[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of County Commissioners 4-24-2001
by Ord. No. 293.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building Code — See Ch. 65.
Electrical standards — See Ch. 82.
Minimum Livability Code — See Ch. 110.
Refuse collection — See Ch. 125.
Sanitary landfills — See Ch. 129.
Stormwater management — See Ch. 134.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 121,
Property Maintenance, adopted 8-29-2000 by Ord. No. 287.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Maintenance of
Property Ordinance of Dorchester County."
The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards for abandoned
motor vehicle(s), appliances, furniture, tires and other similar trash or
junk, thereby protecting the property values in the county.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any motor vehicle:
That is inoperable and left unattended on public property for more than
48 hours;
That has remained on private property for more than 48 hours without
the consent of the property owner(s); or
That has remained on public property for more than 48 hours and is not
displaying current valid registration plates.
Property which is adjacent to or lying near the subject property.
A vehicle that is designed and constructed to transport a boat used
for recreational purposes; and of a size and weight that does not require
a special highway movement permit when towed by a motor vehicle.
A vehicle that is mounted on wheels; and has collapsible partial
sidewalls that fold for towing by another vehicle and unfold to provide temporary
living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use.
County Commissioners of Dorchester County, Maryland, or their designated
agent.
The Department of Planning and Zoning, Dorchester County, Maryland.
The person or persons designated by the Department or County Commissioners
of Dorchester County to enforce this chapter.
See "solid waste disposal facility."
Any old, scrap, dismantled, inoperable, abandoned or dilapidated
boats, machinery, household furniture and appliances, construction equipment
and materials, trailers, tanks, drums, tires, pipes, cloth, wire, paper, metals,
rags, glass or trash or any other kind of salvage or waste material of any
kind; rubbish.
Any old, scrap, dismantled, inoperable, abandoned or dilapidated
motor vehicle(s), vehicles or mopeds and parts thereof; and including unregistered
trailer, semitrailer, travel trailer, camping trailer, boat trailer or mobile
home.
Any land or building used for the storage, keeping, collecting, salvage,
sale, exchange, disassembling, wrecking, baling, recycling or handling of
paper, rags, wood, scrap metals or other scrap or discarded materials, including
automobiles or other vehicles and equipment not in operable condition, but
not including pawn shops and buildings for the sale, purchase or storage of
used furniture and household equipment, land or buildings used for the sale
of used cars or other machinery in operable condition or the processing of
used or salvaged materials as part of manufacturing operations.
See the definition of "solid waste disposal facility."
A trailer or semitrailer that is designed, constructed and equipped
as a permanent or temporary living or sleeping place and for use as a conveyance
on highways, but that does not qualify as a camping trailer or travel trailer
as these terms are defined in the subtitle; or a trailer or a semitrailer
that has a chassis and exterior shell designed and constructed as described
herein, but that is used instead, either permanently or temporarily, for the
advertising, sale, display or promotion of merchandise or services, as an
office or for any other similar purpose, except the transportation of property
for hire or the transportation of property for distribution by a private carrier.
A bicycle that is designed to be operated by human power with the
assistance of a motor; is equipped with pedals that mechanically drive the
rear wheel or wheels; has two or three wheels, of which one is more than 14
inches in diameter; and has a motor with a rating of 1.5 brake horsepower
or less and, if the motor is an internal combustion engine, capacity of 50
cubic centimeters piston displacement or less.
A motor vehicle that has one front wheel and one or two rear wheels
on a single axle; and is self-propelled by a motor with a rating of more than
1.5 brake horsepower; and has a singular front steering road wheel mounted
in a fork assembly that passes through a frame steering bearing and to which
is attached a handlebar or other directly operated steering device; and has
a seat that is straddled by the driver; and, except for a windshield or windscreen,
does not have any enclosure or provision for an enclosure for the driver or
any passenger.
Is self-propelled or propelled by electric power obtained from overhead
electrical wires; and is not operated on rails.
Any person, firm, corporation, occupant, renter or group holding
title to property.
The person, firm, corporation, occupant, renter or group on the land.
Structural construction waste materials and materials generated by
building demolition, including rocks, concrete, asphalt, brick, lumber, pilings,
plaster, plaster board, roofing and metal and organic waste material, including
root matter, brush, tree limbs, stumps, wood chips, shavings and soil, except;
a) rocks, concrete and brick used for shore erosion control or b) recycled
building material to be used on site within a one-year period.
A vehicle that has no motive power; and is designed to carry people
or property and to be towed by a motor vehicle; and is constructed so that
some of its weight and load rests on or is carried by another vehicle.
Any land used for the disposal or storage of solid waste material,
including garbage, sewage, trash, rubble, construction debris and all other
kinds of organic or inorganic refuse, by abandonment, discarding, dumping,
reduction, burial, incineration or any other similar means.
Anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground
or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground. Among other
things, "structure" includes buildings, manufactured homes, walls, fences,
signs and semitrailers, parts of semitrailers and walk-in-type truck bodies.
A vehicle that has no motive power; and is designed to carry people
or property and to be towed by a motor vehicle; and is constructed so that
no part of its weight rests on the towing vehicle.
See the definition of "junk."
A vehicle that is mounted on wheels; and is of such a size and weight
as not to require any special highway movement permit when towed by a motor
vehicle; and is designed and constructed primarily to provide temporary living
quarters for recreational, camping or travel use; and is no longer than 40
feet.
Any motor vehicle or vehicle that is subject to the registration
requirements of the Transportation Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland
that does not display current registration plates and a validation tab issued
for the current year by the Motor Vehicle Administration, except an untagged
vehicle does not include an untagged vehicle which is used on a farm or in
a business that is operational and not subject to the vehicle registration
laws of Maryland (Example: boat trailers, boat dollies or boat carts that
cannot be legally registered).
A.
Every resident within the unincorporated areas of Dorchester
County, Maryland, shall be responsible for keeping and maintaining his land
free of abandoned motor vehicles, appliances, furniture, tires, boats(s),
trash, junk or similar items.
B.
This chapter shall not apply to the following:
(1)
The incorporated areas of Dorchester County, Maryland,
unless the governing body of the incorporated area and the county enter into
an agreement authorizing the county to enforce this chapter within the incorporated
area.
(2)
Any appliances, furniture, tires, trash, junk, rubble,
motor vehicle, vehicle, moped and parts thereof which are located in a properly
zoned area in conjunction with a bona fide legally approved and maintained
dealership, junkyard/salvage yard or repair facility.
(3)
Any abandoned motor vehicle(s), appliances, furniture,
tires, boats(s), rubble, vehicle, moped and similar items which are maintained
in a completely enclosed structure.
(4)
Storage of motor vehicles as accessory to lawfully operated
automobile service and sales facilities.
(5)
Any bona fide solid waste disposal facility in conformance
with state and Dorchester County regulations.
(6)
Automotive dismantling or recycling stations approved
by the county.
(7)
All existing enclosed walk-in-type truck bodies that
have been removed from trucks (excluding mobile homes, campers, RV's,
pick-up truck beds or flat beds), but to include enclosed trailers of a semitrailer
type that have had their wheels, axles, landing gear removed and have been
placed in an affixed location and are being used as storage/accessory structures,
or used as a walk-in cooler.
B.
No more than one untagged or junk vehicle shall be permitted
at any one time, provided that the property owner or resident can demonstrate
that the motor vehicle is:
(1)
Recently purchased pending inspection, for a period not
to exceed 60 consecutive days.
(2)
Being advertised for sale, for a period not to exceed
90 consecutive days.
(3)
Actively being repaired to a permitted condition and
will be registered within a ninety-day period or within an extension of the
period granted by the Department after application, in writing, showing good
cause; to a maximum of six months.
(4)
Being held pending settlement of insurance, estate or
similar claims.
A.
Purpose. Screening is required in order to protect adjoining
properties, waterways and roadways from uses which are visually incompatible
with neighboring land uses.
B.
Screening is required on any portion of land not exempted under § 121-4 where junk, abandoned, wrecked, untagged or dismantled motor vehicles, or junk vehicle(s) or parts thereof, or junk appliances, furniture, recyclable rubble and similar items are stored and can be seen from a public road, private road, waterway or on an adjoining property.
C.
Screening material may be trees, shrubbery, masonry,
wooden fencing, an approved car cover or other material deemed suitable by
the Department. A maximum of four vehicles per property may be screened. No
more than two may be screened by a fitted car cover. Where masonry or wooden
fencing over 200 feet in length is utilized, a minimum two-foot strip outside
the fencing or masonry shall be landscaped with clusters of trees and shrubs
at each end of the fence and at no less than fifty-foot intervals in between
to visually break up the wall or fence.
D.
The height of any screening shall be sufficient to screen
junk, abandoned motor vehicle(s), vehicle(s), mopeds and other similar items
stored outside. The height of any wall or fence must be consistent with Dorchester
County Zoning Regulations.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 155, Zoning, § 155-50A(4).
The designated agent of the Department shall proceed, upon detection
of a violation of this chapter, as follows:
A.
The designated agent shall notify the property owner
and/or the person responsible for such violation. The notice shall indicate
the nature of the violation and order the action necessary to correct it within
a reasonable period of time.
B.
The owner, tenant or agent of any owner or tenant of
any premises or part thereof who commits, participates in, assists in or maintains
such violation may each be found guilty of a separate offense and suffer the
penalties herein provided.
C.
If the owner, tenant or agent of any owner or tenant
of any premises or part thereof does not correct the violation after 30 days
(unless extended by the Department) or present just cause to the county of
why compliance cannot be met, the county may proceed with any required action
necessary to correct and/or abate the violation.
D.
Service of violation notice. The violation notice may
be served upon the owner of land and/or occupant by any of the following methods:
If the owner or occupant of the land fails to correct a violation contained
in the violation notice or maintain his land and property as required by this
chapter, the county may enter onto the land and perform or have performed
the necessary removal, maintenance or repairs or take other means necessary
to correct the violation(s) found on the land.
A.
Should the county be required to take action to correct
a violation, it shall be lawful for the county to assess the owner or occupant
of the land in violation the cost of all work, repair and maintenance.
B.
In addition, the county may institute any other legal
proceedings to collect the cost of the work to correct the violation, as well
as court costs and attorney's fees.
C.
The cost of the work performed by the county and other
expenses incurred by the county shall become a lien on the land and property
and shall be collected in the same manner as are the annual county property
taxes collected.
Any person or persons found guilty of a violation of any of the provisions
of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction
thereof, be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500 or imprisoned for
not exceeding 30 days, or both, in the discretion of the court. To the maximum
extent possible under the law, the courts shall order the violation removed
or corrected and shall issue such additional order as may be necessary and/or
appropriate to safeguard against future violation of this chapter.
A.
Complaints. Whenever a violation of this chapter occurs
or is alleged to have occurred, any person may report the same to the Department
either verbally or in writing. The complaint shall contain at a minimum: property
address/location, type of problem/violation, owner or occupant's name
(if known) and the name of the complainant.
B.
Inspection. The Department Director or his duly authorized
agents have the right to enter and inspect the property.
