It shall be unlawful for any owner, agent, lessee, tenant, or other person occupying or having charge or control of any premises to permit grass or weeds or other unsightly vegetation not usually cultivated or grown for domestic use or to be marketed or for ornamental purposes or weeds to remain upon said premises or any area between the property lines of said premises and the centerline of any adjacent street or alley, including but not specifically limited to sidewalks, streets, alleys, easements, rights-of-way and all other areas, public or private. All weeds as hereinafter defined are hereby declared a nuisance and are subject to abatement as hereinafter provided.
(Ord. 1807, Sec. 1; Code 1996, 7-401; Ord. 1824; Code 2019; Ord. 2256)
Weeds as used herein, means any of the following:
(a) Brush and woody vines shall be classified as weeds;
(b) Weeds and indigenous grasses which may attain such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property;
(c) Weeds which bear or may bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature.
(d) Weeds which are located in an area which harbors rats, insects, animals, reptiles, or any other creature which either may or does constitute a menace to health, public safety or welfare;
(e) Weeds and indigenous grasses on or about residential property which, because of its height, has a blighting influence on the neighborhood. Any such weeds and indigenous grasses shall be presumed to be blighting if they exceed 8 inches in height.
(Ord. 1807, Sec. 2; Code 1996, 7-402; Ord. 1824; Ord. 1889; Code 2019)
The mayor with the consent of the council shall designate a public officer to be charged with the administration and enforcement of this article. The public officer or an authorized assistant shall notify in writing the owner, occupant or agent in charge of any premises in the city upon which weeds exist in violation of this article, by mail or by personal service, once per calendar year. Such notice shall include the following:
(a) That the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property is in violation of the city weed control law.
(b) That the owner, occupant, or agent in charge of the property is ordered to cut the weeds within 7 days of the receipt of notice.
(c) That the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property may request a hearing before the governing body or its designated representative within five days of the receipt of notice.
(d) That if the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property does not cut the weeds, the city or its authorized agent will cut the weeds and assess the cost of the cutting, including a reasonable administrative fee, against the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property.
(e) That the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property will be given an opportunity to pay the assessment, and, if it is not paid, it will be added to the property tax as a special assessment.
(f) That no further notice shall be given prior to removal of weeds during the current calendar year.
(g) That the public officer should be contacted if there are any questions regarding the order.
If there is a change in the record owner of title to property subsequent to the giving of notice pursuant to this subsection, the city may not recover any costs or levy an assessment for the costs incurred by the cutting or destruction of weeds on such property unless the new record owner of title to such property is provided notice as required by this section.
(Ord. 1807, Sec. 3; Code 1996, 7-403; Ord. 1824; Ord. 1889; Ord. 2150; Code 2019)
(a) Upon the expiration of seven (7) days after receipt of the notice required by Section 8-503, and in the event that any owner, occupant or agent in charge of the premises shall neglect or fail to comply with the requirements of Section 8-501, the public officer or an authorized assistant shall cause to be cut, destroyed and/or removed all such weeds and indigenous grasses and abate the nuisance created thereby at any time during the current calendar year.
(b) The public officer or an authorized assistant shall give notice to the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the premises by certified mail of the costs of abatement of the nuisance. The notice shall state that payment of the costs is due and payable within 30 days following receipt of the notice.
(c) If the costs of removal or abatement remain unpaid after 30 days following receipt of notice, a record of the costs of cutting and destruction and/or removal shall be certified to the city clerk who shall cause such costs to be assessed against the particular lot or piece of land on which such weeds were so removed, and against such lots or pieces of land in front of or abutting on such street or alley on which such weeds were so removed. The city clerk shall certify the assessment to the county clerk at the time other special assessments are certified for spreading on the tax rolls of the county.
(K.S.A. 12-1617f; Ord. 1807, Sec. 4; Code 1996, 7-404; Ord. 1824; Ord. 1889; Ord. 2150; Code 2019)
The public officer, and the public officer’s authorized assistants, employees, contracting agents or other representatives are hereby expressly authorized to enter upon private property at all reasonable hours for the purpose of cutting, destroying and/or removing such weeds in a manner not inconsistent with this article.
(Ord. 1807, Sec. 5; Code 1996, 7-405; Ord. 1824; Code 2019)
It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with or to attempt to prevent the public officer or the public officer’s authorized representative from entering upon any such lot or piece of ground or from proceeding with such cutting and destruction. Such interference shall constitute a code violation.
(Ord. 1807, Sec. 6; Code 1996, 7-406; Ord. 1824; Code 2019)
(a) Nothing in this article shall affect or impair the rights of the city under the provisions of Chapter 2, Article 13 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, relating to the control and eradication of certain noxious weeds.
(b) For the purpose of this section, the term noxious weeds shall mean kudzu (Pueraria lobata), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), Russian knapweed (Centaurea picris), hoary cress (Lepidium draba), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), quackgrass (Agropyron repens), leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), burragweed (Franseria tomentosa and discolor), pignut (Hoffmannseggia densiflora), musk (nodding) thistle (Carduus nutans L.), and Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense).
(K.S.A 2-1314; Ord. 1807, Sec. 7; Code 1996, 7-407; Ord. 1824; Code 2019)
(a) Any person who requests to be excepted from the provisions of this article shall make a written application to the City of Council Grove to be excepted from the application of such ordinance. Such application shall include the following: the name of the owner; the name of the person in possession of the property, if different than the owner; the reason for the requested exception
(b) All grants of exception shall be automatically renewed each year unless a complaint is filed with the governing body. Upon such occurrence, there shall be a hearing conducted by the governing body to determine if the exception should be continued.
(c) Upon receipt of a request to be excepted, the City Administrator and/or the City Inspector shall view the property to make a determination as to the plausibility of such exception. In determining the plausibility, the inspector shall determine how an exception would impact the character of the neighborhood, the neighborhood property values, and any other relevant impact it may have on the City as a whole.
(d) All noxious weeds must be controlled at all times. If noxious weeds are uncontrolled, the exemption granted herein may be withdrawn.
(e) The final decision as to whether or not to grant an exception shall lie with the city council.
(Ord. 1945; Code 2019)
If the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property does not cut the weeds and indigenous grasses, the City or its authorized agent will cut the same and assess the cost of the cutting, including a reasonable administrative fee, against the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property. The rate of such work charged by the City shall be $150.00 per hour, with a one hour minimum charge.
(Ord. 2130; Code 2019)
(a) Purpose. The deposit and accumulation of grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste upon and into the streets of the City of Council Grove have created a public problem by increasing the amount of waste and debris in the streets, making the City less visually attractive, and increasing pollution and runoff into the City's storm sewers;
(b) Unlawful dumping on city streets. It is unlawful for any person as a result of lawn mowing to deposit or cause to be deposited, dump, sort, scatter or leave any dirt, grass, leaves, in any public street, sidewalk, alley, or upon any public property or upon any property of another, without the express permission of the owner or occupant thereof. Grass clippings from lawn mowing or other sources shall not be allowed to blow or accumulate upon any public street in the City where such grass clippings could wash into any storm sewer drainage outlet;
(c) Enforcement. There shall be a presumption that grass clippings, leaves or yard waste immediately adjacent to a property were caused to be placed there by property owner. This is a rebuttable presumption.
(Ord. 2224; Ord. 2257)
Any person, corporation, partnership or association found by the public officer to be in violation of section 8-510 shall be personally served a notice of such violation by the public officer or law enforcement officer and advised of the penalty for failure to comply with section 8-510 within 24 hours of receipt of such notice.
(Ord. 2258)
8-512. Failure to comply; penalty.
Should the person, corporation, partnership or association fail to comply within 24 hours following notice pursuant to section 8-511, the public officer may file a complaint in the municipal court of the city against such person, corporation, partnership or association and upon conviction of any violation of provisions of section 8-101, be fined in an amount not to exceed $100. Each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues after notice has been served shall constitute an additional or separate offense.
(Ord. 2258)
8-513. Fee to be charged by city.
If the owner, occupant, or agent in charge of the property's continued failure to comply necessitates utilization of city resources to remove grass, leaves, or other waste and debris associated with mowing disposed of in violation of section 8-510 an administrative fee of $150.00 will be assessed against the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property.
(Ord. 2258)