[Ord. No. 508 §§1
— 9, 4-17-2006]
A.
A. No person owning or occupying a lot in the City shall allow any
tree, shrubbery, bush, plant, fence, structure, or other impediment,
or any part thereof, to be located within twenty-four (24) inches
of any portion of a fire hydrant, water meter or sewer manhole. It
shall also be the duty of such person to ensure that at all times
such fire hydrant is clearly visible from a street or private road
and that any water or sewer manhole be clearly visible and unobstructed.
[Ord. No. 807 §1, 1-20-2014]
B.
It
shall be the duty of any person owning property in the City, or being
in possession thereof under a lease having more than one (1) year
to run, to immediately cut down to ground level all dead trees on
such property and remove from the property all parts thereof including
any wood cut therefrom and all dead limbs more than two (2) inches
in diameter. It shall also be the duty of such persons to immediately
remove from such property or any place where such trees or limbs are
located, including creeks, any fallen trees or limbs that originated
from their property.
C.
It
shall be the duty of any person owning property, or being in possession
thereof under a lease having more than one (1) year to run, that abuts
a public right-of-way or easement in the City to maintain the existing
trees and cut the grass in the abutting right-of-way or easement.
Grass must be kept less than twelve (12) inches in height at all times
and trees must be cared for as is required in the above Subsections
of this Section.
D.
It
shall be unlawful for any person owning property in the City, or being
in possession thereof under a lease having more than one (1) year
to run, to maintain or allow to stand upon such lot or parcel of ground
any tree or tree limb which, due to a diseased, decayed or broken
condition or for any other reason, endangers or is likely to injure
any person or property in and upon a street or any adjacent property
in the City or to cause damage to any tree of other land owners by
the spread of contagious disease.
E.
It shall be the duty of any person owning property in the City, including a right-of-way, or being in possession thereof under a lease having more than one (1) year to run, to properly cause such trees or tree limbs as are described in Subsection (G) of this Section to be cut down and no tree or tree limb in the City which has been cut down or which has fallen or been broken down shall be permitted to remain upon any sidewalk, street or adjacent property in the City or so near thereto as to endanger any person thereon, and it shall be the duty of the owner of such lot or parcel of ground to cause the same to be promptly removed and it shall be unlawful for any such owner to fail so to do.
F.
It
shall be the duty of any person owning property, or being in possession
thereof under a lease having more than one (1) year to run, that abuts
a public right-of-way or easement in the City to maintain the existing
culverts and tinhorns on that property or install new culverts and
tinhorns at the owner's expense.
G.
Upon
any complaint filed with the Board of Aldermen relative to the violation
of any provision of this Chapter, the Board of Aldermen shall have
an inspection made of such premises and, if the condition which constitutes
the alleged violation is found to exist, it shall be deemed a nuisance.
Upon order of the Mayor, the City Clerk shall issue written notice
to the owner of such property if his address be known or, if no owner
is known, then to the caretaker or resident thereon or, if no caretaker
or resident is known, then by a posting of written notice on the premises
in a conspicuous manner and such notice shall direct such person to
abate such nuisance within a period of time, not more than five (5)
days, to be stated in the notice; and it shall be unlawful for any
person to whom such notice has been given to fail to comply with the
requirement thereof. Whenever the owner, caretaker or resident of
any premises shall fail to abate any nuisance whereon within the time
stated in a notice as provided in this Chapter, the Mayor or his designee
shall cause such nuisance to be abated and a special tax bill shall
be issued for the total cost therefor against the property upon which
such labor is performed and such special tax bill shall be a lien
upon such property.
H.
Upon
determination by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen that a hardship exists
as to landowner's ability to fulfill any of the requirements of this
Chapter, the Board may waive the strict enforcement of this Chapter
and may direct such actions as deemed necessary to fulfill the policies
set forth herein.
