[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of DeWitt 12-10-2007 by L.L. No. 6-2007.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Littering — See Ch. 118.
Solid waste — See Ch. 158.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 161.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed
former Ch. 67, Brush, Grass and Weeds, adopted 4-10-1972.
For the purpose of this chapter, the terms used
herein are defined as follows:
One or more natural persons, corporations, partnerships,
associations, joint-stock companies, societies and all other entities
of any kind.
It shall be unlawful for any person having control
or ownership or any type of tenancy of any parcel of land located
in the Town of DeWitt, New York, to permit or maintain on such land
or portion thereof any growth of weeds, grass or other rank vegetation
to a greater height than 12 inches on the average or any accumulation
of dead weeds, grass or brush.
It shall be the duty of every owner, occupant, tenant or person in control of such aforesaid land or any portion thereof in the Town of DeWitt, New York, to cut and remove or cause to be cut and removed from said property all weeds, grass or other rank, poisonous or noxious vegetation as often as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of § 67-2 above.
Ten days after the mailing of a notice by certified
mail to the last known address of the property owner, the Town Superintendent
of Highways shall make an inspection, and if such inspection discloses
that the owner or occupant has not complied with said notice, then
the Superintendent shall cause weeds, grass and other vegetation on
such lands or portions thereof to be cut and removed, together with
the removal of any trash or materials that would otherwise prohibit cleaning
of the entire property . If the topography of said land is such as
to make it impossible or impractical to use machinery in the clearing
and cutting, the Superintendent shall first grade the land in order
that the cutting and removal may be done by machinery. The actual
cost of such cutting and removal, and grading, if necessary, plus
a twenty-percent fee for inspection and administrative overhead therewith,
shall be certified by the Superintendent of Highways to the Town Clerk
and shall thereupon become and be a lien upon the property on which
said weeds, grass and other vegetation were located and shall be added
to and become and form a part of the taxes next to be assessed and
levied upon such lot or land and shall bear interest at the same rate
as taxes and shall be collected and enforced by the same officer and
in the same manner as taxes levied and assessed against such property.
On any lot of more than one acre, cutting and
removal of brush, grass or weeds greater than 12 inches tall shall
be required for an area 30 feet in depth measured along all property
lines that abut a public right-of-way and any abutting parcel that
is developed or inhabited.
Any person who shall neglect to cut and remove
weeds, grass or other vegetation, as directed in this chapter, or
who shall fail, neglect or refuse to comply with the provisions of
any notices herein provided or who shall resist or obstruct the Superintendent
of Highways or his employees in the cutting and removing of weeds,
grass and other vegetation, or grading if necessary, shall, upon conviction
thereof, be subject to a fine of not more than $200, and each day
on which such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
