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t <br />Bob Noble <br />Bob Helling <br />Bob Emmons <br />Jeff Hale <br />November 27, 1984 <br />Page Two <br />Nuisance Procedures Ordinance <br />In section 6.005 we have expanded the definition of "person <br />responsible" to include the owners or persons in charge of <br />property abutting the public way where nuisances exist. This <br />establishes the party that is to abate the nuisance and <br />identifies that property abutting the public way where a <br />nuisance exist may be charged with the cost of abating the <br />nuisance. The addition of a definition for "rodent proof" <br />and "vegetation" are merely for ease in drafting the balance <br />of the ordinance. <br />The revisions to subsections 6.010(1) are substantial. <br />Bob Noble was particularly concerned about vegetation outside <br />the vision obstruction zone which needed to be abated because <br />of a hazard. Subpart 6.010(i) l(b) allows the City to abate <br />a hazard to a vehicle's use of the street when it obstructs <br />vision. Subpart (b) specifically identifies vegetation which <br />obstructs a motorist's view of traffic. This language will <br />allow the City to go beyond the vision clearance zone when <br />a hazard exists. After the proposed ordinance is in effect <br />you may want to have the traffic engineer look at the problem <br />and discuss it with our office before incurring the costs of <br />abatement. <br />At the request of Public Works Maintenance, subpart 5 <br />of section 6.010(1) was added to take the place of the awkward <br />language in old code section 7.660. Whether the tree is on <br />public or private property does not matter. If its roots have <br />entered a sewer and restrict the flow of the sewage, the roots <br />are a nuisance and may be abated. This would allow the City <br />to give notice to the owner of a tree that the tree must be <br />removed if its roots are clogging a neighbor's house connection <br />to the sewer. We are told old section 7.660 was only used <br />to "persuade" property owners to remove trees that were a <br />nuisance but that the City had never gone so far as to abate <br />such a tree because of the language in the old section. This <br />revision provides a reasonable process to follow if a property <br />owner refuses to remove the offending tree. <br />The revisions to subsection 6.010(j) merely relocate from <br />chapter 7 the language regarding vision obstruction. <br />The revisions to section 6.015 through section 6.080 are <br />editorial. <br />