Chapter 8.08
NUISANCES1
Sections:
8.08.020 Declaration of nuisance.
8.08.050 Penalty for violation.
8.08.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to define what constitutes a nuisance; to set forth an efficient system to abate such nuisances; to provide for the general welfare of the citizens and to declare all actions which endanger the citizens of North Bend as nuisances. (Ord. 1087 § 3 (part), 1999).
8.08.020 Declaration of nuisance.
All violations of development, land use, and public health ordinances are found and declared to be detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare, and further found and declared to be nuisances. Such nuisances create conditions conducive to public harm. Prevention and correction of nuisances is necessary to prevent public harm. (Ord. 1087 § 3 (part), 1999).
8.08.030 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is plainly required:
A. “Abate” means to repair, replace, remove, destroy, or otherwise remedy a condition which constitutes a civil violation by such means, in such a manner, and to such an extent as the applicable department director determines is necessary in the interest of the general health, safety, and welfare of the community.
B. “Act” means doing or performing something.
C. “Applicable department director” means the city administrator or his designee, including any department director or other designee, empowered by ordinance or by the city administrator to enforce a city ordinance or regulation.
D. “Civil violation” means a violation for which a monetary penalty may be imposed as specified in this chapter. Each day or portion of a day during which a violation occurs or exists is a separate violation.
E. “Development” means the erection, alteration, enlargement, demolition, maintenance, or use of any structure; or the alteration or use of any land above, at, or below ground or water level; and all acts authorized by a city regulation.
F. “Emergency” means a situation which in the opinion of the applicable department director requires immediate action to prevent or eliminate an immediate threat to the health or safety of persons or property.
G. “Infestation” means a situation where a structure or undeveloped area is overrun in large numbers with harmful or unpleasant animals, including common vermin such as mice and rats, or insects, including termites.
H. “Omission” means a failure to act.
I. “Person” means any individual, firm, association, partnership, corporation, or any entity, public or private.
J. “Person responsible for the violation” means any person who has an interest in or resides on the property, whether as owner, tenant, occupant, or otherwise.
K. “Repeat violation” means a violation of the same regulation in any location by the same person, for which voluntary compliance previously has been sought or a notice of civil violation has been issued, within the immediately preceding 12 consecutive month period.
L. “Waterway” means any active or inactive known or unknown swale, creek, river, ditch or other watercourse, including any floodway or floodplain, that conveys or can convey water. (Ord. 1087 § 3 (part), 1999).
8.08.040 Nuisance defined.
A. “Nuisance” (also referred to herein as “violation” or “nuisance violation”) means:
1. A violation of any city of North Bend ordinance, including but not limited to zoning and other land use and development regulations;
2. Doing an act; omitting to perform any act or duty; or permitting or allowing any act or omission which annoys, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, or safety of others; is unreasonably offensive to the senses; or which obstructs or interferes with the free use of property so as to interfere with or disrupt the free use of that property by any lawful owner or occupant; or
3. The existence, without limitation, of any of the following conditions:
a. Animal Manure. Animal manure in any quantity which is not securely protected from flies and the elements, unless kept pursuant to an agricultural use and applicable industry standards or specifically allowed by zone or conditional use permit;
b. Dangerous Premises. The premises of a person, partnership, corporation or other entity which is reasonably apprehended to be a source of danger for children, and no reasonable steps have been taken to prevent injury to children, who may, by reason of something there which may be expected to attract them, come there to play. This includes unused or abandoned refrigerators, freezers, or other large appliances, or equipment or any parts thereof; any structurally unsound or unsafe fence or edifice; any unsecured or abandoned excavation, pit, well, cistern, storage tank, or shaft; and any lumber, trash, debris, or vegetation which may prove a hazard for minors;
c. Building Materials. Lumber, plumbing materials, wallboard, sheet metal, plaster, brick, cement, concrete block, roofing materials, cans of paint, and similar materials not actively used in a permitted project;
d. Dangerous or Unlawful Vacant Structures. Any dangerous building, fence, billboard, or other structure that is determined by the building official to be dilapidated, left unfinished, decaying, unkempt, falling, severely damaged, abandoned, partially destroyed, or otherwise unfit for human habitation, use or occupancy;
e. Dumping in Waterways. Dumping, depositing, placing, or leaving of any garbage, ashes, debris, gravel, earth, rock, stone, or other material upon the banks, channels, beds, or bars of any known waterway, or the felling of any tree or trees, so that the same shall in whole or in part project within the high water bank of any waterway, or the casting, placing, depositing, or leaving of any logs, roots, snags, stumps, or brush upon the banks or in the bed or channel of any waterway unless permitted; except as may be required pursuant to state law or administrative code;
f. Excessive Light. The operation of a searchlight for advertising purposes between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise; the illumination after 11:00 p.m. of an outdoor public recreation facility unless a specific recreational activity is already in progress; provided, that this prohibition shall not apply to any emergency lighting as may be required by any public agency engaged in the performance of their duties;
g. Grease and Animal Fat. Grease and animal fat not stored in a sealed container;
h. Illegal Dumping. Dumping of any type by any person on public or private property not registered as a legal dump site;
i. Junk Vehicles. A “junk vehicle” means a vehicle meeting any three of the following conditions: (i) the vehicle is more than three years old; (ii) it is extensively damaged, including (by way of illustration only and not limitation) a broken window or windshield, missing wheels or tires, missing a motor or transmission, or extensive body damage; (iii) it is apparently inoperable; (iv) it has a fair market value equal only to its value as scrap; provided, nothing herein shall prevent the keeping or storage of any vehicle on private property which is screened from view off a public right-of-way or other property and does not constitute an attractive nuisance;
j. Obstruction of the Public Right-of-Way. Use of property abutting a public street or sidewalk or use of a public street or sidewalk which causes any obstruction to traffic or to open access to the streets or sidewalks; provided, that this subsection shall not apply to events, parades, or the use of the streets or public rights-of-way when authorized by the city. This section includes the existence of drainage onto or over any sidewalk, street, or public right-of-way, and the existence of any debris or plant growth on sidewalks adjacent to any property;
k. Potential Vermin Habitat or Fire Hazard. Any accumulation of material on a property including, but not limited to, animal matter, ashes, bottles, boxes, broken stone, building materials which are not properly stored or neatly piled, cans, cement, crates, empty barrels, dead animals or animal waste, glass, litter, mattresses or bedding, old appliances or equipment or any part thereof, furniture, iron or other scrap metal, packing cases, packing material, plaster, plastic, rags, wire, yard waste or debris, or other objects which endanger property or public safety or constitute a fire hazard or vermin habitat; provided, that nothing herein shall prevent the temporary retention of waste in approved, covered receptacles;
l. Refrigeration Equipment, Abandoned or Discarded. Discarding, abandoning, or leaving in any place accessible to children any refrigerator, icebox, or deep-freeze locker having a capacity of one cubic feet or more, which is no longer in use, and which has not had the door removed or a portion of the latch mechanism removed to prevent latching or locking of the door.
i. Permitting Unused Equipment to Remain on Premises. Any owner, lessee, or manager knowingly permitting such an unused refrigerator, ice box, or deep-freeze locker to remain on the premises under his control without having the door removed or a portion of the latch mechanism removed to prevent latching or locking of the door;
ii. Keeping or Storing Equipment for Sale. Keeping or storing refrigerators, iceboxes, or deep-freeze lockers for the purpose of selling or offering them for sale, except when reasonable precautions to effectively secure the door of any refrigerator, icebox, or deep-freeze locker held for purpose of sale so as to prevent entrance of children small enough to fit into such articles;
m. Road Debris. Dirt, mud, rocks, and/or debris of any kind dropped, deposited, or allowed to remain in any manner or condition on the surface of any street within the city;
n. Rodent and Insect Infestations. Any infestation of rodents or insects, including, but not limited to, rat or mouse dens, ant hills, or termites;
o. Trash Covered Premises. Any premises containing trash, abandoned materials, dirt, filth, or other matter which is offensive to a reasonable person, except that kept in garbage cans or containers maintained for regular collection;
p. Vegetation. Poison oak, poison ivy, evergreen and Himalayan blackberries, deadly nightshade, or any noxious or toxic weed, as defined by the state or King County extension service, or uncultivated plant (whether growing or otherwise), weeds, tall grass, uncultivated shrubs or growth higher than 12 inches, grass clippings, cut brush or cut weeds, except a compost pile so covered or concealed as not to affect the health, safety, or depreciation of adjoining property; provided, however, that this section does not apply to vegetation (specifically excluding noxious weeds) inside a sensitive area, as so designated by the city and weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs; provided, however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens;
q. Vibration. Any vibration emanating beyond the property boundaries which is discernible to a reasonable person that is not associated with a building permit. (Ord. 1273 § 1, 2007: Ord. 1087 § 3 (part), 1999).
8.08.050 Penalty for violation.
Any violation of this chapter shall be remedied pursuant to the provisions set forth in Chapter 1.20 NBMC. (Ord. 1585 § 5, 2016: Ord. 1088 § 3 (part), 1999: Ord. 1087 § 3 (part), 1999).
8.08.060 Conflicts.
In the event of a conflict between this chapter and any other provision of the North Bend Municipal Code or other city ordinance providing for a civil penalty, this chapter shall control. (Ord. 1087 § 3 (part), 1999).
Prior legislation: Ords. 373, 497, 760, 761, 808 and 988: all repealed by 1088.