Chapter 8.10
DEFINITIONS
Sections:
8.10.010 Definitions.
A. “Agent” means any director, officer, servant, employee or other person who is authorized to act on behalf of the corporation.
B. “Air contaminant” means any particulate matter, gas or vapor (exclusive of water vapor), including but not limited to smoke, charred paper, dust, soot, grime, carbon or any other particulate matter or irritating odorous matter, fumes or gases or any combination thereof.
C. “Ambient air” means all space outside of buildings, stacks or exterior ducts.
D. “Approved parking” means a driveway, parking lot, or parking space(s) that is constructed of a hard, dust-free surface as specified in GMC Title 17 and within the Technical Specifications for Public Improvement Projects, City of Gardner, Kansas.
E. “Automobile repair” shall mean the repair or restoration of any motor vehicle body or parts, and shall include, without being limited to, glass installation and replacement, brake and muffler repair and replacement, window tinting, radio and stereo installation, tire and battery replacement, tune ups, repair and servicing of motor vehicle engines, including overhauls, transmission work, body work and painting.
F. “Bulky refuse” means nonputrescible waste items too large to be placed in solid waste containers including, but not limited to, appliances, furniture, tires, large auto parts, motor vehicles and so forth, and which are not collected as part of the routine trash service.
G. “Building” means any structure, whether public or private, that is adapted for occupancy as a residence, the transaction of business, the rendering of professional services, amusement, the display, sale or storage of goods, wares or merchandise or the performance of work or labor, including office buildings, public buildings, stores, theaters, markets, restaurants, workshops and all other houses, sheds and other structures on the premises used for business purposes.
H. “Building Code” shall mean Title 15 of the Gardner Municipal Code of 2008.
I. “Building Code Board of Appeals” is a five-member body, all of whom are residents of Gardner or shall have their primary place of business in Gardner. Members of the Building Code Board of Appeals serve at the appointment of the Mayor by and with the consent of the Council; each member is qualified by experience and training to pass upon matters pertaining to construction.
J. “City” shall mean the City of Gardner.
K. “Code” shall mean the Gardner Municipal Code.
L. “Code offender” means any person who owns, has an interest in and/or resides on the property with an alleged code violation, whether as owner, tenant, occupant, or otherwise.
M. “Code violation” means any violation of a provision of the code. Multiple contemporaneous violations of separate code provisions shall be treated as individual code violations, each of which may be processed separately by the City. Multiple contemporaneous violations of the same code provision at different sites by the same person shall also be treated as individual code violations, each of which may be processed separately by the City.
N. “Collection” means the removal and transportation of solid waste from its place of storage to its place of processing or disposal.
O. “Construction and demolition waste” means waste materials from the construction, remodeling, repair or demolition of residential, industrial, commercial or other structures.
P. “Detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare” means a condition of a property or structure that, in the opinion of the Public Officer, represents a potentially adverse affect, but not an immediate or life-threatening impact, on the community.
Q. “Disposal” means depositing solid waste in or at a facility approved for disposal of said wastes by the appropriate agencies.
R. “Dwelling unit” means any room or group of rooms located within a structure and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used, or are intended to be used, for living, sleeping, cooking and eating.
S. “Firewood” means only natural wood, not sawn wood or lumber, which has not been painted, varnished or coated with a similar material; has not been pressure treated with preservatives; and does not contain resins or glues such as in plywood or other composite wood products.
T. “Inoperable vehicle” means:
1. A condition of being junked, wrecked, wholly or partially dismantled, discarded, abandoned or unable to perform the functions or purposes for which it was originally constructed; or
2. The absence of a current valid registration plate upon such vehicle that permits that vehicle to be operated on the public streets and highways of the State of Kansas, unless the vehicle has a nonhighway vehicle title and issued solely because the vehicle was not manufactured for street use; or
3. The absence of one or more of the parts the vehicle necessary for the lawful operation of the vehicle on the public streets and highways; or
4. The placement of the vehicle or parts thereof upon jacks, blocks, chains, or other supports.
U. Invasive Plant Material – Not Allowed in Landscape Applications – Listing. Crown vetch (Securigera varia), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), tamarix (Tamarix species) and leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellate), shrub or bush honeysuckles (Lonicera maackii and L. morrowii), common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), cut-leaved teasel and common teasel (Dipsacus laciniatus and D. fullonum), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), multiflora rose (Rose multiflora), musk thistle (Carduus nutans), sericea lespedeza (Lespedza cuneata), sweet clover (Melilotus alba and M. officinalis), wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei), fox tail (Alopecurus, Bromus madritensis, etc.), and crab grass (Digitaria).
V. Land. Except where specifically limited or where the context would require limitation, the use of the term “land” or “real property” shall refer to residential land, nonresidential land and vacant lots.
W. “Land clearance materials” means logs, brush, stumps, shrubbery, leaves, grass clippings and other natural vegetation generated from land clearing projects. If a permit authorizing open burning of land clearance materials is issued pursuant to Chapter 9.20 GMC, only those materials generated from the same property upon which the open burn is to occur may be burned.
X. “Nonresidential land” shall mean the real property on which the primary purpose is for nonresidential structures.
Y. “Nonresidential structure” shall mean any structure which is used for other than residential purposes, or part of such structure, or a structure part of which is used for other than residential purposes and, where applicable, the land on which such structures are situated.
Z. “Notice of violation” means a notice issued by the Public Officer to a code offender for the purpose of providing notice of a violation of the code.
AA. Notice to Appear. A “notice to appear” is a subsequent notice for the same violation for which the initial notice of violation was issued which shall provide notice to appear in Municipal Court on a specific date and time.
BB. “Nuisance” means anything which:
1. Is injurious to health or is offensive to the senses or is an obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property; or
2. Affects, at the same time, an entire community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal; and
3. Occurs during or as a result of the storage, collection and transportation or disposal.
CC. “Noxious weeds” means the following list of noxious weeds as defined in K.S.A. 2-1314, or any amendments thereto, and those further declared as such pursuant to K.S.A. 2-1314(b), or any amendments thereto: kudzu (Pueraria lobata), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), Russian knapweed (Centaurea picris), hoary cress (Lepidium draba), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), quackgrass (Agropyron repens), leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), burragweed (Franseria tomentosa and discolor), pignut (Hoffmannseggia densiflora), musk (nodding), thistle (Carduus nutans L.), Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense), or any plants which are poisonous to the touch, including but not limited to poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.
DD. “Occupant” means the person that has the use of, controls or occupies any building, dwelling or any portion thereof, whether owner or tenant. In the case of vacant buildings or dwellings, or any vacant portion of a building or dwelling, the owner, agent or other person having custody of the building or dwelling shall have the responsibilities of an occupant of a building or dwelling.
EE. “Open burning” means the igniting, burning or smoldering of any materials where the air contaminants resulting from combustion are emitted directly into the ambient air without passing through a stack or chimney. This includes burning in a burn barrel, metal drum, wire trash burner or similar device.
FF. “Owner” shall mean any person, partnership or corporation who alone or jointly or severally with others has legal title to residential or nonresidential land and/or structures or vacant lots or any person, partnership or corporation who is trustee or guardian of the estate or person of the title holder. “Owner” shall also mean “property owner.” See “property owner.”
GG. “Person” means any individual, individuals, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association, other business organization, committee, board, trustee, receiver, agent or any representative who has charge, care or responsibility for maintenance of any property, lot or parcel of land regardless of status as owner, tenant or lessee and regardless of whether such person has possession.
HH. “Portable wood-burning unit” means a chiminea, outdoor fireplace, fire pit, or other portable wood-burning device used, designed and intended for outdoor recreation and/or heating.
II. “Property owner” means the named property owner as indicated by the records of the Register of Deeds or Appraiser’s office in Johnson County, Kansas, and shall include an owner of property abutting the streets, alleys, avenues, boulevards, public easements and public rights-of-way. See “owner.”
JJ. “Public Officer” shall mean any person designated by the City Administrator to enforce the provisions of this title.
KK. “Vermin harborage” means any condition which provides shelter or protection for rats or rodents and vermin in general, thus favoring their multiplication and continued existence in, under or outside a structure of any kind.
LL. “Rank vegetation” means any annual or perennial herbaceous plants, including grasses (blue grass and fescue), or volunteer growth, not cultivated or of any agricultural nature nor useful for human food or enjoyment which, because of its height, but not less than eight inches, will be a fire menace, harbor vermin, insects or other creatures or will have blighting influence upon the neighborhood. This section shall not apply to growth (other than noxious weeds) in the stream corridor as defined in GMC Title 14. Any noxious weed defined by the State of Kansas and as defined above shall be considered rank vegetation. Such undesirable effects shall include, but are not limited to, vegetation that creates a fire menace to adjacent improved property, perpetuates disease or constitutes a menace to the public health, safety and welfare.
MM. “Vermin-stoppage” means a form of rat or rodent or other vermin proofing to prevent the ingress of rats and rodents and other vermin into buildings from the exterior or from one building to another. It consists essentially of the closing of all openings in the exterior walls, ground or first floors, basements, roofs and foundations that may be reached by rats or rodents or other vermin from the ground by climbing or by burrowing, with material or equipment impervious to rat and rodent and vermin gnawing.
NN. “Refuse” means something (such as paper, plastics, glass, metal, or food waste) that has been thrown away and with little or no worth; i.e., garbage, rubbish, trash, junk, yard or trade wastes, which includes trade wastes of solid, liquid or gaseous material resulting from construction, the conduct of any business trade or industry or any demolition operation, including but not limited to lumber, sawn or scrap wood, plastics, cardboard, grease, oil or chemicals.
OO. “Representative” means any person or entity listed in the Johnson County, Kansas, Appraiser’s office or Treasurer’s office for the purposes of paying taxes; a registered agent with the Kansas Secretary of State’s office for corporate or partnership ownership; an agent or manager directed by the property owner, estate or court order to represent the interests of the property or to otherwise control activities on the real property; or corporate officer.
PP. “Residential land” shall mean real property on which residential structures are situated or zoned for residential.
QQ. “Residential structure” shall mean any building or structure or part thereof, used and occupied for human habitation, or intended to be so used if unoccupied, and includes any appurtenances belonging thereto or usually enjoyed therewith.
RR. “Section” shall mean the stated section of this title.
SS. “Significant harm” means a level of harm resulting from a code violation involving immediate adverse impacts to public health and safety in the reasonable determination of the Public Officer.
TT. “Solid waste” means any unwanted or discarded waste materials in a solid or semi-liquid or liquid state. See definition of “refuse.”
1. “Commercial solid waste” means solid waste resulting from the operation of any commercial, industrial, institutional, agricultural or other nonresidential establishment or use. Waste produced by a grouping of dwelling units where solid waste collection service is not offered to each dwelling unit on an individual basis is also to be defined as commercial solid waste.
2. “Residential solid waste” means solid waste resulting from the maintenance and operation of dwelling units where solid waste collection service is offered to each dwelling unit on an individual basis.
UU. “Solid waste container” means all containers designed and manufactured specifically for storage and collection of solid waste.
VV. Structure. Except where specifically limited or where the context would require limitation, the use of the word “structure” within this title shall refer to both residential and nonresidential structures; anything constructed or erected which requires location on the ground or attached to something having a location on the ground.
WW. “Tenant” means any person who has a severable or nonseverable interest in the real property either by oral or written lease or covenant or by other methods of conveying a limited interest in such lands or any person who occupies or has possession of such real property.
XX. “Trim” shall mean all finish elements to the exterior of the structure including but not limited to finish elements surrounding windows, doors, and other opening, ornamental features and fascia board.
YY. “Unfit for human use or habitation” means a condition of a property or structure that, in the opinion of the Public Officer, represents an immediate, serious or life-threatening impact to the owner, tenant or occupant, or to the community.
ZZ. “Vacant lot” shall mean any real property on which there is situated no residential or nonresidential structures.
AAA. “Vehicle” means any automobile, truck, tractor, farm machinery, recreational vehicle or motorcycle which as originally built contained an engine, regardless of whether it contains an engine at any other time.
BBB. “Voluntary agreement” means a signed agreement between the City and the code offender under which the code offender agrees to correct the violation within a specified time in accordance with specified conditions. The voluntary agreement form may, at the discretion of the Public Officer, be utilized prior to the issuance of a notice to appear.
CCC. “Yard waste” means grass clippings, leaves, and tree trimmings, and other organic materials.
DDD. “Yearly” means the calendar year. (Ord. 2366 § 2)