Mountain View Municipal Code Art. II Weed Control

No owner, agent, 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 such premises, or public sidewalks, or streets, or alleys between the premises and the center line of any public street or alley. Every property owner shall remove or destroy such weeds from his property, and in the abutting half of any street or alley between the lot lines as extended.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

* For state law as to authority of city to declare weeds, etc., along streets, etc., nuisances, see Gov. C.A., Sec. 39561.

"Weeds", as used in this article, means all weeds growing upon streets, alleys, sidewalks or private property in the city and includes any of the following:

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

b. Weeds and indigenous grasses which may attain such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property.

c. Weeds which are otherwise noxious or dangerous.

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

e. Accumulation of garden refuse, cuttings and other combustible trash.

(Ord. No. 8.63, 1/14/63.)

Whenever any such 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 director of public works to give notice of the passage of such resolution as herein provided, and stating therein that, unless such nuisance be abated without delay by the destruction or removal of such weeds, the work of abating such nuisance will be done by the city authorities, and the expense thereof assessed upon the lots and lands from which, and/or in the front and rear of which, such weeds shall have been destroyed or removed. Such resolution shall fix the time and place for hearing any objections to the proposed destruction or removal of such weeds.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

The notice provided for in the preceding section shall be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE TO DESTROY WEEDS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on _______, 19___, pursuant to the provisions of Section 16.37 of the Mountain View City 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 16.35 of such 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 city authorities, in which case the cost of such destruction or removal will be assessed upon the lots and lands from which, or from the front or rear of which, such weeds shall have been destroyed or removed; and such cost 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 the council of the city, to be held in the council chambers on _______, 19___, at seven-thirty o'clock P.M., when and where their objections will be heard and given due consideration.

Dated this ___ day of _______, 19___

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

The notice required by Sec. 16.37 shall be published at least twice in the official newspaper of the city, the first publication of which shall be at least ten (10) days prior to the time fixed by the council for hearing objections. Such notice shall also be posted at least ten (10) days prior to the time fixed by the city council for hearing objections, in three (3) prominent places in the city.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

At the time stated in the notice required by Sec. 16.37, the 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 thereupon be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction to proceed and perform the work of destruction and removal of the weeds.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

The council shall by resolution order the director of public works 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 by the city council, and the director of public works and his deputies, assistants, employees, contracting agents, or other representatives, are hereby expressly authorized to enter upon private property for that purpose. Any property owner shall have the right to destroy or remove such weeds himself, or have the same destroyed or removed at his own expense, provided that such weeds shall have been removed prior to the arrival of the director of public works or his authorized agents or representatives to remove them.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

The director of public works 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 by description, the descriptions of such lots or parcels being those used for the same lots or parcels on the county assessor's map books for the current year, together with the expense proposed to be assessed against each separate lot or parcel of land.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

When additional work is required to abate the nuisances after the filing of a report under Sec. 16.42, the director of public works shall keep an account of the costs and embody such account in an additional report and assessment list to the city council which shall be filed with the city clerk. Such report shall be submitted only after all work is finished. The report shall be made in the same manner as provided in Sec. 16.42.

(Ord. No. 1.70, 1/12/70.)

The city clerk shall post a copy of such report and assessment list in three (3) prominent places in the city, one of which shall be on the bulletin board near the entrance door at the city hall, together with a notice of the filing thereof and of the time and place when and where 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. A like notice shall also be published twice in the official newspaper of the city. The posting and first publication of such notice shall be made and completed at least ten (10) days before the time such report shall have been submitted to the council. Such notice, as so posted and published, shall be substantially in the following form:

NOTICE OF HEARING ON REPORT AND ASSESSMENT FOR WEED ABATEMENT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on _______, 19 ___, the Director of Public Works of the City of Mountain View filed with the City Clerk of said City a report and assessment on abatement of weeds within said City, one copy of which is posted on the bulletin board at the entrance to the City Hall.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that on _______, 19___, at the hour of seven-thirty o'clock P.M., in the Council Chambers of said City, said report and assessment list will be presented to the City Council of said City for consideration and confirmation, and that any and all persons interested, having any objections to said report and assessment list, or to any matter or thing contained therein, may appear at said time and place and be heard.

Dated this ___ day of _______, 19___

Director of Public Works,

City of Mountain View.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

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, and the director of public works 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.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

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 upon such property for the amount of such assessments, until paid.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

On or before August tenth (10th) of the year in which the report is confirmed by the city council, the city clerk shall cause a certified copy of such confirmed report to be filed with the county auditor, in order that the county auditor may enter each such assessment on the county tax roll opposite the parcel of land.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

If the report of accounts for additional work is filed after August 10 of the year, upon the filing of the report with the city clerk, the city clerk shall record a "Notice of Lien" against each parcel with the county recorder and send a list of charges to the county auditor to be included on the next tax roll.

(Ord. No. 1.70, 1/12/70.)

Such amounts shall be collected at the same time, and in the same manner, as general city taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and interest, and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided by law for city taxes. All laws and ordinances applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of city taxes are hereby made applicable to such special assessment.

(Ord. No. 175.524, 3/9/59.)

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 Sec. 16.36 of this Code shall give written notice to the director of public works 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.

The notice of improvements shall be submitted each year not later than thirty (30) days subsequent to the time set for hearing pursuant to Sec. 16.40 of this Code by the owner, agent, lessee or other person having charge or control of the building, lot or premises.

The failure to give such notice shall constitute 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.

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. No. 175.712, 2/13/62.)