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Stat. Ref.: Cities authorized to abate weeds, Gov. C.A. § 39560 et seq.; authority of city to declare weeds and rubbish along streets, etc., nuisances, Gov. C. A. § 39561.
"Weeds,"
as used in this chapter, means all weeds growing upon streets, alleys, sidewalks or private property in the City and shall include any of the following:
(a) 
Weeds which bear or may bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature.
(b) 
Weeds and indigenous grasses which may attain such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property.
(c) 
Weeds which are otherwise noxious or dangerous.
(d) 
Poison oak and poison ivy when the conditions of growth are such as to constitute a menace to the public health.
(e) 
Accumulation of garden refuse, cuttings and other combustible trash.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-3)
No owner, agent, lessee or other person occupying or having charge or control of any building, lot or premises within the city shall permit weeds to remain upon such premises, public sidewalks, streets or alleys between such premises and the centerline of any public street or alley.
Every property owner shall remove or destroy weeds from his/her property and in the abutting half of any street or alley between the lot lines as extended.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-4)
Whenever any weeds are growing upon any private property or in any street or alley within the city, the City Council shall pass a resolution declaring the same to be a public nuisance and order the Chief of the Fire Department to give notice of the passage of such resolution by posting and publication in the same manner and for the time set forth in SCCC § 8.15.080, and stating therein that, unless such nuisance be abated without delay by destruction or removal of such weeds, the work of abating such nuisance will be done by the City authorities and the expense thereof assessed upon the lots and lands from which or in the front or rear of which such weeds were destroyed or removed. Such resolution shall fix the time and place for hearing any objections to the proposed destruction or removal of such weeds.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-5)
The notice required in the preceding section shall be in substantially the following form:
NOTICE TO DESTROY WEEDS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on ________ pursuant to the provisions of SCCC § 8.15.030, the City Council of said City passed a resolution declaring that all weeds growing upon any private property or in any public street or alley, as defined in SCCC § 8.15.010, constitute a public nuisance, which nuisance must be abated by the destruction or removal thereof.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that property owners shall, without delay, remove all such weeds from their property, and the abutting half of the street in front and alleys, if any, behind such property, and between the lot lines thereof as extended, or such weeds will be destroyed or removed and such nuisance abated by the City authorities, in which case the cost of such destruction or removal will be assessed upon the lots or lands from which, or from the front or rear of which, such weeds shall have been destroyed or removed; and such cost will constitute a lien upon such lots or lands until paid, and will be collected upon the next tax roll upon which general municipal taxes are collected. All property owners having any objections to the proposed destruction or removal of such weeds are hereby notified to attend a meeting of the Council of said City, to be held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, City of Santa Clara, on ________ at ________ o'clock P.M., when and where their objections will be heard and given due consideration.
Dated this ____ day of ________, 20___
_________________________________
Chief of Fire Department
City of Santa Clara
(Ord. 896; Ord. 1110; Formerly § 13-6)
At the time stated in the notice, as set out in SCCC § 8.15.040, the City Council shall hear and consider all objections to the proposed destruction or removal of such weeds and may hold such hearings whenever needed. The City Council by motion or resolution shall allow or overrule any objections, after which the City Council shall thereupon be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction to proceed and perform the work of destruction or removal of such weeds.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-7)
The City Council shall, by resolution, order the Chief of the Fire Department to abate nuisances designated under SCCC § 8.15.030 or cause the same to be abated by having the weeds destroyed or removed by cutting, disking, chemical spraying or any other method as may be determined by the City Council and the Chief of the Fire Department and his/her deputies, assistants, employees, contracting agents or other representatives. Such persons are hereby authorized to enter upon private property for that purpose. Any property owner shall have the right to destroy or remove such weeds himself/herself or have the same destroyed or removed at his/her own expense but such removal must take place prior to the arrival of the Chief of the Fire Department or his/her authorized representatives to remove them.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-8)
The Chief of the Fire Department shall keep an account of the cost of abating nuisances described in SCCC § 8.15.030 and embody such account in a report and assessment list to the City Council, which shall be filed with the City Clerk. Such report shall refer to each separate lot or parcel of land by description sufficient to identify such lot or parcel, together with the expense proposed to be assessed against each separate lot or parcel of land.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-9)
The City Clerk shall post copies of such report and assessment list on the bulletin board in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, on the bulletin board in the lobby of the City Hall and on the bulletin board near the entrance door of the Fire Department headquarters, together with a notice of the filing thereof and of the time and place when and where such report and assessment list will be submitted to the City Council for hearing and confirmation, notifying property owners that they may appear at such time and place and object to any matter contained therein. A like notice shall also be published twice in a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated within the city. The posting and first publication of such notice shall be made and completed at least ten days before the time such report is submitted to the City Council. Such notice, as so posted and published, shall be substantially in the following form:
NOTICE OF HEARING ON REPORT AND ASSESSMENT FOR WEED ABATEMENT
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on ________ the Chief of the Fire Department of the City of Santa Clara filed with the City Clerk of said City a report and assessment on abatement of weeds within said City, copies of which are posted on the bulletin board in the Council Chambers in the City Hall; on the bulletin board in the lobby of the City Hall; and on the bulletin board near the entrance door of the Fire Department Headquarters at 777 Benton Street, Santa Clara.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that on ________ at the hour of ________ o'clock P.M., in the Council Chambers of said City Hall, said report and assessment list shall be presented to the City Council of said City for consideration and confirmation, and that any and all persons interested, having any objections to said report and assessment list, or to any matter or thing contained therein, may appear at said time and place and be heard.
Dated this _____ day of ________, 20__
_________________________________
City Clerk
City of Santa Clara
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-10)
At the time and place fixed for receiving and considering the report provided in SCCC § 8.15.070, the City Council shall hear the same together with any objections which may be raised by any of the property owners liable to be assessed for the work of abating such nuisance and the Chief of the Fire Department shall attend such meeting with his/her record thereof. Upon such hearing, the City Council may make such modifications in the proposed assessment therefor as it may deem necessary, after which such report and assessment list shall be confirmed by resolution.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-11)
The cost of abating such nuisance, as described in SCCC § 8.15.030, upon or in the front or rear of the various lots or parcels of land respectively referred to in the report provided in SCCC § 8.15.070 shall constitute special assessments against such respective lots or parcels of land, and after such made and confirmed, shall constitute a lien on such until paid.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-12)
The Director of Finance of the City shall cause the amount of the assessment to be entered on the City assessment roll opposite the description of the particular property and the amount shall be collected together with all other taxes thereon upon the property. Thereafter, such amounts shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as general City taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and interest and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for City taxes. All laws and ordinances applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of City taxes are hereby made applicable to such special assessment.
The property owner has the option, if he so desires, of paying the assessment directly to the collector's office before entry of the same on the assessment roll.
(Ord. 896; Formerly § 13-13)