The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Nuisance
means, generally, whatever is injurious to health, or indecent,
or offensive to the senses; any obstruction to the free use of property
so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of the same; or
any obstruction that may endanger life. Further, a nuisance is hereby
declared to include the following:
(1) All
dead, decaying or putrid flesh, fish, fowl or vegetables left or strewn
in any highway, public road or in any street or alley or in or upon
any enclosure within the city.
(2) All
deposits of manure or other unwholesome substance or flesh of any
kind or description, and all offensive and filthy water or slops thrown
or conducted into or upon any street or alley, drain, gutter or public
ground, or into or upon any enclosure, either public or private, so
as to become offensive or unwholesome.
(3) All
markets, cellars, stores or other buildings that are not kept clean
and free from unwholesome substances or offensive smells.
(4) Any
box, barrel, or other receptacle containing water or slops, which
has become offensive or stagnant.
(5) The
intentional throwing or depositing of any unwholesome or filthy substance
into any public or private well or cistern.
(6) The
keeping or leaving open of any cellar or trap door or the grating
of any cellar or vault in or upon any sidewalk, street, alley or public
thoroughfare or passway.
(7) The
making, keeping or permitting any opening, hole or ditch in or across
any sidewalk, street, alley, public thoroughfare or passway.
(8) Defecating
or urinating in any street, alley, thoroughfare, public grounds or
in any place that may be seen from any private house, or by persons
passing along any street, alley or thoroughfare.
(9) All
cesspools or wells or other excavations into which any sewage, filth
or other unwholesome substances or deposits are conducted and permitted
to remain, unless such place is provided with some approved disposal
or septic tank system.
(Ordinance 04102018, art. I, sec.
1, adopted 4/10/18)
It shall be unlawful for any person who shall own or occupy
any lot in the city to permit or allow the accumulation of stagnant
water thereon, or to permit same to remain thereon.
(Ordinance 04102018, art. I, sec.
2, adopted 4/10/18)
It shall be unlawful for any person who shall own or occupy
any house, building, establishment, lot or yard in the city to permit
or allow any carrion, filth or other impure or unwholesome matter
to accumulate or remain thereon.
(Ordinance 04102018, art. I, sec.
3, adopted 4/10/18)
(a) It
is unlawful for any person, owner, agent, occupant, or anyone having
supervision or control of any lot, tract, parcel of land or portion
thereof, occupied or unoccupied, improved or unimproved, within the
city to allow uncultivated vegetation to grow to a height greater
than 18 inches on such tract. However, these restrictions shall not
apply to natural or nature park areas so designated by the city council.
Uncultivated vegetation means weeds, grass or other vegetation, excluding
trees, flowers, or shrubs, that is not regularly or systematically
cut, mowed, pruned, fertilized, or otherwise attended or nurtured
so as to induce or maintain a controlled pattern of growth.
(b) It
is unlawful for any owner, occupant, agent, or other person in control
of premises to allow fallen trees, fallen tree limbs or fallen branches,
brush, or underbrush growth to accumulate upon such premises. However,
these restrictions shall not apply to natural or nature parks so designated
by the city council.
(c) It
is unlawful for any owner, occupant, agent, or other person in control
of premises to allow rubbish, including newspapers, refrigerators,
stoves, furniture, tires, cans and appliances, trash, garbage, refuse,
junk, or debris, to collect upon such premises.
(d) Any prohibited accumulation or collection of vegetation or debris in violation of subsection
(a),
(b), or
(c) of this section is a public nuisance.
(e) Allegation
and evidence of a culpable mental state is not required for proof
of an offense defined by this article.
(Ordinance 04102018, art. I, sec.
4, adopted 4/10/18)
(a) If
the owner of property in the city does not comply within ten days
of notice of a violation, the city may:
(1) Do the work or make the improvements required; and
(2) Pay for the work done or improvements made and charge the expenses
to the owner of the property.
(b) The
notice must be given:
(1) Personally to the owner in writing;
(2) By letter addressed to the owner at the owner’s address as
recorded in the appraisal district records of the appraisal district
in which the property is located; or
(3) If personal service cannot be obtained:
(A) By publication at least once;
(B) By posting the notice on or near the front door of each building
on the property to which the violation relates; or
(C) By posting the notice on a placard attached to a stake driven into
the ground on the property to which the violation relates.
(c) The
notice hereunder shall inform the owner of the property that:
(1) The property is to be maintained so as to keep weeds, grass and other
specified vegetation at a height of less than 18 inches, or is to
be kept free from rubbish or other specified matter;
(2) The owner has ten days from the date of notice to correct the violation;
and
(3) If the owner does not comply with the notice, the city will enter
upon the property and will mow or do the work or make improvements
required, or will pay for the mowing or work done or improvements
made.
(d) If a notice is mailed to a property owner in accordance with subsection
(b) of this section, 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.
(e) In a notice provided under this section, the city may inform the owner by regular mail and a posting on the property, or by personally delivering the notice, that if the owner commits another violation of the same kind or nature 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 correct the violation at the owner’s expense and assess the expense against the property. If a violation covered by a notice under this subsection occurs within the one-year period, and the city has not been informed in writing by the owner of an ownership change, then the city without notice may take any action permitted by subsections
(a)(1) and
(2) of this section and assess its expense as provided by section
7.04.006 herein.
(Ordinance 04102018, art. I, sec.
5, adopted 4/10/18)
(a) The
city may recover its expenses incurred against the real estate on
which the work is done or improvements made.
(b) To
obtain a lien against the property, the mayor or municipal official
designated by the mayor must file a statement of expenses with the
county clerk. The lien statement must state the name of the owner,
if known, and the legal description of the property. The lien attaches
upon the filing of the lien statement with the county clerk.
(c) The
lien is security for the expenditures made and interest accruing at
the rate of ten percent on the amount due from the date of payment
by the city.
(d) The
lien is inferior only to:
(2) Liens for street improvements.
(e) The
city may bring a suit for foreclosure in the name of the city to recover
the expenditures and interest due.
(f) The
statement of expenses or a certified copy of the statement is prima
facie proof of the expenses incurred by the city doing the work or
making the improvements.
(g) The
remedy provided by this section is in addition to and cumulative of
any and all other remedies available to the city by ordinances and/or
state law.
(h) The
city may foreclose on its lien on property the subject of this article.
(Ordinance 04102018, art. I, sec.
6, adopted 4/10/18)
(a) The
city may abate, without notice, weeds that:
(1) Have grown higher than 48 inches; and
(2) Are an immediate danger to the health, life, or safety of any person.
(b) Not later than the tenth day after the date the city abates weeds under this section, the city shall give notice to the property owner in the manner required by section
7.04.005 of this article.
(c) The
notice shall contain:
(1) An identification, which is not required to be a legal description,
of the property;
(2) A description of the violations of this article that occurred on
the property;
(3) A statement that the city abated the weeds; and
(4) An explanation of the property owner’s right to request an
administrative hearing about the city’s abatement of the weeds.
(d) The
city shall conduct an administrative hearing on the abatement of weeds
under this section if, not later than the 30th day after the date
of the abatement of the weeds, the property owner files with the city
a written request for a hearing.
(e) An
administrative hearing conducted under this section shall be conducted
not later than the 20th day after the date a request for a hearing
is filed. The owner may testify or present any witnesses or written
information relating to the city’s abatement of the weeds.
(f) The city may assess expenses and create liens under this section as it assesses expenses and creates liens under section
7.04.006.
(g) The
remedy provided by this section is in addition to and cumulative of
any and all other remedies by city ordinances and/or state law.
(Ordinance 04102018, art. I, sec.
7, adopted 4/10/18)
A citation may be issued should there be a violation of this article, and upon conviction, and upon a finding of guilt, a fine may be assessed in an amount in accordance with the general penalty provided in section
1.01.009 of this code. Each day a violation occurs shall be treated as a separate offense.
(Ordinance 04102018, art. III, adopted 4/10/18; Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)