San Ramon Municipal Code Art. 1 General

Editor's note— Ord. No. 466, §§ 1—4, adopted June 28, 2016, amended Art. I in its entirety and enacted new Art. I as set out herein. The former Art. I, §§ B6-131—B6-133, pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. No. 450, §§ I, II, adopted 5-13-2014; Ord. No. 457, § 7, adopted March 24, 2015.

A. A public nuisance is anything which is injurious to health, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any creek, stream, canal, channel, basin, or other body of water, or any public park, square, street, or highway and which affects at the same time a community, neighborhood or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal. B. This chapter, as well as other sections of the code, declare certain uses, actions, and activities to be public nuisances. It is the express intent of the city council that those declarations are in addition to, and not subject to, the generic determinations of public nuisances contained in and authorized by this section. C. It is unlawful for any person or entity to maintain, create, cause, or permit any public nuisance, whether on private or public property. D. The owner of any property within the city has a primary responsibility to keep the property free of any public nuisance. E. It shall be a public nuisance if any of the following activities, uses of property or conditions exist on a property within the city: 1. Storage of boxes, litter, garbage, broken or discarded furniture, equipment, appliances, machinery, vehicle parts, or other refuse for periods in excess of seventy-two hours.

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 172

2. Accumulation of debris, litter, dirt, overgrown vegetation, dead trees or plant materials or weeds.

   3. The parking or storage of vehicles, trailers, campers, boats and other recreational vehicles or other equipment which overhang, block or obstruct a sidewalk, street, driveway or public right-of-way or violates Section D3-41(E) of the zoning ordinance.
   4. Maintaining, permitting, or allowing construction materials, tools, equipment, machinery and/or debris in the public view for more than thirty days at a location other than a site where work is being performed pursuant to a valid building permit.
   5. Parking or storage within public view of inoperative vehicles or motorcycles, or an operational motor vehicle or motorcycle that has been placed on blocks or otherwise immobilized. Businesses with which such use is allowed by zoning district or use permit are exempted.
   6. Allowing windows, building exteriors, roofs, and gutters to remain in a defective, deteriorated, or damaged condition.
   7. Any act or omission which continually interferes with the interest of the community by disturbing or preventing the comfortable enjoyment of property and impacting the general public's health, comfort and convenience. Acts or omissions covered under this subsection specifically include, but are not limited to, the following: a. Emissions of smoke. b. Excessive noise. c. Emissions of noxious or offensive odors. d. Excessive dust. e. Hazardous or poisonous discharge. f. Direct or reflected glare produced by floodlight or other means and which is visible from any boundary line of property on which the glare is produced. g. Allowing water to run off on to adjoining property or properties.
   8. Neglect, maintain or use property in such a manner as: a. To harass, intimidate or spite neighbors; or b. To influence zoning or other land use decisions; or c. To cause detrimental effect upon nearby property or property values.
   9. Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary, the altering or maintaining of any portion of the property in such a manner as to store water or accumulate debris resulting in the support of the development, attraction, or harborage of vectors. The presence of vectors in their developmental stages on the property will be prima facie evidence that the property is a public nuisance. For purposes of this subsection, a "vector" means any animal capable of transmitting the causative agent of human disease or capable of producing human discomfort or injury, including, but not limited to, mosquitoes, flies, mites, ticks, other arthropods, and rodents and other vertebrates.

3. Placement or maintenance of any obstruction other than a vehicle properly using appropriate travel lanes, on any public street or public way, including sidewalks, pedestrian paths, bicycle paths, roadways and roadway shoulders, except as may be authorized by a permit issued by the city engineer. As used in this subsection, "obstruction" includes vegetative growth as well as structures, construction or landscape material and things including, but not limited to, sports equipment.

4. Allowing growth of a tree or vegetation in such a manner that the branches of the tree or growth of the vegetation restrict or impede access to or public use of adjacent sidewalks or streets; obstruct traffic control signs and devices; obstruct street lights; obstruct visibility of traffic using the public street; or prevent access by city street sweepers. City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 173

5. Trees, weeds or other vegetation, which by reason of being overgrown, dead, decayed or diseased are: a. Likely to harbor rats, vermin and/or other rodents; or b. A clear and present risk of physical injury to inhabitants or occupants of the property, neighboring property or to the public; or c. Overhanging, blocking or obstructing a sidewalk, street, driveway or alley.

6. Allowing any attractive nuisance dangerous to children and consisting of abandoned or broken motor vehicles and equipment; hazardous excavations; abandoned, neglected, unused or unprotected machinery or any other property that may constitute an attractive nuisance.

7. Any encroachment on the public right-of-way or City-Owned Property, as that term is defined in C6-1 of this code, for which no encroachment permit has been issued, including any affixed or projected signage or visual display of any kind, and any fence, wall or other structure which has been erected in violation of this code and which encroaches upon any public right-of-way, to include, but not be limited to, the installation of curb ramps for RV vehicles parked in side yards of private properties.

8. Use of handicap ramps as vehicle access to enter upon private property.

9. A building which is partially destroyed for a period of ninety days or more, or left in a state of partial construction unless pursuant to a valid building permit.

10. Unpainted or untreated exterior wood surfaces (other than natural decay-resistant wood(s)) on any building (or portion thereof), wall, fence or structure in which the condition has become so deteriorated as to permit decay, excessive checking, cracking, peeling, chalking, dry rot, warping, or insect infestation.

11. Unsecured doorways, windows or other openings into vacant or abandoned buildings that allow public access.

12. Paint on a building, wall or fence that has become so deteriorated as to permit decay, excessive checking, cracking, peeling, chalking, dry rot, warping or insect infestation.

13. A wall or fence that is poorly maintained, sagging, leaning, fallen, decayed or is otherwise structurally unsound or unsafe.

14. Commercial Solid Waste, Organic Materials, or Recyclable Materials receptacles, in excess of one cubic yard capacity, that are not enclosed by an opaque, six-foot tall enclosure of wood or masonry construction with a gate, except for instances as described in Section B6-11(B)(4) of this code.

15. The storing of shipping container(s), freight container(s), cargo container(s), box cars, storage container(s), construction container(s), or similar items, except those that comply with Division D3, Chapter V of TITLE D of this code.

16. An excavation, hole, or pond that is open and unsecured from public access.

17. Potholes in driveways and off street parking areas. All such surfaces and similar areas intended for vehicular access shall be kept free from potholes.

18. Cracked or buckled sidewalks and walkways. All such surfaces and similar areas intended for pedestrian/public access shall be kept free from cracking and buckling, and comply with DIVISION C6, Chapter VI of TITLE C of this code.

19. Accumulation or placement of animal excrement, fertilizer, or decayed vegetation constituting an unsightly appearance visible from neighboring properties or any public right-of-way. (Ord. No. 466, § 1, 6-28-2016; Ord. No. 499, § 5, 02/25/2020; Ord. No. 512, § 5, 01/11/2022; Ord. No. 518, § 2, 03/14/2023)

Effective on: 4/13/2023

City of San Ramon, CA | Municipal Code 174

The list of activities, uses of property and conditions of property declared to be nuisances in Section B6- 131 of this Chapter is not intended to be exclusive. The city council expressly reserves to itself the right to declare other and additional activities, uses of property and conditions of property to be nuisances subject to correction and abatement pursuant to this chapter or by any other means authorized by law. (Ord. No. 466, § 2, 6-28-2016)

B6-133 through B6-139. - Reserved.