Ordinance No. 80-1
AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING PUBLIC NUISANCES
Be it ordained by the Board
of Trustees of the Town of
Hillsboro, as follows:
Section
1.
In addition to what is declared in the Ordinance to be a public nuisance,
those offences which are known to the common law and the Statutes of Indiana as
public nuisance, may in case any thereof exist within the Town limits, be
treated a such and be against as is provided in this Ordinance, or in accordance
with any other provision of the law
wherever the word “nuisance” is used in this ordinance it refers to a public
nuisance.
Section
2.
Whenever the singular of the word person, owner, occupant, tenant, agent
representative, company, corporation, or any other word referring to a person or
entity subject to this Ordinance is used, the use thereof shall likewise include
the plural of such word and likewise when the plural of such word is used, it
shall include the singular. Whenever
the word person or persons is used to denote someone subject to the terms of
this Ordinance, such word or words shall
include companies, corporations, partnerships, and other legal entities, as the
case may be.
Section
3.
DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of this Ordinance the definitions contained in this
section shall be applied except when the context clearly indicated otherwise.
3a. Automobile - A
vehicle , used to transport persons or property that is moved by an engine or
motor that is a part of said
vehicle, over streets, highways, tracks, or roads.
3b. Automobile Parts - Any portion or parts of any motor
driven vehicle, whether used in the transportation of persons, animals, personal
property or merchandise of any nature, that is detached from the automobile as a
whole.
3c. Debris -
Broken scattered remains of anything, such as tree limbs, bottles,
appliances, building material, and paper, that would create an unkempt
condition.
3d. Junk -
Scraps, parts or obsolete pieces of anything including but not limited to
metal, glass, paper, rags, tires, or other rubber products, wood, masonry,
and plastics.
3e. Junk Vehicles -
Any style or type of conveyance, whether for the transportation of
persons or property that is unfit for further use as a vehicle that will conform
to all the specifications required
to pass a legal inspection; a
conveyance not bearing a current license plate;
or a conveyance that appears to be obsolete
and derelict and that has been placed on blocks or jacks for a period
exceeding 30 days.
3f. Noxious Weeds -
Any weed, over 12” height, defined by the U.S.D.A. as of a prohibited
or restricted nature and includes but is not limited to:
Canadian and bull thistles, bind weed,
wild garlic, wild grasses, such as crab, johnson, pepper, and quack giant
fox tail, winter crest, buckhorn, corn cockle, curled dock, dodder, horse
nettle, oxeye daisy, penny crest, wild mustard, and horse weeds.
3g. Rags
- Cloth products of any such nature
whether wearing apparel, bed clothing, towels or other, usually in a dilapidated state or otherwise discontinued from
use.
3h. Scrap Lumber -
Anything of a wood nature that could not be construed as suitable for
building in the commonly accepted manner.
3i. Scrap Metal -
Pieces or parts of steel, iron,
tin, zinc, copper, aluminum, or any alloy.
Any pieces or parts of metal covered with porcelain, paint, or other
material shall be considered scrap.
3j. Scrap Paper -
Paper of any kind whether loose, baled, or bundled. and includes but is
not limited to: boxes,
whether assembled or knocked down; newspapers,
in whole or in part; wrapping paper, loose or in a roll whether it be brown,
waxed, white, or any color; plastics
such as visqueen, saran wrap and such.
Section
4.
For the purpose of this Ordinance, it shall not be essential that the
Nuisance be created or contributed to by the owner, or tenants, or their agents
or representatives, but it shall suffice if the nuisance be contributed to by
licensees, invitees, and guests, habitual trespassers, or other persons
whose presence on the premises is
subject to the control of the conduct they have been made aware or ought to
become aware by the exercise of reasonable care.
Section
5.
It shall be unlawful, inside the corporation boundaries of the Town of
Hillsboro, IN, for any person, firm, partnership or corporation:
5a. To store or keep
junk vehicles or automobile parts on a public right-of -way or on a public right
of way or on a private or public lot exposed to the view of the general public.
5b. To put, throw ,
dump, leave or deposit or to cause or allow the putting, throwing, dumping,
leaving, or depositing of junk, scrap of any
kind, rags, debris, or junk vehicles in or upon or within the limits of
any street, alley, sidewalk, thoroughfare or public way.
5c. To allow any
premises owned, occupied or
controlled by him to become or remain in a filthy condition or the permission of
the use or occupation of
same in such a manner as to create noxious or offensive smells or odors in
connection therewith, or the
allowance of the accumulation or creation of scrap, junk, rags, or other
unwholesome and offensive matter or the allowance of the breeding of flies,
rodents, or other vermin on the premises to the menace of the public health or
the annoyance of people residing in the vicinity.
5d. To permit any
building, house, or structure owned by same to become so out of repair and
dilapidated that it constitutes a fire hazard liable to catch on fire or
communicate fire because of its condition and lack of repair or that due lack of
adequate maintenance or neglect it endangers the public health, welfare or
safety, or materially devalues and interferes with the peaceful enjoyment by
owners or occupants of adjacent property.
5e. To erect, use or
maintain a dwelling which is unfit for human habitation.
a “dwelling” shall include any part of any building or its premises
used as a place of residence or habitation or for sleeping by any person.
A dwelling is “unfit for human habitation” when it is dangerous or
detrimental to life or health because of want of repair , defects in the
drainage , plumbing . lighting, ventilation or construction, infection with
contagious disease, or the existence on the premises of an unsanitary condition
likely to cause sickness among occupants of the dwelling.
5f. To cause or allow any
tree, stack or other object to remain standing upon such premises in such
circumstance that it shall , if the condition is suffered to continue, endanger
the life, limb or property or cause hurt, damage or injury to persons or
property upon the public streets or public ways adjacent
thereto, by the falling thereof or parts thereof.
5g. To permit to emit from
premises into the surrounding atmosphere such odors, dusts, smoke or other
debris as to render ordinary use or physical occupation of other property in the
vicinity uncomfortable or impossible.
5h. To allow any pool of
stagnant water to accumulate and stand on any property.
5i. To make or cause to be
made any noise noxious enough to destroy the enjoyment of dwelling houses or
other uses of property in the vicinity by interfering with the ordinary comforts
of human existence, including but not limited to continual pounding, continual
barking by one or more dogs, unnecessary sounding of horns , racing the motor or
causing the screeching or squalling of tires on any vehicles, radios or
phonographs or televisions, and sound tracks or public address systems.
5j. To cause or allow
debris, junk, noxious weeds, such an accumulation on any premises
of filth, trash, garbage or other waste materials that it endangers the
public health, welfare or safety or materially interferes with the peaceful
enjoyment by owners or occupants of adjacent property because of the danger of
its catching or communicating fire, its attracting and propagating vermin,
rodents or insects or its blowing into any street, sidewalk or property of
another. It shall be the duty of
the persons owning or being in charge of those business establishments whose
patrons purchase goods or services from their automobiles, commonly known as
“drive-ins”, to furnish sufficient covered receptacles for the deposit of
wastes created in the operation of such business,
and to clean up such wastes as are not deposited in receptacles at the
close of business each day (if such business operates
continuously, at least one each day) and at such other times when weather
conditions are such that waste from the operation of such
business is being blown to adjoining premises.
5k. It shall be the
duty of every owner, occupant or persons in
charge of any lot of land within the Town to cause noxious weeds to be destroyed
by spraying with a chemical approved by the Board of Trustees or by cutting them
or digging them under.
Section
6.
ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT
6a. In any case where any
nuisance may exist, it shall be he duty of the Town Marshal at the direction of
the Board of Trustees to serve notice upon the owner of the premises where such
nuisance exists and upon any other person so causing such nuisance to abate such
nuisance within thirty (30) days of said notice.
6b. If the owner , occupant
and any other person or entity served with a notice to abate the nuisance shall
refuse or neglect to abate such nuisance within the designated time:
6b -1 Such person ,
persons, or entity shall be subject to the penalties provided in Section 9 of
this Ordinance; and
6b-2 In addition
thereto, the Board of Trustees may remove or cause to be removed or do or cause
to be done such other acts as are necessary and reasonable to abate said
nuisance, and the Town Clerk shall
make a certified statement of the actual costs incurred by the Town in such
removal, which statement shall be delivered to the owner of such real estate by
the Town Marshal, or by certified mail, or where appropriate, by publication,
provided such owner shall have been served with notice as provided in
Sub-section (6a) and such owner shall have not more than ten (10) days within
which to pay said amount to the Treasurer of the
Town of Hillsboro. If such owner failed to pay sum within the prescribed
time, a certified copy of the statement of such costs shall be filed in the
Auditor’s office of Fountain County wherein said real estate is located,
and the said Auditor shall place
the amount so claimed on the tax duplicate against the real estate of the owner
affected by said work, and the same shall be collected as taxes are collected or
said costs may be collected by suit; or
6b- 3 The Board of
Trustees may cause such nuisance to be abated in any manner authorized by law
including the institution in the name of
the Town of Hillsboro against the owner , occupant or other
person, of any action therefore and for the recovery of the amount of
expense of such abatement.
6c. The
requirement for service of notice under the provisions of this section of this
Ordinance may be complied with by the certified mailing of such notice to the
person or persons sought to be notified, provided, however, that names the real
estate taxes on said real estate are shown on record in the office of the
Auditor of Fountain County, wherein said real estate is located, by registered
or certified mail to the last known address of the person or persons sought to
be notified. or when the address of such persons or persons is unknown, by
publication of said notice once each week for three consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of Countywide circulation, published in Fountain County.
Section
7.
For the purpose of carrying the provisions of this Ordinance into effect,
it is hereby made the duty of all officers and employees of the Town to report
the existence of nuisances to the Board of Trustees or the Town Marshal and for
this purpose the Town Marshal or other employees designated by the Board of
Trustees, after reasonable notice to the occupant and at reasonable times, shall
be permitted to visit, enter into or upon any building, lot, grounds, or
premises, within the limits of the Town to investigate complaints of any such
nuisance and to make examination thereof.
Section
8.
If any clause, sentence, section, paragraph or part of this Ordinance
shall, for any reason, be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be
invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of
this Ordinance, but shall be
confined in its operation the
clause, sentence, section, paragraph , or part thereof, which is directly
involved in the controversy in which such judgement shall have been rendered.
Section
9.
Any person, firm or corporation who violate any of the provisions of this
Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined
not less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) and not more than Three Hundred Dollars
($300.00). Each day the
violation continues shall constitute separate offenses.
Section
10.
All ordinances, or parts thereof , in conflict with the provisions of
this Ordinance are hereby repealed.
Section
11.
This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from the date of its
passage by the Board of Trustees of the Town of Hillsboro and its publication,
all in accordance with the law.