HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1837 - Code Enforcement on Nuisances
Cover page to Ordinance 1837
The full text of the ordinance follows this cover page.
Ordinance 1837 was amended or repealed by the
following ordinances.
AMENDED REPEALED
Section(s) Amended Amended by Ord # Section(s) Repealed Repealed by Ord #
(part) 2057
2144
2 (part)
2372
2 (part)
2549
Washington
Ordinance No. 1837
Repealed by 2057 (part)
Amended by 2144
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, REPEALING ORDINANCE
1363, AS CODIFIED AT TMC 8.28, AND ORDINANCE
1671 SS3; AMENDING TMC 8.28, NUISANCES, TO
REFLECT CODE REVISIONS RELATING TO CODE
ENFORCEMENT; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND
ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City desires to update and clarify TMC Chapter 8.28, Nuisances;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, DO
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Repealer. Ordinance No. 1363, as codified at TMC 8.28, and Ordinance No. 1671, Section
3, are hereby repealed.
Section 2. Amending Tukwila Municipal Code Chapter 8.28, Nuisances. Tukwila Municipal Code
Chapter 8.28, Nuisances, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Chapter 8.28
NUISANCES
Sections:
8.28.010 Declaration of Nuisance.
8.28.020 Definition.
8.28.030 Places not protected from flies or rats Foul or malodorous places.
8.28.040 Trash covered premises.
8.28.050 Animal manure.
8.28.060 Certain growth.
8.28.070 Uncovered trash or abandoned material.
8.28.080 Potential pest harborage or fire danger.
8.28.090 Dangerous, abandoned buildings or structures.
8.28.100 Dumping areas.
8.28.110 Waste vegetable or animal matter.
8.28.120 Place which occasions annoyances.
8.28.150 Burning or disposing material in an annoying manner.
8.28.160 Disorderly houses.
8.28.170 Places where disturbance of the peace occurs.
8.28.180 Place where liquor used illegally.
8.28.190 Unguarded hole dangerous to life.
8.28.205 Landscape maintenance.
8.28.250 Buildings to be secured.
8.28.260 Growth or debris which obstruct public way.
8.28.270 Violation Penalty.
8.28.280 Failure to comply with Section 8.28.270.
8.28.290 Enforcement of Section 8.28.270 through 8.28.310.
8.28.300 Notice.
8.28.310 Nuisance abatement cost for Section 8.28.270.
8.28.320 Abandoning or discarding refrigeration equipment.
8.28.330 Permitting unused equipment to remain on premises.
8.28.340 Keeping or storing equipment for sale.
NUISANCE.DOC 4/2/98 1
8.28.010 Declaration of nuisance.
All violations of development, land use, licensing and public health ordinances are found and declared to be
nuisances.
8.28.020 Definition.
A. "Nuisance" means:
1. A violation of any City development ordinance, zoning or other land use ordinance, licensing
ordinance, or public health ordinance; or
2. Doing an unlawful act, or omitting to perform a duty, or suffering or permitting any condition or
thing to be or exist, which act, omission, condition or thing either:
a. Annoys, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health or safety of others;
b. Offends decency;
c. Is offensive to the senses;
d. Unlawfully interferes with, obstructs or tends to obstruct or renders dangerous for passage any
stream, public park, parkway, square, sidewalk, street or highway in the City;
e. In any way renders other persons insecure in life or the use of property; or
f. Obstructs the free use of property so as to essentially interfere with the comfortable enjoyment
of life and property; or
3. As specified in Sections 8.28.030 through 8.28.205 of this chapter.
8.28.030 Places not protected from flies or rats Foul or malodorous places.
Privies, vaults, cesspools, sumps, pits or like places which are not securely protected from flies or rats, or
which are foul or malodorous, are declared to be nuisances.
8.28.040 Trash covered premises.
Filthy, littered or trash- covered premises, including all buildings and structures thereon and areas adjacent
thereto, are declared to be nuisances.
8.28.050 Animal manure.
Animal manure in any quantity which is not securely protected from flies and the elements, or which is
kept or handled in violation of any ordinance of the City, is declared to be a nuisance.
8.28.060 Certain growth.
Poison oak, poison ivy, deadly nightshade, or any noxious or toxic weed or uncultivated plant (whether
growing or otherwise), weeds, tall grass, uncultivated shrubs or growth higher than two feet, or grass clippings,
cut brush or cut weeds are declared to be nuisances.
8.28.070 Uncovered trash or abandoned material.
Tin cans, bottles, glass, cans, ashes, small pieces of scrap iron, wire, metal articles, bric -a -brac, broken stone
or all other trash or abandoned material, unless the same are kept in covered bins or metal receptacles approved
by the health officer, are declared to be nuisances.
8.28.080 Potential pest harborage or fire danger.
Trash, litter, rags, accumulations of empty barrels, boxes, crates, packing cases, mattresses, bedding,
excelsior, packing hay, straw, or other packing material, lumber not neatly piled, scrap iron, tin, and other metal
not neatly piled, or any thing whatsoever in which flies may breed or multiply or which proves harborage for rats
or which may be a fire danger is declared to be a nuisance.
NUISANCE. DOC 412198 2
8.28.090 Dangerous, abandoned buildings or structures.
Any unsightly and dangerous building, billboard or other structure, or any old, abandoned or partially
destroyed building or structure, or any building or structure commenced and left unfinished is declared to be a
nuisance.
8.28.100 Dumping areas.
All places used or maintained as junk yards or dumping grounds, or for the wrecking, dissembling, repair or
rebuilding of automobiles, trucks, tractors or machinery of any kind, or for the storing or leaving of worn out,
wrecked or abandoned automobiles, trucks, tractors or machinery of any kind or of any of the parts thereof, or for
the storing or leaving of any machinery or equipment used by contractors or builders or by other persons, which
said places are kept or maintained so as to essentially interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property
by others, are declared to be nuisances.
8.28.110 Waste vegetable or animal matter.
Any putrid, unsound or unwholesome bones, meat, hides, skins, or the whole or any part of any dead
animal, fish or fowl, butcher's trimmings and offal, or any waste vegetable or animal matter in any quantity,
garbage, human excreta or other offensive substance are declared to be nuisances; provided, nothing herein
contained shall prevent the temporary retention of waste in receptacles in the manner approved by the health
officer of the City.
8.28.120 Place which occasions annoyances.
The erection, continuance or use of any building, room or other place in the City for the exercise of any
trade, employment or manufacture which, by occasioning noxious exhalations, offensive odors or other
annoyances, is discomforting or offensive or detrimental to the health of individuals or of the public is declared to
be a nuisance.
8.28.150 Burning or disposing material in an annoying manner.
Burning or disposal of refuse, sawdust or other material in such a manner to cause or permit ashes, sawdust,
soot or cinders to be cast upon the streets or alleys of the city, or to cause or permit the smoke, ashes, soot or
gases arising from such burning to become annoying to any considerable number of persons or to injure or
endanger the health, comfort or repose of said persons is declared to be a nuisance.
8.28.160 Disorderly houses.
All disorderly houses, houses of prostitution or houses or premises kept or resorted to for the purposes of
prostitution or lewdness, and all houses, premises, root's, booths, or other structures used as places where people
are employed for the purpose of prostitution, or in which people solicit, practice or carry on the business of
prostitution, or in which the solicitation of drinks of intoxicating liquors or reputed intoxicants by patrons or
employees for their own consumption is regularly and customarily permitted, or in which any drugs are being
illegally kept, illegally sold, or illegally consumed are declared to be nuisances.
8.28.170 Places where disturbance of the peace occurs.
Any premises, place or business establishment where drunkenness, fighting or breaches of the peace are
carried on or permitted or tolerated, or where loud noises are carried on or permitted in such a way as to disturb
the peace and tranquility of the neighborhood is declared to be a nuisance.
8.28.180 Place where liquor used illegally.
Any building, room or rooms, place or places in the City kept or maintained in which intoxicating liquors
are sold or given away contrary to law, or in which such liquors are kept or harbored for the evident purpose of
selling or giving away the same contrary to law, or where persons are permitted to resort for the purpose of
drinking intoxicating liquors, or where intoxicating liquors are kept for the purpose of inducing people to resort to
buy or receive intoxicating liquors in violation of law is declared to be a nuisance.
8.28.190 Unguarded hole dangerous to life.
Any unguarded or abandoned excavation, pit, well or hole dangerous to life is declared to be a nuisance.
NUISANCE.DOC 4/2/98 3
8.28.205 Landscape maintenance.
In addition to the foregoing, it constitutes a nuisance for anyone to fail to maintain landscaping, including
but not limited to lawns, shrubs, trees and other plantings, whether of native growth or domestic vegetation in
commercial, manufacturing or industrial, or multiple dwelling residential areas of the City; and it is a nuisance to
fail to maintain landscaping as designated in the landscaping and maintenance plan required before occupancy
areas of the City zoned C -M.
8.28.250 Buildings to be secured.
Every agent or owner of any unoccupied building in the City shall keep the same securely closed at all times
against persons who may enter and commit a nuisance therein.
8.28.260 Growth or debris which obstruct public way.
Trees, plants, shrubs or vegetation or parts thereof which so overhang any sidewalk or street or which are
growing thereon in such manner as to obstruct or impair the free and full use of the sidewalk or street by the
public are public nuisances. Grass, weeds, bushes, trees, or vegetation growing or which have grown and died, or
any debris upon any property, and which are a fire hazard or a menace to public health, safety or welfare are
likewise public nuisances. It is the duty of the owner of the property wherein or whereon any such nuisances
exist to abate the nuisance by destroying, removing or trimming the growth or debris.
8.28.270 Violation Penalty.
Any violation of any provision, or failure to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter, shall be
subject to the terms and conditions of Chapter 8.45.
8.28.280 Failure to comply with Section 8.28.270.
The failure or refusal to comply with any of the provisions of TMC 8.28.270 shall subject the offender to a
fine not exceeding $500.00 or imprisonment in jail for a period not exceeding 90 days, or both such fine and
imprisonment.
8.28.290 Enforcement of Section 8.28.27 through 8.28.310.
The Mayor or his designee shall enforce TMC 8.28.270 through 8.28.310, and if any property owner fails
or refuses to abate any such nuisance as contemplated by TMC 8.28.270, the City Council may, after report filed
by the Mayor or his designee, by resolution require such property owner, in addition to other penalties prescribed
by this chapter, to abate the nuisance by removal or destruction, at his cost and expense within a time specified in
the resolution; and, if the removal or destruction is not made by such owner within the time specified, the Mayor
or designee may abate the same as provided in this chapter.
8.28.300 Notice.
The resolution mentioned in TMC 8.28.290 hereof shall not be passed until the property owner is given at
least five days' notice of the pendency of the resolution; such notice shall be given by the Mayor or his designee
by mailing a copy of the notice to the owner as shown upon the records of the County treasurer and at the
address shown thereon; and, if no owner and address is shown on such records, a copy of the notice shall be
posted upon the property, and shall also be published in one issue of the official newspaper. The mailing, posting
and publication shall be made at least five days before the resolution is adopted and proof shall be made by
affidavit of the Mayor or his, designee filed with the City Clerk. The notice shall include the resolution number
and both shall describe the property involved and the nature of the hazardous condition constituting the nuisance.
8.28.310 Nuisance abatement cost for Section 8.28.270.
If the nuisance described in TMC 8.28.270 is not abated by removal or destruction by the property owner
within the time fixed in the resolution, the Mayor or his designee may abate the same and he shall render a bill
covering the cost to the City of such abatement including the Mayor's or his designee's expense, and mail the bill
to the property owner. If the property owner fails or refuses to pay the bill immediately, or if no bill is rendered
because he cannot be found, the Mayor in the name of the City may file a lien therefor against said property
which lien shall be in the same form, filed with the same officer and within the same time and manner and
enforced and foreclosed as is provided by laws for liens for labor and material.
8.28.320 Abandoning or discarding refrigeration equipment.
Any person who discards or abandons or leaves in any place accessible to children any refrigerator, icebox,
or deep -freeze locker having a capacity of 1-1/2 cubic feet or more, which is no longer in use, and which has not
NUISANCE.DOC 4/2/98 4
had the door removed or a portion of the latch mechanism removed to prevent latching or locking of the door, is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
8.28.330 Permitting unused equipment to remain on premises.
Any owner, lessee or manager who knowingly permits such an unused refrigerator, icebox or deep -freeze
locker to remain on the premises under his control without having the door removed or a portion of the latch
mechanism removed to prevent latching or locking of the door is guilty of a misdemeanor.
8.28.340 Keeping or storing equipment for sale.
Any person who keeps or stores refrigerators, iceboxes or deep -freeze lockers for the purpose of selling or
offering them for sale shall not be guilty of a violation of TMC 8.28.320 through 8.28.340 if he takes reasonable
precautions to effectively secure the door of any refrigerator, icebox or deep -freeze locker held for purpose of sale
so as to prevent entrance of children small enough to fit into such articles.
Section 3. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this
ordinance or its application to any person or situation should be held to be invalid or unconstitutional for any
reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or
constitutionality of the remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to any other person or situation.
Section 4. Effective Date. This ordinance or a summary thereof shall be published in the official
newspaper of the City, and shall take effect and be in full force and effect five (5) days after passage and
publication as provided by law.
PASSED BY VE CITY COUNCJ OF .T CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, at a Regular Meeting
thereof this 7r day of S D Ks l 1998.
ATTEST /AUTHENTICATED:
(1e E. Cantu, City Clerk
APPRO
BIT S..
Office of the
AS TO FORM
City Attorney
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: 'x`/.8/
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: N //,9f
PUBLISHED: d/ 7
EFFECTIVE DATE: 4// /,`hy
ORDINANCE NO.: t 3 7
JohyW. Rants, Mayor
NUISANCE.DOC 4/2/98 5
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, REPEALING
ORDINANCE 1363, AS CODIFIED AT TMC 8.28,
AND ORDINANCE 1671 SS3; AMENDING TMC 8.28,
NUISANCES, TO REFLECT CODE REVISIONS
RELATING TO CODE ENFORCEMENT; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY; AND ESTABLISHING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
On 4 Ao 9 the City Council of the City of Tukwila passed Ordinance
No. amending TMC 8.28, Nuisances, to reflect code revisions relating to code
enforcement; repealing Ordinance 1363, as codified at TMC 8.28, and Ordinance 1671 SS3;
providing for severability and establishing an effective date.
The full text of this ordinance will be mailed without charge to anyone who submits a
written request to the City Clerk of the City of Tukwila for a copy of the text.
APPROVED by the City Council at its meeting of (t
Published Seattle Times: -it o /y'
SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE NO. /y,_.5
CITY OF TUKWILA
Jne Cantu, City Clerk