Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall, for the purposes of this chapter, have the meanings shown in this chapter. Where terms are not defined through the methods authorized by this section, such terms shall have ordinarily accepted meanings such as the context implies. Whenever the words “dwelling unit,” “dwelling,” “premises,” “building,” “rooming house,” “rooming unit,” “housekeeping unit,” or “story” are stated in this chapter, they shall be construed as though they were followed by the words “or any part thereof.”
ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE. Any motor vehicle which is left on public or private property as defined in this section, for a period of more than 72 hours, regardless of whether wrecked or inoperable.
APPROVED. Consented or agreed to in writing by the Code Enforcement Officer, or his proper designee.
BASEMENT. That portion of a building which is partly or completely below grade.
BATHROOM. A room containing plumbing fixtures including a bathtub or shower.
BEDROOM. Any room or space used or intended to be used for sleeping purposes.
BOAT. Any vessel initially designed for the carrying of passengers or cargo upon the water, whether currently seaworthy or not, and regardless of size or design, including, without limitation, barges, motorboats whether inboard or outboard, canoes, rowboats, rafts, and sailboats.
CARPORT. A roofed structure providing space for the parking of motor vehicles and enclosed on not more than two sides.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. Any city employee who has been duly sworn and authorized to uphold the ordinances of the city and laws of the state related to property uses, maintenance, nuisances, inspections, issuances of building permits, certifications and licensing, and the like, within the municipal boundaries of the city. All duly sworn law enforcement officers of the City Police Department are authorized to exercise authority as Code Enforcement Officers.
CONDEMN. To adjudge unfit for human occupancy.
DWELLING UNIT. Any room or group of rooms located within a structure forming a single habitable unit with facilities that are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, eating, and sanitation by a household or family.
EASEMENT. That portion of land or property reserved for present or future use by a person or agency other than the legal fee owner (s) of the property. The EASEMENT shall be permitted to be for use under, on or above a said lot or lots.
EXTERIOR PROPERTY. The open space on the premises and on adjoining property under the control of owners or operators of such premises.
EXTERMINATION. The control and elimination of insects, rats, or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials that serve as their food; by poison spraying, fumigating, trapping or by any other approved pest elimination method.
GARBAGE. The animal or vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
GRAFFITI. Any inscription, work, figure, or design that is marked, etched, scratched, drawn, painted, pasted or otherwise affixed to or on any structural component of any building, structure, or other permanent facility regardless of the nature of the material of that structural component, or the nature of the inscription, to the extent that the same was not authorized in advance by the owner, or otherwise deemed to be a public nuisance.
GUARD. A building component or a system of building components located at or near the open sides of elevated walking surfaces that minimize the possibility of a fall from the walking surface to the lower level.
HABITABLE SPACE. Space in a structure for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces, and similar areas are not considered HABITABLE SPACES.
HISTORIC. Any existing buildings or structures designated by the city, state, or the U.S. government to be historic.
HOUSEKEEPING UNIT. A room or group of rooms forming a single habitable space equipped and intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating which does not contain, within such a unit, a toilet, lavatory and bathtub or shower.
IMMINENT DANGER. A condition which could cause serious or life-threatening injury or death at any time.
INFESTATION. The presence, within or contiguous to, a structure or premises of insects, rats, vermin, or other pests.
INOPERABLE MOTOR VEHICLE. A vehicle which cannot be driven upon the public streets for reason including but not limited to being unlicensed, uninsured, wrecked, abandoned, in a state of disrepair, or incapable of being moved under its own power.
LABELED. Devices, equipment, appliances, or materials to which has been affixed a label, seal, symbol or other identifying mark of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, inspection agency or other organization concerned with product evaluation that maintains periodic inspection of the production of the above-labeled items and by whose label the manufacturer attests to compliance with applicable nationally recognized standards.
LET FOR OCCUPANCY or LET. To permit, provide or offer possession or occupancy of a dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, building, premise or structure by a person who is or is not the legal owner of record thereof, pursuant to a written or unwritten lease, agreement or license, or pursuant to a recorded or unrecorded agreement of contract for the sale of land.
MOTOR VEHICLE. A machine of conveyance which is self-propelled and designed to travel along the ground, and includes but is not limited to automobiles, buses, electric scooters, mopeds bicycles, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, go-carts, campers, motor homes and trailers.
OCCUPANCY. The purpose for which a building or portion thereof is utilized or occupied.
OCCUPANT. Any individual living or sleeping in a building, or having possession of a space within a building.
OPENABLE AREA. That part of a window, skylight or door which is available for unobstructed ventilation and which opens directly to the outdoors.
OPERATOR. Any person who has charge, care or control of a structure or premises which is let or offered for occupancy.
OWNER. Any person, agent, operator, firm, or corporation having a legal or equitable interest in the property; or recorded in the official records of the state, county, or municipality as holding title to the property; or otherwise having control of the property, including the guardian of the estate of any such person, and the executor or administrator of the estate of such person if ordered to take possession of real property by a court.
PERSON. An individual, corporation, partnership or any other group acting as a unit.
PREMISES. A lot, plot or parcel of land, easement or public way, including any structures thereon.
PRIVATE PROPERTY. Any real property within the city which is privately owned and which is not defined as public property in this section.
PUBLIC PROPERTY. Any real property in the city which is owned by a governmental body; includes buildings, parking lots, parks, streets, sidewalks, rights-of-way, easements and other similar property.
PUBLIC WAY. Any street, alley or similar parcel of land essentially unobstructed from the ground to the sky, which is deeded, dedicated or otherwise permanently appropriated to the public for public use.
REMOVAL. The act of clearing all material and debris whenever it becomes necessary to demolish any building that has been condemned and found to be a nuisance by resolution of the City Council.
RESIDENCE. A structure serving as a dwelling or home. For the purposes of this chapter, the term RESIDENCE includes dwelling units and rooming houses.
ROOMING ROUSES. A building arranged or occupied for lodging, with or without meals, for compensation. Bed-and-breakfast, boarding houses, half-way houses, and hotels, as those terms are defined under the city’s Zoning Ordinance, are included within the definition of a ROOMING HOUSE.
ROOMING UNIT. Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit occupied or intended to be occupied for sleeping or living, but not for cooking purposes.
RUBBISH. Combustible and noncombustible waste materials, except garbage; the term shall include the residue from the burning of wood, coal, coke and other combustible materials, paper, rags, cartons, boxes, wood, excelsior, rubber, leather, tree branches, yard trimmings, tin cans, metals, mineral matter, glass, crockery and dust and other similar materials.
STRUCTURE. That which is built or constructed or a portion thereof.
TENANT. A person, corporation, partnership or group, whether or not the legal owner of record, occupying a building or portion thereof as a unit.
TOILET ROOM. A room containing a water closet or urinal but not a bathtub or shower.
TRAILER. Any freewheeling object designed or intended to be pulled or towed behind a motor vehicle, regardless of whether wrecked or inoperable, and regardless of whether currently inspected and/or registered, including without limitation the following: Boat trailers, camper trailers, cargo trailers, special trailers for items such as golf carts or motorcycles, utility trailers, and farm implements.
VENTILATION. The natural or mechanical process of supplying conditioned or unconditioned air to, or removing such air from, any space.
WORKMANLIKE. Executed in a skilled manner; e.g., generally plumb, level, square, in line, undamaged and without marring adjacent work.
WRECKED MOTOR VEHICLE. Any motor vehicle which does not have lawfully affixed thereto an unexpired license plate and the condition of which is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, incapable of operation by its own power on a public street, or from which the wheels, engine, transmission or any substantial part thereof has been removed.
YARD. An open space on the same lot with a structure.
(Ord. 442, passed 3-19-12)