[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Phelps 11-14-2016 by L.L.
No. 3-2016.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building code — See Ch. 60.
Unsafe structures and equipment — See Ch. 64.
Landfills and dumping — See Ch. 77.
Exterior lighting — See Ch. 92.
Landscaping review standards — See Ch. 93.
Solid waste — See Ch. 119.
Zoning — See Ch. 145.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also provided for the repeal
of former Ch. 105, Property Maintenance, adopted 7-21-1975 as Ch.
75 of the 1975 Code, as amended.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Property
Maintenance Law."
The purpose of this chapter is to create Town-wide, uniform
property maintenance standards, which give the Town Code Enforcement
Officer another tool to preserve the health, safety and general welfare
of the residents, businesses and guests of the Town of Phelps by controlling
the spread of weeds and allergy-irritating pollen to surrounding lots,
by protecting property values, by preventing blight, by prohibiting
the outdoor placement or storage of abandoned or junked motor vehicles,
and by keeping lots free from nuisances, hazards, litter, vermin and
the debris and hazards resulting from lots, buildings or structures
damaged by fire, wind, weather or neglect.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any motor vehicle defined as an "abandoned vehicle" pursuant
to § 1224 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of
New York, as amended, and/or an unregistered, uninspected or inoperable
automobile, snowmobile, lawn mower, go-cart, motorcycle, boat, trailer,
other motor vehicle, machinery or equipment, which is openly stored
or situated on property within the Town of Phelps.
Any automobile, snowmobile, lawn mower, go-cart, motorcycle,
boat, trailer, other motor vehicle, machinery or equipment, including
component parts thereof, which is stored in open, outdoor storage
and which, for any reason, is incapable of moving by its own power
in the manner in which it was designed to move, and which is not intended
for or in condition for safe and legal use on public highways.
Includes, but shall not be limited to, any waste metal or
materials, garbage, refuse, rubbish, old refrigerators, stoves or
like products, used bottles or cans, glass, wood, lumber, or vegetable
matter of any kind, or any other matter which is flammable or capable
of fermentation, evaporation or decay, abandoned building or construction
materials or supplies, discarded paper or material of junk substance,
any item, thing or object which is no longer suitable for the use
it was originally manufactured or designed for and/or which has no
practical economic value except for salvage or junk, tree stumps or
matter attractive to vermin or likely to breed disease, cause fire
or be a health hazard.
A.
No person, business or other entity shall place, deposit, store or
allow to remain upon any property within the Town of Phelps abandoned
motor vehicles or junk vehicles for a period of six months or more,
except in a garage or other similar enclosure.
B.
The provisions of Subsection A of this section shall not apply to commercial junkyard uses, to new or used car sales dealers at their place of business, or to motor vehicle repair garages, if such uses are permitted by Chapter 145 (Zoning) of the Code of the Town of Phelps. The provisions of Subsection A of this section shall also not apply if such prohibited actions are protected by the right-to-farm provisions contained in Chapter 82 of the Code of the Town of Phelps.
C.
No person, business or other entity shall abandon, leave, dump, store
or keep any nuisance, hazard or litter or matter attractive to vermin
upon any public street, public place or privately owned property within
the Town of Phelps, and all properties within the Town of Phelps shall
be kept free and clear of nuisances, hazards and litter.
A.
The owner, tenant or occupant of every improved lot within the Town
of Phelps and the owner of every vacant lot that is within a subdivision
approved by the Town of Phelps Planning Board shall maintain such
lot by cutting or mowing such property as frequently as is necessary
to ensure that no growth of weeds or grass shall exceed eight inches
in length or height and shall ensure that there is no accumulation
of dead weeds, grass or brush.
B.
The owner, tenant or occupant of every lot or parcel of land in the
Town of Phelps shall maintain hedges, shrubs and trees so as to keep
the same from encroaching onto public sidewalks and into lines of
sight of public roadways. It shall also be unlawful for the owner
of any lot or parcel of land in the Town of Phelps to cause, suffer
or allow poison ivy, ragweed or other poisonous plants or plants detrimental
to health to grow on any such lot or plot of land in such manner that
any part of such poison ivy, ragweed, other poisonous weed or other
plants detrimental to health shall extend upon, overhang or border
a public sidewalk, public right-of-way, public highway or any other
public place.
C.
The owner, tenant or occupant of property located in the Town of
Phelps is hereby required to remove all abandoned motor vehicles or
equipment, all junk vehicles and all nuisances, hazards and litter
or matter attractive to vermin, as hereinabove defined, when ordered
to do so by the Town of Phelps Code Enforcement Officer within 10
days of written notice therefor.
D.
The owner of any property within the Town of Phelps which has been
damaged by fire, weather or neglect shall clean up said property within
six months of when the damage occurred so that any debris or materials
resulting from the fire, weather or neglect or by the efforts to extinguish
the fire are wholly removed from said property and so that any building
or structure damaged by the fire, weather or neglect is either demolished
and removed or repaired so that such building or structure has no
visible signs of the damage caused by the fire, weather or neglect
taking place thereat and is in full compliance with all New York State
and local building codes.
If the provisions of this chapter are not complied with, the
Town of Phelps Code Enforcement Officer shall serve within the Town
of Phelps written notice of the violation upon the owner of the property
that is the subject of the violation or shall post a copy of the violation
on the property if an owner cannot be found to personally serve. If
the owner of said property is a nonresident of the Town of Phelps
or if the Code Enforcement Officer was unable to personally serve
the owner, a notice to cure the violation shall also be mailed to
such owner by registered mail, addressed to his or her last known
address that is on file with the Town Assessor.
A.
If the person upon whom a notice to cut and/or remove grass, weeds
and other vegetation is served fails, neglects or refuses to cure
the violation within the time frame specified in the notice, the Town
of Phelps Code Enforcement Officer shall cause such weeds, grass and
other vegetation on such lot or land to be cut and removed, and the
actual cost of such cutting and removal plus a service charge of 50%
thereof or $50, whichever is greater, to cover the cost of supervision,
inspection, administration and other additional costs in connection
therewith, shall be certified by the Town of Phelps Code Enforcement
Officer to the Town Supervisor, and such certified amount shall thereupon
be charged and assessed against the owner, tenant or occupant of the
property that was the subject of the violation. The expense, so assessed,
shall constitute a lien and charge on the real property on which it
is levied until paid or otherwise satisfied or discharged and shall
be collected and enforced in the same manner and at the same time
as other Town taxes and charges.
B.
The owner of any lot, land or property found in violation of Subsection A, B or C of § 105-5 of this chapter shall be notified, in writing, only once in any given calendar year for a particular violation. Subsequent violations of a similar nature at the same location during the same season shall be corrected by the Town or its agent without notice to the owner of said property. After initial notification, such owner, occupant or person having control of said property will be presumed to have been given sufficient notice of infraction for the entire season. The costs incurred by the Town in curing any subsequent violations shall be collected in the same manner as set forth in Subsection A of this section.
C.
The Town Board of the Town of Phelps, by resolution, may cause any
abandoned motor vehicle or equipment, any junk vehicle and/or any
nuisance, hazard or litter to be removed from any property within
the Town of Phelps upon the failure of such owner, tenant or occupant
to comply with the written notice aforementioned within the time limit
specified on the notice. Said removal may be performed by the Town
itself, or the Town may contract with a private entity or contractor.
The Town Board shall ascertain the cost of such removal, and such
cost shall be charged and assessed against the owner of the property.
The expense so assessed shall constitute a lien and charge on the
real property on which it is levied until paid or otherwise satisfied
or discharged and shall be collected in the same manner and at the
same time as other Town charges.
D.
The removal of any abandoned motor vehicle or equipment, any junk
vehicle and/or any nuisance, hazard or litter by the Town of Phelps
or its designee or agent shall not operate to excuse such owner from
properly maintaining his or her property as required by this chapter,
and such owner, tenant or occupant shall, notwithstanding, be subject
to the penalties set forth in this chapter.
Any person found guilty of violating any provision of this chapter,
and the owner of any premises on which a violation is committed, shall
be punished by a fine not to exceed $250 or imprisonment for a period
not to exceed 15 days, or both. Each week's continued violation
shall constitute a separate, additional violation.
The provisions of this chapter shall be subject to and subordinate
to the provisions of the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law.
The Town of Phelps Code Enforcement Officer is hereby charged
with the responsibility and duty to administer and enforce this chapter.
