairs, and which are in open places.
(4) Any improper or inadequate drainage on property which causes flooding, interferes with the use of, or endangers in any way the streets, sidewalks, parks or other City-owned property of any kind; or any unauthorized condition which blocks, hinders or obstructs, in any way, the natural flow of branches, streams, creeks, surface waters, ditches or drains; or any collection of water not dedicated as a wetland for which no adequate natural drainage is provided and which is or is likely to become a nuisance and a menace to health; or any storm water retention or impoundment device which is operating improperly.
(5) Any use of property, substances or things within the City, emitting or causing any foul, offensive, noisome, nauseous, noxious or disagreeable odors, effluvia or stenches extremely repulsive to the physical sense of ordinary persons which annoy, discomfort, injure or inconvenience the health of any appreciable number of persons within the City.
(6) All exterior lighting that is not shaded or inwardly directed so that no direct lighting is cast upon adjacent property. All outdoor recreational/ sports facility lighting will be reviewed for compliance with regard to the intent to minimize the impact of light trespass and glare on all surrounding properties and public rights of way.
(7) Such other actions, conduct, omissions, conditions or things defined or specified in the Codified Ordinances as nuisances or as public nuisances.
(8) Any well, hole or similar excavation which is left uncovered or in such a condition as to constitute a hazard to any child or any person coming on the premises where it is located.
(9) Any accumulation of materials, structure or condition which is capable of being a fire hazard or contributes to the spread of fire in the sole discretion of the Fire Chief.
(10) Any other condition specifically declared by ordinance to be a danger to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of inhabitants of the City and public nuisance by Council.
(d) Filing Complaints, Inspections.
(1) All complaints alleging the existence of a public nuisance shall be filed with the Zoning Officer or his/her designee.
(2) The Zoning Officer or his/her designee shall promptly inspect the premises or cause them to be inspected and shall make a written report of the findings of the inspection. Whenever practical, photographs of the premises shall be attached to the written report. The Zoning Officer shall keep all such written reports on file for at least three years.
(e) Notice to Abate. Upon determining that a public nuisance exists on a property and that there is a great and immediate danger to the public health and safety, the Zoning Officer or his/her designee shall cause written notice to be served upon the owners, in accordance with this subsection (e). The notice shall state that unless such nuisance is so abated or removed, the cost thereof will be charged to the owner, occupant or person causing, permitting or maintaining the nuisance and such cost shall be a lien on the real property where the nuisance was abated or removed. Such notice shall also state that the failure of such owner, occupant or person to abate the nuisance as required by such notice shall be deemed an implied consent for the City to abate or remove such nuisance. Such implied consent shall be deemed to form a contract between such owner, occupant or person and the City. If the public nuisance does not constitute a great and immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare, the Zoning Officer or his designee may serve the owner or occupant of such premises or the person in whose name such real estate was last billed for property tax purposes a notice to demand the abatement or removal of the violation within ten days. Service may be had by certified mail or personal service; or by posting the notice on the property and mailing the notice by first class mail. The notice to abate shall contain a statement as to the right to request an opinion.
(f) Request for Opinion. The person upon whom a notice to abate a nuisance is served, the property owner, lessee, agent, tenant or person having charge or care of the subject land may request an opinion from the Board of Zoning Appeals as to the determination of nuisance as provided in Section 1107.02(e). The written appeal must be made within the time period in which to abate the nuisance given in the notice. The Board of Zoning Appeals may extend the time in which the nuisance must be abated, determine that a nuisance does not or no longer exists, or that the nuisance must be abated within the time period set out in the notice or immediately if the period set out in the notice has run. Provided, however, that if the nuisance was determined to be an emergency and that the opportunity for an appeal was not available due to the short period of time to abate the nuisance, an appeal may be heard after the abatement of the nuisance by the City. In that event, the Board of Zoning Appeals may determine that the appellant is not liable for the costs, or that, upon good cause shown, the appellant is not liable for the costs that a lien shall not be filed by the City upon the property.
(g) Procedure When Owner Fails to Comply. The Zoning Officer may determine that the public nuisance for which a notice has been issued under subsection (e) hereof constitutes a public nuisance pursuant to subsection (b) hereof and that the person having charge or care of the land has failed to comply with the notice within the time specified in the notice. The Zoning Officer or his designee may cause the abatement of such public nuisance by use of City force and equipment or by the hiring of private contractors. The reasonable cost thereof shall be a lien on the real property where the nuisance was abated or removed less any monies accruing to the City from disposal of abated nuisances.
(h) Statement of Cost. Upon completion of abatement of the nuisance, the Zoning Officer shall determine the cost of abatement and shall cause a statement thereof to be mailed to the owner of the land. Such statement of costs shall include:
(1) City equipment charge;
(2) City equipment operator charge;
(3) Equipment transportation charge;
(4) Administration and supervision charge;
(5) Removal charge;
(6) Contractual charges.
(i) Payment of Cost. The owner shall pay such costs as are charged in accordance with this section to the Finance Director within thirty days after the statement of charges has been mailed to the owner at the address of record in the office of the County Treasurer. Such payments shall be credited to the appropriation from which such cost was paid by the City. If the charge is not paid within thirty days after mailing, the Director of Finance shall certify the charges for services as provided in subsection (g) hereof to the County Auditor, together with a proper description of the premises. Such amounts shall be entered upon the tax duplication, shall be a lien upon such lands from the date of the entry, and shall be collected as other taxes and returned to the City with the General Fund pursuant to Ohio R.C. 731.54.
(Ord. 99-05. Passed 3-2-99; Ord. 08-07. Passed 6-17-08.)