§ 70-21. Soil on streets, duty of adjacent property owner to remove; abatement by city, costs; penalty.

(a)

Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Owner means any person, or any officer, agent or employee thereof, occupying or having control of real property.

Paved city street means any public street of the city which is paved or covered with asphalt or concrete cement.

Soils means dirt, sand and other similar earth matter, and also means rocks and other solid or semisolid mass material, whether produced by man or nature, but shall not include the matter composing the street surface or appurtenances thereto.

(b)

Soil deposits prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or permit the depositing of soils on paved city streets.

(c)

Duty of adjacent property owner to remove soil. It shall be unlawful for an owner of property adjacent to a paved city street to fail to remove from such street soil which by rain or other occurrence has washed or removed itself from such adjacent property to the adjacent paved city street, provided, however, it shall be a defense to prosecution under this section that such soils were removed and cleared from such paved city street within 24 hours of the occurrence which caused the depositing of soils into the street if such occurrence was by act of God, or within six hours if such occurrence was by act of man.

(d)

Abatement by city. When the existence of a nuisance as described in this section shall come to the knowledge of the city manager, it shall be his duty to cause a written notice thereof to be served on the owner responsible for creating or allowing such nuisance. Such notice shall identify the property, shall set forth the action required to abate the nuisance, and shall provide that if the nuisance is not abated within 72 hours of notice thereof, the city may at once cause such abatement to be done and pay therefor and charge the cost and expense incurred to the owner. If the owner shall fail to pay the city for such costs and expenses within ten days of demand therefor, then the city may perfect a lien upon the property of the owner in the same manner and upon the same cost basis as provided in section 26-127 for nuisance abatement on private property.

(e)

Notice. Notice to the owner under this section may be served in person, by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by attaching such notice to the front door of any building situated upon the property subject to a lien under this section, or, if there is no building, then by attaching such notice upon a placard erected on such property.

(Code 1994, § 66-28; Code 2005, § 70-21; Ord. No. 91-25, §§ 2—6, 9-23-1991)