[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Greenport 3-3-1982 by L.L. 1-1982. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Dumps and dumping — See Ch. 65.
Garbage, rubbish and refuse — See Ch. 72.
Junkyards — See Ch. 78.
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 92.
The following terms, as used in this chapter, shall have the meanings indicated:
GARBAGE
Putrescible animal and vegetable waste resulting from either the handling, preparation, cooking or consumption of food.
LITTER
Garbage, refuse, handbills, newspapers and rubbish, as such are defined, and all other waste materials which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited, tend to create a danger to public health, safety and welfare or render the streets, private grounds or public places unsightly.
PARK
A park, playground, recreation center or any other public area owned or used by the Town of Greenport or other public entity or government, which is devoted to recreational purposes.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or organization of any kind.
PRIVATE PREMISES
Any dwelling, house, building or other structure designated or used, either wholly or in part, for private residential purposes, whether inhabited or continuously uninhabited or vacant, and includes any yard, grounds, walk, driveway, porch, steps or vestibule belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling house, building or other structure.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any or all streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys or other public ways and any and all public parks, squares, spaces, grounds and buildings.
PUBLIC STRUCTURE OR BUILDING
Any structure or building owned or operated by the federal, county or state government or any governmental agency.
REFUSE
All putrescible solid wastes (except body wastes), including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles, dismantled automobiles and parts thereof, scrap metal, junk, machinery and solid market and industrial wastes.
RUBBISH
Nonputrescible solid wastes, consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes, such as papers, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, leaves, wood, glass, bedding, crockery, building materials and similar materials.
TAKE-OUT RESTAURANT, LUNCHEONETTE OR DELICATESSEN
All retail stores which permit off-premises consumption of food or beverage.
TOWN
The Town of Greenport, County of Columbia and State of New York.
VEHICLE
Every vehicle in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, including devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public place within the Town, except in public receptacles or in authorized private receptacles for collection; provided, however, that said public receptacles shall not be used by persons owning or occupying property in the vicinity of said public receptacles for the deposit of domestic, commercial and industrial litter arising from the conduct of said activities.
No person shall drive or move any truck or other commercial vehicle unless the vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any litter from being blown or deposited upon any street, alley or other public place or private premises. No person shall drive or move any vehicle or truck if the wheels or tires carry onto or deposit in any street, alley or other public place any mud, dirt, sticky substances or foreign matter of any kind from any other place than the traveled portion of a public street or alley.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park except in public receptacles and in such manner as to prevent such litter from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any part of the park or upon any street or other public place. Where public receptacles are not provided, all litter shall be carried from the park by the person responsible for its presence and shall be properly disposed of elsewhere.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any occupied private property, whether owned by him or not, except that the owner or person in control of private property shall maintain private receptacles for collection in such a manner that litter will not be carried or deposited by the elements upon any other public place or upon any private property.
The owner or person in control of any private property shall at all times maintain the premises free of litter. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the storage of litter in private receptacles for collection.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any open or vacant private property, whether owned by such person or not.
Notwithstanding the above, any owner of private property may deposit litter on a private landfill on the owners property so long as it does not violate the laws, rules or regulations of the State of New York or the County of Columbia. In addition, said landfill must be more than 500 feet from any public road or way or any property boundary line.
[Amended 8-7-1991 by L.L. No. 1-1991]
A. 
Notice to remove. The enforcement officer or his duly designated agent is authorized and empowered to notify the owner of any private premises or vacant land, or the tenant or agent of such owner, to remove litter located on such owner's property in violation of § 83-7 or § 83-8 of this chapter. The owner or other person in interest shall have 15 days from the service of notice to remove the litter.
B. 
Contents of notice. The notice shall contain the following:
(1) 
A description of the premises.
(2) 
A statement that the owner is in violation of this chapter.
(3) 
A statement that the owner shall remove the litter within 15 days of the service of the notice, unless for good cause shown such time shall be extended.
(4) 
A statement that, in the event of neglect or refusal to comply with the order to remove the litter, the Town Board is authorized to provide for such removal and to assess all expenses thereon against the land on which the litter is located.
C. 
Failure to comply. In the event of the refusal or neglect of the person so notified to comply with said notice and order of the enforcement officer, the property owner or tenant or agent of such owner shall be sent a second notice which notice shall set a date, time and place for a hearing before the Town Board in relation to such violation of this chapter. Such notice shall inform the owner that the Town will seek to effect the removal of the litter from the premises and assess the cost for such removal against the subject property. The hearing shall be scheduled not more than 15 business days and not less than five business days from the date of service of the notice.
D. 
Hearing. At the hearing, the enforcement officer shall present evidence that the owner is in violation of this chapter and that the owner, after notice, failed to comply with the order requiring removal of the litter. The owner or tenant or agent of such owner may cross-examine witnesses and present evidence in his or her own behalf. After hearing, upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that the owner is or remains in violation of this chapter, the Town Board shall provide for the removal of the litter.
E. 
Assessment of expenses. All expenses incurred by the Town in connection with the proceedings to remove the litter, including the cost of labor, shall be billed to the owner of the property. If such expenses are not paid within 30 days, then such expenses shall be assessed against the property on which such litter is located and shall be levied and collected in the same manner as provided in Article 15 of the Town Law for the levy and collection of special ad valorem taxes.
F. 
Service of notice. All notices shall be served by personal service of a copy thereof upon the owner, executor, administrator, agent or any person having a vested or contingent interest in such property as shown by the records of the Tax Collector or of the County Clerk; or, if such person cannot be reasonably found, by mailing to such person, by registered mail, a copy of such notice directed to his last known address as shown by the above records and by securely affixing a copy of such notice upon the premises.
G. 
Emergency cases. Where it reasonably appears that there is present a clear and imminent danger to the life, safety or health of any person or property caused by the litter, the Town may dispense with the notice procedures outlined in Subsections A, B and C of this section and upon 48 hours notice to the owner conduct a hearing pursuant to Subsection D of this section to effect the removal of the litter and the assessment of removal expenses against the property from which such litter is removed.
The owner, agent, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person who manages or controls a building or lot shall be jointly or severally responsible for keeping the sidewalk, flagging, curbstone and the air shafts, areaways, back yards, courts, parking lots and alleys free from litter.
It is hereby declared to be a duty of the owner or operator of a take-out restaurant, delicatessen or luncheonette to provide not less than one authorized private receptacle for the receipt of trash, litter, paper, napkins, cups and remnants of food and nonfood items at each exit, available to the patrons as they leave the premises. If the owner or operator of same shall fail to provide such receptacles, he shall be fined, upon conviction, as provided in this chapter.
Any code enforcement officer or building inspector of the Town of Greenport or any police agency is hereby empowered and authorized to exercise such powers as may be necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 5-7-2008 by L.L. No. 4-2008[1]]
Any person or persons, association, firm or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of an offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 for the first offense or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both. All subsequent violations shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000 or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also provided that future amendments to the fine amounts in this section may be made by resolution of the Town Board.