Livingston Municipal Code Ch. 3 Weeds, Rubbish and Mistletoe

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

MISTLETOE. Viscum album.

OWNER. The legal owner or owner of record of real property fronting on any street and as used in this chapter, the singular shall include the plural, and shall include an individual, a firm, an association, a corporation, a partnership and the lessees, trustees, agents, employees, servants and representatives of any such owner.

PUBLIC STREET OR STREETS. All roads, streets, avenues, boulevards, alleys, parkways and public rights-of-way, or any portions thereof, of the city.

RUBBISH. All putrescible and nonputrescible, combustible and noncombustible solid wastes, including garbage, refuse, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned or no longer used automobiles, junk, worthless and useless articles, which are in such a state or in such quantity as to be unsightly, against general welfare, unhealthful, dangerous to persons or property, or so as to interfere with the abatement of weeds. Also includes all tree trimmings and prunings of any kind.

WEEDS. 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, when dry, a fire menace;

3. Weeds which are otherwise noxious or dangerous;

4. Weeds which are a public nuisance of a seasonal or recurring nature;

5. Poison oak and poison ivy when the conditions of growth are such as to constitute a menace to the public health;

• 6. Mistletoe or other parasitic growths;
• 7. Sandburs and puncture vines; and
• 8. Any grass or weed which exceeds three inches in height.

(Ord. 318, passed 4-7-1987)

(A) Each real property owner in the city shall destroy or remove all weeds, rubbish and mistletoe from the following areas:

1. His or her private property, including the area between the property line of his or her property to the curb line of the street or streets upon which the property abuts (including all abutting sidewalk areas); and

2. The abutting half of the alley.

(B) The above areas shall include between the sidelines of the property as extended.

(C) Every real property owner in the city shall destroy or remove all weeds, rubbish and mistletoe periodically throughout the year so that at no time during the year will the weeds, rubbish and mistletoe constitute a nuisance or a hazard.

(Ord. 318, passed 4-7-1987)

Upon removal, said weeds, rubbish and mistletoe shall not be placed, deposited or dumped in the public streets, or placed, deposited or dumped between the property line and the curb line.

(Ord. 318, passed 4-7-1987)

(A) 1. Upon failure of a real property owner or lessee to destroy or remove such weeds, rubbish, or mistletoe as required by § 8-3-2 of this chapter, the owner shall be given notice by the Director of Public Works or his or her designee to remove or destroy said weeds, rubbish or mistletoe within a period of ten days.

2. Such notice shall be (as described in § 8-3-5 of this chapter) posted on the property in question and a certified letter sent to the property owner and any lessee of record (if known) containing the same information as described in § 8-3-5 of this chapter.

3. The property owner or lessee will have ten days to file an appeal with the Director of Public Works or his or her designee on the appropriate appeals form.

(B) If at the end of the ten-day period mentioned in said notice the property owner or lessee has failed to comply with the notice and to file an appeal, the Director of Public Works or his or her designee will cause said weeds, rubbish or mistletoe to be destroyed and/or removed from said property and shall charge the expense of such work plus appropriate administrative fees to the owner of the real property. A failure to file a written appeal within the time stated in the notice shall be deemed a waiver of all objections to the proposed abatement. If the property owner or lessee has filed an appeal in writing on the appropriate form and within the time period described in the notice and is not satisfied with the decision of the Director of Public Works or his or her designee, the owner then has the right to file an appeal in writing within five days of said decision and on the appropriate form with the City Clerk which will be heard by the City Council.

(Ord. 318, passed 4-7-1987)

The heading of the notice to be given by the Director of Public Works or his designee shall be “NOTICE TO DESTROY OR REMOVE WEEDS, AND REMOVE RUBBISH AND MISTLETOE” in letters not less than one inch in height and the notice shall be substantially in the following form:

(Ord. 318, passed 4-7-1987)

The Director of Public Works or his or her designee, his or her assistant and deputies, city employees or other public official designated by the City Manager may enter upon private property to perform the duties imposed by this chapter.

(Ord. 318, passed 4-7-1987)

(A) Upon completion of the work of destruction or removal of said weeds, rubbish and mistletoe, the Director of Public Works or his or her designee shall notify the Director of Finance that said work has been completed and of the cost of performing the same, and the Director of Finance shall in turn notify the owner of the real property in writing of the cost of such work.

(B) If the said owner fails or refuses to pay to the city the amount of cost of such work within a period of 30 days from the date of such notice, then, at the city’s option, the Director of Finance shall file for a small claims judgment or cause said to be recorded in a book to be kept for that purpose the name of the property, a description of the property sufficient for identification, and the amount of the charges against said real property for doing the work, removal or destruction of weeds, rubbish or mistletoe from said property.

(C) From and after the date that the entry is made, the amount charged against the real property shall constitute a special assessment against the real property, which has been described in the notice, and shall be a lien against the real property, and the amount of such special assessment shall be added to the next regular bill for taxes levied against the real property.

(Ord. 318, passed 4-7-1987)

The amount of the assessment shall be collected at the time and in the manner ordinary municipal taxes are collected. If delinquent, the amount is subject to the same penalties and the same procedure of foreclosure and sale provided for in ordinary municipal taxes.

(Ord. 318, passed 4-7-1987)