[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of County
Commissioners of Dorchester County 12-14-1993 as Ord. No. 227.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 116, Nuisance Control, adopted 6-22-1976 as Ord. No. 23,
as amended.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Nuisance Control Ordinance of Dorchester County."
It is the purpose of this chapter, as enacted
and as ordained by the County Commissioners of Dorchester County,
to provide that the nuisances set forth herein are hereby prohibited.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An area within 200 feet of any roadway or habitable building
used for other than residential purposes.
All organic waste, consisting of the residue of animal, fruit
or vegetable matter, resulting from the preparation, cooking, handling
or storage of food, exclusive of human or animal feces.
The Health Officer of Dorchester County.
Ashes, garbage, rubbish, junk, industrial waste, motor drain
oil, dead animals and all other solid waste materials, including salvageable
waste.
An area having an average of two acres or less per dwelling
unit.
[Amended 9-4-2012 by Bill No. 2012-4]
All refuse other than garbage, whether combustible or noncombustible,
which shall include but not be limited to the following: rubbish from
building construction or reconstruction, dead trees, uprooted tree
stumps, slash, rubble, street refuse, abandoned automobiles, household
appliances, machinery, bottles, cans, wastepaper, cardboard, sawdust
piles and slash remaining from abandoned sawmill operations and all
other waste material and unsightly debris from any industry.
Any vacant dwelling, building or part thereof which constitutes
a hazard to the safety, health or welfare of the public because it
is in disrepair, unsanitary or vermin- or rodent-infested.
The following specific acts, deeds or conditions
shall constitute a nuisance within the meaning of this chapter:
A.
The deposit or accumulation of any foul, decaying
or putrescent substance or garbage or refuse or rubbish or other offensive
matter in or upon any land, street or highway, unless in a manner
approved by the Health Officer or his designated agents.
B.
The discharge of any foul liquids or overflow of sewage
waste from any type of mobile vehicle holding tank or residential
or commercial septic system, except into an approved sewer treatment
works or on-site septic system.
C.
Any open cesspool or collapsed septic tank.
D.
The existence of any open pit or hole as a result
of abandonment of a septic tank, cesspool or seepage pit; any other
excavated pit or hole without a safety fence.
E.
The disposal of human excreta, dead chickens, hogs,
horses, cows, sheep, dogs, cats or any other fowl or animal upon any
land, street or highway or in or upon any public or private place
without it first being buried to a suitable depth or otherwise disposed
of in a manner approved by the Health Officer or his designated agents.
F.
The conveying of garbage, swill, refuse, dead animals,
deal fowl or other filthy matter in a manner not approved by the Health
Officer or his designated agents through any street or any highway,
public or private.
G.
The use of garbage, offal or other decaying or putrescible
matter, either by itself or in connection with ashes or other harmless
matter, for the purpose of filling in any land or other space, exempting
licensed sanitary landfills.
H.
The existence of grass, weeds and similar vegetation
more than 12 inches in height upon any property in any residential
area within two hundred (200) feet of a habitable dwelling or the
existence of grass, weeds and similar vegetation more than 12 inches
in height upon any commercial area. Areas noted as official wetlands
or isolated by official wetlands, drainageways or ditches, agricultural
lands and forests are exempt. Forested residential areas or commercial
areas are exempt.
I.
The permitting or existence of an unfit structure
as defined by this chapter.
J.
Permitting the presence of rats and allowing property
to become a rat harborage.
K.
The presence of abandoned or junked vehicles or parts thereof on any property for in excess of 30 days unless the vehicle(s) in question is undergoing current repair or restoration or meets the requirements of Chapter 121 of the Dorchester County Code, Maintenance of Property Ordinance of Dorchester County, § 121-5B. Legally situated junkyards or commercial vehicle lots or vehicle repair shops are exempted.
L.
Abandoned refrigerators, freezers or other airtight
appliances.
The owner or the occupant of any premises within
the County of Dorchester shall be responsible for sanitary conditions
of the premises occupied by him, and it will be unlawful for any person
to place, deposit or voluntarily allow to be placed or deposited on
his premises any matter which constitutes a nuisance under the terms
of this chapter.
A.
Enforcement officers.
[Amended 10-5-2021 by Bill No. 2021-17]
(1)
Except as is provided for in Subsection A(2) of this section, the Health Officer of Dorchester County, his designee or other properly designated law enforcement agent of Dorchester County shall be the enforcement officer. When he receives a complaint, in writing, from any legally qualified medical practitioner or any person affected thereby, he shall institute an investigation, and if the place or thing complained of is in such a condition as to constitute a nuisance under the terms of this chapter, he shall serve a notice, in writing, on the person, firm or corporation responsible for the condition requiring him or it to abate the same within a time specified on the notice.
(2)
As to violations of § 116-4G and H of this chapter, the designated agent of the Department of Planning and Zoning shall be the enforcement officer. When he receives a complaint, in writing, from any legally qualified medical practitioner or any person affected thereby, he shall institute an investigation, and if the place or thing complained of is in such a condition as to constitute a nuisance under the terms of this chapter, he shall serve a notice, in writing, on the person, firm or corporation responsible for the condition requiring him or it to abate the same within a time specified in the notice.
B.
If the property owner fails to abate a nuisance cited under § 116-4H (grass, weeds and similar vegetation) as required in the notice, the County is hereby authorized to enter upon the property and perform or have performed the necessary action to abate the condition as stated in the notice of violation.
C.
In the event that the County is required to abate
or correct a nuisance as provided herein, the cost of such abatement
or correction shall be assessed to the owner(s) of the land on which
the nuisance existed. The cost of abatement or correction shall include
all actual costs incurred by the County, including but not limited
to costs of all material and labor.
D.
If unpaid, all said costs and applicable penalties
assessed shall become a lien against the property and shall be collected
in the same manner as real estate taxes by the County.
E.
In addition to the filing of a tax lien, the County
may institute any other legal proceedings to collect the costs incurred
by the County to correct any nuisance and applicable penalties.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any
provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall,
upon conviction, be fined not less than $75 nor more than $150 for
the first offense; and for each subsequent offense in reference to
the same place or thing, such person, firm or corporation shall be
fined not exceeding $250.
