Chapter 8.14
WEEDS AND RUBBISH CONTROL1
Sections:
8.14.030 Concurrent authorities.
8.14.070 Accumulation of tires.
8.14.080 Penalty – Infraction.
8.14.010 Findings.
The city council finds and declares that the uncontrolled growth and/or accumulation of grass, weeds or other materials or obstructions on sidewalks, streets, and on lands or lots is dangerous or injurious to neighboring property and the health or welfare of residents of the vicinity and is a public nuisance in that it creates a condition that reduces the value of private property, promotes blight and deterioration, invites plundering, creates fire hazards, constitutes an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, creates a harbor for rodents and insects and is injurious to the health, safety and general welfare. (Ord. 212, 2014)
8.14.020 Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
A. “Garbage” includes, but is not limited to, the following: waste resulting from the handling of edible foodstuffs or resulting from decay, and solid or semisolid putrescible waste, and all other mixed, nonrecyclable wastes which are generated in the day-to-day operation of any business, residential, governmental, public or private activity, and may include tin cans, bottles and paper or plastic, or other synthetic material, food or beverage containers.
B. “Refuse” includes rubbish and garbage, as defined herein.
C. “Rubbish” includes all the following, but is not restricted to nonputrescible wastes, such as paper, cardboard, grass clippings, tree or shrub trimmings, wood, bedding, crockery, rubber tires, construction waste and similar waste materials.
D. “Weeds,” as used in this chapter, includes any of the following:
1. Weeds which bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature;
2. Sagebrush, chaparral, and any other brush or weeds which attain such hard growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property;
3. Weeds and grasses which are otherwise noxious;
4. Poison oak and poison ivy when the conditions of growth are such as to constitute a menace to the public health;
5. Dry grass, stubble, brush, litter, or other flammable material which endangers the public safety by creating a fire hazard.
E. “Weeds, accumulation of” includes, but is not limited to, permitting or allowing the growth of weeds.
F. “Tire” means a pneumatic tire or solid tire manufactured for use on any type of motor vehicle. As defined in California Public Resources Code Section 42806.
G. Waste Tire. Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 42807 defines a “waste tire” as a tire that is no longer mounted on a vehicle and is no longer suitable for use as a vehicle tire due to wear, damage, or deviation from the manufacturer’s original specifications. A waste tire includes a repairable tire, scrap tire, and altered waste tire, but does not include a tire-derived product, crumb rubber, or a used tire that is organized for inspection and resale by size in a rack or a stack in accordance with California Public Resources Code Section 42806.5.
H. “Used tire” as defined in California Public Resources Code Section 42806.5 means a tire that meets all of the following requirements:
1. The tire is no longer mounted on a vehicle but is still suitable for use as a vehicle tire.
2. The tire meets the applicable requirements of the Vehicle Code and Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations.
3. a. The used tire is ready for resale, is stored by size in a rack or a stack not more than two rows wide, but not in a pile, and is stored in accordance with local fire and vector control requirements and with state minimum standards.
b. A used tire stored pursuant to this section shall be stored in a manner to allow the inspection of each individual tire. (Ord. 212, 2014)
8.14.030 Concurrent authorities.
This chapter is not the exclusive regulation for weed and refuse abatement within the city. It shall supplement and be in addition to the other regulatory codes, statutes, and ordinances heretofore and hereafter enacted by the county, the state, or any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction. (Ord. 212, 2014)
8.14.040 Enforcement.
The division of authority for enforcement of this chapter shall be as follows:
A. The chief of the city of Etna fire department shall have authority to enforce this chapter and issue citations for violations in their respective districts, pursuant to California Penal Code Section 832.
B. The chief of police and/or designee for the city of Etna shall have authority to enforce this chapter and issue citations for violations in their respective districts, pursuant to California Penal Code Section 832.
C. The county fire warden shall have authority to enforce this chapter in the city of Etna upon request of the chief of the city of Etna fire department. (Ord. 212, 2014)
8.14.050 Prohibited conduct.
A person shall not dump weeds or refuse, nor shall he permit the dumping of weeds or refuse, nor shall he permit the accumulation of weeds or refuse, on his property or on any other property in such a manner as to constitute a fire hazard. (Ord. 212, 2014)
8.14.060 Firebreak required.
All dry grass, brush, vines or other dry vegetation shall be cleared for an area of not less than 30 feet from all structures, combustible fences, vehicles and combustible storage. The chief of the city of Etna fire department may require additional clearances when topographical or geographical conditions warrant said action. (Ord. 212, 2014)
8.14.070 Accumulation of tires.
A. No person shall allow, permit or have an accumulation of used tires or waste tires on any property within the city of Etna which tends to create a fire hazard.
B. Exception. When tires are stored for the course of a normal licensed retail business. (Ord. 212, 2014)
8.14.080 Penalty – Infraction.
A. Violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, or failure to comply with any of the regulatory requirements of this chapter is an infraction.
B. Each person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of the ordinances of this code is committed, continued or permitted by any such person, and he shall be punishable accordingly. (Ord. 212, 2014)
Code reviser’s note: Ordinance 212 adds the provisions of this chapter as Chapter 8.10. The chapter has been editorially renumbered to prevent duplication of numbering.