Business building,
either vacant or occupied, means any structure, whether public or private, that is adapted for occupancy for the 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, tenement houses, rooming houses, office buildings, public buildings, stores, theaters, markets, restaurants, grain elevators, abattoirs, warehouses, workshops, factories, and all outhouses, sheds, barns and other structures on premises.
Health officer
means the superintendent, commissioner or director of health or any duly authorized representative.
Occupant
means the individual, partnership, or corporation that uses or occupies any business building or part or fraction thereof, whether the actual owner or tenant. In the case of vacant business buildings or vacant portions thereof, the owner, agent, or custodian shall have the responsibility as occupant.
Owner
means the actual owner, agent, or custodian of the business building, whether individual, partnership, or corporation. The lessee shall be construed as the “owner” for the purpose of this article when business building agreements hold the lessee responsible for maintenance and repairs.
Rat eradication
means the elimination or extermination of rats within buildings by any or all of the accepted measures, such as: poisoning, fumigation, trapping, or other methods deemed necessary.
Rat harborage
means any condition which provides shelter or protection for rats, thus favoring their multiplication and continued existence in, under, or outside of any structure.
Ratproofing
applies to a form of construction to prevent the ingress of rats into business buildings from the exterior or from one business building or establishment to another. It consists essentially of treating with material, impervious to rat gnawing, all actual or potential openings in exterior walls, ground or other floors, basements, roof and foundations, that may be reached by rats from the ground, or other floors, basements, roof and foundations that may be reached by rats from the ground by climbing or by burrowing.
(Ordinance 212 adopted 6/20/1949; 1989 Code, sec. 9.501)
(a) 
It shall be a requirement that all business buildings in the city shall be ratproofed, freed of rats, and maintained in a ratproof and rat-free condition to the satisfaction of the health officer.
(b) 
For the purpose of obtaining rat-stoppage of business buildings, the following regulations are set forth as the minimum requirements for applying rat-stoppage to business buildings:
(1) 
Approval by health officer.
The public health officer or his representative shall approve all materials used and the method of installation.
(2) 
Materials.
Solid sheetmetal, expanded metal and wire cloth specified in these regulations shall have a rust-resisting, protective coating, preferably galvanized.
(3) 
Ventilator openings.
All foundation wall ventilator openings shall be covered for their entire height and width with perforated sheetmetal plates of a thickness not less than twenty-four (24) gauge, or with expanded sheetmetal of a thickness not less than eighteen (18) gauge, or with cast iron grills or grates, or with any other material of sufficient strength and equal rat-resisting properties. The openings therein shall be small enough to prevent the ingress of rats, and in no instance shall be larger than one-half inch (1/2") mesh.
(4) 
Other openings.
All foundations and exterior wall openings excluding those used for the purpose of ventilation, light, doors, and windows, such as those openings around pipes, electric cables, conduits, openings due to deteriorated walls, broken masonry, or [sic] close-fitting sheetmetal or substitute size pipe flanges or other material with equal rat-resisting properties, which shall be securely fastened in place.
(5) 
Doors.
(A) 
All exposed edges of the lower eight inches (8") of wooden doors and door jambs, serving as front, rear or side entrances into business buildings, from the ground, basement or cellar floors, and other doors accessible to rats, shall be protected against the gnawing of rats by covering said doors and jambs with solid sheetmetal of not less than twenty-four (24) gauge thickness. The same material shall be used on door sills or thresholds, or such door sills or thresholds may be constructed of cement, stone, steel or cast iron. Doors, door jambs and sills of coal chutes and hatchways that are constructed of wood shall be covered with solid sheetmetal of twenty-four (24) gauge thickness or heavier, or they may be replaced with metal chutes of twenty-four gauge or heavier installed in such manner as will prevent the ingress of rats. All buildings with side and rear door entrances shall be provided with suitable automatic self-closing devices.
(B) 
All doors on which metal channel flashing has been applied shall be properly hinged to provide for free swinging. When closed, doors shall fit snugly so that the maximum clearance between any door, door jambs, and sill shall not be greater than three-eighths of an inch (3/8").
(6) 
Windows.
All windows and other openings for the purpose of light or ventilation shall be covered for their entire height and width, including frame, with wire cloth of nineteen (19) gauge or heavier, having a mesh of not larger than one-half inch (1/2"), in installed metal frames of twenty-four (24) gauge and anchored in place with proper anchorage.
(A) 
All windows and other openings for the purpose of light or ventilation that may be accessible to rats by way of exposed pipes, wires, conduits and other appurtenances shall be covered as specified above. In lieu of wire cloth covering said wires, pipes and other appurtenances shall be blocked from rat usage by installing sheetmetal guards of twenty-four (24) gauge or heavier.
(B) 
Such guards when used on vertical pipes, wires, conduits or other appurtenances shall be fitted snugly around the pipe, wire, conduit, or other appurtenances.
(7) 
Light wells.
Light wells with windows in exterior walls that are located below the outside ground level shall be protected from the ingress of rats by one of the following methods:
(A) 
Installing over light wells cast iron or steel grills or steel gratings, or other material of equal strength and rat-resisting properties, with openings in grills or gratings not to exceed one-half inch (1/2") in the largest dimension.
(B) 
Installing securely to and completely covering existing metal grills that are broken or have openings larger than one-half inch (1/2") in the largest dimension or otherwise defective, with expanded metal of eighteen (18) gauge or heavier, having openings of not greater than one-half inch (1/2").
(C) 
At the option of the owner the opening in the wall of the building below the grate may be entirely closed with brick or concrete or partially closed and the remaining open space covered with nineteen (19) gauge or heavier wire cloth with mesh not to exceed one-half inch (1/2").
(8) 
Buildings constructed on piers.
(A) 
Business buildings constructed on piers having wooden floor sills less than twelve inches (12") above the surface of the ground shall have intervening space between the floor sill and the ground protected against the ingress of rats by installing a solid masonry or concrete [curtain wall] not less than four inches (4") thick around the entire perimeter of the business building and extending said curtain wall to a depth of not less than eighteen inches (18") deep with a twelve inch (12") shelf extending outward from the wall and fastening securely to the exterior wall of the business building, in such manner as will prevent rats from entering the building.
(B) 
In lieu of the installation of curtain walls, all ground floors of wood construction may be replaced with concrete of not less than three inches (3") in thickness. Exterior wall protection shall be securely tied into the concrete floor at all points.
(C) 
Business buildings constructed on piers having wooden floor sills greater than twelve inches (12") above the ground level shall have the intervening spaces between the floor sill and ground protected against the ingress of rats by installing curtain walls in accordance with the preceding subsection, or by protecting said business buildings against the ingress of rats by installing solid sheetmetal coverage of twenty-four (24) gauge or heavier snugly around each pipe, cable, wire, conduit or other utility service passing through the wooden ground floor. Said metal coverage shall not be less than eight inches (8") in diameter larger than the diameter of the pipe, cable, wire, conduit or other utility service, and shall be securely fastened to the wooden floor. All other openings in wooden ground floors through which rats may gain entrance into double walls or the interior of business buildings, such as openings that may exist in floors and double walls above floor sills, shall be closed with twenty-four (24) gauge or heavier solid sheetmetal of sixteen (16) gauge or heavier wire cloth of one-half inch (1/2") mesh or masonry or with concrete. Wood frame constructed business buildings having concrete or masonry foundation walls shall have ventilators in foundation walls protected as herein provided in subsection (4) [(3)] of this section. All miscellaneous wall openings, doors, and windows shall be protected in accordance with this article.
(9) 
Curb or farmers’ markets.
Curb or farmers’ markets in which fruit or vegetables or any other products are exposed and offered for sale, on racks, stands, platforms, and in or outside of business buildings, shall have floors paved with concrete or asphalt for the entire surface area of the market. Display racks, stands or platforms on which fruit or vegetables or any other food products are displayed or offered for sale shall be of sufficient height that all such fruits, vegetables or other food products shall be kept at a distance of not less than eighteen inches (18") above the floor pavement and be so constructed that rats cannot harbor therein or thereunder.
(Ordinance 212 adopted 6/20/1949; 1989 Code, sec. 9.502)
Upon receipt of written notice and/or order from the health officer the owner of any business building specified therein shall take immediate measures for ratproofing the building, and unless the work and improvements have been completed by the owner in the time specified in the written notice, in no event to be less than fifteen (15) days, or within the time to which a written extension may have been granted by the health officer, then the owner shall be deemed guilty of an offense.
(Ordinance 212 adopted 6/20/1949; 1989 Code, sec. 9.503)
(a) 
Notice to eradicate rats.
Whenever the health officer notifies the occupant or occupants of a business building, the occupants shall immediately institute rat eradication measures and shall continuously maintain such measures in a manner satisfactory to the health officer. Unless the measures are undertaken within five (5) days after receipt of notice, it shall be construed as a violation of the provisions of this article and the occupants shall be held responsible therefor.
(b) 
Maintenance of ratproofing.
The owners of all ratproofed business buildings are required to maintain the premises in a ratproof condition and to repair all breaks or leaks that may occur in the ratproofing without a specific order of the health officer.
(c) 
Inspections.
The health officer is empowered to make unannounced inspections of the interior and exterior of business buildings to determine full compliance with this article, and the health officer shall make periodic inspections at intervals of not more than forty-five (45) days of all ratproofed buildings to determine evidence of rat infestation and the existence of new breaks or leaks in their ratproofing and, when any evidence is found indicating the presence of rats or openings through which rats may again enter business buildings, the health officer shall serve the owners or occupants with notice and/or orders to abate the conditions found.
(d) 
Authority to close buildings.
Whenever conditions inside or under occupied business buildings in the opinion of the health officer provide extensive harborage for rats, he is empowered, after due notification in accordance with section 7.05.003, to close such buildings until such time as the conditions are abated by ratproofing and harborage removal including, if necessary, the installation of suitable concrete floors in basements or replacement of wooden first or ground floors with concrete or other major repairs necessary to facilitate rat eradication.
(e) 
Condemnation of buildings.
Whenever conditions inside or under occupied business buildings provide extensive harborage for rats in the opinion of the health officer, he is empowered to require compliance with the provisions of section 7.05.002, and in the event that said conditions are not corrected in a period of sixty days, or within the time to which a written extension may have been granted by the health officer, he is empowered to institute condemnation and destruction proceedings.
(Ordinance 212 adopted 6/20/1949; 1989 Code, sec. 9.504)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for the occupant, owner, contractor, public utility company, plumber or any other person to remove and fail to restore in like condition the ratproofing from any business building for any purpose. Further, it shall be unlawful for any person or agent to make any new openings that are not closed or sealed against the entrance of rats.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to construct, repair or remodel any building, dwelling, stable or market, or other structure whatsoever, unless such construction, repair or remodeling or installation shall render the building or other structure ratproof in accordance with the regulations prescribed herein. The provisions of this section apply only to such construction, repairs, remodeling or installation as affects the ratproof condition of any building or other structure.
(c) 
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to occupy any new or existing business buildings wherein foodstuffs are to be stored, kept, handled, sold, held or offered for sale without complying with section 7.05.002 of this article, and unless the provisions of this section are complied with, no city permit or license to conduct or carry on such business as defined above will be issued.
(Ordinance 212 adopted 6/20/1949; 1989 Code, sec. 9.505)