[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Montebello 4-11-1988 by L.L. No. 7-1988. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
This chapter shall be cited and may be referred to hereinafter as the
"Littering Law of the Village of Montebello."
It is the intention of the Village Board of the Village of Montebello
by the adoption of this chapter to prevent the maintenance of any parcel of
real property in the Village of Montebello in a cluttered or unclean condition
which renders it aesthetically offensive or creates the potential for a public
nuisance or a public health hazard.
For the purposes of this chapter the following terms, phrases, words
and their derivations shall have the meanings 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 number, and words used in the
singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
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 to the public health, safety and welfare; this includes the abandoning
of vehicles or the stripping and junking of any vehicles.
A park, reservation, playground, beach, recreation center or any
other public area in the Village, owned or used by the Village and devoted
to active or passive recreation.
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company
or organization of any kind.
All publicly owned property, including any and all sidewalks, public
parks, squares, spaces, grounds, buildings and school property; posts, hydrants,
trees, street lamps, utility poles and traffic signs; and anything affixed
thereto and thereover.[1]
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes (except body wastes),
including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned
automobiles, automobile parts and solid market and industrial wastes.
Nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible
wastes, such as paper, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings,
wood, glass, bedding, crockery and similar materials.
The Village of Montebello.
No person shall throw, deposit or place or permit to be deposited or
scattered in or upon any lot, sidewalk or other public place, or upon any
private property within the Village, any litter or other material of any kind,
except in public or private receptacles for collection or in official town
dumps.
Persons placing litter in public or private receptacles shall do so
in such a manner as to prevent it from being carried or deposited by the elements
upon any lot, sidewalk or other public place or upon any private property.
A.
The owner or person in control of any private property
shall, at all times, maintain the premises free of litter; provided, however,
that this section shall not prohibit the storage of litter in private receptacles
for collection.
B.
All gas stations, service stations, auto repair shops
and stores engaged in the sale of auto parts and/or the repair of motor vehicles
shall construct a durable container, shed or solidly fenced-in area for the
storage of all miscellaneous motor vehicle parts, such as tires, mufflers,
batteries, etc., such list not being all inclusive. No storage outside these
areas shall be permitted. The container and its location must be approved
by the Building Inspector or his representative and be at least six feet in
height and its contents not visible from the street.
No person shall sweep into or deposit in any public place within the
Village the accumulation of litter from any building or lot or from any public
or private sidewalk or driveway. Persons owning or occupying property or places
of business shall keep the sidewalk in front of their premises free of litter.
No person shall throw, deposit or place or permit to be deposited or
scattered in or upon any park property or upon any pond, lake, stream or other
body of water in a park or elsewhere within the Village any litter or other
material of any kind. All such material is to be deposited in public receptacles,
where available, and where receptacles are not available, litter is to be
removed from the park by the person responsible for its presence and properly
disposed of elsewhere. All litter or other such material shall be placed in
receptacles in such a manner as to prevent it from being carried or deposited
by the elements upon any part of the park or upon any street or other public
place.
Police officers of the Town of Ramapo, or any Police Department servicing
the Village, and the Building Inspector of the Village of Montebello, shall
have the power, right and authority to serve a notice of violation upon the
owner or the agent thereof of any property which is determined to be in violation
of this chapter. Such notice shall be served personally or by certified mail,
return receipt requested, upon the last known owner of said property, as shown
on the last complete tax assessment roll of the Town of Ramapo. The notice
shall give such owner 10 days after service of the notice to correct such
violation, during which time the owner shall properly remove or cause to be
removed such litter or other material from said property.
A.
In the event that all such litter or other material shall not be removed within the time specified in the notice to remove, the Village Board shall hold a hearing, upon five days' public notice, to determine whether the continued deposit of such materials is aesthetically offensive or constitutes a public nuisance or a public health hazard. Notice of such hearing shall be given to the owner of the property in the manner specified in § 113-9 hereinabove at least five days prior to such hearing.
B.
If after such hearing the Village Board deems the continued
deposit of such materials to be aesthetically offensive or to constitute a
public nuisance or a public health hazard, it shall give notice of such findings
by certified mail addressed to the owner of record of such property at the
address shown on the last complete tax assessment roll. Such notice shall
further state that if at least 10 days elapse from the service thereof and
the violation has not been fully corrected, the Village Board will cause the
violation to be corrected, and that the entire expense of such correction
shall be assessed against such property.
C.
If a period of at least 10 days elapses from the service of the notice required by § 113-10B hereinabove, and the violation has not been fully corrected, the Village Board shall proceed to take whatever action is necessary to cause the litter or other material to be removed from such property. The total expense of such removal shall be assessed against such property by the Village Board in the manner provided in § 113-10D hereinbelow.
D.
The Village Board shall serve personally or by certified
mail upon the owner of record of such property at the address shown on the
last complete tax assessment roll a written notice, stating that at a time
and place specified therein, it will assess the expense of such removal against
such property. Such notice shall be served at least eight days previous to
the time specified therein. If directed against a corporation, it may be served
upon the corporation at its principal place of business, upon an agent of
the corporation within the Village or upon the Secretary of State. Notice
served upon the Secretary of State shall be served at least 12 days previous
to the time specified therein. At the time and place so specified, the Village
Board shall hear the parties interested and shall thereupon finally determine
the assessment, stating therein the name of each owner and the amount so assessed.
The amount so assessed shall constitute a lien on the real property on which
it is levied until paid or otherwise canceled pursuant to law and shall be
collected in the manner fixed by law for the collection of Village taxes.
The Police Department servicing the Village of Montebello and/or the
enforcement official designated in this chapter shall have the power, right
and authority to issue an appearance ticket, as the same is defined in Article
150 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the State of New York, for the violation
of any section of this chapter.
A.
Any person who shall refuse or neglect to comply with
the conditions of any notice as provided for by this chapter shall be guilty
of a violation of this chapter. In addition to any other penalty or remedy
herein provided, each and every violation of this chapter shall be deemed
a Class 3 violation, as defined in the schedule of penalties of the Village
of Montebello, and shall be punished according to the provisions thereunder.[1]
C.
In addition to all other remedies provided for herein,
the Village Board may also enforce obedience to this chapter by injunction
or by any other remedy available to it by virtue of the judicial process.
D.
The remedies contained within this chapter shall further
not be exclusive, but shall be in addition to any other remedy provided by
law, so long as not inconsistent herewith, nor shall the invoking of any remedy
or procedure contained within this chapter preclude the pursuit of any and
all other remedies, and the same are intended to be cumulative.
This chapter supersedes, and is in derogation of, Chapter 240 of the
Code of the Town of Ramapo, County of Rockland, State of New York.
This chapter is enacted by authority of § 20, Subdivision
5, of the Municipal Home Rule Law and any other law referenced herein as authority
herefor.
