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4. Ordinance 1581 - Decay, Junk Vehicle, and Weeds Abatement Ordinance - 1st ReadingCity of Kalispell Post Office Box 1997 - Kalispell, Montana 5 3- 7 - Telephone 4 6 758-7000 Fax - 5 -7758 REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council ROM& Tom Je tt, Planning Director James H. Patrick, City Manager SUBJECT: Junk vehicle Ordinance MEETING DATE: July 1. , 006 BACKGROUND: The junk vehicle ordinance has been enforced by the Police Department until the City"s new Code Enforcement Officer took over the program last summer. The ordinance reeds to be amended to reflect the change by placing responsibility with the City Manager or .his designee (which will be the Code Enforcement Officer). The ordinance also contains a number of other updates. The most significant change involves a provision which has hampered enforcement in the field. An exception presently allows a junk vehicle to be unshielded for periods up to 60 days if it is being repaired and does not have any "major" parts missing. The proposed modification essentially eliminates the requirement that ``major" parts be missing,, which creates interpretation problems in practice. Other updates include 1. adding definitions which reflect definitions contained in state statues; (2) eliminating the exception for auto and body shops, blacksmiths, machinery shops, and similar establishments; and 3 aligning the enforcement process with the decay ordinance. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Council move to adopt the ordinance. ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the Council. Respectfully submitted, n Torn Jert es .H. atr Planning Director City Manager Report compiled June 16, 2006 REPORT FROM: SUBJECT* City of Kalispell Post Office Box 1997 -- Kalispell, Montana 9 -1997 - Telephone 7 8-7 0 - 40 758-7758 Honorable Mayor and City Council Tom Jentz, Planning Director James H. Patrick, City Manager Weed/grass ordinance MEETING DATE: July 1. , 200 BACKGROUND: Currently, Sections 10-8 and 10-9 of the Kalispell City Code require that property owners remove dry grass, rubbish or debris if it constitutes a fire bazard. The sections s cificall deem all weeds and grasses in excess of eight x c s In height to b a fire hazard after July 1. of each year. Historically, the Fire Department has enforced these provisions. over the last year, the C1 y's new Code Enforcement officer has n ertaken the enforcement of the ordinance. The proposed amendment to the ordinance formalizes the change by removing the fire chief from the text and placing responsibility with the City manager or his designee(which will be the Code Enforcement officer). Section. 1.0-9 is also reworded for readability. RECOMMENDATION.: Staff recommends that the Council. move to adopt the ordinance. ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the Council. Respectfully submitted, Tom. Jentz ames H.. atrlc Planning Dit etor City Manager Report compiled June 16, 2006 REPORT TO: FROM* SUBJECT: City of Kalispell Post Office o 1 - Kalispell, Montana ' -1 - Telephone 0 7 - Fax - 5 - ' 5 Honorable Mayor and City Council Tom Jentz, Planning Director James H. Patrick, City Manager Community Decay Ordinance MEETING DATE: July 17, 2006 BACKGROUND: The decay ordinance has been enforced by the Police Department until the Cit y"s new Code Enforcement Officer took over the program last summer. mer. The ordinance needs to be amended to reflect the change by placing responsibility with the City Manager or his designee which will he the Code Enforcement officer). The proposed ordinance also contains other updates, which include amending g definitions to better reflect definitions contained in Mate statutes; 2 eliminating the exception for the -use of plastic tarps and corrugated metal as shielding materials; and 3 aligning the eforcert process with the junk vehicle ordinance. RECOMMEN * I N: Staff recommends that the Council move to adopt the ordinance. ALTERNATIVES.- As suggested by the Council. Respectfully submitted, Tom Jentz James H. ' .trick Planning Director City Manager Report compiled June 16,2006 ORDINANCE No. 1581 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PORTIONS of CHAPTERS 101 11 AND 19 of THE KALISPELL MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE REGULATION of JUNK VEHICLES, COMBUSTIBLE WEEDS AND GRASSES AND COMMUNITY DECAY ,AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, BE IT ORDAINEDY THE CITY COUNCIL of THE CITY OF KALISPELL, M NTANA, AS FOLLOWS. SECTION I Chapter 19 Section 36 of the Kalispell Municipal Code shall be and i hereby amended to read as follows: ICED19 .I�� VEHICLES N PRIVATE . �. ER Y; A.Definitions: 1. "Com oner t part" means anv identifiable vart of a discarded, ruined. wrecked r dismantled motor vehicle including ut not limited to fenders doom hoods eligine blocksniotor parts, trans .i sio . frames axles wheels, tires and a ser er compartment fixtures. 2. `gunk Vehicle" means a discarded ruined vreeked or dismantled motor vehicle diny, componentparts)..that is inoperative or iable of being driven. 3. "Public View" means a poi within the public ri lit-� -wa rprivate road or allev, from which junk vehicles can be seer. . "Reasonable Diligence," mean a er d of less than ixt o days. . "Shielding" means the construction or use of fencing or..manmade anmade or natural barriers to conceal +iunk vehicles froapublic view. The use of plastic tams does not eontit to shielding under this section. A .Unlawful; : No w vehicle r a � �� eorr onent� shall he placed on or allowed to .remain on any premises in the city exposed to the public view, C. Exec tion This section shall not be construed to prevent any occupant of any premises from repain*ng his motor vehicle r ffl , %kd- -1L �, W on his premises even though exposed to public view, as long as he pursues his work to completion with reasonable dliere. . . Responsibility For violation: The occupant of any premises shall be responsible for any violation of this section; the head of the household shall be deerned to be the occupant. In the case of vacant or unoccupied premises, the owner thereof shall be responsible for any violation of this section. r—'P. wrecking and Junkyards: This section shall apply to all automobile wrecking and + junkyards, except to the extent permitted in industrial districts by the zoning chapter. -DF. Inspection; Notice Of violation: It shall be the duty of therahipfaX manager or his de si to inspect the city at reasonable intervals and cause written notice of any violation of this section to be given to the occupant of any premises or to the owner of unoccupied premises which are in violation of this section, who shall have ten 1 days after the service of such notice within which to comply with this section. The notice may be personally served on the head of such household, or owner if the premises are unoccupied, or may he seared by registered mail addressed to the head of such household, or owner of unoccupied premises, at his address on such premises, or at such other address as he may personally reside. -EG { violation; Nuisance: Any violation of this section shall constitute a nuisance which may e abated as provided in section I 1-2 throu h I I -2 of this code and the occupant or owner of such premises, upon conviction thereof, also he punished as provided in section 1-9 of this code. SECTION 11 Chapter 10 Section 9 of the Kalispell Municipal Code shall be and is hereby amended to read as follows 10- - REMOVAL OF FIRE HAZARDS FROM PRIVATE PROPERTY REQUIRED: It shall he the duty of the owner, his representative or contract purchaser,, or the occupant of .real property within the city to remove all dry grass, readily combustible rubbish or debris from said property so that such material shall not constitute a fire hazard. After July I of each year all weeds and gasses over eight inches " in height constitute a fire hazard for the purposes of this section. 1 -: PROCEDURE URE UPON FAILURE OF PROPERTY oVvNER: The cit mana er or his desi ee is hereby authorized to remove such material weeds or grasses and charge such...person with the cost of such removal and a reasonable administrative chggy e I if the owner, his representative or contract purchaser, or the occupant of any real property in the city + + fails or refuses within ten 10 da after havin been given written notice to do so to - a to remove therefrom all dry grasses, or readily combustible rubbish or debris, or 021 after July 1, to remove any gasses or weeds over eight inches " in height. f { y 1 SECTION III Chapter I i of the Kalispell Municipal Code shall be and is hereby amended as follows: 11-22: PURPOSE: The pose of this article is to regulate, control, and prohibit conditions that contribute o community decay on or adjacent to all public streets within the city of Kalispell. 1 1 -23 : DEFINITIONS: hi this article the following terms have the meanings indicated below: COMMUNITY DECAY: A public nuisance created by allowing rubble, debris, junk or refuse to accumulate resulting in conditions that are injun*ous to health, indecent, offensive to the senses, or obstruct the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property; provided, however, that "community decay" may not be construed or defined to apply to normal farming, ranching, or other agricultural facility, and any appurtenances thereof, during the course of its normal operation or normal activities at a. shooting ran e. IN PUBLIC VIEW: Any area visible from a a� point xah"up .. . within the public fi ht-o wa or from a private road or alley, PERSON: An individual, firm., partnership, company, association, corporation, city, town, county or any other entity whether organized for profit or not. Condition which en dn ers safer or health is offensive to the senses or obstructs the Free use o r err so a to interfere with the comfortable enJoyMent of life or property by an. entire Comm nit or neighborhood or by any considerable number of persons. The condition is no less a nuisance although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal. SHIELDlNG: It alp." :rAf_PxJQ 40 . The construction or use of fencing or manmade or natural barriers to conceal community.decav from ubllc view. The use o plastic toms does not constitute shieldin2 under this section. 11-24: PROHIBITION: No person shall maintain %ed" � . late-communityaeettf nfu . d on property owned b� irn., or under - , �� For purposes o this article, a public nuisance includes, but is not necessarily Bruited to, any of the following conditions that exist within public viewn. A. The dumping, piling, or stacking of bricks, concrete block, waste wood and similar material on open lots or fields, unless said material is stacked in neat piles and all waste materials from the cleaning of such items, such as mortar,, wood splinters,, broken and unusable briefs, are removed; B. The storage or accumulation of a significant amount of cardboard boxes, broken packing boxes, paper, or other similar items on lots or fields; C. The piling, dumping or depositing of any dirt, demolition wastes including wood, bricks, concrete, used road blacktop and other similar materials on any open lots or fields, unless such material is to be utilized for fill material to fill a land depression, and provided that, if such material is used as fill material, all such material is completely covered with clean fill material once every ten 1 days and the fill area is adequately fenced to restct access to the area; and further provided that the failure to comply with the periodic cover and access control requirements shall constitute a violation of this article; D. The storage and accumulation of iron, metal, component vehicle and machine parts., junk vehicles, household appliances, barrels and other salvaged metal items unless such material is stored in an approved, licensed, and shielded rotor vehicle wrecking facility; L The accumulation and storage of any other rubble, debris, junk, or refuse that, upon investigation, is deemed to be a "public nuisance" as defined in this article. 11-2 : SHIELDING: The maintenance of materials that would be considered community deca under this article shall be lawful if such materials are shielded from public view in accordance with the following standards: A. Any shielding must conform to all local zoning, planning, and building � provisions and shall be of sufficient height that none of the violation on the premises is visible to public view. B. When fences are used for shielding, the boards may be spaced and/or slanted to reduce wind load the space between boards when viewed from a broadside view shall not be more than one and one-half inches 1 1 2" and the interval between spaces shall not be less than seven and one-half inches 1 2" . Rough dimensional lumber or better is acceptable. Chainlin.k fencing with standard fiberglass or other inserts is acceptable, provided the gap between adjacent slats does not exceed one and one-half inches 1 1 2"). The fencing is to be maintained by the property owner or occupant in a neat and workmanlike e manner and shall be replaced when. necessary. C, Shielding with shrubs and trees shall provide a degree of shielding similar to that produced by fencing at all tunes of the year. Dirt berms are acceptable for shielding purposes, provided the berm slopes are graded smooth and seeded with an adequate grass seed formula. D. Other types of fencing of equivalent permanence, attractiveness, and shielding Inallidinex _mt are also acceptable. E. The use of plastic taKps does not constitute shielding under this section. F. No more than one of the approved shielding materials shall be used on any one side of a shielding fence. 11-26: ABATEMENT: In addition to proceedings under Chapter....Chgpter....1 Article 1 of the Kalispell City Code T the abatement of conditions which constitute communitydeca prohibited by this article be accomplished under the provisions of this section. A. The city of Kalispell Cit 11ana er or his desigLiee shall be responsible for initiating abatement proceedings. B. When the �t Cana er or hisdesi ee receives a complaint that a condition of community decay exists, he, or his agent, shall inspect the property alleged to be in violation of this article to determine whether there is a violation of this article. C. 1 he determines that there is a violation o this article, the � �. its Man a er or his desi nee shall notify the owner of the property in writing of the violation by certified nail and order its abatement within thirty 30 days. The notice of violation shall: 1. Include a statement specifically describing the violation; 2. Specify that the owner has thirty days from receipt of such notice to bring the property into compliance with this article by means of removal or shielding of the conditions; an 3. Advise the owner that if the violation is not abated, the city may undertake abatement and assess the costs of that abatement to the owner. D. The owner may, after receipt of the notice of violation, submit a plan of abatement to the City Mana er or his desi ee which shall include; 1. The type of abatement or shielding to be undertaken; . The date for commencement of action; and 3. The date for completion of the abatement. TheCity Mana er or his desi ee may accept such plan and defer further proceedings under this article pending the date of completion of the abatement. E. In the alterative, the owner may, within fourteen 1 days of the date of issuance of order, appeal the abatement order .afthia pitu City Man Upon receipt of a timely notice of appeal, the eeiin CityManagLer shall schedule a hean'ng within twenty (20) days, but may postpone that hearing at the request of either party. Following the hearing, the City .Manager may e.t er; 1. Determine that a violation exists and order abatement within thirty 3) days; or 2. Determine that no violation exists and dismiss the proceedings. F. In the event that the owner fails to comply with are abatement order, or are abatement plan approved by the City Manager or his desigLiee under subsection of this section, the i ffi City Manager or his designee may enter upon the owner's property with the specific purpose of abating or shielding the violation, whichever the peAkelta eshieaef City Mara er or his desiee deems appropriate: . The city may assess the property owner/user for the actual costs of the abatemet.11. 2. If the assessment is not paid, it shall become a lien upon the property and enforced as in nonpayment of property taxes. 11-2 : JURISDICTION. - This article applies to all of the city limits of the city of Kalispell. 11-28: PENALTY: person convicted of the offense of maintainingeoMrnu ity decay under this article is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars $ o . o or imprisonment not to exceed six months, or by both fine and imprisonment. SECTION IV This Ordinance shall be effective thirty 3 days from and after the slate of its final passage and approval. PASSED ,AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND SIGNED BY THE MAYOR THIS DAY of JULY, Zoo . Pamela B. Kennedy Mayor Attest: Theresa White City Clerk 9.35V A-ftw JUNK VEHICLES ONPRIVATE PROPERTY: A. Definitions* 1. "Component part" means any identifi i part of a discarded, ruined, wrecked, or dismantled motor vehicle, including but not limited t fenders, doers, hoods, engine blocks, motor parts, transmissions, frames, axles, wheels, tires, and passenger compartment fixtures, 2. "Junk Vehicle" means a discarded, ruined, wrecked, or dismantled motor vehicle (including component parts) that is inoperative or incapable of being driven. 3. "Public view's means any point within the public right-of-way, or private road or alley, from which junk vehicles can be seen* . "Reasonable Diligence" means a period of less than sixty 6 days. 5. "Shielding" means the construction or use of fencing or manmade or natural barriers to conceal junk vehicles from public view. The use of plastic tarps does not constitute shielding under this section* . Unlawful; cueganflen. :No junk v hi c le o r # component part shall be placed on or allowed t remain any premises in the city exposed t the public vier}-a-unant ac C.Exception: This section shall not be construed to prevent any occupant of any promises from repairing his motor vehicle n his premises even though exposed to public view, as long as he pursues his work t completion with reasonable diligence)* nnu . * F ` i ZI rr Y + J I # k i y k } F t # E i t QhQ11 hQ CIMMMOCI ta him p F nn a a 13, Responsibility For violation: The occupant of any promises shall be responsible for any violation of this section; the head of the household shall be deemed to be the occupant. In the case of vacant or unoccupied premises, the owner thereof shall be responsible for any violation of this section. GE. Wrecking And Junkyards: This section shah apply to all automobile wrecking and junkyards, except to the extent permitted in industrial districts by the zoning chapter. I nsp ct on; Notice of Violation: it sh l I b the duty of thecity Manager or his designee to inspect the city at reasonable intervals and cause written notice of any violation of this section to be given to the occupant of any premises or to the owner of unoccupied premises which are in violation of this section, who stall have tarp o days after the service of such notice within which to comply with this section. The notice may be personally served on the head of such household, or owner if the premises are unoccupied, or may be served by registered nail addressed to the head of such household, or owner of unoccupied premises, at hs address on such premises, or at such other address as he may personally reside. - G. Violation; Nuisance: Any violation of this section shall constitute a nuisance which may be abated as provided ire �#i 1 -26 through 11 -2 F� of this code, and the occupant or owner of such promises, upon conviction thereof, may also be punished as provided in section 1-9 of this code. (Ord. 622 §§ 21 3 10-8: REMOVAL OF FIRE HAZARDS FROM PRIVATE PROPERTY REQUIRED: It shall be the duty of the owner, his representative or contract purchaser, or the occupant of real property within the city to remove all dry grass, readily combustible rubbish or debris from said property so that such material shall not constitute a fire hazard. After July 1 of each year all weeds and grasses over eight inches " in height constitute a fire hazard for the purposes of this section. (Ord. 522, 1-3-2oo5 10-9: PROCEDURE UPON FAILURE OF PROPERTY OWNER: The city manager or his designee is hereby authorized to remove such material, weeds or grasses and charge such person with the cost of such removal and a reasonable administrative charge 4 if the owner, his representative or contract purchaser, or the occupant of any real property in the city fails or refuses within ten days after having been given written notice to do so to=a to remove therefrom all dry grasses, or readily combustible rubbish or debris, or h after July 1 , to remove any grasses or weeds over eight inches " in height. (Ord. 1 22 � 1-3-2005 11-22: PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to regulate, control, and prohibit conditions that contribute to community decay on or adjacent to all public streets within the city of Kalispell. (Ord. 1164, 1- 9-19 o 11-23: DEFINITIONS: In this article the following terms have the meanings indicated below: COMMUNITY DECAL; A public nuisance created by allowing rubble, debris, junk or refuse to accumulate resulting in conditions that are injurious to health, indecent, offensive to the senses, or obstruct the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property; provided, however, that "community decay" may not be construed or defined to apply to normal farming, ranching, or other agricultural facility, and any appurtenances thereof, during the course of Its normal operation or normal activities at a shooting range. LlC V I EW: An y area vill bI e frorn a any polr t . within the public right-of-way, or from a private road or alley. PERSON: An individual, firm, partnership, company, association, corporation, city, town, county or any other entity whether organized for profit or not. PUBLIC NUISANCE: A condition which endangers safety or health, is offensive to the senses, or obstructs the tree use of property so as to Interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by an entire community or neighborhood or by any considerable number of persons. The conditions no less a nuisance although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal. M r The construction or use of fencing or manmade or natural barriers to conceal community decay from public view. The use of plastic tarps does not constitute shielding under this section. (Ord. 116 , 1 -1 -1990 11-24: PROHIBITION: o person shall maintain Irmh wig inns linta community decay on property owned by him, or under his control #I rrim that-ar. f ■ i i � ! i . For purposes of this article, a public nuisance includes, but is not necessarily limited to, any of the following conditions that exist within public view: A. The dumping, ping, piling, or stacking of bricks, concrete blocks, waste wood and similar material on open lots or fields, unless said material is stacked in neat piles and all waste materials from the cleaning of such items, such as mortar, wood splinters, broken and unusable bricks, are removed; B. The storage or accumulation of a significant amount of cardboard boxes, broken packing boxes, paper, or other similar items on lots or fields; C. The piling, dumping or depositing of any dirt, demolition wastes including wood, bricks, concrete, used road blacktop and other similar materials on any open lots or fields, unless such material is to be utilized for fill material to fill a land depression, and provided that, if such material is used as fill material, al such material is completely covered with clean fill material once every tern (10)days and the fill area, is adequately fenced to restrict access to the area; and further provided that the failure to comply with the periodic cover and access control requirements shall constitute a violation of this article; D. The storage and accumulation of iron, metal, component vehicle and machine parts, junk vehicles, household appliances, barrels and other salvaged metal items, unless such material is stored in an approved, licensed, and shielded motor vehicle wrecking facility; E. The accumulation ulation and storage of any other rubble, debris, junk, or refuse that, upon investigation, is deemed to be a "public nuisance]] as defined in this article. (Ord, 1164, 11-1 -1990 11,,25: SHIELDING: The maintenance of materials that would be considered i } t Y community decay under this article shall be lawful l if such materials are shielded from public view in accordance with the following standards: A. Any shielding must conform to all local zoning, planning, and building � provisions and shall be of sufficient height that none of the violation on the premises is visible to public view. B. when fences are used for shielding, the boards may be spaced and/or slanted to reduce wind load, the space between hoards when viewed from a broadside view shall not be more than one and one-half inches 1 1 2" and the Interval between spaces shall not be less than seven and one-half inches (7 1 2" . Rough dimensional lumber or better is acceptable. Chain ink fencing with standard fiberglass or other inserts is acceptable, provided the gap between adjacent slats does not exceed one and one-half inches 1 1 211 . The fencing is to be maintained by the property owner or occupant in a neat and workmanlike manner and shall be replaced when necessary. C. Shielding with shrubs and tram shall provide a degree of shielding similar to that produced by fencing at all times of the year. Dirt berms are acceptable for shielding purposes, provided the berm slopes are graded smooth and seeded with an adequate grass seed formula. D. other types of fencing of equivalent permanence, attractiveness, and shielding qualities, ,nah , are also acceptable. E* The use of plastic tarps does not constitute shielding under this section. & F No more than one of the approved shielding materials shall be used on any one side of a shielding fence. (Ord. 1164, 11-19-1990 11-26: ABATEMENT: In addition to Proceedings under chapter 1 , Article I of the Kalispell city Code, T the abatement of conditions which constitute community decay prohibited by this article may be accomplished under the provisions of this section, A. The city of Kalispell city Manager or his designee shall he responsible for initiating abatement proceedings. B. When the city Manager or his designee receives a complaint that a condition of community decay exists, he, or his agent, shall inspect the property alleged to be in violation of this article to determine whether there is a violation of this article. C. if he determines that thaw is a violation of this article, the city Manager or his designee shall notify the owner of the property in writing of the violation by certified mail and order its abatement within thirty 3 days. The notice of violation shall; 1. Include a statement specifically describing the violation; 2s Specify that the owner has thirty 3 days from receipt of such notice t bring the property into compliance with this article by moans of removal or shielding of the conditions; and 3. Advise the owner that if the violation is not abated, the city may undertake abatement and assess the costs of that abatement to the owner. DR The owner may, after receipt of the notice of violation, submit a plan of abatement nt to the City Manager or his designee which shall include: 1. The type of abatement or shielding to be undertaken; 2. The date for commencement of action; and . The date for completion of the abatement. The City Manager or iris designee may accept such plan and defer further proceedings under this article pending the date of completion of the abatement. E. In the alternative, the owner may, within fourteen 1 days of the date of issuance ace f the order, appeal the abatement order to the City Manager. Upon receipt of a timely notice of appeal, the eowne4 City Manager shall schedule a hearing within twenty 2 days, but may postpone that hearing at the request of either party. Following the hearing, the ' City Manager may either: 1. Determine that a violation exists and order abatement within thirty(30) days; or 2. Determine that no violation exists and dismiss the proceedings. F. In the event that the owner fails to comply with an abatement order, or an abatement plan approved by the ne"em ehoofC iy Manager or h i s desig nee under subsection of this section, the fit Manager or his designee may eater upon the owner's property with the spot fic purpose of abating or shielding the violation, whichever the y City Manager or his designee deems appropriate: 1. The city may assess the property owner/user for the actual costs of the abatement 2. if the assessment is not paid, it shall become a lien upon the property and enforced as ire nonpayrn e r t of property taxes. rd, 1164, 11 -19- 90 11,,27: JURISDICTION: This article applies to all of the city limits of the city of Kalispell. d. 11643 11 19-1990) 11,,28: PENALTY: A Person convicted f the offense f ma nt i n i community decay under this article is guilty f a misdemeanor punishable by a fire not t exceed five hundred dollars $ r imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months, or by both fine and imprisonment. (Ord. 1164, 11-19-1990)