CHAPTER 1: NUISANCES

CHAPTER 2: WEEDS; HAY

CHAPTER 3: DRILLING WELLS FOR OIL, GAS OR OTHER HYDROCARBONS

CHAPTER 1

NUISANCES

A. Offensive Premises: Any person who shall suffer or permit any drain, sewer, yard, grounds or premises belonging to or controlled by him, as agent, tenant or otherwise, either within the city or within three (3) miles thereof, to become nauseous, foul, offensive or injurious to the public health, or unpleasant and disagreeable to adjacent residents or persons passing by, shall be deemed guilty of committing a nuisance.

B. Burial Of Human Bodies: Any person who arranges burial of or buries the body of a deceased person shall bury the body only within property designated by the city council as a cemetery. Any person who buries a dead human body in any property within the city not designated as a cemetery by the city council is guilty of committing a nuisance.

C. Manure Or Garbage Piles; Permit For Burning: Any person who throws out, piles, or deposits any waste or refuse materials within the city limits shall follow the rules and regulations prescribed by the county board of health, unless such materials are piled or deposited for immediate removal. Any person who burns any straw, hay, paper, wood, boards, boxes, manure or other substance or material in any street or alley in the city, shall obtain a permit from the county board of health. Any person who fails to abide by the rules and regulations prescribed by the county board of health or who fails to obtain a burning permit from the county board of health shall be guilty of committing a misdemeanor.

D. Offensive Substances Or Businesses:

1. Any person who conducts any business or occupation that is dangerous or hazardous to public health within three (3) miles of the city is guilty of maintaining a nuisance. Such businesses or occupations that are dangerous or hazardous to public health include businesses or occupations that:
   

   a. Agitate or expose any lime, ashes, coal, dry sand, hair, feathers, or other substance or material that is liable to be blown by the wind in the city; or
   b. Boil any offal, swill, bones, or fat in the city in ordinary cooking;
   c. Conduct the business of bone crushing, bone boiling, frying, or rendering the lard or tallow, gut cleaning, or make other products from dead animals.

2. Any person violating this subsection, upon conviction thereof, shall be deemed guilty of maintaining a public nuisance. (Ord. 8.00; amd. 2006 Code)

E. Obstructing Flow Of Water: Any person who places or deposits any dirt, soil, or other material into or upon any streets or alleys of the city in such manner, place, or quantity as to obstruct the free flow of water along the natural or established grade of said street or alley, or who refuses or neglects to remove the same within twenty four (24) hours after notice, either oral or written, by the street commissioner or city superintendent, is guilty of committing a nuisance. (Ord. 8.00; amd. Ord. 2.32; 2006 Code)

F. Killing Or Slaughtering Animals: It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to kill or slaughter any animals within the city limits or within three (3) miles thereof, or use or occupy any building for such purpose without a special permit from the city council and under such rules and regulations as the county board of health may provide.

H. Accumulation Of Junk Items And Rubbish:

1. Prohibited; Nuisance Declared: It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation to allow, suffer or permit the accumulation of old discarded automobile bodies, old discarded furniture, old discarded appliances, old lumber, old paper, and other rubbish upon any property owned, occupied or controlled by such person or corporation within the city limits, and accumulation of materials and rubbish above named shall be deemed a nuisance. (Ord. 8.32)
2. Penalty; Abatement By City: Any person who refuses or fails to remove all nuisance materials and remedy any nuisances within thirty (30) days of receiving notice as provided in section 5-1-3 of this chapter from any property owned, occupied, or controlled by him shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in section 5-1-7 of this chapter. As an additional and concurrent remedy, the city may remove the nuisance materials and assess the cost of such removal against the property, to be added to the next annual assessment roll and paid as other taxes and assessments. (Ord. 8.32; amd. 2006 Code)

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5-1-2: EXAMINATION OF PREMISES:

For the purpose of carrying the provisions of this chapter into effect, it shall be the duty of the county board of health, chief of police, police officers, or street commissioner or city superintendent to make, from time to time, a thorough and systematic examination of the city, under the rules adopted or to be adopted by the county board of health, and ascertain and report to the proper authority for prosecution all violations of this chapter, and for such purpose, said officers shall be permitted during reasonable hours to visit and enter into and upon any building, lot, ground or premises within the jurisdiction of the city to make an investigation and examination thereof. (Ord. 8.00; amd. Ord. 2.32; 2006 Code)

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5-1-3: NOTICE OF NUISANCE CONDITION; ABATEMENT:

A. Issuance Of Notices: In all cases wherein no specific provision is set out in this code defining what are nuisances and how the removal of the same may be effected, abated or prevented, in addition to what is declared to be such herein, those offenses known to the common law of the land as nuisances may, in the event that the same exist within the city or within three (3) miles thereof, be considered and treated as nuisances and proceeded against as in this chapter provided. It shall be the duty of the county board of health, police officers, street commissioner or city superintendent, or a member of the city council, when so required, to notify the author of any nuisance within the city limits or within three (3) miles thereof, either by verbal or written notice, to abate and remove such nuisance, provided such notice shall be required preliminary to the commencement of the prosecution of same. (Ord. 8.00; amd. Ord. 2.32; 2006 Code)

B. Failure To Abate; Filing Of Complaint: If such nuisance is not abated within twenty four (24) hours after the notice aforesaid, then it shall be the duty of the chief of police, police officers or county board of health to forthwith file a complaint under oath, before the city judge, setting forth the facts constituting the nuisance, to abate or remove the nuisance and enforce the provisions and penalties herein contained. (Ord. 8.00; amd. 2006 Code)

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5-1-4: NUISANCE ON UNOCCUPIED PREMISES; ABATEMENT BY CITY:

In the event that there is any nuisance upon, in or about any unoccupied lot or premises within the jurisdiction of the city, such lot or premises being owned by an unknown or absent person or by a person whom the officers cannot find, the county board of health, chief of police, or police officer may cause such nuisance to be removed or abated, the same to be done at the expense of the owner. If suit for the recovery of costs for abating or removing such nuisance against the owner of the property or authority of the nuisance, the city council may, by proper action and procedure, assess such costs to the property, and such costs shall be lien against the property and collected as a tax. (Ord. 8.00; amd. 2006 Code)

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5-1-6: LIABILITY FOR ABATEMENT COSTS:

Any person found guilty of keeping, maintaining, permitting or allowing any nuisance shall be liable for all costs and expense of abating or removing the same, and such costs and expense shall be taxed as a part of the costs in any prosecution of the party liable therefor upon his conviction thereof. (Ord. 8.00)

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5-1-7: JUDGMENT AGAINST VIOLATOR; PENALTY:

A. Judgment; Failure To Abate: When judgment shall be rendered against any person for creating, maintaining, permitting or keeping any nuisance, it shall be the duty of the court rendering judgment to order the defendant to forthwith abate and remove such nuisance within twenty four (24) hours, this penalty to be in addition to other penalties herein provided. And in the event that the defendant fails to remove or abate said nuisance within twenty four (24) hours, said defendant may be adjudged by the city judge to be in contempt of court and may be fined not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) or imprisoned not to exceed ten (10) days for such contempt, and it shall be the duty of the police officer, chief of police or county board of health to abate the nuisance and charge the same to the owner of the property or author of the nuisance as herein provided. (Ord. 8.00; amd. 2006 Code)

B. Separate Offense For Each Day: Any person having been found guilty of maintaining, creating, permitting or keeping any nuisance, who shall fail or neglect to remove the same within twenty four (24) hours next after judgment of conviction, shall for each additional twenty four (24) hours thereafter while such nuisance continues, be subject to a like penalty for a separate offense as herein provided. (Ord. 8.00)

C. General Penalty: Every person convicted of an offense under any section or subsection of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in section 1-4-1 of this code. (Ord. 8.00; amd. 2006 Code)

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CHAPTER 2

WEEDS; HAY

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5-2-4: ENFORCEMENT OF PROVISIONS:

It shall be the duty of the police department or such other person as the city council may from time to time direct to enforce the provisions of this chapter and, upon a determination that a violation of this chapter exists, shall ascertain the name and mailing address of the owner, owner's representative, contract purchaser, or the occupant of the premises and the description of the premises where the violation exists. The name and mailing address of the owner may be obtained from the current assessment list maintained by the office of the county assessor. (Ord. 8.44)

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5-2-5: ENFORCED REMOVAL OF NOXIOUS WEEDS FROM PREMISES:

The following provisions shall apply in cases where removal of nuisance weeds from a premises is sought in addition to, or in place of, prosecution for violation of section 5-2-2 of this chapter:

A. Notice Of Violation: Written notice of violation shall be served upon the owner, owner's representative, contract purchaser, or occupant, directing that said nuisance weeds shall be cut and removed from the premises within ten (10) days, or the city will cause said nuisance weeds to be removed, with cost thereof to be charged against owner, owner's representative, contract purchaser, or occupant. Notice of violation shall be made by posting a copy of said notice on the premises and by mailing a copy of said notice to the owner, owner's representative, contract purchaser, or occupant by first class United States mail. Said notice shall be deemed complete on the day the notice is posted or mailed.

B. Action Upon Noncompliance:

1. Upon the failure, neglect or refusal of any owner, owner's representative, contract purchaser, or occupant to exterminate or remove such nuisance weeds growing, lying or located upon the property or upon the one-half (1/2) of any road, street, or alley lying next to the lands or any boulevard abutting thereon before the date specified in the notice described in subsection A of this section, or at any time after the specified date that such weeds reach a height of eight inches (8") and remain in that manner for a period of seven (7) days, the city is hereby authorized to exterminate or remove such nuisance weeds and report to the city clerk-treasurer the same, together with vouchers of the cost of such extermination and removal, plus ten percent (10%) additional to cover administrative costs. If the cost of such extermination and removal are not paid forthwith, then the total costs shall be assessed against the lot or parcel of land from which or adjoining which the nuisance weeds shall have been exterminated or removed.
2. The city clerk-treasurer shall each year prepare a resolution containing a list of all lots and parcels of land in the city from which, and adjacent to which, the weeds were exterminated or removed, which list shall contain opposite the number of such lots or description of such parcels of land the name of the owner or owners, if known, and the amount of the costs as reported to the clerk-treasurer for exterminating or removing such nuisance weeds. The city clerk-treasurer shall present a resolution to the city council with the vouchers in support of each removal or extermination, and when the same is passed by the council and approved by the mayor in the same manner as other resolutions or special assessments, the assessments therein provided shall be a lien upon and against the lots or parcels of land. A copy of the resolution shall be certified to the county treasurer by the city clerk-treasurer for collection in the same manner as other taxes.

C. Amount Of Charges: A fee of thirty dollars ($30.00) per hour or forty dollars ($40.00) per lot, minimum, shall be charged for nuisance weed extermination work performed by the city.

D. Access To Premises: Any and all officers charged with enforcement of this chapter may go upon the lands infested with nuisance weeds, or suspected thereof, for any purposes necessary to such enforcement.

E. Penalty Enforcement: The removal of said nuisance weeds and the assessment of the costs thereof as provided in this section shall not prevent the enforcement of the penalties provided in section 5-2-6 of this chapter. (Ord. 8.44)

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5-2-6: PENALTY:

Each license shall be issued for a one year period to begin on July 1 and to expire at midnight of June 30 of each succeeding year. All licenses issued in any year shall expire at midnight of June 30 following the date of issuance of such license. (Ord. 11.00; amd. 2006 Code)

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CHAPTER 3

DRILLING WELLS FOR OIL, GAS OR OTHER HYDROCARBONS

The drilling of any well for oil, gas or other hydrocarbons within the city limits is hereby prohibited and is hereby determined to be a nuisance. (Ord. 8.12)

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5-3-2: PENALTY; ABATEMENT:

A. Any person, association, partnership, corporation or other business entity convicted of a violation of this chapter shall be punished as provided in section 1-4-1 of this code. (Ord. 8.12; amd. 2006 Code)

B. In addition to the penalty provided in subsection A of this section, the city shall be entitled to take such steps in the abatement of such drilling as may be authorized by the laws of the state and the remedies provided for in this subsection shall be deemed to be cumulative and not alternate remedies. (Ord. 8.12

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