A nuisance shall be deemed whatever annoys, injures, or endangers
the safety, health, comfort, repose or tranquility of the public;
offends public decency; interferes with or obstructs and renders dangerous
any street, highway, lake, river or stream; or in any way renders
the public insecure in life and property. All such conditions are
hereby declared to be public nuisances.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, land contract vendee, vendor
or lessee, or occupant of any premises to maintain a public nuisance
on either public or private property anywhere in the City.
[Amended 8-21-2018 by Ord. No. 230]
The following acts, equipment, apparatus, and structures are
hereby declared to be public nuisances per however, this enumeration
shall not be deemed to be exclusive:
A. Storing, etc., of vehicles.
1. The storing or parking of any motor vehicle, or body or chassis of
a motor vehicle, not bearing a currently valid motor vehicle license
registration plate; or which is being dismantled for its parts; or
which has missing, unattached, or defective parts or components (e.g.,
missing wheels or flat or missing tires), or which is inoperable or
unable to be operated under its own power, or which cannot function
as it was intended and designed to function legally on the roadway;
or any licensed or unlicensed semitrailer, whether attached to a tractor
or not, excluding facilities licensed by the state for such use and
located in an appropriately zoned district, is hereby declared to
be a nuisance and prohibited, unless such vehicle, body or chassis
is enclosed in a building or other enclosure so as not to be visible
from surrounding property, and the owner or occupant of any property
upon which such parking or storage exists shall be deemed to have
permitted the same; provided, however, that a reasonable number of
such vehicles, excluding semitrailers, may be kept for 60 days on
the premises of businesses regularly engaged in body and vehicle repairs.
2. The maximum number of such vehicles which is considered reasonable
shall be determined by the gross square footage of the building housing
such a business at a rate of one such vehicle for each 1,000 square
feet of gross area of the building housing such a business. However,
in no event will more than three vehicles be permitted. Vehicles in
excess of the number which has been found to be reasonable and any
semitrailers shall be removed within 15 days after the personal delivery
or mailing of notice by certified mail to the person, firm, or corporation
which owns or operates said premises, or a violation of this chapter
shall exist.
B. Owners and occupants responsible for premises being kept clean, etc.
All persons who own, manage, lease, rent, or occupy any premises whatsoever
shall be equally responsible for keeping such premises in a clean
and habitable condition and shall take all necessary precautions to
prevent any nuisance as herein declared, or condition detrimental
to public health from arising thereon, and particularly to take all
reasonable precautions to prevent the throwing, placing, depositing,
or leaving on any street, highway, alley, public place, or on any
private place or premises any garbage, refuse, papers, tin cans, bottles,
glass, rubbish, ashes, junk, inoperable machinery, or abandoned households
goods or effects, where such throwing, placing, or depositing is likely
to be dangerous or detrimental to public health, or likely to cause
sickness or attract flies, insects, or rodents. Every person shall
comply with such rules and regulations for the storage, collection,
and pickup of garbage as may be established and published by the City
Council from time to time.
C. Fires and burning. No person shall kindle any fire within the City, except within a fire-resistant fireplace, stove, or barbecue grill. The burning of refuse, garbage, rubbish, yard waste, or other similar materials (as defined within Section
15-2 of this Code) in open barrels, containers, enclosures, or upon any open space is expressly prohibited, excluding wood or charcoal which is to be used exclusively within a fire-resistant fireplace, stove, or barbecue grill.
D. Littering of streets, parks, playgrounds, etc. The littering of public
streets, alleys, roadways, parking areas, playgrounds, school and
church yards, cemeteries, parks, beaches, camping areas, or other
public places is hereby expressly prohibited. No person shall throw,
place, deposit, or leave any garbage, refuse, papers, tin cans, bottles,
glass, rubbish, ashes, junk, inoperable machinery, or abandoned household
goods or effects in any of the aforementioned places or in any public
place, except in trash containers expressly provided for that purpose.
E. Smoke, soot, cinders, noxious acids, fumes, fly ash, and gases prohibited.
No person shall permit or cause the escape of such quantities of smoke,
soot, cinders, noxious acids, fly ash, fumes, and gases in such place
or manner as to be detrimental to any person or to the public or to
endanger the health, comfort, or safety of any such person or of the
public or in such manner as to cause or have a tendency to cause injury
or damage to property or business.
F. Blocking of streets and sidewalks. Any use of the public streets or sidewalks which causes large crowds to gather or obstructs the free use of the streets or sidewalks, without first obtaining a permit from the City Council as prescribed in Chapter
13 of this Code, shall be deemed a public nuisance.
G. Dangerous or damaged structures, excavations, ponds, or pools of
water. All buildings, walls, and other structures which have been
damaged by fire, decay, or otherwise, and all excavations remaining
unfilled or uncovered for a period of 30 days or longer, and all pools
of stagnant water which are situated so as to endanger the safety
of the public and to attract or endanger children are deemed to be
a public nuisance.
H. Open storage. The open storage of building materials, supplies, construction
machinery, and equipment of any kind or sort whatsoever on any occupied
or unoccupied lot in a residential zone is prohibited, except as may
be permitted during a specified construction period as shown by a
valid and existing building permit given for the erection, alteration,
or repair of a building on the site where such materials and equipment
are stored. The open storage of goods, supplies, furnishings, furniture,
except for lawn or patio furniture during the season, household or
household goods and effects whatever kind is also declared to be a
nuisance and expressly prohibited on any occupied or unoccupied lot
in a residential zone.
I. Unfinished buildings or structures. It shall be unlawful to permit
any unfurnished building or structure for which certificate of occupancy
and compliance has not been given wherein construction, alteration,
or repair was begun under a valid building permit, or where such construction,
alteration, or repair was begun in an unauthorized manner or where
such structures were moved upon the premises, to stand unfinished
or uncompleted where such use shall constitute a menace to public
health and safety or create an unreasonable detraction from the quality
of the neighborhood so as to result in blight, deterioration, and
the depressing of property values in the vicinity.
J. Owner, etc., to keep dwelling, etc., in habitable condition, etc.
Every building, dwelling, or structure, including garages and outbuildings,
shall be kept by the owner, land contract vendee, or occupant thereof
in a clean, neat, sanitary, structurally sound, and habitable condition
in order to prevent the premises from becoming a nuisance. It shall
be unlawful for any such owner, land contract vendee, or occupant
to allow a building to become abandoned and dilapidated by improper
maintenance, or permit weeds or other vegetation to grow, and trash,
rubbish, or refuse to accumulate on the property. Such owner or occupant
shall be responsible for maintaining suitable and safe means of ingress
and egress, for preventing fire hazards, for adequate sanitary facilities
on the premises, for preventing overcrowding and for providing proper
ventilation and light. Whenever such dwelling shall be deemed uninhabitable,
or unusable as hereinafter provided, it shall thereupon be deemed
a public nuisance.
K. Maintenance of vacant commercial, etc., buildings. The owner, land
contract vendee, or other person legally responsible shall have the
duty to maintain any empty, unused, or unrented commercial or industrial
buildings in a neat, clean, and structurally sound manner to prevent
the premises from becoming a nuisance. Such vacant buildings shall
have all windows glazed or neatly boarded up and shall be kept securely
locked at all times. It shall be the owner's responsibility to keep
the building free from all signs and posters not specifically authorized
by such owner.
L. Other nuisances.
1. All other acts, equipment, apparatus, or structures that may be deemed
to be a nuisance by virtue of interference with public health, safety,
moral and general welfare, which shall disturb the peace, comfort,
or tranquility of any person or the public, or interfere with the
use, enjoyment, and benefit of property so as to depress property
values and result in blight, deterioration or interfere with the normal
conduct of business, shall be deemed a public nuisance.
2. Casinos or other gaming establishments are deemed to be public nuisance
as previously defined in this section. Gaming establishments as those
selling Michigan State Lottery, church or other nonprofit organizations
fundraising events as Las-Vegas-style gaming are not deemed to be
public nuisances as previously defined.
M. Waste collection hours. Waste collection service activities, including
obtaining and removing waste, garbage, rubbish, trash, bulk waste,
and/or recyclable materials from dumpsters, cans, bins, receptacles,
and/or similar containers, or bulk waste within a container or not,
shall be an unlawful public nuisance when such activity is not conducted
between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern time.
N. Yard care hours for contractors. All yard care performed by contractors
which is not performed between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Eastern time on weekdays and between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00
p.m. Eastern time on Saturdays shall be an unlawful public nuisance.
All yard care performed by contractors on Sundays shall be an unlawful
public nuisance. For the purposes of this subsection, yard care shall
include all activates related to the planting, maintaining, trimming,
cutting, gathering, and/or removing of live, dead, or pieces of vegetative
matter, including but not limited to grass, trees, shrubs, bushes,
flowers, weeds, and noxious vegetation.
Notice regarding the abatement of any nuisance prohibited by
this chapter, the expense of which, if performed by the City, may
be assessed against the premises under the provisions of this chapter,
shall be served:
A. By delivering the notice to the owner, land contract vendee, vendor,
lessee or occupant, or other person legally responsible personally
or by leaving the same at their residence, office, or place of business
with some person of suitable age and discretion; or
B. By mailing such notice by certified or registered mail to the owner
of record at their last known address; or
C. If the owner is unknown, by posting such notice in some conspicuous
place on the premises at least 10 days before the action concerning
which the notice is given is required or is to occur.
The City Council and the duly authorized attorney for the City
may prosecute violators under the provisions of this chapter, order
the abatement of such nuisances, and for failure to comply with such
order, after a public hearing thereon, the City may cause the nuisance
to be removed and assess the costs thereof against the owner, vendee,
vendor, lessee or occupant of the premises, or proceed in any court
of competent jurisdiction for an injunction, mandamus, abatement,
or any other appropriate action for the enforcement of this chapter.
The City Council and the duly authorized attorney for the City, or
any owners of property affected by a public nuisance, may institute
injunction, mandamus, abatement, or any other appropriate action or
proceedings to prevent, enjoin, or abate any unlawful nuisance. Should
the City receive an order of demolition of a dangerous and uninhabitable
structure, the City may place a lien on the property for its actual
costs of removal, plus actual attorney fees and costs. Such a lien
would be placed on the next tax bill for the property as a special
assessment. The rights and remedies provided herein are cumulative
and in addition to all other remedies provided by law.