Chapter 5.40
NUISANCES
Sections:
5.40.040 Maintaining a nuisance.
5.40.080 Violation of ECC 5.40.040 – Penalty.
5.40.120 Unsafe buildings, rubbish piles.
5.40.140 Retainage of accumulated material – Permit required.
5.40.160 Cesspools, privies.
5.40.200 Notice to abate.
5.40.240 Order of abatement – Special resolution.
5.40.280 Abatement by city.
5.40.320 Refusal to abate – Penalty.
5.40.360 Unlawful to permit weeds to grow.
5.40.400 Time for removal – Maximum height of weeds.
5.40.440 Notice and order to abate.
5.40.480 Abatement by city – Lien on property.
5.40.520 Refusal to abate weeds – Penalty.
5.40.560 Excessive smoke and fumes declared nuisance.
5.40.600 Permitting excessive smoke and fumes – Penalty.
5.40.640 Enforcement of ECC 5.40.560 and 5.40.600.
5.40.040 Maintaining a nuisance.
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to carry on any trade or business which disturbs the quiet of the city, or renders the air impure or pollutes or renders impure the waters used by the inhabitants of said city, or to allow any obnoxious or offensive substance to accumulate in or upon any lot owned or occupied by such person or persons within said city, or to accumulate in front of or upon any sidewalk, street, alley or public highway of said city, or to obstruct any street, public highway or sidewalk of said city, or to carry on any indecent or immoral business within the city limits. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.080 Violation of ECC 5.40.040 – Penalty.
Any person or persons who shall violate any of the provisions of the foregoing section shall be deemed guilty of maintaining or keeping a nuisance and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not to exceed $500.00 and/or confinement in jail of not more than 90 days. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.120 Unsafe buildings, rubbish piles.
All rubbish piles, lumber piles (other than lumber for use or a regularly kept lumber yard), and partly destroyed buildings or structures, or buildings or structures affected by age, decay or elements within the city of Ellensburg; when the damage or decay of said building or structure is equal to or greater than 50 percent of its actual value, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance by reason of the potential fire hazard therein existing, or from its unsafe condition, its menace to life, health, property and common welfare, or its danger to health. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.140 Retainage of accumulated material – Permit required.
It is unlawful and shall be deemed a nuisance for any person or persons to pile, heap, accumulate or mass earth, gravel, rocks, sand, fill material, construction waste or other similar matter, totaling 20 cubic yards or more, or for any person or persons to maintain or keep such material, unless the material is for sale or is intended for use and is used within 60 days of its accumulation; provided, the accumulated material may be retained for a period of up to one year by permit issued by the city manager or her/his designee. Conditions of the permit shall include but not be limited to sloping, grading, mowing and spraying to provide a neat and clean appearance, free from hazards and weeds. A fee of $25.00 shall be charged for the issuance of a permit. [Ord. 3995 § 1, 1995.]
5.40.160 Cesspools, privies.
Any and/or all cesspools or toilet pits within the city of Ellensburg (when the same are so declared by special resolution of the city council) are unsafe and a menace to public life, health and property, and are a public nuisance. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.200 Notice to abate.
It shall be the duty of any property owner and/or tenant in possession to abate, remove and terminate such nuisance within 10 days following the time he is notified so to do by the city council, said notice to be given and served by the chief of police in the same manner and under the same rules as summons are served in civil actions in the Superior Court of the State of Washington; which notice shall describe the particular property thereby affected, the manner in which abatement is to be completed; the order for said abatement shall be initiated by resolution adopted by said council and a notice thereof shall be served upon the property owner and the tenant in possession. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.240 Order of abatement – Special resolution.
The ordering of the removal or abatement of any nuisance shall be initiated by the adoption and passing of a special resolution by the city council ordering and directing the destruction, removal or abatement of any property, structure, cesspool or toilet pit therein specified. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.280 Abatement by city.
If, at the expiration of the time given in and by said notice, the owner or tenant in possession of said property, building or structure shall have failed to tear down, remove or terminate the condition constituting the nuisance mentioned and described in said notice, the city council shall, in the proper manner and under and by virtue of the laws of the state of Washington as ECC 5.40.120 through 5.40.320 proceed to tear down, remove and destroy or abate the nuisance, under the direction and by order of the city council and/or its authorized officers or agents at the expense of the property owner and/or the tenant in possession; or the city of Ellensburg may proceed to abate the nuisance by action in the Superior Court of the State of Washington, under and by virtue of any existing laws or ordinances. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.320 Refusal to abate – Penalty.
Any property owner and/or tenant in possession who refuses to abate any nuisance, after having been notified to do so, and within the time provided by law and/or ordinance, is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not more than $500.00 and confinement in jail of not more than 90 days or both such fine and confinement. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.360 Unlawful to permit weeds to grow.
It is unlawful for the owner of any property within the city of Ellensburg to allow the overgrowth of grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation, or to allow the accumulation of any such vegetation which has died, on any lot, parcel, or tract of real property within the city limits of the city of Ellensburg, including parking strips and/or nontraveled portions of the public right-of-way abutting upon private real property, and which are a fire hazard or menace to public health, safety, and welfare; and further, it shall be the duty of said property owner to remove or destroy all such overgrown grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees or other vegetation growing, and to remove and destroy all such vegetation which has died and accumulated upon property owned by them, and/or abutting planter strips, and/or untraveled portions of the public right-of-way and which constitutes a safety hazard or a menace to public health, safety, or general welfare.
On arterial streets without curbs and gutters, the city of Ellensburg shall assume the responsibility of maintaining a strip of right-of-way, four feet in width, immediately adjacent to the traveled portion of the right-of-way, free from an overgrowth of grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, or other vegetation. The remaining portion of the untraveled right-of-way adjacent to real property shall be the responsibility of, and maintained by, the property owner as described above. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.400 Time for removal – Maximum height of weeds.
All such hazardous weeds, grass, shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation on such lots, parcels, or tracts of real property within the city limits of the city of Ellensburg, including abutting parking strips and/or the nontraveled portions of public rights-of-way abutting upon private property, shall be cut and destroyed at least once each month during the months of May through September or more often if ordered by the city manager or agent designated by him, and in no event shall any such hazardous weeds, grass, shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation be allowed to exceed one foot in growth height; provided further, that no such hazardous weeds, grass, shrubs, bushes, trees, or any other vegetation shall be allowed to exceed six inches in growth height within 20 feet of any building. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.440 Notice and order to abate.
It shall be the duty of the city manager, or his designate, to notify in writing the owner of any lot, parcel, or tract of real property in the city of Ellensburg, as shown on the records of the county assessor, upon which are growing such hazardous grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees or other vegetation, or upon which has accumulated any such vegetation, directing said owner to have removed said grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation which constitute a safety hazard or a menace to the public health, safety, or general welfare within 10 days following the date of such notice.
Notification shall be by mail, and a list of such owners shall be set forth notarized on a mail affidavit. All envelopes shall be stamped to read: “Official Notice.” [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.480 Abatement by city – Lien on property.
If, after notice is given as provided for in ECC 5.40.440, such removal is not caused to be made by the owner of said property, then the city of Ellensburg shall, after a resolution passed by the city council, cause the removal of such hazardous grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation, living or dead, and the full expense thereof shall be a charge against the owner of the property and a lien against the property from which such removal is undertaken. Notice of the lien herein authorized shall be as nearly as practicable, in substantially the same form, for the same collection, filing, and enforcement expenses, and filed with the same county officer, within the same time and manner, and enforced and foreclosed as is provided by law for general liens for labor and materials. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.520 Refusal to abate weeds – Penalty.
Any property owner who fails to have removed any such hazardous grass, weeds, shrubs, bushes, trees, or other vegetation upon being given notice as provided for in ECC 5.40.440, is subject to a fine of $500.00 or imprisonment in the city jail for 90 days, or both such fine and imprisonment. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.560 Excessive smoke and fumes declared nuisance.
No person or persons, firm or corporation shall cause, permit, or allow the escape from any smokestack, chimney, or open fire, within the corporate limits of the city of Ellensburg, into the open air, such quantities of smoke, ash, dust, soot, cinders, acid, or other fumes, dirt or other material or noxious gases in such place or manner as to cause injury, detriment or nuisance to any person or persons or to the public, or to endanger the health or safety of any such person or persons or the public, or in such manner as to cause injury or damage to business or property, and such is a public nuisance and the same is prohibited. The emission of smoke of 60 percent or greater density, as determined by the “Ringelmann” chart, as published and used by the Federal Bureau of Mines (60 percent density corresponding to number three on said “Ringelmann” chart), shall be considered prima facie evidence of such a nuisance except for a period not exceeding six minutes in any one hour during which time the firebox is cleaned out or a new fire is being built therein. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.600 Permitting excessive smoke and fumes – Penalty.
Any person or persons, firm or corporation causing, permitting or allowing the escape from any smokestack, chimney, or open fire into the open air of such quantities of smoke, ash, dust, soot, cinders, acid, or other fumes, dirt, or other materials, or noxious gases in such manner as to cause injury, detriment or nuisance to any person or persons or to the public or in such manner as to cause injury, or damage to city property or business within the corporate limits of the city of Ellensburg or within one mile therefrom, is guilty of violating the provisions of the foregoing section and shall upon conviction thereof be fined the sum of not less than $10.00 or more than $300.00 together with the costs of prosecution and on default of the payment of such fine and the costs of prosecution shall be imprisoned in the county or city jail for a period not exceeding 30 days. Every day of 24 hours in which such nuisance continues is a separate offense. [Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]
5.40.640 Enforcement of ECC 5.40.560 and 5.40.600.
It shall be the duty of the fire marshal to enforce ECC 5.40.560 and 5.40.600, and it shall be the duty of every member of the fire service to assist in said enforcement. Any violation of ECC 5.40.560 and 5.40.600 may be summarily abated by the fire marshal or by anyone whom he may authorize for such purpose. Such abatement may be in addition to the fine provided by ECC 5.40.600. [Ord. 4566 § 23, 2010; Ord. 3493 § 2, 1985.]