Oakdale Municipal Code § 19-49 Unlawful property nuisances

[Ord. No. 1041, § 1; Ord. No. 1096; Ord. No. 1177, § 1.]

It is hereby declared a public nuisance and a violation of this article for any person owning, or any tenant or occupant leasing, renting, occupying or having charge or possession of any property in the City to maintain or to allow to be maintained such property in such manner that any of the following conditions are found to exist thereon, except as may be allowed by this Code:

(a) Land configuration which, whether in natural state or as a result of excavation or grading operations, causes erosion, subsidence, or surface water drainage problems, or is injurious or potentially injurious to the public health, safety and welfare or to adjacent properties;

(b) Encroachments on the public right-of-way without proper authority;

(c) Broken or discarded furniture, household equipment and furnishings or shopping carts stored on the property so as to be visible from a public street or neighboring properties;

(d) Overgrown vegetation visible from a public street likely to harbor rodents, vermin or other nuisances or which obstructs the view of drivers on public streets or private driveways, or which impedes, obstructs or denies pedestrian or other lawful travel on sidewalks, walkways, or other public rights-of-way;

(e) Dead, decayed, diseased or hazardous trees, weeds, or other vegetation constituting unsightly appearance, dangerous to public safety and welfare and visible from a public street;

(f) Packing boxes, cardboard boxes, lumber, junk, trash, garbage, barrels, drums, salvage materials, garbage, rubbish or other debris kept on the property which is not properly contained and disposed, for an unreasonable period of time and visible from a public street or neighboring properties;

(g) Attractive nuisances dangerous to children or other persons, including abandoned, broken or neglected equipment, machinery, appliances, refrigerators and freezers, hazardous pools, ponds or excavations;

(h) Personal property such as vehicles, boats, trailers or vehicle parts which are abandoned, inoperative, or left in a state of partial repair for an unreasonable period of time in front yards, side yards, driveways, sidewalks or walkways and visible from a public street or neighboring properties;

(i) The use of boats, trailers, campers or camper shells, or similar vehicles, or equipment for sleeping or cooking purposes in areas and at times where such use is not specifically authorized;

(j) Vehicles, trailers, campers or boats parked or stored in residential zoning districts on property, other than on driveways or other impervious surfaces, or areas where such parking and storage is specifically authorized, and visible from a public street;

(k) Performance of mechanical work on motor vehicles on private property in residential areas visible from public right-of-way or neighboring properties for periods totaling more than four weeks within any calendar year;

(l) Uncleaned spills, or the disposal of oil, gasoline, other petroleum products, noxious chemicals, pesticides, or any gaseous, liquid or solid wastes in such a manner as to constitute a condition considered injurious to the public health, safety and welfare, cause pollution to land, water, air in the City, or degrade the appearance or property value of neighboring properties;

(m) Buildings which are abandoned, partially destroyed, left in an unreasonable state of partial construction or have been declared substandard or dangerous by the building official;

(n) Unpainted buildings and those having dry rot, warping or termite infestation. Any building on which the condition of paint has become so deteriorated as to permit decay, excessive checking, cracking, peeling, chalking, dry rot, warping or termite infestation as to render the building unsightly and in a state of disrepair;

(o) Buildings lacking adequate weather protection; with holes in walls or roofs; or windows containing broken glass or no glass at all, where the window is the type that normally contains glass, which constitutes a hazard and/or invites trespassers and malicious mischief. Plywood or other material used to cover such window space or other openings, if permitted under this Code, shall be painted in a color or colors compatible with the remainder of the building;

(p) Building exteriors, walls, fences, driveways, sidewalks or walkways which are constructed of substandard materials (chicken wire or patch board fences, etc.) or maintained in such condition as to become effective or appear unsightly or are materially detrimental to nearby properties and improvements;

(q) Lights, lighted signs, or other devices that direct or reflect glare onto public rights-of-way or neighboring properties;

(r) Blighted signage, in disrepair, or abandoned, or otherwise in violation of City ordinances regulating signs on public or private property or in the public right-of-way;

(s) Construction equipment, farm machinery, or machinery of any type or description parked or stored on the owner's property when it is visible from a public street, except:

(1) During excavation, construction or demolition operations covered by an active building permit which are in progress on the subject property or on an adjoining property.

(2) During active farming operations, or

(3) When such machinery is in an agricultural or industrial district and is appropriately stored/screened as may be required by district ordinance;

(t) Property which lacks appropriate landscaping, turf or plant material so as to cause excessive dust;

(u) The keeping, storing, depositing or accumulation for an unreasonable period of time of dirt, sand, gravel, concrete, and other similar materials, which manner of keeping, storing or depositing or accumulation constitutes visual blight or reduces the aesthetic appearance of the neighborhood or is offensive to the senses;

(v) Maintenance of property so out of harmony or conformity with the maintenance standards of adjacent properties as to cause substantial diminution of the enjoyment or use of such adjacent properties.

[Ord. No. 1177, § 1.]

It is hereby declared a public nuisance and a violation of this article for the owner, whether through the owner or owner's agent, lessee, sublessor, sublessee, or occupant of any premises in the City to permit, with actual or constructive knowledge, any of the following activities or behavior to habitually occur on the property of the owner:

(a) The illegal sale, use or possession of controlled substances or other illegal drugs and substances;

(b) The gathering, or coming and going, of people who have an intent to purchase or use controlled substances on the premises;

(c) The occurrence of prostitution;

(d) Unlawful activities of a criminal street gang (as defined in the California Penal Code);

(e) The making or continuing, or causing to be made and continued, or any loud unnecessary or unusual noise which disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood, or which causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing on the property or in the area.

(f) The unlawful discharging of a firearm or brandishing of a weapon by any person;

(g) The frequent response by the Oakdale Police Department to the real property or the adjacent area (but not the real property of another) as a result of any person or persons causing any combination of the following calls as indicated in the City of Oakdale Police Department Incident Code identifier:

(1) Animal disturbances, including but not limited to competitive fighting between animals.

(2) Violent criminal acts, charged or not, including, but not limited to, rapes assaults, battery, homicides and/or shootings.

(3) Illegal consumption of intoxicants in public view.

(4) Gaming activities.

(5) Juvenile disturbances.

"Frequent" as used in this subsection means such response is occurring more than one and one-half times than the average number of such responses for property of a similar size in character;

(h) The presence of graffiti or other defacing words, letters or drawings, trash and debris on the property for more than a 48-hour period.