Chapter 8.15
PUBLIC NUISANCES1
Sections:
8.15.010 Public nuisances prohibited.
8.15.020 Public nuisance defined.
8.15.030 Attractive nuisances.
8.15.040 Property maintenance requirements.
8.15.050 Abatement of nuisances – Rights of inspection.
8.15.060 Closure of unsanitary buildings.
8.15.070 Notice to abate nuisance.
8.15.080 Refusal to abate nuisance.
Prior legislation: Ord. 4-84.
8.15.010 Public nuisances prohibited.
Every act or condition made, allowed, permitted or continued in violation of HMC 8.15.020 is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance. It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain or commit any public nuisance, or to permit any public nuisance to exist upon his property or property under his control, the punishment for which is not otherwise prescribed, or to willfully omit to perform any legal duty relating to the removal of a public nuisance. (Section 10-8-60, Utah Code Annotated 1953) [Code 1988 § 12-2-1].
8.15.020 Public nuisance defined.
A public nuisance shall be a crime against the order and economy of the city and shall consist of one or more of the following:
A. Any act or condition which is dangerous to human life or health and/or renders soil, air, water or food impure or unwholesome.
B. Any act or omitting to perform any duty, which act or omission either:
1. Annoys, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, or safety of three or more persons; or
2. Offends public decency; or
3. Unlawfully interferes with, obstructs, or tends to obstruct, or renders dangerous for passage, any lake, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway; or
4. In any way renders three or more persons insecure in life or the use of property.
An act which affects three or more persons in any of the ways specified in this subsection is still a nuisance regardless of whether the extent of annoyance or damage inflicted on individuals is unequal.
C. Any building which, because of its unsanitary or unsafe condition, constitutes a menace to life or health or is unfit for human occupancy.
D. An act or condition specified under the provisions of Section 76-10-801 et seq., Utah Code Annotated 1953, as amended, which sections are hereby adopted by reference for application within the city. [Code 1988 § 12-2-2].
8.15.030 Attractive nuisances.
It shall be unlawful to cause, create, maintain or be the author of an attractive nuisance within the city. Any vacant lot or open area of ground into which the public, and particularly children, has access within which any of the following conditions occur is an attractive nuisance:
A. Ponding or impounding of water;
B. Open pits, shafts, caves, or dilapidated nonoccupied buildings;
C. Noxious weeds or vegetation;
D. Trash, debris or machinery;
E. Any abandoned, unattended or discarded refrigerator or similar container having a lid or door snaplock or other locking device which may not be released from inside. (Section 10-8-60, Utah Code Annotated 1953) [Code 1988 § 12-2-3].
8.15.040 Property maintenance requirements.
A. No person owning, renting, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of any premises within Helper City shall maintain premises in such a way as to allow the existence of any of the following conditions, all of which are declared a public nuisance posing a threat to the public health, safety and welfare of the community:
1. Junk.
a. “Junk” means any salvaged or scrap copper, brass, iron, steel, metal, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, plastic, rubber, tires, waste, or other articles or materials commonly designated as junk. “Junk,” except as provided in subsection (A)(1)(b) of this section, also means any dismantled, wrecked or inoperable motor vehicles or parts thereof which remain in such condition for a period of time in excess of 60 days. An automobile, truck, or bus shall be considered inoperable if it is parked or stored on property outside of an enclosed garage and is not currently registered and licensed in this state or another state.
b. Not more than three motor vehicles which are physically operable, but which are not currently registered and licensed, may be stored in a side yard or the rear yard on property for a period exceeding two years, provided:
i. The motor vehicles are secured with the windows closed, the trunks and hoods closed, the doors locked, and are not damaged exposing jagged metal; and
ii. Weeds are not permitted to reach a height of more than six inches in the immediate vicinity of or under the vehicles; and
iii. The vehicles are screened from the adjacent properties and adjacent streets by a solid visual barrier so that no portion of the vehicles shall be visible from the adjacent property and adjacent streets; and
iv. The vehicles are entirely concealed by coverings which are maintained in good condition, and which do not extend closer to the ground than the lowest point of the vehicles’ bodies.
c. All existing legal nonconforming motor vehicles, as of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, or any amendment hereto, shall comply with the provisions of this section within three months from the date of the enactment of this section or any amendment thereto.
B. Every railroad company, canal company, ditch company or water company and every person, firm or corporation owning, controlling or occupying real property within the corporate limits of Helper City shall, within 14 days after being notified by the city council or any duly authorized agent of the city council, trim all trees in the manner prescribed and directed by the city council, where such trees are placed in and upon the sidewalks and streets of Helper City or where the limbs of such trees overhang the sidewalks and streets of Helper City. [Ord. 98-5. Code 1988 § 12-2-3.1].
8.15.050 Abatement of nuisances – Rights of inspection.
It shall be the duty of the city board of health and the right of the chief of police or other person so authorized by the city council to cause all nuisances declared to be such in this chapter or by action of the city board of health to be abated.
The city board of health, or their authorized agent, and the chief of police shall have authority in the daytime to enter any house, stable, store, building or parcel of land, in order to make a thorough examination of the premises to ascertain whether a nuisance exists; and to cause all stagnant water to be drained off and pools, sinks, vaults, drains, holes, or low grounds to be cleaned, filled up, or otherwise purified, and to cause all noisome substances to be abated or removed. [Code 1988 § 12-2-4.1].
8.15.060 Closure of unsanitary buildings.
Whenever, in the opinion of the city board of health, any building or dwelling, because of its unsanitary condition, has become a menace to life or health, or unfit for human habitation, the city board of health shall have the power to close to occupancy said building or dwelling and cause the same to be vacated until the same is put in a clean and sanitary condition as required by the regulations of the board. It shall be the duty of the board to notify the owner, agent or lessee in writing of the action and post a conspicuous sign on said building that the same has been closed by order of the city board of health. It shall be unlawful for any person to occupy, lodge, or sleep in any building or dwelling or other place closed to occupancy by order of the board of health. [Code 1988 § 12-2-4.2].
8.15.070 Notice to abate nuisance.
In order to carry out the provisions of this chapter, the board of health or the chief of police or other designated enforcement agent may serve a notice in writing upon the owner, occupant, or agent thereof of any lot, building, or premises in or upon which any nuisance may be found, or upon him who may be the cause of such nuisance, requiring him to abate the same in such manner as the notice directs and to do so within a reasonable time to be fixed in the notice; provided, that failure to give a notice as provided herein shall not relieve the author of any nuisance from the obligation to abate such nuisance or from the penalty provided for the maintenance thereof. [Code 1988 § 12-2-4.3].
8.15.080 Refusal to abate nuisance.
In case of neglect or refusal of any person to abate any nuisance, after notice in writing has been served upon him as provided in this chapter and within the time specified in said notice, the city board of health shall, with the assistance of the chief of police if necessary, abate or procure the abatement of said nuisance and the expenses of such abatement shall be collected from the person so offending.
In addition to the provisions of this chapter the city may initiate action for abatement of nuisances in the manner set forth in Section 76-10-806, Utah Code Annotated 1953, as amended. [Code 1988 § 12-2-4.4].
8.15.090 Penalties.
Any person who shall create a nuisance or maintain a nuisance, or who shall fail to immediately abate any nuisance upon notice thereof, shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day that a nuisance is maintained or continues to exist. At the enforcement officer’s sole discretion, a violation of this chapter may be handled as a civil violation under HMC Title 11, a criminal violation as stated herein, or both. The civil penalty shall be $100.00 per day. [Ord. 2018-1. Code 1988 § 12-2-4.5].
Statutory Authority: Sections 10-8-60 and 76-10-801 et seq., Utah Code Annotated 1953.