[Adopted 11-2-2005 by Ord. No. 10-05-05-1 (Ch. 5.12 of the
1998 Code).]
The purpose of this article is to protect the
public health, safety and welfare and to preserve the character and
value of the Town, by establishing minimum standards governing the
maintenance, appearance and condition of both residential and nonresidential
premises; to proscribe certain acts, places or conditions which are
or may become deleterious to the general citizenry; to fix certain
responsibilities and duties of owners, operators, and tenants; to
fix penalties for violations of this article; and to provide for the
remediation, repair or demolition of premises which do not or are
unable to meet the requirements established herein.
Every residential, nonresidential or mixed occupancy
building and the land on which it is situated, used or intended to
be used for a dwelling, commercial, business or industrial occupancy
shall comply with the provisions of this article, whether or not such
building shall have been constructed, altered or repaired before or
after the enactment of this article, irrespective of any permits or
licenses which shall have been issued for the use or occupancy of
the building or premises, for the construction or repair of the building
or premises, prior to the effective date of this article.
Each of the following conditions, actions or
activities, unless otherwise permitted by law, is declared to constitute
a public nuisance, and is subject to civil and criminal enforcement
and penalties as provided in this article:
A. Public nuisance - general. A public nuisance is a
thing, act, occupation, condition or use of property which shall continue
for such length of time as to:
(1) Substantially annoy, injure or endanger the comfort,
health, repose or safety of the public;
(2) In any way render the public insecure in life or in
the use of property;
(3) Greatly offend the public morals or decency;
(4) Unlawfully and substantially interfere with, obstruct
or tend to obstruct or render dangerous for passage any street, alley,
highway, or other public way or the use of public property;
(5) Be detrimental to the property of others or cause
or tend to cause substantial diminution in the value of other property
in the neighborhood in which such premises is located.
B. Public nuisances affecting health. The following acts,
omissions, places, conditions and things are hereby specifically declared
to be public health nuisances, but such enumeration shall not be construed
to exclude other health nuisances coming within the general definition
of this section:
(1) Carcasses or portions thereof of animals, birds or
fowl not intended for human consumption or food which are not buried
or otherwise disposed of in a sanitary manner within 24 hours after
death;
(2) All animals running at large;
(3) The escape of soot, cinders, noxious acids, fumes,
gases, fly ash, industrial dust or other atmospheric pollutants within
the Town limits or within one mile therefrom in such quantities as
to endanger the health of persons of ordinary sensibilities or to
threaten or cause substantial injury to property in the Town;
(4) The pollution of any public road right-of-way or public
well or cistern, stream, or other body of water by sewage, creamery
or industrial wastes or other substances;
(5) Any use of property, substances or things within the
Town emitting or causing any foul, offensive, nauseous, unwholesome
or disagreeable odors, gases, stenches, liquids or substances offensive
to the physical sense to an ordinary person possessed of ordinary
tastes and susceptibilities or which otherwise annoy, discomfort,
injure or inconvenience the health of persons within the Town. This
definition shall not apply to odors produced through the operation
of farming practices;
(6) Disassembled, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperable,
junked, wrecked, or unlicensed motor vehicles, truck bodies, tractors,
trailers, boats, or campers in such state of physical or mechanical
ruin as to be incapable of self-propulsion or of being operated upon
the public streets, highways, or waters, other than at a business
location, licensed and operating as a repair facility or junkyard;
(7) Abandoned, discarded or unused objects or equipment
such as furniture, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, cans, containers,
lumber, trash, or debris;
(8) Weeds, grass, undergrowth and uncut shrubbery without
apparent supervision by an owner or tenant so that the premises is
in disrepair, contains excessive amounts of high weeds, tall grass,
unkempt greenery and undergrowth about the premises creating an invitation
to dust, obstructions to view and a potential harbor for unauthorized
persons, animals, snakes, insects or vermin;
(9) Any dead, diseased, infested or dying tree or vegetation
including such tree or vegetation that may constitute a danger to
street trees, streets, utilities, or neighboring buildings or property.
C. Public nuisances affecting peace and safety. The following
acts, omissions, places, conditions and things are hereby declared
to be public nuisances affecting peace and safety, but such enumeration
shall not be construed to exclude other nuisances affecting public
peace or safety coming within the provisions of this section:
(1) Noise.
(a)
Production of any of the following sounds or
noises between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on Mondays through
Fridays, excluding legal holidays, and between the hours of 10:00
p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and legal holidays, except
in the cases of bona fide emergency or under municipal permit in case
of demonstrated necessity:
[1]
Sounds caused by the construction or repair
of any building or structure;
[2]
Sounds caused by construction, maintenance,
repair, clearing or landscaping;
[3]
Sounds created by the installation or repair
of utility services;
[4]
Sounds created by construction equipment including
special construction vehicles;
(b)
It is intended that the sounds described in
this subsection refer to sounds heard beyond the property line of
the source;
(2) The keeping or harboring of any animal or fowl which
by frequent or habitual howling, yelping, barking, crowing or making
of other noises shall annoy or disturb neighbors or other residents
of the Town;
(3) All obstructions of streets, alley, sidewalks or crosswalks
and all excavations in or under the same, except as permitted by the
ordinances of the Town or which, although made in accordance with
such ordinances, are kept or maintained for an unreasonable or illegal
length of time after the purpose thereof has been accomplished;
(4) All open and unguarded pits, wells, cisterns, cesspools,
excavations or unused basements freely accessible from any public
street, alley or sidewalk;
(5) Any junk, wood, bricks, cement, concrete blocks, abandoned
vehicles, or machinery or parts thereof, appliances, fixtures and
furniture, including, but not limited to, items such as stoves, refrigerators,
freezers, sinks, cabinets and other kitchen appliances, furniture,
mattresses, clothes washing and drying machines, plumbing fixtures,
light fixtures, washtubs, lawn and garden equipment when such items
are not stored inside a building. This section shall not apply to
furniture except that furniture and other equipment designed for outdoor
use shall not constitute a nuisance when kept in any district and
in view of adjacent properties or public rights-of-way; and any other
unsightly accumulation of items or materials such as may tend to depreciate
property values in the area, or create a blighted condition, or create
a hazard (except when such items are properly housed and out of public
view);
(6) Waste, including, but not limited to, items such as
paper, rags, trash, garbage, discarded clothing, shoes, curtains,
linen, and other apparel, tin cans, aluminum cans, boxes, bales, or
baled items, plastic containers, glass containers, plastic wrap, cleaning
utensils, cooking utensils, and discarded household fixtures, when
such items are stored, collected, piled or kept on private or public
property, and in view of adjacent properties or public rights-of-way;
(7) Any unauthorized or unlawful use of property abutting
on a public street, alley or sidewalk or of a public street, alley
or sidewalk which causes large crowds of people to gather, obstructing
traffic and free use of the streets or sidewalks;
(8) The existence of any building, fence, well or other
structure or thing or portion thereof or private property abutting
or fronting upon any public street, sidewalk or place which has holes,
loose boards, broken or cracked finish or which is sagging, leaning,
fallen, decayed, or from which any construction material, bricks,
siding, etc., has fallen or is in danger of falling, or is otherwise
in a dilapidated or unsafe condition.
If such owner or occupier fails to abate such nuisance or condition or remove the cause thereof within the time set out in §
127-4, the Town Council of New Windsor may then cause such nuisance or condition to be abated and the cause of such nuisance removed by whatever means it deems feasible, including demolition; and the actual cost thereof shall thereafter be billed to the owner or owners of said premises, who thereupon become obligated to reimburse said Town of New Windsor, and suit may be brought to recover such sums.
If the owner or owners fail to make payment as provided for in §
127-5 above, then, in addition to all other remedies, the Town may cause to be recorded in the Town office a sworn statement showing the cost and expense incurred for such work, the date the work was done and the location of the property on which the work was done. Recording of such sworn statement shall constitute a lien on the property involved and shall remain in full force and effect for the amount due, plus interest and cost of court, if any, for collection, until final payment is made. Said cost and expenses shall be collected in the manner fixed by law for the collection of taxes and shall be subject to a delinquent penalty of 2/3 of 1% per month in the event that the same is not paid in full on or before the date that the tax bill, upon which such charge appears, becomes delinquent. Sworn statements filed in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be prima facie evidence that all legal formalities have been complied with and that the work was done properly and satisfactorily at a reasonable cost and shall be full notice to every person concerned that the amount constitutes a charge against the property designated or described in said statement and that the same is due and collectible as provided by law.
Any person aggrieved by any issuance of a notice
hereunder may appeal the same to the Circuit Court for Carroll County
in accordance with Title 7, Chapter 200 of the Maryland Rules of Procedure,
as from time to time amended.
[Adopted 4-2-2014 by Ord.
No. 03-05-14]
For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall
apply:
DWELLING
Any building arranged, designed or used, in whole or part,
to provide living facilities for one or more families. "Dwelling"
shall include both the enclosed area within a dwelling as well as
the exterior premises of the dwelling within the boundary lines of
any real property on which the dwelling is located.
OCCUPANT
Any person who lives in or has possession of or holds an
occupancy interest in a dwelling; or any person residing in or frequenting
the premises of the dwelling with the actual or implied permission
of the owner of lessee.
OWNER
Any person, agent, operator, firm or corporation having a
legal or equitable interest in the dwelling; or recorded in official
governmental records as holding title to the dwelling; or otherwise
having control of the dwelling, 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 such property by a
court.
A disorderly house nuisance is a dwelling as defined in this
article where any of the following has occurred within a three-hundred-sixty-five-day
period:
A. Two or more criminal arrests, criminal citations, criminal indictments,
criminal warrants, criminal summonses, civil citations, civil summonses
or calls to the Carroll County 911 Call Center arising out of separate
and distinct facts and circumstances (as defined by the statutes of
the State of Maryland and/or the ordinances of the Town of New Windsor
or of Carroll County, Maryland) which occur at a dwelling or on property
in proximity to a dwelling; or
B. Two or more violations of Article 2B of the Annotated Code of Maryland
relating to alcoholic beverages arising out of separate and distinct
facts and circumstances; or
C. Two or more violations of Chapter 81 of the Carroll County, Maryland,
Code of Public Local Laws and Ordinances (Animals) arising out of
separate and distinct facts and circumstances; or
D. Two or more violations of Chapter 141 of the Carroll County, Maryland,
Code of Public Local Laws and ordinances (Livability Standards) arising
out of separate and distinct facts and circumstances; or
E. Two or more violations of Article
I of Chapter
127 of the Town Code (Nuisances) arising out of separate and distinct facts and circumstances; or
F. A combination of two incidents from any of the above categories arising
out of separate and distinct facts and circumstances.
No person shall be prosecuted for a violation of this article
until such person shall have been served with the notice provided
for herein, and the person has either failed or refused to enter into
the nuisance abatement agreement provided for hereinafter or, after
entering into such agreement, the person fails to comply with its
provisions. Such notice may be served on such person by personal service
or, in the case of an occupant or occupant owner, by certified mail
addressed to the address of the dwelling or, in the case of a nonoccupant
owner, by certified mail to his/her last known address or, if none,
the address to which any tax statement is sent to such owner for the
dwelling or by posting of the dwelling, on the structure or at a location
on the exterior premises, or by any other method of service reasonably
calculated to give actual notice. Such notice shall contain, at a
minimum, the following:
A. That a disorderly house nuisance exists as defined by §
127-10 at the location specified in the notice;
B. The date of the commission of the acts which constitute the basis
for the disorderly house nuisance, the name(s) of the person(s) committing
such acts, if known, and all other facts and circumstances that the
Town relies upon to allege that such acts form the basis for the disorderly
house nuisance. Copies of police reports may serve as this documentation;
C. The date, time and place where the person is to appear and meet with
the Town's representative to participate in the nuisance abatement
conference;
D. That failure to appear, or failure to make satisfactory arrangements
for an alternative date and time, at the time, place and manner designated
in the notice may result in prosecution of a violation of this article
and the imposition of penalties, as prescribed by this article.
At the nuisance abatement conference, the Town's representative
and the owner and/or occupant shall discuss the facts constituting
the disorderly house nuisance and shall attempt to agree on specific
actions that the owner and/or occupant can take to abate said disorderly
house nuisance.
The Town Manager may commence prosecution alleging a violation
of this article under the following circumstances:
A. The owner and/or occupant commits a violation described in §
127-11 of this article; or
B. The owner and/or occupant does not attend a nuisance abatement conference
with the Town Manager within the time period set forth herein; or
C. The owner and/or occupant fails or refuses to sign a proposed written
nuisance abatement agreement or proposed written modification to said
agreement within the prescribed time period set forth herein;
D. The owner and/or occupant subsequently fails or refuses to comply
with any conditions or requirements set forth in a nuisance abatement
agreement, including any prescribed deadlines for taking particular
actions.