Alhambra Municipal Code Ch. 6.24 Removal of Weeds, Rubbish and Dirt

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

DIRT. Includes any artificial accumulation of earth of a size, shape, or composition to constitute a hazard to the public health or safety.

RUBBISH. Includes all waste paper, wood, cardboard or other flammable material of any kind which endangers the public safety by creating a fire hazard;

WEEDS. Includes any of the following:

(1) Weeds which bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature,

(2) Any brush or weeds which attain such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property,

(3) Weeds which are otherwise noxious or dangerous,

(4) Poison oak and poison ivy when the conditions of growth are such as to constitute a menace to the public health,

(5) Dry grass, rubble, brush, litter or other flammable material which endangers the public safety by creating a fire hazard.

('86 Code, § 6.24.010) (Ord. 3438, passed - - )

(A) All weeds, rubbish and dirt of any kind, as defined in this chapter, on private property or on or over any street, alley, or public right-of-way in the city, shall constitute a public nuisance.

(B) No person owning, managing or having control or charge or occupancy of any building, lot or premises within the city, shall permit weeds, rubbish or dirt of any kind as defined in this chapter to remain upon the premises or upon or over public sidewalks, streets or alleys between the premises and the centerline of any public street or alley.

('86 Code, § 6.24.020) (Ord. 3438, passed - - )

Whenever such other official as may be desig-nated by the City Manager, finds that weeds, rubbish or dirt are growing, located or existing upon any property within the city in violation of the provisions of this chapter or of any other provision of this code, which may endanger or injure neighboring property or endanger or injure the welfare of the residents in the vicinity of such property, or which may become a fire hazard, the official as may be designated by the City Manager, shall give, or cause to be given, notice in the manner and in the form specified in this chapter requiring the abatement of such nuisance and stating that unless such nuisance be abated without delay by the destruction or removal of the weeds, rubbish and dirt, the nuisance will be abated by city authorities and the expense thereof assessed upon the lots, parcels and lands from or on which such nuisance was abated.

('86 Code, § 6.24.030) (Ord. 3438, passed - - )

The notice specified in § 6.24.030 shall be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE TO DESTROY WEEDS AND

REMOVE RUBBISH AND DIRT

Notice is hereby given that:

Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 6.24 of the Alhambra Municipal Code, all weeds, rubbish and dirt, as defined in § 6.24.010 of the Alhambra Municipal Code, growing or existing on private property on this street, or in any street or alley abutting any such property constitute a public nuisance which must be abated by the destruction or removal thereof.

All persons owning, managing or having control or charge or occupancy of any such private property shall, without delay, destroy or remove all such weeds, rubbish and dirt from their property and from their half of the abutting street and alley between the lot lines, as extended, or such weeds, rubbish and dirt will be destroyed or removed and such nuisance abated by city authorities, in which case the cost of destruction or removal thereof, including any incidental expenses will be assessed upon the lots and lands from, or on which, or abutting the streets and alleys from, or on which, such nuisance was abated, and such costs will constitute a lien upon the lots or parcels until paid and will be collected on the next tax roll upon which municipal taxes are collected.

Any property owner having objections to the proposed removal of weeds, rubbish and dirt must notify the City Clerk in writing within ten days after the posting or mailing of this notice, or his objections shall be deemed to be waived.

Any property owner who files such written objections in the office of the City Clerk within such ten-day period is hereby notified that a hearing will be held before the Board of Appeals of the City of Alhambra in the Room of the Alhambra City Hall, 111 South First Street, Alhambra, California, on 19 at o'clock .m., at which time and place all objections shall be heard and given due consideration. Any such objecting property owner may attend and speak at such hearing.

Dated 19 ____________________

_____________________________ CITY OF ALHAMBRA

('86 Code, § 6.24.040) (Ord. 3438, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 3531, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 3694, passed - - )

Such notice shall be given in the manner set forth in this section:

(A) The official as may be designated by the City Manager, shall cause a notice or notices to be posted in a conspicuous place on or in front of the property upon which or from which such nuisance exists as follows:

(1) One notice shall be posted on or in front of each separately owned parcel;

(2) Not more than two notices shall be posted on or in front of any parcel having a frontage of more than 50 feet and not more than 100 feet;

(3) If the frontage of any parcel is greater than 100 feet, notices shall be placed at intervals of not more than 100 feet.

(B) As an alternative to posting of such notice or notices, as prescribed in division (A), above, the designated officer may cause a similar notice to be mailed by United States mail, to the owner of the subject property as shown upon any city record, or upon the last equalized assessment roll or at his last known address, whichever he shall determine to be the best means of serving notice upon the actual owner. The addresses of the owners shown upon such records shall be conclusively deemed to be the proper address for the purpose of mailing such notices. The failure of the owner to receive such notice shall not affect the power of the city or of its officers or employees to proceed as provided in this chapter. Such notice shall be mailed not less than ten days prior to the date set for a hearing upon objections as provided in § 6.24.060.

('86 Code, § 6.24.050) (Ord. 3438, passed - - )

Any property owner having objections to the proposed removal of weeds, rubbish and/or dirt from or adjacent to his property must notify the City Clerk in writing of such objections within ten days after the posting and/or mailing of the notice to abate nuisance given under the provisions of this chapter, or his objections shall be deemed to be waived.

('86 Code, § 6.24.055) (Ord. 3531, passed - - )

At the time and place stated in the notice, the Board of Appeals shall hear and consider any and all objections to the proposed abatement of the nuisance. The Board of Appeals may continue the hearing from time to time. At the conclusion of the hearing or within a reasonable time thereafter, the Board of Appeals shall render its decision as to whether or not a condition exists that is dangerous to life, limb or property, or to public health, safety or morals. If it finds such a condition to exist, it shall overrule any or all objections. If it finds no such condition to exist, it shall allow such objections. The decision of the Board of Appeals shall be final and conclusive.

('86 Code, § 6.24.060) (Ord. 3438, passed - - )

As to any lot or parcel within the city as to which no such written objection shall have been filed in the office of the City Clerk within ten days after the posting and/or mailing of such notices, upon expiration of the ten-day period, the designated official or his deputies, assistants, employees, contracting agents, or other representatives, are authorized and directed to abate any and all such nuisances upon such lots or parcels of property and are hereby expressly authorized to enter upon private property for that purpose. As to any lot or parcel of property as to which such written objection shall have been filed, as aforesaid, then upon expiration of a ten-day period, after the decision of the Board of Appeals disposing of any objections made, the desig-nated official or his deputies, assistants, employees, contracting agents, or other representatives, are authorized and directed to abate any and all such nuisances upon such lots or parcels of property and are hereby expressly authorized to enter upon private property for that purpose.

(A) Any person owning, managing or having control, charge or occupancy of any such property, shall have the right to destroy or remove such weeds, rubbish and dirt himself or to have the same destroyed or removed at his own expense provided that the nuisance be abated prior the arrival of the designated city official or his authorized representative.

(B) It shall, however, be unlawful for any such person to burn or attempt to burn any such weeds, rubbish, and dirt without having first obtained written permission to do so from the Chief of the Fire Department and without complying fully with all state and local regulations governing such burning, including those of the air pollution control district.

('86 Code, § 6.24.070) (Ord. 3438, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 3531, passed - - )

Abatement of the nuisance may, in the discretion of the City Council, be performed by private con-tract, in the manner provided in the city charter and other city rules for the awarding and execution of contacts. In such event, the contractor shall keep the account and submit to the city an itemized written record of the cost of abatement for each separate parcel of land as required by this chapter.

('86 Code, § 6.24.080) (Ord. 3438, passed - - )

(A) The designated official shall keep an account of the cost of abatement, including incidental expenses, in front of or on each individual lot or parcel of land and the abutting half of the street in front, and the alley, if any, in the rear thereof.

(B) The term INCIDENTAL EXPENSES shall include administrative overhead, the cost of printing, advertising and/or posting provided for in this chapter, the compensation of the person appointed by the city to take charge of and superintend any of the work authorized under this chapter, the expenses of preparing and typing the resolutions, notices and other papers, and hearings and other proceedings for such work and any other expenses incidental to the completion and inspection of the work.

('86 Code, § 6.24.090) (Ord. 3438, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 3694, passed - - )

(A) By no later than June 30 of each and every fiscal year in which such abatement work is performed by the city under §§ 6.24.070 or 6.24.080 of this code, the designated official shall prepare and submit to the City Council for confirmation an itemized written report showing such cost. Any such report shall be entitled, “Agency Lien List,” and may include an itemization of costs for any number of separate lots or parcels in which event, such report shall refer to each separate lot or parcel of land by a description sufficient to identify the same and shall specify the costs proposed to be assessed on each such separate lot or parcel of land. The descriptions of the parcels reported shall include those descrip-tions used for the same parcels on the county assessor's map books for the current year.

(B) The City Council shall set the matter for hearing to be held prior to July 30 of each such year to determine the correctness or reasonableness, or both, of such costs.

('86 Code, § 6.24.100) (Ord. 3438, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 3598, passed - - )

The designated official shall also transmit to the Director of Finance a copy of such report. The Director of Finance shall mail to each person to whom a lot or parcel of land is assessed at the last known address of such person as shown in the city records, a statement of the charge proposed to be assessed against any such lot or parcel of land under the provisions of this chapter. Such mailing shall be made not later than ten days prior to the time set for the Council hearing to confirm such assessments and shall include a notice of the time and place for which the hearing has been set. Failure of any record owner to receive any such mailed notice and statement shall not affect the validity of any proceedings under this chapter.

('86 Code, § 6.24.110) (Ord. 3438, passed - - )

The City Clerk shall post on the bulletin board in the city hall lobby a copy of the foregoing report and assessment list, together with a notice of the time and place of the hearing upon the confirmation of such report and assessments, and notifying property owners that they may appear at such hearing and object to any matter contained therein. A like notice shall also be published once in a newspaper of general circula-tion published and circulated within the city. The posting and publication shall be made at least ten days prior to the date of such hearing.

('86 Code, § 6.24.120) (Ord. 3438, passed - - )

At the time and place fixed for receiving and considering the report, the City Council shall hear and pass upon the same, together with any objections of the property owners liable to be assessed for the abatement. Thereupon the City Council may make such revision, correction or modification in the report as it may deem just after which by resolution the report, as submitted or as revised, corrected or modified, shall be confirmed. The decision of the City Council on all protests and objections which may be made shall be final and conclusive.

('86 Code, § 6.24.130) (Ord. 3438, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 3598, passed - - )

(A) The total cost of abatement upon, or in front or rear of, each lot or parcel of land, as so confirmed by the City Council, shall constitute a special assessment against the respective lot or parcel of land to which it relates, and a lien on the property for the amount of such assessment.

(B) The City Clerk shall cause to be recorded in the office of the County Recorder a certified copy of the decision of the City Council.

(C) The Director of Finance shall duly execute such report for and on behalf of the city and shall send same to the tax division of the County Auditor- Controller's office, whereupon it shall be the duty of the Auditor-Controller to add the amounts of the respective assessments to the next regular tax bills levied against the respective lots and parcels of land for municipal purposes; and, thereafter, the amounts shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure under foreclosure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes.

(D) Such assessments shall not be payable prior to entry upon the tax roll as provided for hereinabove in division (C).

('86 Code, § 6.24.140) (Ord. 3438, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 3598, passed - - ; Am. Ord. 3694, passed - - )