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The city shall have the right to cause the removal of any dead or diseased tree on private property within the city when such tree constitutes a hazard to life and property, or harbors insects or disease which constitute a potential threat to other trees within the city. The City Tree Commission will notify in writing the owners of such trees. Removal shall be done by said owners at their own expense within 60 days after the date of service of notice. In the event of failure of owners to comply with such provisions, the city shall have the authority to remove such trees and charge the costs of removal thereof to the owners of the property and to file liens therefor in the manner that other municipal liens are filed and enforced.
(Ord. passed 4-6-1981)
ABANDONED AND JUNK VEHICLES
(A) (1) The City Council recognizes and declares that:
(a) Abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires, and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances are and constitute a public nuisance and hazard to both adults and children, and, therefore, are dangerous and constitute a clear and present danger;
(b) Such abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances serve as harborage and breeding places for rodents, mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, mice, rats, and other insects, pests, and flies injurious to the public health, safety, and general welfare;
(c) Abandoned motor vehicles and junked motor vehicles serve frequently as temporary or permanent places of human residence unconducive to public health, safety, and welfare;
(d) The accumulation and storage of any such items or parts on private or public property, including, but not limited to, highways, is found to create a condition tending to reduce the value of private property and to promote blight and deterioration which, if permitted to remain, will continue to destroy the natural beauty of the city and have adverse economic and social effects;
(e) Such abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires, and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances constitute an unattractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors;
(f) Such items are nearly always located on public highways or rights-of-way or within sight of such highway rights-of-way and on private property within a reasonable proximity, and when so located the cost of controlling or abating such visual pollution is a deterrent to economic development; and
(g) It is in the public interest and welfare to provide for a program to eliminate the unsightly practice of abandoning motor vehicles, old vehicle tires, and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances.
(2) In view of these findings, the City Council declares it to be the public policy of the city to eliminate the present danger resulting from abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires, and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances and to eliminate the visual pollution resulting from these items, and that in order to provide for the public health, safety, welfare, and quality of life, to enact legislation to that end by providing expeditious means and methods for effecting the disposal of abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires, and certain abandoned household appliances. The City Council further finds and declares that the presence of an abandoned motor vehicle, junked motor vehicle, old vehicle tire, or an abandoned or inoperative household appliance, or any part, on private or public property, including, but not limited to, highways, except as expressly permitted in this subchapter, is a public nuisance injurious to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of this city, which shall be abated as such by the methods provided in this subchapter.
(C) The provisions of this subchapter shall be liberally construed to accomplish its objectives and purposes.
(Ord. passed 10-20-2020)
For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ABANDONED HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE. A refrigerator, deep freeze, range, stove, automatic dishwasher, clothes washer, clothes dryer, trash compactor, television set, radio, air conditioning unit, commode, or bed springs to which no person claims ownership and which is not in an enclosed building or a licensed salvage yard or in the actual possession of a demolisher.
ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE. Includes:
(1) Any motor vehicle or major part which is inoperative and which has been abandoned on public or private property for any period of time over five days, other than in an enclosed building or in a licensed salvage yard or at the business establishment of a demolisher;
(2) Any motor vehicle or major part which has remained illegally on public or private property for any period of time over five days;
(3) Any motor vehicle or major part which has remained on private property without consent of the owner or person in control of the property for any period of time over three days; or
(4) Any motor vehicle or major part which is unattended, discarded, deserted, and unlicensed and is not in an enclosed building or a licensed salvage yard or in the actual possession of a demolisher.
DEMOLISHER. Any person licensed by the Commissioner of the Department of Highways whose business, to any extent or degree, is to convert a motor vehicle or any part or an inoperative household appliance into processed scrap or scrap metal, or into saleable parts, or otherwise to wreck or dismantle vehicles or appliances.
ENCLOSED BUILDING. A structure surrounded by walls or one continuous wall, and having a roof enclosing the entire structure, including a permanent appendage.
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. The City Police Department.
INOPERATIVE HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE. A refrigerator, deep freeze, range, stove, automatic dishwasher, clothes washer, clothes dryer, trash compactor, television set, radio, air conditioning unit, commode, or bed springs which, by reason of mechanical or physical defects, can no longer be used for its intended purpose, and which is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard, or the actual possession of a demolisher.
JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLE. A motor vehicle, or any part of a motor vehicle (other than an on-premises farm utility vehicle), which is discarded, wrecked, ruined, scrapped or dismantled; cannot pass the state inspection required by W. Va. Code Ch. 17C, Art. 16 (W. Va. Code 17C-16-1 et seq.) and is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard, or the actual possession of a demolisher.
MOTOR VEHICLE. A vehicle which is or was self-propelled, including, but not limited to, automobiles, trucks, buses, and motorcycles.
OLD VEHICLE TIRE. A pneumatic tire in which compressed air is designed to support a load but which, because of wear, damage, or defect, can no longer safely be used on a motor vehicle, and which is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard, or the actual possession of a demolisher.
(Ord. passed 10-20-2020)
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