Cupertino Municipal Code Ch. 9.08 Weed Abatement\

* For provisions regarding the authority of the City Council to provide for weed abatement, see Gov. Code §§ 39501, et seq.

A. No owner, agent or lessee or other person occupying or having charge or control of any building, lot or premises within the City shall permit weeds to remain upon the premises or public sidewalks or streets or alleys between the premises and the center of the line of any public street or alley.

B. “Weeds,” as used in this chapter, means all weeds growing upon streets, alleys, sidewalks, or private property in the City and includes any of the following:

1. Weeds which bear or may bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature;

2. Weeds and indigenous grasses which may attain such large growth as to become 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. Accumulations of garden refuse, cuttings, and other combustible trash.

C. Every property owner shall remove or destroy such weeds on his property and in the abutting half of any street or alley between the lots lines as extended. Two discings per year shall be considered a minimum standard, plus chemical spraying as required.

(Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

Whenever any weeds are growing upon any private property or properties or in any street or alley within the City. The City Council shall pass a resolution declaring the same to be a public nuisance and order the County Agricultural Commissioner to give notice of the passage of such resolution as provided in this chapter, and state therein that, unless such nuisance is abated without delay by the destruction or removal of such weeds, the work of abating such nuisance will be done by the County Agricultural Commissioner, and the expense thereof assessed upon the lots and lands from which, and/or in the front and rear of which, such weeds have been destroyed or removed. Such resolution shall fix the time and place for hearing any objections to the proposed destruction or removal of the weeds.

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

The notice provided for in Section 9.08.020 shall be substantially of the following form:

NOTICE TO DESTROY WEEDS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on , 20 , pursuant to the provisions of Section of the Municipal Code, the City Council passed a resolution declaring that all weeds growing upon any private property or in any public street or alley, as defined in Section of the City’s Municipal Code, constitute a public nuisance, which nuisance must be abated by the destruction or removal thereof.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that property owners shall without delay remove all such weeds from their property and the abutting half of the street in front and alleys, if any, behind such property and between the lot lines thereof as extended or such weeds will be destroyed or removed and such nuisance abated by the County Agricultural Commissioner, in which case the cost of such destruction or removal will, including but not limited to administration costs, be assessed upon the lots and the lands from which, or from the front or rear of which, such weeds shall have been destroyed or removed; and such costs will constitute a lien upon such lots or lands until paid, and will be collected upon the next tax roll upon which general municipal taxes are collected. All property owners having any objections to the proposed destruction or removal of such weeds are hereby notified to attend a meeting of said City, to be held in the City Council Chambers of the City of Cupertino on , 20 , at o’clock when and where their objections will be heard and given due consideration.

Date , 20

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

The City Council shall direct the County Agricultural Commissioner to mail written notice of the proposed abatement to all persons owning property described in the resolution. The Agricultural Commissioner shall cause such written notice to be mailed to each person to whom such described property is assessed in the last equalized assessment roll available on the date the resolution was adopted by the City Council. The notices shall be mailed at least ten days prior to the time for hearing objections by the legislative body.

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

At the time stated in the notice, the City Council shall hear and consider any and all objections to the proposed destruction or removal of such weeds and may continue the hearing from time to time. The Council, by motion or resolution, shall allow or overrule any and all objections, if any, after which the Council shall be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction to proceed and perform the work of destruction and removal of the weeds.

(Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

The Council shall by resolution order the County Agricultural Commissioner to abate such nuisance or cause the same to be abated by having the weeds referred to destroyed or removed by cutting, discing, chemical spraying or any other method as may be determined necessary by him. The County Agricultural Commissioner, his assistants, or his appointees as contracting agents are authorized to enter upon private property for the purpose of abatement. Any property owner has the right to destroy or remove such weeds himself or have the same destroyed or removed at his own expense; provided that such weeds have been removed prior to the arrival of the County Agricultural Commissioner or his authorized representatives to remove them.

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

The County Agricultural Commissioner shall keep an account of the cost of abating such nuisance and embody such account in a report and assessment list to the City Council, which shall be filed with the City Clerk. Such report shall refer to each separate lot or parcel of land with a description sufficient to identify such lot or parcel, together with the expense proposed to be assessed against each separate lot or parcel of land.

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

The City Clerk shall post a copy of the report and assessment list specified in Section 9.08.070 in a conspicuous place near the main door of the city council chambers, together with a notice of the filing thereof and of the time and place when and where it will be submitted to the City Council for hearing and confirmation, notifying property owners that they may appear at such time and place and object to any matter contained therein. In addition, the City Clerk shall mail a copy of the notice and the assessment list to all persons owning property described in the assessment list. The mailing labels shall be provided by the Agricultural Commissioner. The posting and mailing of the notice and assessment list shall be made and completed at least ten days prior to the time for hearing objections by the City Council. Such notice shall be substantially in the following form:

NOTICE OF HEARING ON REPORT AND ASSESSMENT FOR WEED ABATEMENT NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on , 20, the County Agricultural Commissioner filed with the City Clerk a report and assessment on abatement of weeds within the City, copies of which are posted near the main door of the city council chambers.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that on , 20, at the hour of o'clock in the chambers of the City Council said report and assessment list will be presented for consideration and confirmation, and that any and all persons interested, having any objections to said report and assessments list, or to any matter or thing contained therein, may appear at said time and place and be heard.

Dated this day of , 20 .

City Clerk of the City of Cupertino

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 1923, 2003; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

A. At the time and place fixed for receiving and considering such report, the City Council shall hear the same, together with any objections which may be raised by any of the property owners liable to be assessed for the work of abating such nuisance. The County Agricultural Commissioner shall attend such meeting with his record thereof, and upon such hearing, the Council may make such modifications in the proposed assessments therefor as it may deem necessary, after which such report and assessment list shall be confirmed by resolution.

B. The amount of the cost of abating such nuisance upon or in the front or rear of the various lots or parcels of land respectively referred to in such report shall constitute special assessments against such respective lots or parcels of land and, after thus made and confirmed, shall constitute a lien on such property for the amount of such assessment until paid.

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

The County Agricultural Commissioner shall cause the amount of the assessment to be entered on the tax assessment roll opposite the description of the particular property, and it shall be collected together with all other taxes thereon upon the property. Thereafter, such amount shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as general taxes are collected on the property and shall be subject to the same penalties and interest and the same procedure and sale in the case of delinquency as provided for these taxes. All laws and ordinances applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of taxes are made applicable to such special assessment.

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)

A. The owner, agent, lessee or other person having charge or control of any building, lot or premises within the City who permits weeds to remain on such premises in violation of Section 9.08.010 shall give written notice to the County Agricultural Commissioner of any improvements which have been placed on such premises. The notice shall include all subsurface improvements, together with all surface improvements for which a building permit has not been issued, including, but not limited to, boundary and survey markers, pipes and accessories, crops and plantings.

B. The notice of improvements shall be submitted each year, not later than thirty days subsequent to the time set for hearing pursuant to Section 9.08.050, by the owner, agent, lessee or other person having charge or control of the building, lot or premises.

C. The failure to give such notice constitutes a waiver of any right for damages resulting from injury to such improvements resulting from the acts of the City and its authorized representatives who enter upon the parcel to destroy or remove weeds.

D. This section shall not be construed to subject the City or its representatives to any liability where none would exist in the absence of these provisions.

(Ord. 1945, (part), 2004; Ord. 724, (part), 1976)