CROSS REFERENCE: For provisions pertaining to exterminators and insecticides, see Section 16:19-1.
For provisions in Housing Code pertaining to vermin control, see Sections 18:4-1.4 and 18:3-1.7.
[R.O. 1966 § 14:8-1]
As used in this chapter, unless otherwise provided for or unless otherwise shown by the context:
BUILDING
Shall mean any structure, whether public or private, that is adapted for occupancy, for transaction of business, for rendering of professional service, for amusement, for the display, sale or storage of goods, wares or merchandise, or for the performance of work or labor, including hotels, apartment buildings, multi-family dwellings, office buildings, public buildings, stores, theaters, markets, restaurants, grain elevators, abattoirs, warehouses, workshops, factories and all outhouses, sheds, barns and other structures on premises used for business purposes.
OCCUPANT
Shall mean the individual, partnership or corporation that has the use of or occupies any business building or a part or fraction thereof, whether the actual owner or tenant. In the case of vacant business buildings or any vacant portion of a business building the owner, agent or other person having custody of the building shall have the responsibility of an occupant of a building.
OWNER
Shall mean the actual owner of the building, whether individual, partnership or corporation, or the agent of the building, or other person having custody of the building or to whom the rent is paid. In the case of business buildings leased with a clause in the lease specifying that the lessee is responsible for maintenance and repairs, the lessee will be considered in such cases as the "owner" for the purpose of this chapter.
RAT ERADICATION
Shall mean the elimination of extermination of rats within buildings so that the buildings are completely freed of rats or there is no evidence of rat infestation remaining, by any or all of the accepted measures, such as poisoning, fumigation, trapping, clubbing, and other accepted means.
RAT HARBORAGE
Shall mean any condition which provides shelter or protection for rats, thus favoring their multiplication and continued existence in, under or outside a structure of any kind.
RATPROOFING
Shall mean a form of construction to prevent the ingress of rats into buildings from the exterior or from one building or establishment to another. It consists essentially of treating with material impervious to rat gnawing all actual or potential openings in the exterior walls, ground or first floors, basements, roof and foundations, that may be reached by rats from the ground by climbing or by burrowing.
[R.O. 1966 § 14:8-2]
It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any premises within the City to maintain such premises in a vermin or rat infested condition or to permit any such premises to become infested with vermin or rodents.
[R.O. 1966 § 14:8-4]
It shall be the duty of the Health Officer to cause an inspection of any premises in the City which he/she has good reason to believe is not in a ratproof condition.
[R.O. 1966 § 14:8-7]
It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, damage or destroy any part of any building or other appurtenance of improved real estate premises, intended to protect such premises against ingress of rats, or in any other way to create a condition by which ingress for rats is made possible; provided, that this section shall not apply where the interference with the ratproofing is made necessary in connection with a lawful construction, in which event, however, the ratproofing shall be promptly restored.
[R.O. 1966 C.S. § 14:8-8; Ord. No. 6 S+FE, 10-17-2007; Ord. 6PSF-E, 8-6-2014]
a. 
No person shall throw, place or deposit or permit any person under his/her control or employment to throw, place or deposit any putrid substances, night soil, filth of any kind, garbage, rubbish, refuse piles, old lumber or other rat harborage or any unwholesome or combustible material, in or upon any vacant lot, alley, lane, sidewalk or street, canal, lake or river, or upon any private lot or public ground within the City without the approval and consent of the Director.
b. 
A reward of $150 shall be paid to any person or persons providing information leading to the detection and apprehension of any person found guilty of violating paragraph a of this section. The reward is to be payable after conviction out of a fund established for this purpose, but no such reward may be paid to any public employee whose duty is to investigate or to enforce the law. The Director of the Department of Health and Community Wellness is authorized to award the reward with the consent of the Municipal Council.
CROSS REFERENCE: For procedure to compel the removal of waste matter from private lands, see Section 18:4-1 et seq. of these Revised General Ordinances.
For additional provisions pertaining to littering of public places, see Section 29:20-1 et seq. of these Revised General Ordinances.
For garbage as health nuisance, see Section 16:15-1.
[R.O. 1966 § 14:8-9]
No person shall place food in the open for the feeding of any domesticated fowl, birds or animals except in such containers as will prevent the scattering of such food upon the ground. After such feeding, such food shall not be allowed to remain where it is accessible to rats.
[R.O. 1966 § 14:8-10]
It shall be the duty of any person engaged in the demolition of any structure in the City to first secure permission from the Health Officer before the commencement of such demolition. Any building infested with rodents and insects shall be treated with an effective fumigating compound before such demolition begins.
CROSS REFERENCE: For requirements pertaining to demolition of Buildings, see Title VII, State Uniform Construction Code.