Carpinteria Municipal Code Ch. 9.70 Public Nuisances

The maintenance or creation of a public nuisance shall be a violation of this code.

(Ord. 563 § 2 (part), 2000)

For the purposes of this chapter, a public nuisance is:

A. Anything which is injurious to health, including, but not limited to, the illegal sale of controlled substances, or an unlawful act which is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property of others, or the unlawful obstruction of the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any creek, river, bay, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway and affects an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal;

B. Real property that repeatedly has been the situs of nuisance activity, including but not limited to:

1. Disturbing the peace, or

2. Illegal drug activity, or

3. Public drunkenness, or

4. Harassment of passers by, or

5. Illegal gambling, or

6. Prostitution, or

7. The sale of stolen goods, or acts of violence, or

8. Public urination, or

9. Acts of lewd conduct, or

10. Unreasonably loud noise, or

11. Loitering, or

12. Excessive littering;

C. The maintenance of property or structure(s) in the following manner:

1. Excessive overgrowth of vegetation, dead, decayed or diseased trees, growth of weeds or deposit of garden waste that are likely to harbor rats or vermin, constitute a fire or health hazard, or may be dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare,

2. Any defective or deteriorated building that (a) constitutes a potential fire hazard or (b) may result in structural failure or (c) creates an unhealthful condition for surrounding residents,

3. Any abandoned or vacated building or structure, left in a condition of disrepair that is easily accessible to the public,

4. The outside storage or accumulation of lumber or other construction materials and/or equipment, junk, trash, recyclable material, salvage, materials or debris that is visible from any public area. For the purpose of this subsection, the term "debris" shall include unused or discarded matter and material having no substantial market value. This shall include, but is not limited to rubble, asphalt, concrete, plaster, tile, rocks, bricks, soil, building materials, crates, cartons, containers, boxes, machinery or parts thereof, scrap metal and other pieces of metal or parts thereof,

5. Abandoned, discarded or unused furniture, appliances, sinks, toilets, cabinets, or other household fixtures or equipment that is visible from a public area;

D. Any other condition identified in the Carpinteria Municipal Code as a public nuisance.

(Ord. 563 § 2 (part), 2000)

In addition to these enumerated public nuisances, the city council shall have the power to declare by resolution what conditions, acts or omissions constitute a nuisance.

(Ord. 563 § 2 (part), 2000)

The city shall have the power to abate all public nuisances in any manner that is provided for in this municipal code or state or federal law, either in law or equity. The abatement of public nuisances is subject to the remedies and penalties pursuant to Chapters 1.06 and 1.08 of this code.

(Ord. 609 § 1 (part), 2005: Ord. 563 § 2 (part), 2000)