[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Lexington as §§ 11-1 to 11-5, 11-7 and 11-8 of the 1958 Code (Ch. 18, Art. I of the 1970 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Animals — See Ch. 115.
Handbills and advertising materials — See Ch. 212.
Health and sanitation — See Ch. 217.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 314.
[Amended 7-17-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-06]
For the purposes of this chapter the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
GARBAGE
The unused or waste portions or accumulations of animal or vegetable matter derived from the storage, handling, preparation or other use of meats, fish, flesh, fowl, fruit, vegetables, confections, sweets, liquids or any other matter of any other nature whatsoever which is, or may become, subject to decay, decomposition, putrefication, or the generation of harmful or offensive gases or odors or which may serve as breeding places or feeding materials for mosquitoes, flies, rats or other germ-carrying or obnoxious pests; such term shall also denote any opened, used or discarded bottles, cans, containers, cartons, wrappers or other materials which may serve as breeding or feeding places for pests.
LITTER
Loose articles of garbage, waste, refuse, trash or other discarded matter, scattered or lying on the streets, alleys, public places or private premises in the City.
PUBLIC AREA
Any portion or area of the City other than privately owned premises, but with respect to the provisions of § 349-6, requiring the owner or occupant of adjacent premises to remove litter from such public areas, this chapter shall be construed not to include the paved gutter and driveway surface of any public street but shall include any sidewalk or unpaved border or area between such premises and such paved street surface.
RECYCLABLES
Aluminum, metal cans, plastics (Nos. 1 through 7) glass jars and bottles (all colors), newsprint, other paper products, corrugated cardboard and other such recyclable items as the City Manager may designate from time to time. All such items shall be empty and cleaned of any garbage. The City Manager may modify this definition depending upon the availability of markets for such products.
TRASH
Leaves, branches and small limbs of trees and shrubs, flowers, stalks, weeds and other disposable and inedible accumulations of lawn or garden products, as well as matter which from its nature and size is not capable of being placed in suitable containers for collection and disposal, including vehicles, bicycles, machines, tools, trees, shrubs, furniture or other articles of large size, and also excessive accumulations of household, store or office waste and of lawn and garden trash. Such trash may not be placed on any street or public place for collection and disposal.
WASTE
Includes, among other things, discarded newspapers, pamphlets, magazines, handbills, catalogs, books, letters, cards and all other forms of printed or written matter, and boxes, cartons, cans, containers, wrappings, string, rags, articles of clothing, excelsior and other packing materials, wastepaper, household utensils, personal effects, sweepings, dust, ashes, glass, crockery, metals, plastic articles and all other unused and discarded articles of a nature other than garbage which are usual to the operation and occupancy of homes, stores, hotels, clubs, schools, offices and other inhabited buildings.
The Council, through the City Manager, Street Committee or other designated officers or agents, shall have authority to provide for the systematic collection and disposal of refuse, garbage, waste and trash from the streets, alleys, public places or private premises in the City and to provide and enforce proper regulations for the placement thereof for collection, to provide and enforce penalties for the failure of any person to observe such regulations, and to prohibit and control and regulate the scattering of litter in the City, and to provide and enforce penalties for violations of the provisions of this chapter or any parts thereof, or any regulations issued in pursuance hereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: For state law as to authority to City to provide for removal of trash, see, e.g., Code of Virginia, § 15.2-901.
[Added by Ord. No. 89-15; amended by Ord. No. 90-16]
A. 
Except as otherwise provided, all commercial establishments within the corporate limits shall pay monthly commercial refuse collection fees established by Council resolution on the basis of the following classifications:
Class
Usage/Business Type
Class VII
2-yard dumpster serviced 6 times per week
Class VI
1-yard dumpster serviced 6 times per week
Class V
2-yard dumpster serviced 3 times per week
Daily service accounts not using dumpsters
Class IV
Full-service restaurants; full-service grocery stores; fraternities and sororities
Class III
Retail stores in excess of 2,500 square feet; print shops, multiple uses (total of 3 or more offices, businesses, or apartments); offices and personal services greater than 5,000 square feet
Class II
Specialty grocery stores and restaurants (i.e., delicatessens, food co-ops, bakeries); auto repair; retail stores less than 2,500 square feet; motels, hotels and inns; apartment houses of 3 or more units; single offices and personal services totalling less than 5,000 square feet but greater than 2,500 square feet; multiple use (2 offices or businesses)
Class I
Churches; apartment houses of fewer than 3 units; single offices and personal services of less than 2,500 square feet
B. 
A business may appeal its refuse classification to the City Manager on the basis of extraordinary circumstances that prove it deserves a lower classification. The City Manager will, on the basis of his findings, have the authority to lower an individual's classification by no more than one grade.
[Amended 7-17-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-06]
The owner or occupant of any premises in the City having garbage or waste to be collected shall place the same in one or more plastic or metallic cans, not to exceed 30 gallons' capacity each, with a tight-fitting, removable cover, of a size and type to be specified by the City Manager and to be provided by such owner or occupant, the same to be secured against overturning and to be located at a point on such private premises readily accessible for collection by the City. The agents of the City shall not be required to enter alleyways or private premises in the ordinary course of such collection. Collection of garbage or waste placed for collection in any other manner may be refused, and the owner or occupant shall be required to dispose of it by other means, or otherwise shall be proceeded against for a violation of this chapter. Such garbage shall be placed for collection not earlier than 5:00 p.m. the day before collection, and the empty containers shall be removed from the collection point no later than the end of the day of collection.
Trash may be placed at convenient locations on such private premises in bundles or in cans, cartons, boxes, baskets or other containers and shall be kept separate from garbage and waste. Such trash shall be so placed and handled as to prevent scattering of litter and shall be collected by the City at suitable intervals. Containers, other than of metal or wood, may be hauled away with such trash. The City may decline to collect and haul away excessive accumulations of trash, except by special arrangement and upon payment in advance of a reasonable charge for such service.
[Amended by 12-3-1987]
A. 
The owners and occupants of premises in the City shall be required to collect all waste and litter from the porches, outdoor stairs and landings, roofs, lawns, yards, gardens, fences, hedges, walks, driveways and other areas of such premises and from the sidewalks, alleys or other public areas adjacent thereto. It shall be unlawful for the occupant of any premises to permit waste or litter to remain uncollected on such premises, or on sidewalks or other places adjacent thereto, but such waste or litter shall be collected and placed in approved containers. This regulation shall not apply to construction materials or related waste stored on site while construction is in progress, provided that reasonable care is taken to keep such areas free of loose materials.
B. 
In the case of premises occupied by more than one tenant, the owner of such premises, as well as the occupants, may be deemed responsible for compliance with the provisions of this section, if necessary to its enforcement.
C. 
Upon failure to comply with these provisions, the City may clean such premises and the sidewalks and public areas adjacent thereto, and the cost thereof may be assessed against the owner or occupant of such premises and collected in the same manner as taxes of the City are collected, but nothing herein shall constitute a waiver by the City of its right to proceed against any person for a violation of this chapter.
[Amended 9-2-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-06]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to drop, cast, throw, place, sweep or otherwise dispose of, except as provided in this chapter, any refuse, garbage, waste or trash on any private premises or on any of the streets, alleys, sidewalks, gutters or other public places in the City, or to do any acts causing litter on such premises of public places, or to do any like acts harmful to public safety and convenience. The provisions of this section shall apply to agents of the City engaged in the collection and disposal of garbage, waste and trash, as well as to all other persons.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for the owner or custodian of any dog or dogs to keep such animal or animals in such a manner as to cause unsanitary conditions, soil, defile or defecate on any public property or upon any street, sidewalk, public way, play area of park, or upon private property other than that of the owner. The owner or custodian of any dog shall be responsible for the removal of excreta or feces deposited by such dog by the following methods:
(1) 
Collection of the feces by appropriate implement and placement in a paper or plastic bag or other container; and
(2) 
Removal of such bag or container to the property of the animal owner or custodian and disposition thereafter in a manner as otherwise may be permitted by law.
It shall be unlawful for any person to dump garbage, waste or trash at any place in the City except in such manner, at such times and at such places as may be designated by the City Manager, upon proper and timely application to that officer.
[1]
Editor's Note: For state law as to dumping trash, garbage and other unsightly matter on a public highway, right-of-way or private property, see e.g., Code of Virginia, § 33.1-346. See also Code of Virginia, § 18.2-324.
[Added 7-17-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-06; amended 9-2-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-06]
A. 
Failure to separate trash, garbage, waste and recyclables may result in the refusal to pick up any items. The owner-occupant is required to keep premises free of waste as set forth in § 349-6.
B. 
Failure to comply with the provisions of § 349-2B, § 349-6 or § 349-7 shall result in a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $50 for the first violation, or violations arising from the same set of operative facts. The civil penalty for subsequent violations not arising from the same set of operative facts within 12 months of the first violation shall not exceed $200. Each business day during which the same violation is found to have existed shall constitute a separate offense. In no event shall a series of specified violations arising from the same set of operative facts result in civil penalties that exceed a total of $3,000 in a twelve-month period. In the case of a citizen seeking a summons directly from the magistrate, such citizen shall have attempted to obtain voluntary compliance prior to the issuance of any summons unless such effort is clearly unreasonable under the circumstances as determined in the sole discretion of the magistrate.