Following are some examples of situations that constitute a property nuisance. The list shall not be considered exhaustive. Additional situations may be determined to be a public nuisance by the city's enforcement official or otherwise under this chapter.
A. Streets, Alleys, Public-Use Sidewalks.
1. It shall be the duty of every person owning or occupying any lot or block of land in the city of Holtville which shall be bounded on any side by any legally established public-use sidewalk, street, lane, or alley, or other public thoroughfare, to keep such street, public-use sidewalk, lane or alley free from all rubbish, filth, garbage, animal waste, and obstructions of every kind, as far as the middle of such street or alley and as far as the edge of such public-use sidewalk nearest to the street and as far in length as the corresponding dimensions of such lot or block. This chapter shall not prevent a person from using one-half of the street adjoining his premises for a reasonable time when such use may be necessary for the purpose of collecting and using materials for building or repairing buildings, nor to prevent any person from depositing goods, wares, and merchandise upon any public-use sidewalk, lane, or alley in Holtville for the purpose of immediately conveying them across the same.
2. No person shall throw, deposit, or place any rubbish, filth, garbage, or obstruction of any kind except as hereinabove provided in or upon a public street, lane, public-use sidewalk, or alley.
3. It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to deposit, drain, wash, allow to run over or upon, divert onto, across or upon any public-use sidewalk, street or alley within the city of Holtville mud, sand, oil, petroleum or any toxic substance.
4. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to deposit on any public-use sidewalk, street or alley in the city of Holtville any material that by excessive weight will cause to crack, break or collapse, or that may be harmful to, the pavement surface thereof, or any waste material, glass or other articles that may do injury to any person, animal or property.
5. Car Repair. It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to repair or cause to be repaired, grease or caused to be greased, construct or cause to be constructed any vehicle or any part thereof upon any public-use sidewalk, street or alley in the city of Holtville. Temporary emergency repairs not lasting more than 24 hours may be made upon a public street.
B. Weeds, Rubbish, Debris, Junk.
1. It is unlawful for any person owning, occupying, renting, managing, or controlling any real property in the city to cause or permit any weeds, or to place, cause or permit any rubbish, to be or remain on any real property in the city or on portions of streets adjoining such real property to the center line of such streets. It shall be the duty of every such person to remove or destroy such weeds and/or rubbish.
2. Trash disposal must be made in an appropriate manner, i.e., through the city's contracted trash pick-up service, self-haul to an approved disposal site, or composting in a backyard compost pile.
C. Real Property Maintenance. It is unlawful for any person owning, renting, leasing, occupying, managing or having charge or possession of any real property in this city to maintain such premises in such a manner that any of the following conditions are found to exist thereon:
1. A building, structure or portion thereof which is in a dilapidated or dangerous condition so as to be unfit, unsafe, or unsuitable for human occupancy. Such conditions include but are not limited to:
a. Inadequate or inoperable mechanical, electrical, plumbing, or sanitation systems or equipment;
b. Lack of sound and effective exterior walls or roof covering to provide weather protection;
c. Lack of structural integrity, including deteriorated or inadequate foundations, joints, vertical or horizontal support;
d. Broken, missing, or inoperable windows or doors constituting a hazardous condition or a potential attraction to trespassers;
e. Broken, deteriorated, or substantially defaced structures visually impacting on the neighborhood or presenting a risk to public safety.
2. An abandoned building or structure such as:
a. An unoccupied and unsecured building or structure;
b. A partially constructed, reconstructed, or demolished building or structure where work is abandoned for 120 consecutive days;
c. A damaged or partially destroyed building or structure not removed or repaired within 120 days after the damage or destruction, or, if the removal or repair cannot reasonably be accomplished within 180 days, arrangements must be made with the city building official.
3. Property maintained in a condition so defective, unsightly, or in a state of such deterioration, disrepair or neglect that it causes a health, safety or fire hazard or an attractive nuisance to children such as the following:
a. The accumulation of dirt, litter, refuse, trash or debris in carports, parking areas, driveways, front yards, side yards, rear yards, vestibules, doorways of buildings, the adjoining sidewalk, or alley;
b. Storage of personal property (other than items designated for outdoor use) in front, exterior side, or rear yard areas visible to public view, including, but not limited to, unregistered, inoperative or dismantled vehicles or vehicle parts, building materials not currently being used for the construction of improvements on the site, appliances, household furnishings or equipment, tools, machines, garbage cans, packing boxes, debris, rubbish, and broken or discarded furniture;
c. Trees, weeds or other vegetation which are dead, decayed, infested, diseased, overgrown, or likely to harbor rats or vermin, or which are visually unsightly;
d. Abandoned and broken equipment or machinery, or parts thereof;
e. Fences or walls which lack structural support because of missing or wet soil, missing or failed footings, or missing or failed fastenings, or which otherwise do not stand erect; which are in disrepair due to damage, crumbling mortar, missing bricks or wood, rotted wood, breaks or dents in their structure;
f. A vehicle or vehicles parked or stored in a front or side yard, except on a driveway or a paved area or behind a solid fence or wall a minimum of six feet in height, on lots in a residentially zoned district;
g. Parking of vehicles on dirt, grass, or yard surfaces not intended and approved for parking;
h. Clothing, linen, towels, laundry, rugs, mattresses, and other similar material hung, placed, or attached to power lines, trees, bushes, fences, buildings, railings, or walls and visible from public property or an area open to the public. Properly installed and maintained clotheslines are permitted;
i. Waste matter or personal property placed on rooftops;
j. Vehicle or vessel repair which occurs in a residentially zoned district and is offensive or detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of other persons, or which substantially interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of property by other persons, because of the substances, odors, noise, or visual clutter created by the repair; or because of the items stored in connection with the repair; or because the repair is performed on a vehicle not owned by the occupant of the property.
4. Buildings, structures, or other surfaces upon which graffiti exists.
5. Any building or structure that is a public nuisance under common law.
(Ord. 471 § 4, 2010)