§ 54-31. Maximum accumulation of waste.
(a)
Maximum period of accumulation. It shall be unlawful to permit an accumulation of municipal solid waste upon any premises in the city for a period longer than seven days without having arranged for disposal of such accumulation by some person qualified under this chapter to perform such service or by the sanitary municipal solid waste system of the city except under the following circumstances:
(1)
Where severe weather or "acts of God" make it impossible for the municipal solid waste collector normally providing collection services at the premises to perform collection services using normal collection equipment; or
(2)
Official holidays interrupt the normal seven-day collection cycle, in which case collections may be postponed to the next working day of the municipal solid waste collector.
(b)
Authority to inspect premises and remove waste. The fact that any residence or any place of business has water service and a certificate of occupancy shall be prima facie evidence that municipal solid waste is being generated and accumulated on such premises, and the director, solid waste enforcement officer or building official may inspect and supervise such premises and remove or cause the removal therefrom of all municipal solid waste found thereon, or notify the proper persons if such removal is not the responsibility of the city. If the department must remove the waste to protect public health and safety or maintain cleanliness, the amount of solid waste removed and the amount of labor needed to collect such waste shall be quantified and the appropriate fee shall be applied to the property owner's next monthly utility bill according to the fees set by separate resolution. However, temporary residential or commercial vacancy, regardless of duration, shall not authorize a refund or excuse the nonpayment of any solid waste fee. Solid waste fees shall be chargeable on new residential and commercial units immediately following the building department's final inspection thereof, or installation of permanent electric utility service, or whenever the first municipal solid waste is picked up from such unit by the city, whichever shall occur first.
(c)
Overloading containers. Commercial and residential municipal solid waste containers shall not be overloaded and shall be serviced with appropriate frequency to prevent unsightly, unhealthy or objectionable accumulations.
(d)
Accumulations of yard waste, trash or other refuse cleared from vacant property, or of construction and demolition debris, or other such rubble or refuse deposited on either vacant or occupied property, will not be picked up by sanitation services as part of regularly scheduled weekly collection of solid waste, whether or not such refuse accumulations are the result of fire, windstorm, or other forces of nature, or of actions of an owner, tenant, or contractor. If an owner or tenant requests the city to remove and dispose of such refuse accumulation, and the city agrees, such owner or tenant shall pay to the city a fee based upon the total cost of labor, materials, equipment and disposal expense incurred or used therefor.
(e)
In the event that a person's refuse cart, garbage can, dumpster, lawn and leaf bag, or recycling bin/container is full, it shall be the duty of such person to properly contain such other waste generated at residential units, other than bulk and white goods, until the time it can be placed into the receptacle, container, dumpster, lawn and leaf bag, or recycling bin/container without risk of overflow.
(f)
No person shall keep or accumulate, permit to be kept or accumulated, any solid waste in or upon any premises or place in the city owned, leased or rented by such person's possession or control, in such manner that:
(1)
Creates a fire hazard dangerous to persons or property;
(2)
Becomes unreasonably offensive or dangerous to the public peace, health or safety;
(3)
Promotes the propagation, harborage or attraction of rodents, stray animals, flies or other germ carrying insects; or
(4)
Becomes a public or private nuisance.
(g)
Requirement to use plastic bags and containers. Municipal solid waste generated at residential units and merely placed into plastic bags alone shall not be considered contained as required in this article. To be in compliance with this chapter, all municipal solid waste generated at residential units, other than bulky waste and white goods, must be placed into a plastic bag which is then tied and then disposed of in the appropriate container for the applicable collection method. Containerized yard waste shall be placed into a paper lawn and leaf bag, or a reusable container that is no more than 32 gallons in size and not more than 50 total pounds weight with a tight fitting lid and handles.
(h)
Municipal solid waste placed in sunken garbage and trash containers, except those in existence at the time of the adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, will not be collected by the city except upon a finding by the city manager set forth below.
(1)
Those containers in place at the adoption of the article from which this chapter is derived shall have one year to convert to approved residential municipal solid waste containers.
(2)
The city manager may authorize the continued collection of municipal solid waste from sunken garbage and trash containers only upon finding that one of the following conditions is met:
a.
The underground containers are more suitable because of their location on property designated as historic property.
b.
The containers are located at apartment complexes or mobile home parks that were built and designed specifically for the use of underground containers and would constitute a hardship to convert to aboveground receptacles.
(3)
Approval by the city manager to continue use of sunken garbage and trash containers shall be made on a case-by-case basis upon written application of a property owner.
(i)
Obstructing passage of city waste collection vehicles.
(1)
The passage of the city's refuse collection vehicles through the streets and alleys of the city shall not be obstructed in any manner. This prohibits, without limitation, obstructions caused by the placement of parked vehicles, obstructing vegetation, or improperly strung wires or cables.
(2)
No person shall obstruct access to any privately owned or leased, or city-owned, automated collection container, which has been made ready for collection by the city. Should such an obstruction be caused by, but not limited to, the placement of a truck, automobile, trailer, or any other type of vehicle or object, the director may cause the removal of the obstructing vehicle or object from the streets, sidewalks, alleys or public grounds at the owner's expense.
(3)
It shall be the duty of any owner, lessor, tenant, agent, or lessee in charge of the obstructing vehicles, vegetation, wires or cables to remove, cause to be removed, or cause to be set at an appropriate height, such obstruction when the director determines that such removal or height adjustment is reasonable and necessary.
(4)
The city is not responsible for damage caused by refuse collection vehicles to obstructing vegetation, vehicles, or improperly strung wires or cables. No credit or adjustment of charges will be given when these or any other obstructions to collection occur.
(j)
City waste collection on private property.
(1)
General maintenance duty. Where it is necessary for the sanitation division to drive on private roads or driveways to reach designated points of collection on private property, it shall be the duty of any person, developer, architect, or agent in charge of the construction or maintenance of said private roads which are new or existing that are dead-end, continuous, or driveways to ensure that the same are constructed and maintained so as to accommodate fully loaded waste collection vehicles.
(2)
Duty for new construction turning area. It shall be the duty of any person, developer, architect, or agent in charge of the construction or maintenance of new private roads which are dead-end, continuous, or driveways upon which waste collection vehicles must travel to reach designated points of collection, to ensure that a turning area with a radius of not less than 30 feet is provided such that waste collection vehicles can drive through the property without backing.
(k)
Reports of missed collection service must be reported by 10:00 a.m. on the same day the service was scheduled to be performed. If it is verified by the department that the service was performed as scheduled, or that the container was uncollectable due to obstruction or overloading and the container user requests collection service to empty the container before the next scheduled collection day, the customer shall be charged a rerouting or extra dumping fee at the rate established by separate resolution.
(Ord. No. 5084, § 1, 10-10-02; Ord. No. 5192, § 4, 8-5-03; Ord. No. 5564, § 4, 9-19-06)