[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the City of Monroe as Chapter 662 of the 1995 Codified Ordinances
of Monroe. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
General penalty — See § 1-27.
Noise — See Ch. 451.
Health, safety and sanitation — See Ch. 557.
Weeds, trees and refuse — See Ch. 712.
STATUTORY REFERENCES
Health and sanitation generally — See
Mich. Const. Art. 4, § 51; MCLA §§ 325.1
et seq., 327.1 et seq., 750.466 et seq.;
State Housing Law — See MCLA
§ 125.401 et seq.
Nuisance abatement; damages and expenses — See
MCLA § 600.2940.
Nuisances generally — See MCLA
§ 600.3801 et seq.
As used in this chapter, "public nuisance" means
any act, thing, occupation, condition or use of property which shall
continue for such length of time as to:
A.
Substantially annoy, injure or endanger the comfort,
health, repose or safety of the public;
B.
In any way render the public insecure in life or in
the use of property;
C.
Greatly offend the public morals or decency;
D.
Unlawfully and substantially interfere with, obstruct
or tend to obstruct or render dangerous for passage any street, alley,
highway, navigable body of water or other public way.
No person shall erect, contrive, cause, continue,
maintain or permit to exist any public nuisance within the City.
[Amended 8-12-1996 by Ord. No. 96-018]
Public nuisances affecting health shall include,
but not be limited to, the following acts, omissions, conditions or
things:
A.
All decayed, harmfully adulterated or unwholesome
food or drink sold or offered for sale to the public.
B.
Carcasses of animals, birds or fowl not buried or
otherwise disposed of in a sanitary manner within 24 hours after death.
C.
Accumulations of decayed animal or vegetable matter,
trash, rubbish, rotting lumber, bedding, packing material, scrap metal
or any material whatsoever in which flies, mosquitoes, disease-carrying
insects, rats or other vermin may breed.
D.
All stagnant water in which mosquitoes, flies or other
insects can multiply.
E.
Privy vaults and garbage cans which are not flytight.
F.
All noxious weeds and other rank growth or vegetation.
G.
The escape of smoke, soot, cinders, noxious acids,
fumes, gases, fly ash or industrial dust in such quantities as to
endanger the health of persons of ordinary sensibilities or to threaten
or cause substantial injury to property.
H.
The pollution of any public well or cistern, stream,
lake, canal or body of water by sewage, creamery or industrial wastes
or other substances.
I.
Any use of property, substances or things emitting
or causing any foul, offensive, noisome, nauseous, noxious or disagreeable
odors, effluvia or stenches extremely repulsive to the physical senses
of ordinary persons, which annoy, discomfort, injure or inconvenience
the health of any appreciable number of persons.
Public nuisances affecting public safety shall
include, but not be limited to, the following:
A.
All ice not removed from public sidewalks and all
snow not removed from public sidewalks as required by City ordinance.
B.
All signs, billboards, awnings and other similar structures
over or near streets, sidewalks, public grounds or places frequented
by the public, so situated or constructed as to endanger the public
safety.
C.
All trees, hedges, billboards or other obstructions
which prevent persons who are driving vehicles on public streets,
alleys or highways from obtaining a clear view of traffic when approaching
an intersection or pedestrian crosswalks.
D.
All limbs of trees which project over a public sidewalk,
less than eight feet above the surface thereof or less than 10 feet
above the surface of a public street.
E.
All wires over streets, alleys or public grounds which
are strung less than 15 feet above the surface of a street or ground.
F.
All obstructions of streets, alleys, sidewalks or
crosswalks and all excavations in or under the same, except as permitted
by ordinances of the City or which, although made in accordance with
such ordinances, are kept or maintained for an unreasonable period
of time after the purpose thereof has been accomplished.
G.
All open and unguarded pits, wells, excavations or
unused basements freely accessible from any public street, alley or
sidewalk.
H.
All abandoned refrigerators or iceboxes from which
the doors and other covers have not been removed or which are not
equipped with a device for opening from the inside.
I.
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, except where permission
has been given therefor by the Mayor and Council.
[Added 8-12-1996 by Ord. No. 96-018]
A.
If the inspecting officer determines that a public
nuisance exists on private property and that there is great and immediate
danger to the public health, safety, peace, morals or decency, the
inspecting officer shall cause notice to be served upon the owner
or, if the owner cannot be found, on the occupant, tenant or person
causing, permitting or maintaining such nuisance and to post a copy
of the notice on the premises.
B.
Such notice shall direct the owner, occupant or person
causing, permitting or maintaining such nuisance to abate or remove
such nuisance within 24 hours. The notice shall state that, unless
such nuisance is so abated, the City will cause it to be abated and
will charge the costs to the owner, occupant or person causing, permitting
or maintaining the nuisance.
[Amended 8-12-1996 by Ord. No. 96-018]
A.
All complaints alleging the existence of a public
nuisance shall be filed with the Housing Inspector.
B.
The Housing Inspector shall inspect or cause to be
inspected the premises and make a written report of his or her findings.
Whenever practicable, the inspecting officer shall cause photographs,
videotape or other such evidence of the premises to be made and filed
with his or her written report.
If the nuisance is not abated within the time
provided or if the owner, occupant or person causing the nuisance
cannot be found, the Housing Inspector shall cause the abatement or
removal of such public nuisance.
[Amended 8-12-1996 by Ord. No. 96-018]
If the inspecting officer shall determine that
a public nuisance exists on private premises, but that the nature
of such nuisance is not such as to threaten great and immediate danger
to the public health, safety, morals or decency, he or she shall file
a written report of his or her findings with the Director of Building,
Zoning and Environmental Development and the City Attorney. The Director
shall cause an action to abate such nuisance to be commenced in a
court of competent jurisdiction.
In addition to any other penalty imposed by this chapter for the erection, contrivance, creation, continuance or maintenance of a public nuisance, the cost of abating a public nuisance by the City shall be collected as a debt from the owner, occupant or person causing, permitting or maintaining the nuisance. If notice to abate the nuisance has been given to the owner, such cost shall be assessed against the real estate as other special taxes. Any costs and penalties imposed shall not relieve the person violating any provision of this chapter from responsibility for such violation and shall be in addition to the penalty provided for in § 1-27 of this Code of the City of Monroe.
A.
The Mayor and City Council may, by resolution, identify
ongoing or unabated threats or nuisances to the public health, safety
or welfare requiring prompt remedial action, and, further, by way
of said resolution, may order or take whatever steps are deemed necessary
to cause the prompt or expedient abatement or remedy of such threats
or nuisances. However, before such action shall be taken, the following
conditions shall be observed:
(1)
There shall be a report to the Mayor and City Council
from the office of the City Manager identifying and detailing the
threats or nuisances to the public health, safety or welfare.
(2)
The report of the City Manager to the Mayor and City
Council shall enumerate whatever actions, steps or procedures are
deemed necessary to cause the threats or nuisances to the public health,
safety or welfare to be promptly or expeditiously abated or remedied.
B.
No power or authority granted hereunder shall be construed
to be in conflict with the laws or Constitution of this state or of
the United States.
