Village of Freeport, NY Article I Maintenance of Premises

§ 120-1 Accumulation of rubbish; growth of weeds; abandoned vehicles; vacant properties.

[Amended 11-10-1969; 6-13-1972; 7-23-1973; 4-21-1975 by L.L. No. 3-1975; 11-13-1978 by L.L. No. 19-1978]

A. It shall be unlawful for any owner of real property within the Village or agent of such owner, person, firm or corporation lawfully occupying any real property within the Village to permit:

(1) Uncut grass, weeds, brush or any portion of said growth to obtain a height in excess of eight inches.

(2) Rubbish or rubble to accumulate thereon.

(3) Boats or motor vehicles or portions thereof to be stored for unreasonable periods of time or abandoned on the premises.

B. The Village Clerk or the Superintendent of Buildings is hereby empowered to notify, in writing, the owner of any such property to cut, trim or remove said grass, weeds, brush, rubbish, rubble, boat or motor vehicle. Such notice shall be by ordinary mail properly addressed and posted to the owner of the subject premises as the same appears in the office of the Nassau Clerk.

[Amended 1-3-2000 by L.L. No. 1-2000]

C. Upon failure to comply with the terms of such notice within five days of the date said notice is postmarked, the Village or its agents may cut, trim or remove said grass, weeds, brush, rubbish, rubble, boat or motor vehicle and assess the cost thereof upon the real property upon which said grass, weeds, brush, rubble, motor vehicle or boat is found. This obligation shall constitute a lien and a charge on the real property concerned until paid or otherwise satisfied and shall be collected by the Village Treasurer in the same manner provided by law for delinquent taxes.

D. Designated vacant properties. For those properties that are deemed vacant wherein due diligence has been performed in ascertaining ownership, and Village records indicate said property is vacant, an initial lot clearance notice will be sent as outlined in § 120-1C. Thereafter said vacant properties will have lot clearances performed on a two-week rotation or as needed without a five-day notice.

[Added 7-13-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015]

§ 120-2 Combustible waste material.

A. Prohibited. No owner, lessee or occupant of real property shall cause or permit any dried grass, weeds, brush, wastepaper, rags, boxes, barrels or other inflammable or combustible waste material to accumulate or remain on the premises under his control or care.

B. Notice to be served. The Bureau of Fire Prevention shall serve a notice in writing, either personally or by mail, on any owner, lessee or occupant of real property in the Village to remove or destroy any accumulations of such grass, weeds, brush and all other forms of refuse or rubbish thereon likely to cause or spread fires.

C. Noncompliance with notice. A person so served, who, for five days after service, shall neglect or fail to comply with such notice shall be deemed to have violated this section.

D. Precedence of orders. Should there be a service of an order made under this section while an order under § 115-20 is outstanding to correct the same condition, the order under § 115-20 shall take precedence.

§ 120-3 Unlawful disposition of waste.

[Amended 11-30-1992 by L.L. No. 11-1992]

A. No person shall place or permit to remain in any public place, courtyard, vacant lot, open space, cellar, hallway or alley an accumulation of wastepaper, sawdust, hay, grass, straw, weeds, litter, boxes, barrels or cartons or any combustible flammable waste or rubbish of any kind, but it shall not be deemed a violation of this section to accumulate rubbish placed in suitable containers or suitably bundled and tied for a reasonable time to permit the collection thereof by the Department of Sanitation in conformity with the provisions of §§ 120-7 through 120-11. Furthermore, for purposes of this section, the establishment, maintenance or use of a compost for gardening or horticultural purposes, whose dimensions do not exceed six feet in length, six feet in width and five in height and which is situated either in the rear yard of residential property or in the side yard of same, provided that it is not visible from the street, shall not be deemed a violation.

[Amended 9-27-1999 by L.L. No. 11-1999]

B. Any person violating Subsection A of this section shall be guilty of a violation, as defined under the Penal Law of the State of New York and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment for each violation.

C. Each and every day (twenty-four-hour period) that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

§ 120-4 Incinerator design; smoke and odors.

Combustion chambers, stacks and other parts of furnaces or incinerators designed for the combustion of refuse must be so constructed as to obviate the unreasonable emission of smoke and odors. For violation of this provision, in addition to other penalties provided, the Board of Trustees, after a hearing, may order the offending incinerator to be shut down and remain unused until the fault is corrected.

§ 120-5 Littering; definitions; penalty.

[Amended 6-5-1967]

A. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the following meanings:

GARBAGE

Putrescible animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.

LITTER

Garbage, rubbish and refuse, as defined herein, and all other waste material which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited, tends to create a danger to public health, safety and welfare.

PERSON

Any person or persons, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.

PRIVATE PROPERTY

Any lot or plot of land, improved or unimproved, privately owned.

PUBLIC PLACE

Any and all streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys or other public ways and in and upon all public parks, squares, spaces, grounds and buildings.

REFUSE

All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes, including garbage, rubbish, ashes, debris, dirt, dead animals and solid market or industrial wastes.

RUBBISH

Nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes such as paper, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, leaves, wood, glass, bedding, crockery and similar materials.

VEHICLE

Every device in, upon or by which any person or property is made to be transported or drawn upon a street or highway, including devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

B. Throwing or depositing litter.

(1) No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public place within the Village, except in public receptacles or authorized private receptacles for collection.

(2) Persons placing litter in public receptacles or any authorized private receptacles shall do so in such a manner as to prevent it from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street or sidewalk or any other public place or private property.

(3) No person shall sweep into or deposit into any gutter, street or other public place within the Village any accumulation of litter from any building or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or driveway, except where such litter shall be kept in authorized receptacles.

(4) No person, while a driver or passenger in a vehicle, shall throw or deposit litter upon any street or other public place within the Village or upon private property.

(5) No person shall drive or move any truck or other vehicle within the Village unless such vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any load, contents or litter from being blown or deposited upon any street, sidewalk or other public place.

C. Penalty for violation of section. Any person who shall be deemed in violation of this section shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed the maximum fine permitted by this Code for each and every violation.

§ 120-6 Cleanliness of sidewalks and premises.

[Amended 1-26-1970; 4-21-1975 by L.L. No. 3-1975]

A. The owner or occupant of any premises shall keep the contiguous sidewalks free from dirt, filth, weeds and other obstructions or encumbrances.

B. The owner or occupant of any premises shall keep the premises free of debris, junk and rubbish, including but not limited to old furniture, automobile parts, kitchen appliances, building materials, shrubbery clippings, etc.

C. The provisions of Subsections A and B of this section shall not apply to garbage and trash accumulated and deposited for collection pursuant to the requirements of the Department of Sanitation.