Chapter VII · Health and Welfare

ARTICLE 2. HEALTH NUISANCES

Sections 7-201 to 7-210 · 10 sections

7-201 Definitions.

(a)For the purpose of this Article, PUBLIC NUISANCE is defined as any person, corporation, partnership or association committing any unlawful act, or omitting to perform a duty, or suffering or permitting any condition to exist, which act, omission or condition either:

(1)Injures or endangers the welfare, health or safety of others; or

(2)Is offensive, unsightly or hazardous; or

(3)Unlawfully interferes with, obstructs or tends to obstruct, or renders dangerous for passage any public or private street, highway, sidewalk, alley, ditch, drainage or any public easement; or

(4)Essentially interferes with the use of property of others, or tends to depreciate the value of the property of others.

(b)For the purpose of this Article, MAINTENANCE OF A PUBLIC NUISANCE is defined as the placing, depositing, leaving or permitting to be or remain on any public or private property the following described material, items or debris, provided, however, that the following listing should not be construed as conclusive, limiting or restrictive:

(1)Filth, excrement, lumber, concrete blocks, rocks, dirt, cans, paper, trash, metal, disabled automobiles and/or parts, or any other disabled or inoperable equipment, or any other offensive item or substance thrown or left or deposited upon any public or private property, whether vacant or occupied;

(2)All dead animals not removed within Twenty-four (24) hours after death;

(3)Any place, structure or substance which emits or causes any offensive, disagreeable or nauseous odors;

(4)All stagnant pools or pools of water;

(5)All grass, bushes, shrubbery, weeds or other unsightly vegetation not usually grown for domestic use or marketed for ornamental purposes;

(6)Abandoned ice boxes, freezers, refrigerators or similar appliances kept outdoors on the premises under the control of any person not in actual use; if such appliance is in actual use, it must be kept locked by a locking device that is an integral part of the appliance or by a chain or padlock, except for the time that the owner thereof is placing articles in or removing articles from said appliance; this subsection shall not apply to commercial ice machines or commercial ice storage appliances when in actual use;

(7)Any and all articles allowed upon any premises resulting in the injury, annoyance or inconvenience of the public or any neighborhood;

(8)Any fence, structure or other things placed upon or allowed to remain upon any street, sidewalk, alley, easement or other public ground so as to obstruct the same, except those fences for which building permits have been issued or the structures permitted by the ordinances of the City;

(9)Any junked, wrecked or inoperable vehicle, or vehicle parked in violation of City ordinances; any one of the following conditions shall raise the presumption that the vehicle is junked, wrecked or inoperable:

(A)Absence of current registration upon a vehicle;

(B)Placement of the vehicle or parts thereof upon jacks, blocks or other supports;

(C)Absence of one or more parts of the vehicle necessary for the lawful operation of the vehicle upon the street or highway;

Provided, however, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to:

(D)Any motor vehicle which is enclosed within a garage or other building;

(E)To the parking of a vehicle inoperable for Thirty (30) consecutive days or less, so long as the vehicle bears a current license tag, is not placed upon jacks, blocks or other supports, or

(F)To any person conducting a vehicle salvage business in full compliance with the existing zoning regulations and all other applicable state and local laws;

(G)To those vehicles placed behind screening of sufficient size, strength and density, to screen such vehicles from the view of the public and to prohibit ready access to such vehicles by others so long as such screening is in compliance with existing ordinances and zoning regulations;

(10) Any condition which provides harborage for rodents, rats, mice, snakes or other vermin;

(11) Pollution of any public or private well, stream, lake, well, or other body of water by sewage, dead animals, industrial waste or other substances;

(12) Any building, structure, or other place or location where any activity in violation of local, state or federal law is frequently conducted or maintained. Two (2) such violations within a one (l) year period shall be deemed to be frequent;

(13) Dense smoke, noxious fumes, gas, or any other substance released into the air which may be injurious to the public health.

(Ord. 1144, Sec. 1)

7-202 Acts prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, partnership or association to cause, or permit the creation or maintenance of a public nuisance within the City.

(Ord. 1022; Ord. 1144, Sec. 2)

7-203 Complaints, inquiry and inspection.

The Chief of Police or other authorized representative of the Governing Body shall, upon receiving a complaint in writing stating that a nuisance exists and describing the same and where located, make inquiry and inspection of the premises. The Chief of Police or other authorized representative may make such inquiry and inspection without written complaint upon their own observation of conditions which appear to constitute a public nuisance. Upon making any inquiry or inspection, the Chief of Police or representative shall make a written report to the City Clerk.

(Ord. 1144, Sec. 3)

7-204 Right of entry.

It shall be unlawful to deny the Chief of Police or authorized representative the right of access and entry upon private property at any reasonable time for the purpose of making inquiry and inspection to determine if a public nuisance exists.

(Ord. 1144, Sec. 4)

7-205 Notice.

(a)The governing body shall serve upon the owner, any agent of the owner of the property or any other person, corporation, partnership or association found by the public officer to be in violation of section 8-101 an order stating the violation. The order shall be served on the owner or agent of such property by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal service. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, then by mailing the order by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the owner.

(b)If the owner or the agent of the owner of the property has failed to accept delivery or otherwise failed to effectuate receipt of a notice or order sent pursuant to this section during the preceding 24 month period, the governing body of the city may provide notice of the issuance of any further orders to abate or remove a nuisance from such property or provide notice of the order by such methods including, but not limited to, door hangers, conspicuously posting notice of such order on the property, personal notification, telephone communication or first class mail. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, notice provided by this section shall be given by telephone communication or first class mail.

(K.S.A. 12-1617e; Ord. 1144, Sec. 5; Code 2015)

7-206 Contents of notice.

The notice shall describe the conditions constituting the public nuisance and which are in violation of this Article. The notice shall inform the owner or agent that:

(a)Abatement of the conditions shall occur within Thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the notice; or

(b)The owner, or agent, shall have thirty (30) days from the receipt of the notice to request a hearing before the designated hearing officer as hereinafter provided.

Failure to abate the described condition or to request a hearing will result in prosecution and/or abatement.

7-207 Penalties.

Should the owner or agent fail to abate the conditions causing the public nuisance or fail to request a hearing, prosecution may be commenced by the filing of a complaint in the Municipal Court charging such person, corporation, partnership or association with a violation of this Article. Upon conviction, such person, corporation, partnership or association may be fined in any sum not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100), or be incarcerated for any period not to exceed Thirty (30) days, or be both fined and imprisoned. Each day the violation shall continue after service of the notice shall constitute a separate offense.

(Ord. 1144, Sec. 7)

7-208 Abatement.

In addition to or as an alternative to prosecution, the City may seek to remedy the violations of this Article by authorizing the abatement of the conditions causing the violation. After such action, the City Clerk shall give notice to the owner or agent by restricted mail of the costs of abatement, including any administrative costs. This notice shall state that payment of the costs is due and payable within thirty (30) days following receipt of the notice. If said costs remain unpaid thirty (30) days following the receipt of the notice, then such costs shall be charged against the lot or parcel of ground on which the nuisance was located. The City Clerk shall at the time of certifying other taxes to the County Clerk, certify the abatement costs. The County Clerk shall extend the same on the tax roll and it shall be collected and paid to the City as other taxes are collected and paid.

(Ord. 1144, Sec. 8)

7-209 Hearing.

The Governing Body shall appoint a Hearing Officer to conduct all hearings pursuant to this Article. Upon receipt of the request for hearing, the time and place of such hearing shall be promptly set, and at least three (3) days ‘notice given to the owner and/or agent. At such hearing, the owner or agent may be represented by counsel, and the owner or agent and the Chief of Police may introduce such witnesses and evidence as is deemed necessary and proper by the Hearing Officer. The hearing shall not be conducted according to the formal rules of evidence. After conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall make written findings and report such findings to the Governing Body at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. The Governing Body shall then take that action necessary to carry out the determinations and findings of the Hearing Officer, which may include authorization of abatement.

(Ord. 1144, Sec. 9)

7-210 Purpose and saving clause.

The purpose of this Article is to encourage a clean, healthy and satisfying environment for the citizens of the City, one free from nuisances, unhealthy or devaluating conditions. To these ends, this Article seeks to regulate, identify and provide means of enforcement so as to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents and property owners of the City. Should any paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Article be declared invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such declaration shall not affect any other provisions of this Article except the provisions which were specifically subject to the declaration.

(Ord. 1144, Sec. 10)