Redwood City Municipal Code § 14.41 Form of Notice to Remove Weeds, Etc

All weeds and all dirt, rubbish, and rank growths of any kind, on private property or in any street or alley or public right-of-way in the City, shall constitute a public nuisance.

Every property owner, lessee or occupant of buildings, grounds or lots, shall destroy or remove weeds, dirt, rubbish, and/or rank growths from the property, buildings, grounds or lots, and from the half of the street, alley or public right-of-way on which the property abuts, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this Article.

For the purposes of this Article, the following definitions shall apply:

DIRT: Includes any artificial accumulation of earth of a size, shape, or composition to constitute a hazard to the public health or safety.

RANK GROWTHS: Includes any excessive or coarse growth of weeds or other plant forms, natural or cultivated, which, at maturity, reach exceptionally tall or luxuriant size or which have a highly offensive, strong odor.

RUBBISH: Includes all bottles, crockery, tin cans, metal vessels, shells, plaster, tires, rags, papers, boxes, packing material, shavings, straw and other similar materials.

WEEDS: Includes any of the following:

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

B. Any brush or weeds which 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. Dry grass, stubble, brush, litter, or other flammable material, which endangers the public safety by creating a fire hazard.

F. Weeds, brush, dry grass, stubble or nonornamental plant, which are more than eight inches (8″) in height.

(Ord. No. 1276, § 2; Ord. No. 1741, § 1, 2-13-1978; Ord. No. 2170, § 1, 7-26-1999)

Whenever any weeds, dirt, rubbish and/or rank growths are growing, located or existing on any property within the City, the Council shall pass a resolution declaring the same to be a public nuisance, and order the Street Superintendent to give notice of the passage of the resolution as herein provided, stating that, unless such nuisance be abated without delay by the destruction or removal of the weeds, dirt, rubbish and/or rank growths, the nuisance will be abated by the City authorities and the expenses thereof assessed upon the lots, parcels and lands from or on which such nuisance was abated.

(Ord. No. 1276, § 2)

State Law reference— Gov. C. § 39561.

The resolution declaring weeds, dirt, rubbish or rank growths to be a nuisance under the preceding Section shall fix, among other things, the time and place for hearing any objections to the proposed destruction or removal of such weeds, dirt, rubbish and/or rank growths.

If less than the entire area of the corporate limits of the City is included within the resolution, a specific description of the area shall be set forth in the resolution*.

Notice to destroy or remove weeds, dirt, rubbish or rank growths which have been declared public nuisances by resolution under Section 14.39 of this Division shall be published at least twice in a newspaper published and circulated in 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.

(Ord. No. 1276, § 2)

State Law reference— Gov. C. § 39562.

The notice specified in Section 14.40 of this Division shall be substantially in the following form:

NOTICE TO ABATE PUBLIC NUISANCE BY THE REMOVAL OF WEEDS, DIRT, RUBBISH AND/OR RANK GROWTHS

Notice is hereby given that:

On_______, 19___, pursuant to the provisions of Article IV of Chapter 14 of the Code of the City of Redwood City, the City Council of the City of Redwood City passed a resolution declaring that all weeds as defined in Section 14.38 of said Article, and all dirt, rubbish and/or rank growths, as defined in Section 14.38 of said article, of any kind on private property, or in any street or alley abutting any property, constitute a public nuisance which must be abated by the destruction or removal thereof.

All property owners, lessees or occupants of buildings, grounds or lots shall, without delay, destroy or remove all such weeds, dirt, rubbish and/or rank growths from their property and half of the abutting street and alley, if any, between the lot lines, as extended, or such weeds, dirt, rubbish and/or rank growths will be destroyed or removed and such nuisance abated by the City authorities, in which case the cost of destruction or removal will be assessed upon the lots and lands from or on which, or abutting the streets and alleys from or on which, such nuisance was abated, and such costs will constitute a lien upon the lots or parcels until paid and will be collected on the next tax roll upon which municipal taxes are collected.

"All property owners having objections to the proposed abatement of the nuisance are hereby notified to attend a meeting of the Council of the City of Redwood City to be held on _______, 19___, at ___ o'clock ___.M., where and when all objections will be heard and given due consideration.

"Dated: _______, 19___.

___________

Superintendent of Streets of the City of Redwood City"

(Ord. No. 1276, § 2)

State Law reference— Form of notice to destroy weeds required by State law, Gov. C., § 39566.

At the time and place stated in the notice, the Council shall hear and consider any and all objections of the proposed abatement of the nuisance. Upon the conclusion of the hearing, the Council shall allow or overrule any or all objections, after which the Council shall be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction to perform the work of abating the nuisance by the destruction or removal of the weeds, dirt, rubbish and/or rank growths. The decision of the Council shall be final and conclusive.

(Ord. No. 1345, § 2)

State Law reference— Provisions, Gov. C., §§ 39568—39570.

In addition to the notification by publication as herein provided, before the performance of weed abatement work on any parcel of real property, notice to the owners shall be given by the Street Superintendent as hereafter provided.

Such notice shall be given in writing and shall be mailed or delivered personally to each person to whom such property is assessed on the last available equalized assessment roll. The notices shall be deposited in the United States mail or delivered at least fifteen (15) days prior to the time the weed abatement work is performed by the City. The failure of any person to receive any notice deposited in the mail shall not invalidate any of the proceedings under this Article.

The form of the notice shall be prescribed by the Street Superintendent and shall contain sufficient information to permit the owner to identify the location of the parcel. If the notice is given prior to the date of the hearing held under Section 14.42, the notice shall give the date of the hearing, otherwise it shall be sufficient to refer to the determination of the Council made at the conclusion of said hearing.

(Ord. No. 1345, § 3)