14.94.040 NUISANCE ABATEMENT: Nuisances Specified

1. Nuisances Affecting Public Health: No person shall cause or permit a nuisance affecting public health on property owned or controlled by the person. The following are nuisances affecting public health and may be abated, as provided in this chapter: a. Private open vaults or privies constructed and maintained within the County, except those temporarily constructed and maintained in connection with construction projects in accordance with health department regulations, and removed no later than seven (7) days after the completion of the construction project. b. Accumulations of debris, rubbish and other refuse which are not removed within a reasonable time and which affect the health of the County. c. Stagnant water that affords a breeding place for mosquitoes and other insect pests. d. Pollution of a body of water, well, spring, stream or drainage ditch by sewage, industrial wastes, or other substances placed in or near the water in a manner which will cause harmful material to pollute the water. e. Decayed or unwholesome food offered for human consumption. f. Premises that are in such a state or condition as to cause an offensive odor or that are in an unsanitary condition. g. Drainage of liquid wastes from private premises. h. Cesspools or septic tanks that are in an unsanitary or unsafe condition or that cause an offensive odor. i. The deposition of an animal carcass, or part thereof, or any excrement or sewage, industrial waste or any putrid, nauseous, decaying, deleterious, offensive, or dangerous substance in a stream, well, spring, brook, ditch, pond, river or other inland waters within the County, or the placing of such substances in such position that high water or natural seepage will carry the same into such waters. j. Unregistered wheeled vehicles being used for storage purposes. 2. Nuisances Affecting Public Safety: No person shall create a public safety hazard by: a. Maintaining or leaving, in a place accessible to children, a container with a compartment of more than one and one-half (11/2) cubic feet capacity and a door or lid that locks or fastens automatically when closed and which cannot be easily opened from the inside. b. Being the owner of or otherwise having possession of property on which there is a well, cistern, cesspool, excavation or other holes of a depth of four feet (4) or more and a top width of six inches (6) or more and failing to cover or fence it with a suitable protective construction. c. Maintaining any building, structure or premises which is unfit for human habitation, or which is an unreasonable hazard to the health of people residing in the vicinity thereof, or which presents an unreasonable fire hazard to the vicinity where it is located. d. Maintaining any building, structure or premises in an abandoned, partially destroyed or unreasonable state of partial construction. An "unreasonable state of partial construction" is defined as any unfinished, abandoned or damaged building or structure where the appearance or other conditions cause visual blight, are offensive to the senses, create a harborage for rodents or pests, or detrimentally affect property in the vicinity. e. Maintaining any building, structure or premises having dry rot, warping, termite infestation, decay, excessive cracking or peeling as to render the building or structure unsightly or in a state of disrepair. 3. Noxious Weeds: a. No owners or persons in charge of real property shall allow noxious weeds on their property. Any owner or lessee of property who fails to take timely and reasonable action to control the spread of noxious weeds on that property after receiving written notification to do so from the Sanpete County Board of County Commissioners, or their designee, or the County Weed Control Board, shall be deemed to have committed a public nuisance. b. The term “noxious weed,” as used in this subsection, is any plant the Sanpete County Board of County Commissioners determines to be especially injurious to public health, crops, livestock, land, or other property. c. The Sanpete County Board of County Commissioners has appointed a County Weed Control Board according to the guidelines spelled out in the Utah Noxious Weeds Act, Section 105. d. The County Weed Control Board is responsible, under the general direction of the Sanpete County Board of County Commissioners, for the formulation and implementation of a countywide coordinated noxious weed control program designed to prevent and control noxious weeds within the County. e. The County Weed Control Board before May 1 of each year shall post a general notice of the noxious weeds within the county in at least three public places within the county and publish the same notice on: i. at least three (3) occasions in a newspaper or other publication of general circulation within the county; and ii. as required in Section §45-1-101 of Utah State Code (as amended). f. The County Weed Control Board shall follow the guidelines set out in the Utah Noxious Weed Act in regards to public notices, abatement, and general weed control. 4. Scattering Rubbish: a. No person shall deposit, on public or private property, rubbish, trash, debris, grass clippings, tree limbs or refuse, or any substance which would mar the appearance, create a stench or fire hazard, detract from the cleanliness or safety of the property, or would be likely to injure a person, animal or vehicle traveling on a public way. 5. Trees and Vegetation: a. No owner or person in charge of property shall allow a dead or decaying tree to stand if it is a hazard to the public or to persons or property on or near the property. b. No owner or person in charge of property shall allow any fence, structure or vegetation to create a hazard for motorists. 6. Junk: a. No person shall keep junk outdoors on a road, lot or premises, or in a building, which is not wholly or entirely enclosed, except for doors used for ingress and egress. b. The term "junk," as used in this subsection, includes all inoperative or unregistered motor and recreational vehicles, inoperative trailers, motor vehicle parts, wrecked, dismantled or abandoned automobiles and vehicles, machinery, machinery parts, appliances or appliance parts, iron or other metal, glass, paper, lumber, green waste or other waste or discarded material. c. This subsection does not apply to junk kept in a licensed junkyard, recycling center or automobile wrecking yard. d. A person may only store up to a total of four (4) unregistered motor vehicles or trailers before it is considered junk under this subsection. e. Old farm equipment may be exempt if a reasonable person would consider the equipment repairable, historical, or decorative. The Sanpete County Board of County Commissioners shall make the final determination. 7. Green Waste: a. No person shall store green waste for more than one-hundred-eighty (180) days out of the year on their property unless they are in an agriculture, commercial or industrial zone. Not permitted in any residential subdivisions. b. The term “green waste”, as used in this subsection, includes yard clippings, tree limbs, leaves, garden refuse, kitchen waste, and other compostable waste.