Ventura Municipal Code Art. 1 Nuisance Conditions Generally

Anything which is injurious to health, or is indecent, or offensive to the senses, or any 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 public park, square, street or highway, is a nuisance. (Code 1971, § 4111)

A. Dumping in Ocean. It is hereby unlawful for any person, either for themselves or as the agent, servant or employee of any person, or for any corporation through its agent, servant or employee, to dump, deposit, or throw, or to cause or allow to be dumped, deposited or thrown, any oil, rubbish, refuse, waste matter or material or condemned cargo or any injurious or offensive substances or articles on or into the portion of the Pacific Ocean which is within the corporate limits of the city.

1. Petroleum Products. It shall be unlawful to pump, discharge or deposit, or to cause or permit to be pumped, discharged or deposited, or to pass or allow to escape in or into the waters of the Pacific Ocean within the corporate limits of the city, any oil, dirt or inflammable liquid or any coal tar or refuse or residuary products of coal or any petroleum, asphalt, bitumen, or other residuary products of coal or any petroleum, asphalt, bitumen, or other carbonaceous material or substance or any product or compound thereof, or any bilge water containing any of said materials or substances.

2. Closing Scuppers. It shall be the duty of every person having charge of any oil tanker or vessel used for the transportation of oil while such vessel is in the Pacific Ocean within the corporate limits of the city to close up and plug all scupper pipes leading from the decks of any such vessels, and to make the same oiltight in order to prevent any oil which may be spilled upon the deck of any such vessels from running through such scuppers into the said waters of the Pacific Ocean.

B. Electrical Interference. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate in the city any apparatus generating or causing high frequency oscillations which interfere with radio or television broadcast receiving apparatus or wireless receiving apparatus between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., except that a person duly licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic or dentistry by the state of California, in a case of absolute emergency arising in the course of practice of the person’s profession and which case demands immediate treatment between the aforementioned hours, may operate or cause to be operated under their direct supervision any machine necessary to giving emergency treatment in such case.

1. Apparatus Included. Any device or apparatus such as violet ray machines, machines using the Tesla coil or principle, X-ray machines, and diathermy machines which interferes with the intelligibility of reception under the following conditions shall be considered as coming within the terms of this section:

a. Such device or apparatus must be situated 100 feet or more from the radio receiving equipment with which it interferes.

b. The radio receiving equipment interfered with shall be operated on a volume comparable to a person speaking in a normal tone of voice.

c. The broadcasting station whose program is being received when the interference occurs must have a power output of at least one kW. It is expressly understood and provided, however, that this section shall not apply to radio stations, either broadcast, commercial or amateur, licensed by the federal government and/or which are engaged in interstate communication or to public utilities under the supervision of the Public Utilities Commission.

2. Right to Inspect. The building and/or electrical wiring inspector, or their duly authorized deputies, shall have the right to enter upon any premises at all reasonable hours for the purpose of inspecting the installation and working of all apparatus coming within the terms of this section, and it shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with the building and/or electrical wiring inspector, or their duly authorized deputies, in making said inspection or to refuse to permit the said inspector or their deputies to enter the premises for such purposes.

3. Notice of Violation. When an inspection and test shall have been made by the building and/or electrical wiring inspector, or their duly authorized deputies, and it is found that equipment or apparatus coming within the terms of this section is being operated in violation of the terms of this section, the person or persons responsible for the operation of such equipment shall be notified in writing to discontinue the use of such machine or to make additions, repairs or modifications thereof, in order that the same may be operated in a manner which complies with the provisions of this section. The mailing of a registered letter addressed to the owner or operator of the machine at the premises where the machine is located shall constitute a sufficient notice for the purpose of this section. In the event that the owner or operator of such machine or apparatus does not, within 48 hours after receipt of notice to repair or discontinue the use of such machine, either entirely discontinue the use of such machine during the hours the use of such machine is prohibited by this section, or repair the same so that it complies with the provisions of this section, such owner shall be deemed to be operating such machine or apparatus in violation of the provisions of this section and such person shall be subject to the penalties provided for violation of this code.

C. Cleanliness of Public Places. It shall be unlawful for any person to throw or otherwise place any orange, banana or other fruit peel, or to spit or expectorate, upon the floor of any street railway car or other public conveyance, or public hall, or public building, or on any sidewalk or upon the front of any building in the city.

D. Air Pollution. It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and it shall be unlawful for any person in the city to maintain, conduct, or carry on, or assist in maintaining, conducting or carrying on, any business, yard, establishment or place in such a manner that dense or thick black or gray smoke or cinders or soot are emitted therefrom; or to maintain, conduct, or carry on, or assist in maintaining, conducting, or carrying on, any business, yard, establishment or place, in such a manner that dust in large and unusual quantities is accumulated or caused without sprinkling with oil or water said yard, establishment or place, or the place or premises where such business is maintained, conducted, or carried on, with sufficient frequency and to sufficient extent to lay and settle such dust and prevent the same from spreading or being blown on the premises of other persons; or to maintain, conduct, or carry on, or assist in maintaining, conducting or carrying on, any such business, yard, establishment or place in such a manner that gas or fumes unwholesome and injurious to the health, or injurious to the property, or offensive to the senses of the inhabitants of the city, or any number thereof are emitted therefrom; excepting that the provisions of this section shall not apply in the packing house district as said district is defined in this code, or to burn, or suffer or permit to be burned, upon the premises owned, occupied or controlled by them, any bone, feathers, offal, flesh, hair or other substance in such a manner as to cause odors or gas therefrom to taint the air and render it unwholesome or injurious to the health, or offensive to the senses, of the inhabitants of the city, or any number thereof.

E. Deposit of Solid Waste. It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and it shall be unlawful for any person in the city to throw, deposit or place at, in, or upon any street or upon any property in the city not belonging to or controlled by the person committing such act any putrescible or nonputrescible solid, semisolid and associated liquid wastes, including garbage, trash, refuse, paper, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, demolition and construction wastes, discarded home and industrial appliances, dewatered, treated or chemically fixed sewage sludge which is not a hazardous waste, special waste, manure, vegetable or animal solid and semisolid wastes, or other discarded solid and semisolid wastes, except that such articles may be placed within the parkway of public streets for collection at such times and in such manner as may be designated by the director of public works. In no event shall any such materials be deposited at any place within the city if the probable result thereof will be to permit the materials involved to become a fire menace or to blow, wash or lodge upon adjacent properties.

F. Hauling of Rubbish. It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and it shall be unlawful for any person to haul any dirt, sand, gravel or similar material upon or along any paved, piled or macadamized street in the city, unless such material is contained in a box or receptacle sufficiently tight to prevent the same from sifting or dropping upon such street. It shall be unlawful to have or transport over the public streets or ways of the city any rubbish, trimmings, wastepaper or debris unless the same shall be enclosed in a covered vehicle or receptacle, or unless the open portion of the conveyance containing the same shall be fully covered by a tarpaulin secured thereto, or by some other covering approved by the chief of police and equally effective in preventing the materials being transported from falling or blowing from the vehicle containing the same.

G. Water Pollution. It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and it shall be unlawful for any person in the city to corrupt, pollute or render unwholesome or impure the water of any drinking fountain, hydrant or place within the city.

H. Smoking in Elevators Prohibited – Signs Posted.

1. It shall be unlawful for any person to light, ignite or otherwise set fire to, or smoke, carry, throw or deposit, any lighted cigar, cigarette or other smoldering or smoke-producing substance within any public or private elevator open to use by the general public.

2. Every person having the authority to manage and control premises wherein elevator service is provided for use by the general public shall post “no smoking” signs in all such elevators. The signs required by this subsection shall be clearly visible and readable and shall cite this subsection H. (Code 1971, § 4112)

It is declared a public nuisance for any person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge or possession of any real property in this city to do any of the following:

A. To maintain any building or structure on the property in such a manner as to constitute a fire hazard or a danger to human life.

B. To maintain or fail to maintain the property so as to allow the overgrowth of vegetation or the accumulation of debris so as to constitute a fire or health hazard, be likely to harbor rats or other vermin, be dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare.

C. To maintain or fail to maintain the property so as to allow 50 percent of the weeds or grasses within the weed or grass growth area on the property to exceed 12 inches in height.

D. To maintain or fail to maintain the property, or any building or structure thereon, in such condition so that it is defective, unsightly or in such condition of deterioration or disrepair that it causes or will cause an ascertainable diminution of the property values of surrounding properties or be otherwise materially detrimental to adjacent and nearby properties and improvements.

E. To abandon or vacate any building or structure and leave it in such a condition that it is accessible to unauthorized persons, including but not limited to juveniles or vagrants.

F. To maintain any building or portion thereof in a manner which constitutes a substandard building pursuant to Section 17920.3 of the California Health and Safety Code.

G. To keep any animal, reptile or insect in such a manner as to pose a threat, disturbance, danger or menace to persons or property of another or in a public right-of-way.

H. To maintain property containing refuse, rubbish, garbage, offal, animal excrement or other waste materials visible from the public right-of-way or adjoining properties which are not kept or disposed of in accordance with regulations of this code or other provisions of law.

I. To cause or permit the accumulation or storage of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative trailers, campers, boats, airplanes or other mobile equipment, or parts thereof, in yard areas or driveways visible from the public right-of-way or any adjoining properties unless such is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer, or a junkyard.

J. To maintain property containing attractive nuisances dangerous to children, including but not limited to:

1. Abandoned or broken equipment or machinery; or

2. Unfenced or otherwise unprotected swimming pools, spas, ponds or excavations; or

3. Refrigerators, iceboxes or deepfreeze lockers having a capacity of one and one-half cubic feet or more which is not being used, without removing the door or such portion of the latch or locking mechanism as will prevent the latching or locking of the door; or

4. Uncapped or otherwise dangerous wells.

K. To maintain premises containing packing boxes, lumber, junk, trash or other materials and debris stored in yards and/or other areas visible from public streets or adjoining properties.

L. To maintain any building in violation of any specific requirement or prohibition applicable to such building pursuant to Section 12.155.010 et seq. (Code 1971, § 4113)

This article is not the exclusive definition or designation of what constitutes a nuisance within the city. It shall supplement and be in addition to other regulatory codes, statutes, and ordinances heretofore and hereafter enacted by the city, state, or any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction. (Code 1971, § 4114)

Every person who maintains or commits a nuisance other than that made unlawful by this code, or who willfully omits to perform any legal duty relating to the removal of a nuisance, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Code 1971, § 4121)