Copyrighted by SPRINGDALE CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.
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ARTICLE IV. ------------
Editor's note--Ord. No. 3204, adopted Apr. 23, 2002, changed the title of art. IV from "Noxious Conditions on Private Property" to "Unsanitary and Unsightly Conditions on Private Property."
Cross reference(s)--Health and sanitation, ch. 54; offenses and miscellaneous provisions, ch. 74.
State law reference(s)--Municipal authority regarding weeds, rubbish, unsanitary conditions generally, A.C.A. § 14-54-901 et seq.
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Sec. 42-76. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Garbage means all normal kitchen waste, such as vegetable and animal wastes and their by-products; but does not include sewage and human body wastes.
Rubbish means brush, grass, leaves and other normal yard refuse, paper, cans, bottles and empty food and drink containers.
Things include, but are not limited to, the following items: inoperative motor vehicles; inoperative household or commercial appliances; furniture; building materials; building rubbish; defective septic tanks; human or animal excrement; metal, plastic, or paper containers.
(1) Abandoned means that property to which no person claims or exercises the rights of ownership.
(2) Appliances means, but is not limited to, refrigerators, deep freezes, stoves, ovens, air conditioners, washers, dryers, trash compactors, dishwashers, televisions, radios, hot water heaters, and plumbing fixtures.
(3) Building material means, but is not limited to, items such as boards, bricks, cement, nails, pipe, sheet metal, siding, tar paper and windows which have never been incorporated into a structure or which have been removed from a structure and may be readily incorporated into another structure. This article applies only to building material which lies in public view and with respect to which its owner has no definite immediate plans for its use.
(4) Building rubbish means any postconstruction solid waste which, because of its quantity, quality or condition, cannot be readily and immediately put to a beneficial use.
(5) Inoperative means an item which, by mechanical or physical defect, can no longer be used for its intended purpose and which is not serving a functional purpose. Inoperative, which applied to motor vehicles, refers to any motor vehicle which inoperable, dismantled, damaged or is unable to start or move under its own power. A vehicle shall be presumed to be inoperative when any of the following conditions exist:
a. It has not been moved for more than three days.
b. One or more tires are flat.
c. One or more wheels are missing.
d. The hood or trunk is raised or missing and has appeared to remain so for more than three days.
e. Weeds or grass have grown up around the vehicle.
f. The engine is missing.
g. The vehicle has no current vehicle tags or registration.
h. The door or doors, fender or fenders are removed or missing.
i. The front or rear windshield is broken, removed or missing, or the side windows are broken or removed or missing.
(6) Motor vehicle means every device capable of being moved upon a public highway and in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, excepting devices moved by human or animal power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
Unsanitary means that a place, condition or thing is unsanitary when it might become a breeding place for flies, mosquitoes and germs harmful to the health of the community.
Unsightly means that a place, condition or thing is unsightly when it is in public view and offends the then-prevailing standard of the community as a whole, and not limited to a specific area, as to aesthetics or order.
Weeds means any vegetation, lush or decayed, regardless of its beauty or utility and regardless of the fact that it might serve as a sanctuary for animals beneficial to man, which, because of its natural condition or lack of maintenance by the owner or occupant of the property, threatens the health or safety of the community or creates an unsightly condition thereon.
(Ord. No. 3204, 4-23-02)
Editor's note--Ord. No. 3204, adopted April 23, 2002, repealed and reenacted § 42-76 to read as herein set out. Formerly, § 42-76 pertained to the intent and purpose and derived from the Code of 1973, § 18-1.
Sec. 42-77. Clearance of unsightly or unsanitary conditions on real property.
(a) Owners or occupants of real property within the corporate limits of the city are hereby required to cut weeds, remove garbage, rubbish, inoperative motor vehicles or other unsightly or unsanitary things; and eliminate, fill up or remove stagnant pools of water or any other unsanitary thing, place or condition upon their real property.
(b) It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of real property to permit the accumulation or development of weeds, garbage, rubbish, inoperative motor vehicles or other unsightly or unsanitary things or conditions on real property within the city.
(c) The dumping of tree cuttings, tree trunks, fill dirt and other appropriate fill material may be permitted to reclaim gullies and ravines upon application to, and approval by, the city planning commission under the following conditions:
(1) Written certification by the applicant that he is the legal owner of the property or that he has the written permission of the property owner.
(2) Access must be completely restricted to the applicant only.
(3) All material must be covered by fill dirt and smoothed over at intervals not to exceed two weeks.
Failure to comply with the above conditions will be grounds for revocation of the permit and may result in the issuance of a citation pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(d) Nothing covered by this article is intended to preclude or conflict with the provisions of chapter 102 and all substances not governed by chapter 102 are to be governed by this article. This article is intended to supplement chapter 22.
(Ord. No. 3204, 4-23-02)
Editor's note--Ord. No. 3204, adopted April 23, 2002, repealed and reenacted § 42-77 to read as herein set out. Formerly, § 42-77 pertained to the duty of property owners and persons holding a possessory interest in property and derived from the Code of 1973, § 18-3.
Sec. 42-78. Lien against real property; notice of abandoned, inoperative vehicle.
(a) If the owner or occupant of any real property within the corporate limits of the city neglects or refuses, after being given seven days' written notice by the police department or code enforcement officers of the city, to remove, abate or eliminate any condition referred to in section 42-77, the city will do whatever is necessary to correct the condition and will charge the cost of the correction to the property owner to secure its costs; the city will perfect a lien against the affected property pursuant to A.C.A. § 14-54-903 et. seq.
(b) Before any abandoned or inoperative motor vehicle is taken into custody and possession from private property, the city shall give the private property owner or occupant and the owner of the motor vehicle, if ascertainable, 30 days' notice by registered or certified mail that such action will be taken unless the motor vehicle is restored to a functional use, disposed of in a manner not prohibited by A.C.A. § 8-6-401, et. seq., or placed in an enclosed building. The 30-day notice may be waived by the owner or occupants of the property jointly and severally.
(c) Any owner/occupant shall be presumed to have notice for the violation if the owner/occupant has received notice of a similar type violation within the previous one year.
(Ord. No. 3204, 4-23-02)
Editor's note--Ord. No. 3204, adopted April 23, 2002, repealed and reenacted § 42-78 to read as herein set out. Formerly, § 42-78 pertained to the failure of owner to abate, abatement by city, and collection of costs, and derived from the Code of 1973, § 18-4.
Sec. 42-79. Service of notice.
(a) Owners of property in violation of this article shall be notified in writing at their current or last-known address.
(b) In case the owner of any lot or other real property is unknown or his whereabouts is not known or is a nonresident of this state, then a copy of the written notice shall be posted upon the premises. Before any action to enforce the lien shall be had, the city clerk shall make an affidavit setting out the facts as to unknown address or whereabouts of nonresidents.
(c) Thereupon, service of the publication, as provided for by law against nonresident defendants, may be had. An attorney ad litem shall be appointed to notify the defendant by registered letter addressed to his last known place of residence if it can be found.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, notices required by this article shall be published, mailed or delivered by the city recorder or clerk or such other person as designated by the city council.
(Code 1973, § 18-5)
State law reference(s)--Notice to unknown or nonresident owners, A.C.A. § 14-54-902.
Sec. 42-80. Enforcement of lien.
(a) The lien provided for in A.C.A. § 14-54-903 may be enforced and collected in either one of the following manners:
(1) At any time within 18 months after work has been done, by an action in the chancery court; or
(2) The amount of the lien may be determined at a hearing before the city council held after 30 days' written notice by certified mail to the owner of the property if the name and whereabouts of the owner are known. If the name of the owner cannot be determined, then the amount will be determined only after publication of notice of the hearing in a newspaper having a bona fide circulation in the county where the property is located for one insertion per week for four consecutive weeks. The determination of the city council is subject to appeal by the property owner in the chancery court. The amount so determined at the hearing, plus ten percent penalty for collection, shall be certified by the city to the tax collector of the county and placed on the tax books as delinquent taxes, and collected accordingly. The amount, less three percent thereof, when so collected shall be paid to the city by the county tax collector.
(Code 1973, § 18-6)
State law reference(s)--Enforcement of lien, A.C.A. § 14-54-904.
Sec. 42-81. Additional penalties.
In addition to any liens provided for in this article, any violation of this article by a property owner and/or person holding a possessory interest in the property, such as a leasehold tenant, are punishable by those penalties prescribed in section 1-9 of this Code.
(Code 1973, § 18-7)
Secs. 42-82--42-90. Reserved.
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UNSANITARY AND UNSIGHTLY CONDITIONS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY*