6/21/2011 - Proposed Ordinance to be adopted by Town Council
ORDINANCE TO AMEND JUNKED, WRECKED, ABANDONED PROPERTY SECTION OF MUNICIPAL CODE
It is hererby ordained that the sections of Chapter 22, Article III, of the Town of Berlin Municipal Code, entitled “Junked, Wrecked, Abandoned Property” is hereby amended to read as follows:
ARTICLE ____ . JUNKED, WRECKED, ABANDONED PROPERTY
A. GENERALLY
Sec. ____. Legislatvie Intent
It is found and declared that junked or abandoned vehicles, junked or abandoned appliances and other unsightly materials upon any property in town:
(a) Are considered a public nuisance and have an adverse effect upon the public landscape and surrounding property values;
(b) Are detrimental to public health, safety and welfare;
(c) Are or may become harborages of rodents and insects; and
(d) Constitute a potential source of contamination to the environment;
The preservation of the public health, safety and welfare, protection of the environment and the maintenance of property values are proper concerns for the town.
Secs. ________. Reserved.
B. VEHICLES AND UNSIGHTELY MATERIALS
Sec. _______. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Inoperable means inherently incapable of performing the function for which designed by virtue of parts missing, essential components broken or severely damaged or incapable of being registered with the state department of motor vehicles.
Junk equipment, machinery or appliances means residentially or commercially used equipment, machinery and appliances that are in an inoperable condition or abandoned. Equipment and machinery includes power equipment such as lawn mowers and construction equipment that is self-propelled, pushed manually or pulled by a motor vehicle or vehicle as defined herein.
Junk vehicle means any motor vehicle or vehicle, or part thereof, which is not currently registered with the department of motor vehicles for lawful operation on the highways of this state or is in an inoperable condition or abandoned.
Motor vehicle means automobiles, cars, trucks, camp trailers, boat trailers, house trailers, mobile homes, motorcycles or any other wheeled vehicle designed or used for highway use and required to be registered by the state department of motor vehicles.
Vehicle means any device suitable for the conveyance of people or property, whether operated on wheels, runners, blades, tracks, a cushion of air or any other means. This includes tractors, bulldozers, asphalt rollers and other construction equipment not designed for highway use and not required to be registered by the state department of motor vehicles.
Unsightly material means junk vehicles or parts thereof, junk equipment, machinery or appliances or parts thereof as well as, but not limited to, unusable unused or discarded furniture unused or discarded building materials, unused fuel or chemical tanks, garbage, debris and refuse as well as any other material which the enforcement official deems to be unsanitary or a nuisance.
(Ord. No. 2-68, § 1, 5-27-1968)
Cross reference—Definitions generally, § 1-2.
Sec. _____. Prohibited acts.
1. No person shall store, park or keep on his own land, or shall permit to remain on his own land or land that is in his custody or under his care, any junk motor vehicle, junk vehicle, or junk equipment, machinery or appliance for a period exceeding twenty (20) days, unless such material is enclosed in an authorized building or container.
2. No person shall store or deposit on his own land, or shall permit to remain on his own land, or land that is in his custody or under his care any unsightly material for a period exceeding twenty (20) days, unless such material is enclosed in an authorized building or container.
(Ord. No. 2-68, § 2, 5-27-1968)
Sec. ______. Notice of violation; Abatement of nuisance by owners.
1. If the provisions of the foregoing sections are violated, the enforcement official shall
serve written notice, either personally or by certified mail, upon the owner and any tenant or occupant or person having custody or charge of any such property where such violation exists, stating the nature of the violation and ordering compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The owner, tenant or occupant, or person in charge of said property shall have fifteen (15) days from being notified of any violations to comply with this chapter.
2. The owners, tenants, lessees and/or occupants of any lot within the corporate limits of
this town upon which such storage is made, and also the owners and/or lessees of such personalty involved in such storage (all of whom are referred to collectively in this section as “owners”), shall jointly and severally abate such nuisance by the prompt removal of such personalty into completely enclosed buildings authorized to be used for storage purposes, if within the corporate limits of the town, or otherwise to remove the nuisance to a location outside the corporate limits not later than fifteen (15) days after notice is given to the owner by the official designated to enforce these sections.
3. The notice of violation shall be substantially in the following form:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
TO: _____________________________________________
(Name and address of all owners, tenants or occupants)
As the owner, tenant, occupant or person in custody of: __(Exact address where violation exits)
in the Town of Berlin you are hereby notified that you are in violation of Chapter 22, Article III of the Town of Berlin Municipal Code which is entitled “Junked, Wrecked, Abandoned Property” and a copy of which is attached hereto. The nature of the violation is as follows:
(List with as much specificity as possible all items of junk or unsightly material)
You are hereby ordered to remove said items within fifteen (15) days from the date of this notice. Failure to comply with this notice within the time stated will subject you to a fine of up to $100.00 per day of noncompliance.
In addition to possible fines, the Town of Berlin may also take action to abate said violation or file a legal action in the Superior Court to obtain injunctive relief or abatement of this violation. The costs and expenses incurred by the town to abate or enjoin this violation shall be chargeable to you and shall constitute a lien against your property, and may be collected in the manner provided by law for the collection of delinquent taxes.
TOWN OF BERLIN Dated:
By: __________________________
(Authorized signature)
(Ord. No. 2-68, § 3, 5-27-1968)
Sec.______. Exceptions.
This ordinance shall apply equally to residential and commercial properties except as follows:
(a) This ordinance shall not apply to farm equipment used by a person, including on a seasonal basis, whose principal occupation is the cultivation, operation, or management of a farm (as defined in Section 1-1q of state statutes) for gain or profit, either as owner or tenant. The term “farm equipment” does not include any type of motor vehicle licensed by the state for travel on the public highways except vehicles bearing farm plates. “Farm equipment” does not include junk vechicles, junk equipment, machines and appliances or unsightly materials as defined herein;
(b) This ordinance shall not apply to licensed junkyards when operated in conformance with all zoning regulations of the Town of Berlin and all applicable state statutes;
(c) This ordinance shall not apply to inoperable or junk vehicles in the possession of a person or business that sells, repairs, reconditions, remodels or transports such vehicles provided such use of the property is in conformance with the Town of Berlin zoning regulations and all applicable state statutes; and
(d) This ordinance shall not apply to construction vehicles, equipment and machinery that are operable and not in a junk condition as defined herein.
(Ord. No. 2-68, § 4, 5-27-1968)
Sec. _______. Penalties for violations.
1. Fifteen (15) days after receiving a notice of violation as contained in section 22-83 any person, corporation or entity that fails to abate or remedy the violation or otherwise conform to the orders of the enforcement official shall be subject to a fine as set forth in the town fee schedule not to exceed $100.00 per day.
2. All fines paid pursuant to this section shall be payable to the treasurer of the town.
3. In addition to said fines, the town may pursue other remedies such as injunctive relief, abatement of the nuisance or other remedies permitted under state and municipal law.
Sec. _______. Administration and enforcement.
The Chief Zoning Official or his designee is charged with the administration and enforcement of this ordinance and may issue such orders, including waiver of requirements to conform in exceptional cases and extensions of time to conform, as he deems necessary and appropriate under the circumstances.
(Ord. No. 2-68, § 6, 5-27-1968)
Sec. _______. Appeals procedure.
Any person, corporation or entity aggrieved by an order or fine of the Chief Zoning Official pursuant to this chapter may appeal such order or fine to the Town Manager or the Town Manager’s designee within fifteen (15) days of issuance of such order of fine. An appeal may be filed in person or in writing within said time period. The Town Manager or his designee shall deliver his decision by hand, or by certified or registered mail to the appellant, which decision may be appealed to the Superior Court within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the Town Manager’s written decision.
Secs. _________. Reserved.
It is the intention of the town council, and it is hereby ordained, that this amended ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Town of Berlin Municipal Code. The sections and the numbers of the index and the text in this ordinance may be reconfigured or renumbered to accomplish this intention. The town clerk with the advice of corporation counsel shall determine the appropriate place and manner of such insertion into the Code.
This amendment shall take effect thirty (30) days after publication.