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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 6.3 Weed&RefuseAbateOrd (2) . :- --. " CITY CLERK File # Db5J~~-~~ . _.._.. AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING: May 6, 1997 Subject: Public Hearing: Weed and Refuse Abatement Ordinance Report Prepared by: Richard C. Ambrose, City Manager Exhibits Attached: 1. Ordinance Adding Chapter 5.68 to the Dublin Municipal Code Providing for the Abatement of Weeds and Refuse in the Jurisdiction of the City of Dublin. Recommendations: 1. av/ i: 4. 5. 6. Open Public Hearing; Receive staff presentation; Receive public testimony; Close Public Hearing; Deliberate; Waive reading and introduce Ordinance. Financial Statement: None Description: Since 1988, the Dougherty Regional Fire Authority (DRF A) has provided fire suppression and prevention services to the City of Dublin. DRFA's fire prevention function has included a successful weed abatement program. Under this program, DRF A has required property owners to abate weeds and refuse, which reduces fire hazards and unsightly debris in the City. On July 1, 1997, DRF A will be dissolved. Beginning on that date, the City of Dublin will provide fire suppression and prevention services to its residents and businesses through a contract with the Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD). Under this contract, ACFD will continue to provide essentially the same weed abatement program as has been provided by DRF A. In order to establish the authority, process and standards for this weed abatement program, it is necessary for the City Council to adopt the proposed Weed and Refuse Abatement Ordinance. Weed and Refuse Abatement Ordinance Under the California Government Code section 39500 et seq., the City of Dublin is authorized to adopt a Weed and Refuse Abatement Ordinance. The proposed ordinance establishes the following process for the abatement of weeds and refuse in the City of Dublin: 1. Whenever weeds or refuse accumulate on private property or on public sidewalks and streets in the City ofDubli~ the City Council may, by resolution, declare a public nuisance. 2. The City Council orders the City Manager or his/her designee to provide a notice stating that unless the weeds and refuse creating the public nuisance are removed and destroyed, the City will abate this nuisance and assess the related expense on the properties from which the weeds and refuse have been removed (weeds and refuse removed from public streets and sidewalks are the responsibility of the adjacent property owner). ------------------------------------------------------------------- COPIES TO: .. Weed Abatement Ordinance Page 2 .,.-: -- 3. The City Council holds a public hearing to consider objections to the proposed removal and destruction of weeds and refuse. 4. The City Council, by resolution, orders the City Manager and his/ her designee to abate the weeds and/or refuse. 5. The City Manager or his/her designee provides notice (of at least ten calendar days) to affected property owners informing them that the City will abate the public nuisance unless the weeds and/or refuse have been removed by the property owner prior to the scheduled date of City abatement. which date shall be included in the notice. 6. If the weeds and refuse are not removed by this specified date. then the City abates them. The City is authorized to enter upon private property for this purpose. 7. The City Manager or his/her designee files a report of the costs and assessment list with the City Clerk. The City Clerk posts this list with a notice of when it will be submitted to the City Council for hearing and confirmation. 8. After holding a public hearing on the costs and assessment list, the City Council may make modifications and confirm the list by resolution. Once confirmed. the cost of abatement constitutes a lien against each respective property until paid. The costs are billed to each affected property owner through the property tax bill. .:': Recommendation The process included in the proposed ordinance mirrors the DRF A weed abatement program. Adoption of the ordinance will provide the authority and standards necessary for ACFD to continue the weed abatement program. It is therefore recommended that the City Council hold the public hearing, waive the reading and introduce the ordinance. .-~. .-jA- . e: .; '" ORDINANCE NO. - 97 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN ADDING CHAPTER 5.68 TO THE DUBLIN MUNIClP AL CODE PROVIDING FOR THE ABATEMENT OF WEEDS AND REFUSE IN THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN The City Council of the City of Dublin does ordain as follows: SECTION 1: Chapter 5.68 is added to the Dublin Municipal Code to read as follows: Section 5.68.010. Definitions. OWNER. "Owner shall mean any person owning property. as shown on the last equalized assessment roll for City taxes or the lessee. tenant or other person having charge or possession of the property. PERSON. "Person" shall mean any individual, partnership. corporation, association or other organization, however formed. PROPERTY. "Property" shall mean all real property. including, but not limited to. front yards. side yards, back yards. driveways. walkways. sidewalks. parkway strips, curbs. the area between the back of the sidewalk and the property line. parking lots. and shall include any building located on such property. REFUSE. "Refuse" as used in this ordinance. means nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes, including, but not limited to, paper. wrappings, cardboard. tin cans. yard clippings. leaves. wood, dry grass, bedding. crockery and similar materials. WEEDS. "Weeds" as used in this ordinance shall have the definition in Government Code ~ 39561.5. as it may be amended. Section 5.68.020. Public Nuisance. No owner having charge or control of any property within the jurisdictional area of the City of Dublin shall permit weeds and/or refuse to remain or accumulate upon said property or upon public sidewalks or streets between said property and the center line of any public street. Every property owner shall destroy or remove such weeds. and remove or cause to be removed such refuse from his/her property and from the abutting half of any street or alley between the lot lines as extended. -1- EXHIBIT 1 Section 5.68.030. Resolution Declaring Nuisance. . Whenever any such weeds are growing upon any property or properties within the jurisdictional area of the City of Dublin or refuse shall accumulate upon said property or upon public sidewalks or streets between said property and the center line of any public street, the City Council may pass a resolution declaring the same to be a public nuisance. and order the City Manager or his/her designee to give notice of the passage of such resolution by posting and publication in the same manner and for the time as set forth in Section 5.68.090 of this ordinance. and stating therein that, unless such nuisance be abated without delay by the destruction or removal of such weeds and refuse. the work of abating such nuisance will be done by the City of Dublin. and the expense thereof assessed upon the lots and lands from which. and/or in the front and rear of which, such weeds and refuse 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 and refuse. Section 5.68.040. Form of Notice. The notice shall be substantially in the following form: "NOTICE TO DESTROY OR REMOVE WEEDS AND REFUSE" NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on pursuant to the provisions of Section 5.68.030 or Chapter 5.68 of the Municipal Code of the City of Dublin, the City....... Council of the City of Dublin passed a resolution declaring that all weeds and/or refuse. as the same are defined in Section 5.68.010 of this ordinance. growing.or accumulating upon any private property or in any public street or alley. constitute or constitutes a public nuisance, and that such nuisance must be abated by the destruction or removal thereof NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that property owners shall. without delay, remove or cause to be removed all such weeds and refuse from their property. and from 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 and removed and such refuse will be removed and such nuisance or nuisances created thereby abated by the City of Dublin. in which case the costs of such destruction and/or removal will be assessed upon the lots and lands from which, or from the front or rear of which such weeds and accumulation of refuse. have been destroyed or removed; and such costs 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 and/or refuse are hereby notified to attend a meeting of the City Council of the City of Dublin to be held at City Hall on , at o'clock p.m.. when and where their objections will be heard and be given due consideration. Dated: This day of ,19_ City Manager City of Dublin .. -2- e, e. .'- .. Section 5.68.050. Hearing. At the time stated in the Notice, the City Council shall hear and consider any and all objections to the proposed destruction or removal of such weeds and/or refuse. and may continue the hearing from time to time. The City Council by motion or resolution shall allow or overrule any and all objections, if any. after which the City Council shall thereupon be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction to proceed and perform the work of destruction or removal of said weeds and refuse. Section 5.68.060. Order to Abate Nuisance. The Council shall by resolution order the City Manager and his/her designee to abate such nuisance. or cause the same to be abated. by having the weeds and/or refuse referred to removed or destroyed by cutting. discing. chemical spraying or any other method as may be determined by the City Council. The City Manager and hislher assistants. employees, contracting agents or other representatives. are hereby expressly authorized to enter upon private property for such purposes. Any property owner shall have the right to destroy or remove such weeds and remove said refuse himselVherself, or have the same destroyed or removed at his/her own expense. provided that such weeds and/or refuse shall have been removed prior to the arrival of the City Manager or his/her authorized representatives to remove them. Section 5.68.070. Notice to Owner Prior to Abatement. Prior to abatement of the nuisance. the City Manager or his/her designee shall give notice to the owner of the property that the nuisance shall be abated by the City unless it is abated by the owner prior to the scheduled date of abatement by the City. The notice shall specify the scheduled date(s) of abatement which shall be at least ten (10) calendar days following the date notice is given. Notice shall be given by at least one of the following methods: (a) Posting on the property. (b) Mailing notice to the owner at the owner's address as shown on the last equalized assessment roll. provided if mailed notice is given five (5) days shall be added to the time specified above for such mailed notice. Any owner shall have the right to abate the nui~ance at his/her own expense prior to the abatement by the City. Section 5.68.080. Account and Report of Cost. The City Manager or hislher designee 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 ofland by description sufficient to identify such lot or parcel, together with the expense proposed to be assessed against each separate lot or parcel ofland. -3- Section 5.69.090. Notice of Report. .'_: The City Clerk shall post copies of such report and assessment on the bulletin boards at the Dublin Civic Center together with a notice of the filing thereof and of the time and place when and where it will be submitted to the City Council for hearing and confirmation. notifying property owners that they may appear at such time and pace and object to any matter contained therein. A like notice shall also be published twice in a newspaper of general circulation in accordance with California Government Code Section 6062a, circulated within the City of Dublin. The posting and first publication of said notice shall be made and completed. at least ten (10) days before the time such report shall have been submitted to the City Council. Such notice. as so posted and published shall be substantially in the following form: NOTICE OF HEARING ON REPORT AND ASSESSl\1ENT FOR WEED AND REFUSE ABATEl\1ENT NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on the City Manager filed with the City Clerk a report and assessment on abatement of weeds and refuse within the City of Dublin, copies of which are posted on the bulletin boards at the Dublin Civic Center. NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that on at the hour of o'clock p.m.. at City Hall. said report and assessment list shall be presented to the City Council of the City of Dublin 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_ Section 5.68.100. Hearing and Confirmation. At the time and place fixed for receiving and considering such report. the City Clerk shall hear the same together with any objections which may be raised by any ofthe property owners liable to be assessed for the work of abating such nuisance, and said City Manager shall attend such meeting with hislher record thereof, and upon such hearing, the Council may make such modifications in the proposed assessment therefore as it may deemed necessary, after which such report and assessment list shall be confirmed by resolution. The amount of the cost of abating such nuisance upon. or in the front or rear of, the various lots or parcels ofland 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 on such property for the amount of such assessment. until paid. Section 5.68.110. Collection. The City Manager or hislher designee shall cause the amount of the assessment to be entered on the applicable City assessment roll opposite the description of the particular property and the amount shall be collected together with all other taxes thereon upon the property. Thereafter. 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 . -4- e" e: e- provided 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. The property owner has the option. if he/she so desires of paying the assessment directly to the Collector's Office before said entry on said assessment roll. Section 5.68.120. Remedy, The remedy provided for in this ordinance to secure the removal and/or destruction of weeds and refuse is hereby declared to be additional or alternative to any other remedy provided by law. SECTION 2. CONSTITUTIONALITY. If any section. subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional. such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this ordinance. The' City Council hereby expressly declares that it would have passed and adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence. clause and phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that anyone or more of said sections. subsections, sentences. clauses of phrases hereof be held unconstitutional. SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days following its adoption. SECTION 4. POSTING The City Clerk of the City of Dublin shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in at least three (3) public places in the City of Dublin in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code of the State of California. PASSED. APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Dublin this . 1997. by the following vote: day of AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk K2IGI5-20- 97 lord-weed. doc -5~