Chapter 7.44
OVERHANGING, OBSTRUCTING, AND NUISANCE VEGETATION
Sections
7.44.050 Removal of overhanging or obstructing vegetation.
7.44.060 Removal of nuisance vegetation and debris.
7.44.010 Title.
This chapter shall be entitled “Overhanging, Obstructing, and Nuisance Vegetation.” [Ord. 1687 § 1, 2017.]
7.44.020 Application.
This chapter shall apply to real property located in the City and the owners of real property located in the City. [Ord. 1687 § 2, 2017.]
7.44.030 Purpose.
These regulations are adopted to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of Des Moines and to provide for enforcement, abatement, and recovery of City costs for abatement, requiring property owners to remove vegetation that obstructs the free use of the sidewalk or public street and vegetation on the owner’s property which is a fire hazard or a menace to public safety, health, or welfare; providing a procedure for the City Council to order removal of nuisance vegetation by resolution after notice of the condition to the property owner; allowing the City to cause the removal of nuisance vegetation following passage of the resolution should the property owner fail to remove the nuisance vegetation; and providing that the City’s costs in removing the nuisance vegetation shall become a charge against the property owner and a lien against the property. [Ord. 1687 § 3, 2017.]
7.44.040 Authority.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority set forth in RCW 35.21.310. [Ord. 1687 § 4, 2017.]
7.44.050 Removal of overhanging or obstructing vegetation.
The owner or occupant or other person in control of real property within the City shall remove or destroy all trees, plants, shrubs or vegetation, or any parts thereof, which overhang any sidewalk or which are situated on the property or on the portion of the street or sidewalk abutting thereon in such manner as to obstruct or impair the free and full use of the sidewalk or street, including the interruption or interference with the clear vision of pedestrians or persons operating vehicles thereon, or interfering with sidewalks, streets, poles, wires, pipes, fixtures or any other part of any public utility situated in the street. [Ord. 1687 § 5, 2017.]
7.44.060 Removal of nuisance vegetation and debris.
The owner or occupant or other person in control of real property within the City shall remove or destroy all grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees or vegetation growing or which has grown and died, and remove or destroy all debris, upon property owned or occupied by them and which are a fire hazard or a menace to public health, safety or welfare. [Ord. 1687 § 6, 2017.]
7.44.070 Nuisance declared.
It is unlawful and a nuisance for the owner or occupant or other person in control of any real property in the City to maintain or allow the property in violation of this chapter. [Ord. 1687 § 7, 2017.]
7.44.080 Notice.
(1) If real property within the City is allowed or maintained in violation of this chapter, the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee may serve notice upon the property owner identifying the property involved; describing the condition to be corrected; requiring the owner to correct the condition within the time specified in the notice; and notifying the owner that if the condition is not corrected within the time specified, that after the termination of such period of time and on a date specified in the notice, a resolution will be presented to the City Council to provide for the removal or destruction of the grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, vegetation, and/or debris, and the cost of that removal or destruction become a charge against the owner and a lien against the property.
(2) Notice under this section shall be served on the property owner personally or by certified mail, with a five-day return receipt requested, sent to the property address and the owner’s address on file with the King County Treasury. Notice by certified mail will be effective on the fifth day after mailing. [Ord. 1687 § 8, 2017.]
7.44.090 Resolution.
The City Council may adopt by resolution a declaration that real property within the City is in violation of this chapter; identifying the specific property and the specific grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, vegetation and/or debris to be removed or destroyed; and requiring the property owner to remove or destroy the grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, vegetation, and/or debris within a specific time. The resolution shall be passed after not less than five days’ notice to the owner as described in DMMC 7.44.080 and an opportunity for the owner to be heard and show cause why the grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, vegetation and/or debris should not be removed or destroyed. [Ord. 1687 § 9, 2017.]
7.44.100 Removal by City.
If a property owner fails to remove or destroy the grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, vegetation, and/or debris as required by a resolution of the City Council authorized by this chapter in the time specified in the resolution, the City shall cause the removal or destruction of the grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, vegetation, and/or debris. [Ord. 1687 § 10, 2017.]
7.44.110 Cost of removal.
The cost to the City of removing grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, vegetation, and/or debris as authorized by this chapter shall become a charge against the owner of the property and a lien against the property. Notice of the lien shall be in substantially the same form and enforced and foreclosed as is provided by law for liens for labor and materials. [Ord. 1687 § 11, 2017.]