[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Washington 8-12-2021 by L.L. No. 2-2021. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Washington
Litter Control Law."
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words, phrases
and terms and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense include the future; words used in the plural number include
the singular; words used in the singular number include the plural;
and words in the masculine include the feminine and the neuter. The
word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
A building in which is conducted the main or principal use
of the lot on which said building is situated.
The sale of tangible personal property from residential premises
entitled "garage sale," "yard sale," "tag sale," "porch sale," "lawn
sale," "attic sale," "basement sale," "rummage sale," "flea market"
or any similar casual or occasional sale advertised to the public
at large as such.
Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from handling,
preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
Any printed or written matter, any sample or device, circular,
leaflet, paper, booklet or any other printed or otherwise reproduced
original or copies of any matter of literature.
Any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, or association
that rents, bails, leases or contracts for the use of one or more
vehicles and has the exclusive use thereof for any period of time.
Any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association
or organization engaged in the business of renting or leasing vehicles
to any lessee or bailee under a rental agreement, lease or otherwise,
wherein the lessee or bailee has the exclusive use of the vehicle
for any period of time.
Garbage, refuse and rubbish, as defined herein, and all other
waste material which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited,
tends to create a danger of public health, safety and welfare or tends
to create blight.
Any newspaper of general circulation, as defined by general
law, any newspaper duly entered with the Post Office Department of
the United States in accordance with federal statute or regulation,
and any newspaper filed and recorded with any recording officer, as
provided by general law, and, in addition thereto, includes any periodical
or current magazine regularly published with not less than four issues
per year, and sold to the public.
Any person, corporation, partnership, firm, agency, association,
lessee, or organization which at the time of the notice of violation
is issued pursuant to this chapter in which a vehicle is operated:
Is the beneficial or equitable owner of such vehicle; or
Has title to such vehicle; or
Is the registrant or coregistrant of such vehicle which is registered
with the Department of Motor Vehicles of this state or any other state,
territory, district, province, nation or other jurisdiction; or
Uses such vehicle in its vehicle renting and/or leasing business.
A park, reservation, playground, beach, recreation center
or any other public area in the Town, owned or operated by the Town
and devoted to active or passive recreation.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
Any house, building or other structure not owned or operated
by the Town, whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously inhabited
or vacant, including any yard, around parking lot, walk, driveway,
porch steps, vestibule or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to such
house, building or other structure.
A storage and collection container for the storage of litter
or rubbish or for the collection of reusable or recyclable household
items, such as clothing or shoes, constructed of steel, aluminum or
rigid plastic, with or without a heavy duty plastic liner or sack
structured and placed so that the exit and entrance of rodents or
other animals is prevented; they can be easily cleaned; they will
not break or burst when lifted; they are easily unloaded; and they
are of sufficient integrity to confine such litter or recyclables
between the regular collections thereof. On its own initiative, or
at the request of any person, firm or corporation, the Town Board
may approve as fit and suitable for such purposes any such container.
The term "private receptacle" shall include within its meaning those
containers commonly known as "dumpsters" or any other container when
used to accumulate or store refuse or trash.
Any and all streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys or other
public ways and any and all public parks, beaches, squares, spaces,
grounds and buildings.
Images recorded on photographs, microphotographs, videotape,
electronic or digital images, or any other medium, showing the front
or rear of a vehicle, clearly identifying the registration plate number
of the vehicle.
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes, including
garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings and solid market and industrial
wastes.
A single- or multiple-family dwelling unit used for residential
purposes which is not located in an area of Town zoned for commercial,
industrial, business, manufacturing or mercantile uses.
Nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible
and noncombustible wastes, such as, but not limited to, paper wrappings,
cardboard, tin cans, wood, glass, bedding and crockery.
The Town of Washington.
Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public highway which
is propelled by any power other than muscular power.
A.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk
or other public place within the Town except in public receptacles
or in authorized private receptacles designated for the deposit of
such litter, or in an official Town transfer station.
B.
Persons placing litter in public receptacles or in authorized private
receptacles shall do so in such a manner as to prevent it from being
carried or deposited by the elements, upon any street, sidewalk or
other public place or upon private property.
C.
No person shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, street or other
public place within the Town the accumulation of litter from any building
or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or driveway.
D.
Persons owning or occupying property shall keep the area or sidewalk
in front of their premises free of litter.
No person shall throw or deposit litter from any vehicle upon
any street or other public place within the Town or upon private property.
A.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park or beach within
the Town except in public receptacles and in such a manner that the
litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements
upon any part of the park or private place. Where public receptacles
are not provided, all such litter shall be carried away from the park
or beach by the person responsible for its presence and properly disposed
elsewhere, as provided herein.
B.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any pond, river, stream
or body of water within the Town.
A.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any private property within
the Town, whether owned by such person or not and whether occupied
or vacant, except that the owner or person in control of private property
may maintain authorized private receptacles for collection in such
a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited
by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or
upon private property.
B.
Any owner or person in control of premises upon which litter shall
be found shall, upon being ordered to do so by the Building Inspector
of the Town of Washington or an Assistant Building Inspector of the
Town of Washington, remove the same from the premises within 72 hours
of having been so ordered. Any such order which is sent to any person
within the State of New York by mail shall be presumed to have been
received within two business days from the date of mailing. Any such
order which is sent to any person outside of New York State by mail
shall be presumed to have been received within four business days
from the date of mailing.
C.
Trash pickup.
(1)
No items or materials which are intended for regular trash, rubbish
or refuse pickup, including private receptacles therefor, shall be
placed at curbside or on the public way earlier than 5:00 p.m. on
the day prior to the time of regularly scheduled pickup or allowed
to remain beyond midnight of the day the pickup actually occurs. Except
within the aforementioned specified times, these items or materials,
including private receptacles therefor, may not be placed or stored
at the curb or in a public space or, in the case of a private premises,
in the area between the curb or public space and the nearest wall
of main building on said premises, unless within an enclosure and
completely concealed from view.
A.
In public places. No person shall throw or deposit any handbill in
or upon any sidewalk, street or other public place within the Town.
No person shall hand out or distribute any handbill in any public
place except to persons willing to accept it.
B.
On vehicles. No person shall throw or deposit any handbill in or
upon any vehicle; except it shall not be unlawful in any public place
for a person to hand out or distribute a handbill to any occupant
of a vehicle who is willing to accept it.
C.
On private property. No person shall throw or deposit any handbill
in or upon any private premises which are:
(1)
Temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant.
(2)
Posted with a sign placed in a conspicuous position near the entrance
thereof, bearing the words "no peddlers or agents," "no advertisements"
or words of similar import, indicating the desire of the occupants
not to have such handbills left upon such premises, or where an occupant
expressly directs the person not to throw, deposit or distribute the
handbill on the premises.
(3)
Inhabited, but not posted or subject to an express warning by an
occupant, except by handling or transmitting any such handbill directly
to an occupant, unless he places or deposits any such handbill so
as to secure or prevent it from being blown or drifted about the premises
or sidewalks, streets or other public ways.
D.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to the distribution
of mail by the United States Postal Service nor to newspapers (as
defined herein), except that newspapers shall be placed on private
property in such a manner as to prevent them being carried or deposited
by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or
upon private property.
A.
No person shall post or affix any notice, poster or other paper or
device calculated to attract the attention of the public to any lamppost,
utility pole or tree or upon any public structure or building, except
as may be authorized or required by law.
B.
Exemptions. The prohibitions contained in this section shall not
apply to:
(1)
Notices, posters or other papers or devices calculated to attract
the attention of the public to a garage sale. Such notices, posters,
or other papers or devices may not be posted more than six days prior
to such garage sale and must be removed within three days thereafter.
(2)
Notices, posters or other papers or devices calculated to attract
to attention of the public to a not-for-profit function or event of
any charitable, educational, cultural, fraternal, religious corporation,
association or institution, civic group, service club, voluntary association
or not-for-profit corporation (but not political posters). Such notices,
posters or other papers or devices may not be posted more than six
days prior to such function or event and must be removed within three
days thereafter.
A.
Any person committing an offense against any of the provisions of
this chapter shall be punished, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding
$500 a day or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or by both such
fine and imprisonment. The continuation of an offense against the
provisions of this chapter shall constitute, for each day the offense
is continued, a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
B.
It shall be the duty of the duly appointed Building Inspector, Zoning
Administrator and/or their agents, as well as law enforcement officers,
to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
A person convicted of a violation of this chapter within one year
of a prior conviction for an unrelated offense under this chapter
shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 a day or by imprisonment
not to exceed 30 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
A.
Legislative intent. The Town hereby finds and determines that littering
within the Town is a threat to the health, well-being and safety of
the residents of the Town. As a result, the Town has determined to
utilize any permissible technological means available to reduce the
incidence of littering. Therefore, the Town has established a policy
and procedure set forth in this section to impose liability on the
owner of a vehicle in any instance where the image of the operator
of such vehicle is captured digitally or otherwise recorded throwing
or depositing litter from such vehicle upon any street or other public
place within the Town or upon private property.
B.
Owner liability. The owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a civil
penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such vehicle is used or
operated with the permission of the owner, express or implied, in
any instance where a recorded image is obtained showing the operator
throwing or depositing litter from such vehicle upon any street or
other public place within the Town or upon private property.
C.
Notice of liability. A notice of liability shall be sent by the Building
Inspector, Zoning Administrator and/or their agents, or a law enforcement
officer, by first-class mail to each person alleged to be liable as
an owner of a vehicle in violation of this section. A notice of liability
shall contain the name and address of the person to be liable for
the violation as the owner; the registration of the vehicle involved
in such violation; the location where the violation occurred; the
date and time of such violation. Further, the notice of liability
shall advise the person charged of the court having jurisdiction to
adjudicate the liability of the violation and the time in which he
or she may contest the liability alleged in the notice and that a
failure to contest the notice in the manner and time prescribed shall
be deemed an admission of liability.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
D.
Certificate as prima facie evidence. A certificate sworn to or affirmed
by the duly appointed Building Inspector, Zoning Administrator and/or their
agents, as well as law enforcement officers, primarily responsible
for enforcing the provisions of this chapter based upon a review of
the recorded images shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained
therein. Any recorded images shall be available for inspection in
any proceeding commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction to adjudicate
the liability of such violation.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
E.
Penalties. An owner shall be required to pay to the Town for a violation
of this section a monetary civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each
violation, in addition to any other penalties contained in any other
provision of law. In the event the Town is required to institute legal
proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to adjudicate the
liability of the violation and to recover such civil penalty, upon
such adjudication the Town shall be entitled to recover from the owner
any and all associated costs and disbursements incurred by the Town,
if any, including attorneys' fees and interest upon any unpaid civil
penalty calculated at the statutory rate.
F.
Indemnification. If the owner of a vehicle liable for the civil penalty
imposed in accordance with this section was not the operator of the
vehicle at the time of violation, the owner may maintain an action
for indemnification against the operator for any civil penalties paid
as well as any costs, disbursements or attorneys' fees assessed against
the owner.
G.
Defenses.
(1)
An owner shall have a valid defense to an allegation of liability
under this section if the vehicle in question had been reported to
a police department or agency as stolen prior to the time the violation
occurred and had not been recovered by the time the violation occurred.
For the purposes of asserting this defense, it shall be sufficient
that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen vehicle be
sent by first-class mail to the court having jurisdiction to adjudicate
the liability of the violation.
(2)
An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of liability
is issued shall not be liable for the violation, provided that he
or she sends to the court having jurisdiction to adjudicate the liability
of the violation a copy of the rental, lease or other such contract
covering such vehicle on the day of the violation, with the name and
address of the lessee clearly legible, within 30 days after receiving
notice of such violation. Failure to send such information within
the 30 days shall render the owner liable for the penalty prescribed
in this section. When the lessor complies with the provisions of this
subsection, the lessee of such vehicle on the date of the violation
shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for the purposes of
this section.
(3)
No owner of a vehicle shall be subject to a monetary fine under this
section if the operator of such vehicle was operating the vehicle
without the consent of the owner at the time of the violation. However,
there shall be a presumption that the operator of such vehicle was
operating the vehicle with the consent of the owner at the time the
violation occurred.
H.
Nothing in this section shall preclude the duly appointed Building
Inspector, Zoning Administrator and/or their agents, as well as law
enforcement officers, from taking other action in connection with
violations of any other applicable rules, regulations, statutes or
laws.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
This chapter is enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Washington
pursuant to its authority to adopt local laws under the New York State
Constitution, Article IX, and Municipal Home Rule Law, § 10.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon filing with
the New York State Secretary of State.
