This article is adopted pursuant to the police powers and authority given cities by the constitution, codes and general laws of the state and the home rule charter.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. I, sec. 1, adopted 4/7/03)
The purpose of this article is to provide for public health and general welfare, the efficient and effective provision of city services and the protection of the environment and natural resources of the community. From and after the passage of this article, all residential, business, commercial and industrial occupancies and uses within the city and its service area shall conform to the following rules and regulations.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. I, sec. 2, adopted 4/7/03)
(a)
The provision of water, wastewater and solid waste collection services for the residents of the city is necessary for the public health of the citizens and the protection of the environment and natural resources of the city.
(b)
The city provides, or causes to be provided, water, wastewater and solid waste collection and disposal services to all residences and businesses within the city.
(c)
It is essential to the protection of the public health and environmental resources of the city that all occupied property within the city dispose of solid waste and refuse in a manner to conform with state law and that all such property with access to the water and/or wastewater system be served by such system.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. I, sec. 3, adopted 4/7/03)
For the purposes of this article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section; provided that, unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this article shall be interpreted so as to give them the same meaning as they have in common usage, and so as to give this article its most reasonable application.
Stoves, refrigerators, water tanks, washing machines, furniture, used and discarded mattresses and other waste materials, other than construction debris, dead animals, hazardous waste or stable matter, with weights or volumes greater than those allowed for carts.
Tree, shrub and brush trimmings or newspapers and magazines securely tied together forming an easily handled package not exceeding four feet (4') in length, two and one-half feet (2-1/2') in diameter and 35 pounds in weight.
Any premises, location or entity, public or private, including all industrial and commercial entities, within the corporate limits of the city or service area of the city, not a residential unit.
A plastic wheeled cart designed to store residential refuse.
The person, firm, corporation, municipal corporation or political subdivision which the city has designated to operate and maintain the city’s water system.
Any establishment, public or private, rendering a service, manufacturing a product, offering a product for sale or [engaging in] any other similar activity. Apartment complexes and other such multifamily rental communities shall be considered commercial.
The initial or first connection (tap) or any subsequent additional connection of a residential or business unit to the city’s water system.
Waste building materials resulting from construction, remodeling, repair or demolition operations.
The person, corporation or partnership performing refuse collection and disposal under contract with the city.
Any person, firm or corporation receiving city water, wastewater or solid waste disposal services for a residential or business unit, whether within the city or outside the city limits.
An animal, or portion thereof, that has expired from any cause.
Accumulation of waste (animal, vegetable and/or other matter) that results from the preparation, processing, consumption, dealing in, handling, packing, canning, storage, transportation, decay or decomposition of meats, fish, fowl, birds, fruits, grains or other animal or vegetable matter (including, but not by way of limitation, used tin cans and other food containers, and all putrescible or easily decomposable waste animal or vegetable matter which is likely to attract flies or rodents), except (in all cases) any matter included in the definition of bulky waste, construction debris, dead animals, hazardous waste, rubbish or stable matter.
Waste, in any amount, which is defined, characterized or designated as hazardous by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or appropriate state agency by or pursuant to federal or state law, or waste, in any amount, which is regulated under federal or state law, including motor oil, gasoline, paint and paint cans.
The separate connection through which one metering facility serves other establishments or entities occupying the same building or location or adjoining property.
An individual human, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, limited liability partnership or other partnership or other such company, joint venture, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, association or corporation or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine; the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.
An occupant of a residential or business unit who generates refuse.
Residential refuse, bulky waste, construction debris and stable matter generated at a residential unit, unless the context otherwise requires, and commercial and industrial refuse.
All garbage and rubbish generated by a producer at a residential unit.
A dwelling within the corporate limits or service area of the city intended for occupancy by a person or group of persons comprising not more than one family. A dwelling shall be deemed occupied and shall be deemed by the city to be a separate residential unit for billing and collection purposes when either water or electrical power service is being supplied thereto.
Waste wood, wood products, tree trimmings, grass cuttings, dead plants, weeds, leaves, dead trees or branches thereof, chips, shavings, sawdust, printed matter, paper, pasteboard, rags, straw, used and discarded clothing, used and discarded shoes and boots, combustible waste pulp and other products such as are used for packaging or wrapping crockery and glass, ashes, cinders, floor sweepings, glass, mineral or metallic substances, and any and all other waste materials not included in the definition of bulky waste, construction debris, dead animals, garbage, hazardous waste or stable matter.
The individual metering facilities for each residential or business unit for which city services have been requested or provided, whether occupied or not.
Manure and other waste matter normally accumulated in or about a stable, or any animal, livestock or poultry enclosure, and resulting from the keeping of animals, poultry or livestock.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. I, sec. 4, adopted 4/7/03)
(a)
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article, or shall fail to comply therewith, or with any of the requirements thereof, within the city limits, shall be deemed guilty of an offense and shall be liable for a fine as provided in section 1.01.009. Each day the violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Such penalty shall be in addition to all the other remedies provided herein.
(b)
It shall be unlawful to receive water, wastewater or solid waste collection service from the city and fail to pay the fees and charges for such service or services. It shall be prima facie evidence that a delinquent customer is in violation of this section if the service fees or charges remain unpaid thirty (30) days after receiving written notice of such delinquency. Conviction of the offense of failure to pay a service fee or charge shall be a misdemeanor subject to a fine as provided in section 1.01.009. Each day in violation shall be deemed a separate offense and subject to the penalty herein provided.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. VII, sec. 6, adopted 4/7/03)
(a)
If an officer charged with the enforcement of this article shall determine that a person has violated any provision of this article, such officer may issue a citation.
(b)
If an officer charged with the enforcement of this article shall determine that a situation exists which immediately affects or threatens the health, safety and well-being of the general public, and that immediate action is necessary, such officer may take such action as shall be necessary, including issuing citations for violations of the terms and provisions hereof to the owner and/or occupant of the property upon which such condition exists, as may be deemed appropriate and necessary.
(c)
If an officer charged with enforcement of this article determines a situation constitutes an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare, and the owner or occupant of the property is absent or fails to immediately remedy the violation, the city council may, at a regular session or at an emergency session called for the purpose of considering the issue, upon evidence heard, determine that an emergency exists and order such action as may be required to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
(d)
If any owner or occupant shall fail or refuse to remedy any of the conditions prohibited by this article within seven (7) days after notice to do so, the city may terminate services or do such work or cause the same to be done, and pay therefor, and charge the expenses in doing or having such work done or improvements made to the owner(s) of the property, and such charge shall be a personal liability of such owner to the city.
(e)
Notices required pursuant to this article shall be in writing. Such notices may be served upon such owner and/or occupant as follows: in person by an officer or employee of the city; by letter addressed to such owner or occupant at his/her post office address; or, if personal service may not be had, or the owner’s or occupant’s address be not known, then notice may be given by publishing a brief summary of such order at least once in the official newspaper of the city or by posting a notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation relates, or, if no building exists, by posting notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates. Notices of termination of services for nonpayment shall be mailed regular first class mail to the address designated on the account for receipt of bill and shall be deemed served within three (3) days of deposit in the regular mail. The notice may state “Sanitary Improvements,” “To Whom It May Concern” and a brief statement of the violation(s) or delinquency. If the notice is for delinquency, the notice shall include a termination date and location for payment for services. Service of the notice by any one of the above methods, or by a combination thereof, shall be deemed sufficient notice.
(f)
If an owner is mailed a notice in accordance with subsection (e) and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as “refused” or “unclaimed,” the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered.
(g)
Notices of nuisances provided by mail or by posting as set forth in subsection (e) may provide for year-round abatement of the nuisance and inform the owner that, should the owner commit any other violation of the same kind that poses a danger to the public health and safety on or before the first anniversary of the date of the notice, the city without further notice may abate the violation at the owner’s expense and assess the costs against the property.
(h)
Persons in violation of this article or causing or creating a prohibited nuisance in the presence of a person authorized to enforce this article may be cited or a complaint filed for such violation without notice of the violation, or warning, and such citation or complaint shall be filed in the municipal court of the city.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. VII, sec. 2, adopted 4/7/03)
In addition to any other remedy provided in this article and cumulative thereto, the code compliance officer, after giving to the owner of the property seven (7) days’ notice in writing, as provided in section 13.02.006, may cause any of the work or improvements mentioned in this article to be done at the expense of the city, and charge the utility bill of the property on which such work or improvements are done, and cause all of the actual cost to the city to be assessed on the real estate or lot on which such expenses occurred; provided that the owner of any such real estate may appeal to the city council from the order of the code enforcement officer by filing a written statement with the code compliance officer within seven (7) days after receipt of the notice provided for above, stating that such real estate complied with the provisions of this article before the expiration of a seven-day period. The city council shall set a date, within thirty (30) days from the date of the appeal, for hearing the appeal, to determine whether the real estate complied with the provisions of this article before the expiration of such seven-day period. The authority of the code compliance officer to proceed to cause such work to be done shall not be suspended while an appeal from the order is pending. If it shall be determined by the city council that the premises complied with the provisions of this article before the expiration of the seven-day period, then no personal liability of the owner shall arise nor shall any lien be created against the premises upon which such work was done.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. VII, sec. 3, adopted 4/7/03)
(a)
Cumulative of the city’s remedy by fine, as set forth herein, the city may do such work or cause the same to be done to remedy such condition or to remove such matter from such owner’s premises at the city’s expense and charge the same to the utility bill of such property and assess the same against the real estate or lot or lots upon which such expense is incurred.
(b)
Expenditures plus twelve (12) percent per annum interest on the expenditures from the date of such payment by the city shall be added to the next billing cycle for utility bills for the real estate or lot or lots, if not already paid. Payment shall be due and payable in full by the owner or occupant at the time of payment of such utility bill. If the property is unoccupied, no utilities shall be furnished to the property where the work occurred until such obligation, as herein set out, payable to the city for abatement of any nuisance described herein is paid in full.
(c)
Upon filing with the county clerk of a statement by the city secretary or designee of such expenses, the city shall have a privileged lien upon said real estate or lot or lots, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements, to secure the expenditure so made, and ten (10) percent per annum interest on the amount from the date of such payment so made by the city.
(d)
The city may, additionally, institute suit and recover such expenses and foreclose such lien in any court of competent jurisdiction, and the statement so filed with the county clerk or a certified copy thereof shall be prima facie proof of the amount expended in any such work or improvements to remedy such condition or remove any such matter.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. VII, sec. 4, adopted 4/7/03)
The civil and criminal provisions of this article shall be enforced by the persons or agencies designated by the city, including but not limited to the city police department, the building official, and the code compliance officer. It shall be a violation of this article to interfere with a code compliance officer, or other person authorized to enforce this article, in the performance of his or her duties.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. VII, sec. 5, adopted 4/7/03)
Customers are not guaranteed a specific quantity or pressure of water, or any specific level of any solid waste, wastewater or other service, for any purpose whatever; and in no instance shall the city be liable for failure or refusal to furnish water or any particular amount or pressure of water or any other service under this article.
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. VII, sec. 1, adopted 4/7/03)
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any person, in any way, to intentionally or carelessly break, deface or in any manner damage, injure or destroy any hydrant, standpipe, lock box or other property belonging to the city, or belonging to others, and used in connection with the waterworks system of the city. No person other than a duly authorized agent of the city shall remove, repair, or tamper with or in any way interfere with the city’s meter boxes, meters, lock boxes, water service lines, wastewater service lines, or other water or wastewater system appurtenances. The city reserves the right to immediately and without notice remove the meter or disconnect water service to any customer whose meter has been tampered with and to assess actual repair charges to the customer plus a damage fee as set forth in appendix A to this code.
(b)
All meters, fittings, boxes, valves and appurtenances installed by city personnel shall remain the property of the city. The city reserves the right, on 24-hour notice and no appeal being filed, to remove the meter or disconnect water service to any customer whose meter or lock box has been tampered with and to assess actual repair charges to the customer plus a damage fee as set forth in appendix A to this code. As necessary or advisable to protect the public health or the operation and function of the city’s water or wastewater system, the city further reserves the right and authority to proceed immediately and without notice to disconnect, or to repair when and as necessary and appropriate, any meter, pipe, line or other appurtenance connected to the city water or wastewater system, and if such repair is made to any such line, pipe or appurtenance owned by any private property owner to assess the actual repair charges to the customer who owns, rents, or controls such property. Failure to repair or failure to pay for repairs performed by the city shall constitute cause for the city to terminate services to the customer charged with the repairs. The city requires each customer to “call before you dig” so the water department will be able to locate lines for the customer. Repair charges will be assessed to the customer if no attempt is made to contact the city water department before digging and damage occurs. Repair charges are due within 10 days from the date of invoice and are as follows:
(1)
Labor charges: Regular time for repairs needed during normal business hours. After 5:00 p.m. and weekends, time and one-half.
(2)
Equipment rental: Actual cost to city.
If not paid within 10 days from date of invoice, the city reserves the right to immediately and without notice remove the meter or disconnect water service until all repair charges are paid in full. |
(Ordinance 2003-04-07-009, art. VI, secs. 1, 2, adopted 4/7/03; Ordinance adopting Code)