Any and all other objectionable, unsightly, or unsanitary matter of whatever nature means any condition, object, material or other matter that is dangerous or detrimental to human life or health; that renders the ground, the water, the air or food a hazard or likely to cause injury to human life or health; that is offensive to the senses; or that threatens to become detrimental to the public health. The term includes but is not limited to any abandoned wells, shafts or basements; abandoned refrigerators; stagnant or unwholesome water; sinks; privies; filth; carrion; rubbish; junk, trash, debris or refuse; impure or unwholesome matter of any kind; and any matter, condition or object which is objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary to a person of ordinary sensitivities.
Rubbish
means all refuse, tin cans, old vessels of all sorts, useless articles, discarded clothing and bottles of all sorts, and other non-decayable wastes.
Trash and debris
mean all manner of refuse, including but not limited to mounds of dirt, compost, piles of leaves, grass and weed clippings, paper trash, useless fragments of building material, rubble, household items and appliances, items of salvage such as scrap metal and wood, barrels, tires, objects that hold water for an extended time, tree and brush trimmings, and other miscellaneous wastes or rejected matter.
Weeds
includes all rank or uncultivated vegetable growth or matter which has grown to more than 12 inches in height; creates an unsanitary condition or becomes a breeding place for mosquitoes, rodents, vermin or other disease-carrying pests regardless of the height of the growth; or endangers property or is liable to catch on fire.
(Ordinance 1573, sec. 1, adopted 10/25/11)
Whatever is dangerous to human life or health; or whatever renders the ground, the water, the air, or any food or drink unwholesome and a hazard to human life and health is declared to be a nuisance.
(1969 Code, sec. 14-26; Ordinance 666, sec. 1, adopted 3/14/61)
The following are declared to be nuisances, and as such are liable to be abated, and the person guilty of causing, permitting, or suffering any of them upon his premises or in any building occupied or controlled by him or in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, or gutter immediately adjacent to such premises within the city limits or within 5,000 feet thereof shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided in section 1-6; the imposition of which penalty shall in no event prevent or relieve the offender of the payment of the abatement costs and expenses as herein provided:
(1) 
Any building, erection, or cellar or any part of such building, erection or cellar which is overcrowded, or not provided with adequate means of ingress or egress or is not sufficiently supported, ventilated, sewered, drained, cleaned, or lighted.
(2) 
All cellars, vaults, drains, pools, privies, sewers, yards, grounds, or premises which have for any cause become foul, nauseous, or offensive or injurious to the health, or unpleasant to the occupants of adjacent residences or to persons passing such premises. See also section 54-60.
(3) 
All carcasses, all decaying flesh, fish, fowl, fruit, or vegetables, all deposits of manure, all flesh of any kind or description whatsoever, all filthy or offensive water or slops in any private yard or premises, and all other unwholesome substances when thrown upon or conducted into or upon any street, alley, public ground, or enclosure in such manner as to render such substances unwholesome and offensive or liable to become unwholesome or offensive.
(4) 
All privies that are offensive from use; all markets, cellars, laundries, stores, or other buildings or places which are not kept clean and free from filthy and unwholesome substances and odors; all deposits or substances that are offensive or liable to engender disease.
(5) 
Every trade, business or occupation injurious to the health or comfort of persons who reside in the vicinity, and any can or receptacle containing water or slops suffered to become stagnant or offensive or unwholesome from any cause.
(6) 
The act of depositing filth or any foul, offensive, nauseous or injurious substance upon any sidewalk, street, alley, public thoroughfare, or other public place.
(7) 
The act of sweeping or depositing any trash, paper, or rubbish into any street, alley, public thoroughfare or other public place and allowing the same to remain in such place longer than six hours.
(8) 
The act of burning any hair, leather, rags, or any other substance of any kind which may cause or produce an offensive smell, smoke or odor capable of annoying persons living in the vicinity or persons passing along the streets, alleys or public thoroughfares.
(9) 
The act of defecating or urinating upon the streets, alleys or public grounds, or in any place that may be seen from a private residence, or by persons passing along the streets, alleys or public thoroughfares.
(10) 
The act of keeping, raising, possessing, or having in or about the premises, except within enclosures, any pigeons with intent to keep, raise or breed same.
(11) 
The act of any person of permitting or allowing any weeds, filth, or rubbish of any kind to remain on any sidewalk in front of or at the side of any premises owned by such persons, or in the street, to the middle thereof, in front or at the side of any premises owned or controlled by such person, or upon any alley, that may be at the rear or side of any lots owned or controlled by such person.
(12) 
The act of expectorating or spitting of:
(A) 
Mucous or saliva;
(B) 
Saliva mixed with tobacco;
(C) 
Secretions from the nose or air passages;
(D) 
The remains of any chewed or partly chewed tobacco or snuff; or
(E) 
The remnant of any partially chewed or smoked cigar or cigarette;
upon any sidewalk, public building, or public vehicle, place or building or public resort within the corporate limits of the city.
(13) 
The act of hauling, carrying or transporting any meat or slaughtered or dead animals or fish through the streets of the city without having the same entirely covered, screened, and protected from dust and public view.
(14) 
The act of scattering any advertisements, circulars, handbills, printed or written announcements, or paper of like character, or any medicines, upon the streets, sidewalks, alleys or within the public buildings or grounds within the limits of the city.
(15) 
The act of the owner or possessor of any animal which may die within the corporate limits of the city failing to have the carcass of same removed to the dump ground or a rendering plant within 18 hours after death of said animal.
(16) 
The act of throwing from any opening in, or carrying from, any dwelling or place of abode any night soil, feces, urine, or filthy or unclean water into or upon any alley, street, or sidewalk or into or upon any adjacent property not owned by the principal.
(17) 
The act of conducting or causing to be conducted into any alley or gutter of waste water from any sink or tank or any source of water supply which may produce any pools of stagnant water in said alley or gutter.
(18) 
The act of dumping upon and removing from any sidewalk, street or alley any coal or like material in a dry state, in such manner that annoying or offensive dust is generated from such material, or the act of leaving any coal dust or like material upon any sidewalk, street, or alley at or near the place where such coal or material was deposited or from which it was removed.
(19) 
Any article or substance placed upon any street, sidewalk, alley, gutter, drain or public ground except such articles as are permitted by ordinance of this city, in such manner as to obstruct such passageway.
(20) 
The act of throwing any glass, tin, queen’s ware, crockery, or other rubbish into or upon the sidewalks, streets, alleys, public thoroughfares, commons, drains, or butters.
(21) 
Any unwholesome food, liquor or adulterated medicine, and all cattle, horse or hog pens, stables or enclosed areas in which any cattle, horses or hogs may be kept or confined, which may from use have become offensive.
(22) 
The granaries, barns, elevators, or other premises where rats breed or are harbored.
(23) 
The act of allowing any privy to become dilapidated or out of repair so that any person within or the contents thereof may be exposed to view; the act of constructing or keeping on the premises any privy, the contents whereof are exposed to view, or can be seen from any street or public place; the act of discharging or causing to be discharged into any street, alley, public thoroughfare, or other public place or upon premises belonging to any other person the contents of such privy.
(24) 
Any nauseous, foul, or putrid liquids or substances likely to be nauseous, foul, offensive or putrid, discharged, placed, thrown or conducted into or upon any street, alley, public ground or common.
(25) 
The act of wrongfully casting, throwing, or depositing any filth, substance, or thing into any private well or cistern.
(26) 
The act of erecting or maintaining buildings or structures with roofs or eaves projecting beyond the property line or shedding water upon any property other than that belonging to the owner of such erection or building.
(27) 
Weeds or tall grass growing in excess of 12 inches upon premises located within the city. Vegetation on undeveloped property shall be kept at a height of 12 inches or less within 50 feet of the city right-of-way or public way. The remainder of the property should be kept free from vegetation growing in excess of 18 inches unless approved by the director of community development (ex., native grass approved by the federal crop rotation program).
(28) 
Any other act or thing done or suffered within the city limits or within 5,000 feet of said city limits which may interfere with the exercise and enjoyment of any member of the community of his right to be free from foul, noxious, offensive, or unpleasant odors or vapors or loud or offensive sounds or noises, and to breathe fresh air and to be free from the sight of foul or offensive objects and substances and the sound of loud or offensive sounds or noises.
(29) 
Accumulations.
Whenever and wherever weeds, rubbish or any other objectionable, unsightly and unsanitary matter of whatever nature shall exist, covering or partly covering the surface of any lot or parcel of real estate within the city so as to produce an unsightly appearance of which may harbor reptiles or rodents, create a fire hazard or result in unsanitary conditions, such a condition is declared to be unlawful, the abatement of which shall be a public necessity.
(30) 
Allowing trees, shrubbery and vines to obstruct any vehicle traveling through an alley, or which may obstruct a sidewalk or street or other public grounds. Sidewalks must have a height clearance of eight feet; streets and alleys must have 15 feet of overhead clearance.
(1969 Code, sec. 14-27; Ordinance 314 adopted 6/9/1914; Ordinance 666, sec. 3, adopted 3/14/61; Ordinance 838 adopted 5/11/71; Ordinance 1573, sec. 2, adopted 10/25/11; Ordinance 1674, sec. II, adopted 11/24/15)
Except as otherwise provided herein, in the event the owner or occupant shall fail or refuse to comply with any of the provisions of this article within ten days after notice to do so, the city may 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 owners of the property, whereupon such charge shall be a personal liability of such owner to the city, and shall be a lien on the property as authorized by law. Said notice may be in writing served upon such owner in person by an officer or employee of the city, or may be by letter addressed to such owner at his post office address, or if personal service may not be had as aforesaid, or the owner’s address be not known, then notice may be given by publishing a brief summary of said order as many as two times within ten consecutive days in some newspaper of general circulation in the city addressed “Sanitary Improvements,” “To Whom It May Concern,” and such publication shall be deemed sufficient notice.
(1969 Code, sec. 14-28; Ordinance 666, sec. 4, adopted 3/14/61)
Any residential property as defined by the city zoning ordinance set forth in appendix A to this Code, the owner, agent or occupant of such premises at the minimum, at the discretion of the community development director, shall be invoiced for the solid waste charges incurred by the city in abating the said nuisance. Any commercial property as defined by the city zoning appendix A, the owner, agent or occupant of such premises at the minimum, at the discretion of the community development director, shall be invoiced for the solid waste charges, equipment usage and manpower incurred by the city in abating the said nuisance.
(1969 Code, sec. 14-28.1; Ordinance 1475, sec. 2, adopted 3/27/07)
A $50.00 administrative fee shall be invoiced to any residential or commercial property owner, tenant, and/or responsible party for any citation issued for noncompliance to a nuisance regulation as herein expressed. A $100.00 administrative fee shall be invoiced to any residential or commercial property owner after the city abates the said nuisance.
(1969 Code, sec. 14-28.2; Ordinance 1479, sec. 3, adopted 5/22/07; Ordinance 1573, sec. 3, adopted 10/25/11)
(a) 
The following acts, among others, are declared to be nuisances in violation of this section, but said enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive:
(1) 
The playing of any radio, phonograph, tape player or other electronic device of a similar nature, or any musical instrument in such manner or with such volume, during the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., as to disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of persons of ordinary sensibilities in any dwelling or other type of residence, such persons being indoors or outdoors at any such location.
(2) 
The use of any loudspeaker or amplifier of such intensity that disturbs persons of ordinary sensibilities in the immediate vicinity of the equipment.
(3) 
The running of any automobile, motorcycle, or vehicle so out of repair, so loaded, or operating a vehicle in any such manner through a muffler or other device that will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises there from.
(4) 
The use of any mechanical device operated by compressed air, unless the noise to be created is effectively muffled and reduced to prevent loud or explosive noises there from.
(5) 
The erection, including excavation, demolition, alteration or repair work on any building, other than between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., as to create loud grating, grinding, jarring, or rattling noise or vibrations.
(6) 
The discharge into the open air of the exhaust of any steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine, motor vehicle engine or boat engine, except in case of an urgent necessity in the interest of public safety and convenience.
(7) 
The operation, as a part of any commercial business or institutional facility located in a RS-1, RS-2, RG, C-C, C-A/R, C-G, or C-F zoning district as defined by the city zoning appendix A, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., within 500 lineal feet of any occupied residential dwelling, of any heavy equipment, truck or machinery which emits noises of such intensity or loudness that annoys or disturbs persons of ordinary sensibilities within such distance, except in case of urgent necessity in the interest of public safety and convenience.
(b) 
This section is not intended to prohibit and shall not prohibit in any way the following activities:
(1) 
Operation of power lawnmowers or other lawn equipment or any equipment used for agricultural purposes, golf course or lawn maintenance;
(2) 
The emission of sound for the purpose of alerting persons to an emergency;
(3) 
Sound produced by emergency vehicles;
(4) 
Amplifiers used on vehicles to attract patrons that are operated by ice cream and snow cone vendors that produce jingles or music from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.;
(5) 
The use and operation of an amplified, mechanical bell system in connection with the use and occupancy of a church structure. However, such systems shall not be used or operated in a manner so as to be offensive to the ordinary sensibilities of a reasonable and prudent person; and
(6) 
The prohibitions of this section shall not apply to any athletic event, cultural event or concert authorized by the police chief.
(c) 
In addition to the fines and penalties set forth in this section for the enforcement of the provisions of this section, the city may enforce the provisions hereof by injunctive relief through an appropriate court of competent jurisdiction.
(1969 Code, sec. 14-29; Ordinance 1471, sec. 1, adopted 10/14/06; Ordinance 1471, sec. 1, adopted 11/28/06)
Any person who shall create, operate or maintain or aid and abet any person in creating, operating or maintaining a nuisance as defined in section 28-24 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and each day on which such nuisance shall be operated or maintained shall constitute a separate offense.
(1969 Code, sec. 14-30; Ordinance 599, sec. II, adopted 9/8/53)
The chief of police is authorized to grant permits to such persons who shall make application to him for the operation of loudspeaking equipment within the city on a temporary basis, but no such permit shall be granted for a period of more than three consecutive days at any one time. Any such person holding a permit granted under this section shall use such equipment only in such manner as shall be authorized by such permit and a violation of the terms of such permit shall be considered a violation of this Code.
(1969 Code, sec. 14-31; Ordinance 599, sec. III, adopted 9/8/53)