HomeMy WebLinkAbout3113ORDINANCE NO ..3 3
AN ORDINANCE of the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington relating to the
maintenance, trimming, removal or destruction
of vegetation and weeds on private property
and adjoining planting strips and alleys as
the same constitutes a fire, health or safety
hazard; providing civil penalties, and
abatement; amending K.C.C. by the addition of
a new chapter 8.07.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT, WASHINGTON DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. There shall be a new chapter added to the
Kent City Code, Title 8, which shall read as follows:
CHAPTER 8.07
WEEDS AND VEGETATION
8.07.010. Short Title and Purpose.
A. This ordinance shall be known and may be cited as
the "Weeds and Vegetation Ordinance" of the City of Kent. The
general purpose of the ordinance is to exercise the City's police
power for the benefit of the public health, safety and welfare; to
provide enforcement mechanisms and the abatement and collection of
abatement expenses by the City, and to these ends the ordinance
shall be liberally construed.
B. This ordinance shall be enforced for the benefit of
the health, safety and welfare of the general public, not for the
benefit of any particular person or class of persons.
C. It is the intent of this ordinance to place the
obligation of complying with its requirements upon the owner or
occupier of the land and buildings within the scope of this
ordinance. No provision or term used in this ordinance is intended
to impose any duty upon the City or any of its officers, officials
and employees which would subject them to damages in a civil
action.
8.07.020. Definitions.
Definitions used in this ordinance shall have the
following meanings, unless an additional meaning clearly appears
from the context.
A. "Alley" means a public way, paved or unpaved, which
is intended to provide or which provides a roadway for vehicular
and pedestrian access to abutting properties and is generally
located to the rear or side of those properties, but not including
such a public way in its natural and undeveloped state which cannot
be used by vehicles.
B. "Director" means the Director of Public Works or his
or her designee or any designated alternate who is empowered by
ordinance or by the Mayor to enforce this chapter including
assigned code enforcement officials.
C. "Fire Hazard" means vegetation which is dry and
combustible, including but not limited to weeds, grass or
clippings, dead bushes or trees or their parts, and other
combustible vegetative materials.
D. "Health Hazard" means vegetation or refuse providing
a harborage for rats or other rodents (excluding chipmunks and
squirrels), rodent runs and habitats; vegetation which is poisonous
or noxious, including but not limited to poison ivy, poison oak,
poison hemlock, poison sumac and nightshade; vegetation which
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creates a danger of contamination or disease; and vegetation which
is infested with caterpillars or other horticultural pests.
E. "Occupant" means any person occupying or having
possession of property or any portion thereof.
F. "Owner" means any person who, alone or with others,
has title or interest in property with or without accompanying
actual possession thereof, and including any person who as agent,
or as executor, administrator, trustee or guardian of an estate,
has charge, care or control of any property.
G. "Person" means any individual, partnership,
corporation, trust, unincorporated or incorporated association,
marital community, joint venture, governmental entity, or other
entity or group of persons however organized.
H. "Planting strip" means that part of a street right-
of-way between the abutting property line and the curb or traveled
portion of the street, exclusive of any sidewalk.
I. "Property" means a specific parcel or parcels,
platted or unplatted, of land or real estate.
J. "Public right of way" means any alley, street,
planting strip and public way, including sidewalks, utilized for
and related to pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
K. "Safety Hazard" means vegetation which creates a
defective condition on any street, sidewalk, or alley as set forth
in Kent City Code 6.04.100(3) and (4) or vegetation which overhangs
the street, sidewalk, or alley in such a way as to impede the free
and full use of the street, sidewalk, or alley, and vegetation'
which obstructs the vision of drivers such that traffic regulation',
signs or the view of oncoming traffic is obstructed at a distanced
of fifteen feet or closer from the edge of the pavement or curb,
and vegetation which creates injury to or the opportunity or risk
for injury to passersby or the general public.
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L. "Sidewalk" means that property between the curb
lines or the lateral lines of a street and the adjacent property,
set aside and intended for the use of pedestrians.
M. "Street" means a public right of way, used for
public travel.
N. "Vegetation" means trees, shrubs, grass, weeds,
bushes, vines, and other plant materials, including but not limited
to clippings, fallen leaves, fruit or branches.
8.07.030. Nuisances Designated.
The following conditions are hereby declared nuisances
within the City of Kent:
A. Vegetation constituting a fire hazard;
B. Vegetation constituting a health hazard;
C. Vegetation constituting a safety hazard.
8.07.040. Exemptions.
The following are exempt from the application of this
chapter:
A. Official city street trees as set forth in Kent City
Code Chapter 6.10.
B. Wetlands, critical areas and natural resource lands
designated or to be designated for protection under the Kent City
Code pursuant to the Growth Management Act, Chapter 36.70A of the
Revised Code of Washington.
8.07.050. Duties of Owners and Occupants.
A. Subject to subsection (C) below, it is the duty of
the owner of property and of any occupant of the property wherein
or whereon any nuisance exists to abate the nuisance by destroying,
removing or trimming vegetation, and removing or destroying any
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health, safety or fire hazard and to remove all shrubs, bushes,
trees or vegetation growing or which has grown and died which is a
fire hazard or is infested with caterpillars or other horticultural
pests, or which otherwise constitute a menace to the public health,
safety or welfare.
B. In addition to the duties the owner or occupant may
have to abate nuisances, subject to subsection (C) below, the owner
or occupant of property shall:
1. Remove vegetation in or on an abutting
sidewalk;
2. Destroy, remove or trim vegetation or parts
thereof on the property, and which are also overhanging any public
place at a distance of less than eight feet (81) measured
vertically from any point on the sidewalk.
3. Destroy, remove or trim vegetation or any parts
thereof on the property or on adjacent planting strips, which
encroaches on or overhangs the traveled portion of the street or
alley within sixteen and one-half feet (16.51) measured vertically
from any point on the street or alley.
4. Remove all grass and weeds attaining a height
of six (6) inches, except on property zoned agricultural, and ally
shrubs, bushes, trees or vegetation growing or which has grown and',
died which is a fire hazard or is infested with caterpillars or
other horticultural pests, or which otherwise constitute a menace
to the public health, safety or welfare.
5. Remove vegetation found on adjacent planting
strips constituting a public nuisance as defined in Section
8.07.030.
C. Tree Removal. No person shall remove any trees
situated upon a public right of way pursuant to this section,
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8.07.050, without first obtaining a permit in accordance with
Section 8.07.090.
8.07.060. Enforcement.
It shall be the duty of the director to enforce this
ordinance. The director may call upon the police, fire, health or
other appropriate City departments to assist in enforcement. The
director shall adopt such rules as are necessary for the
administration of this ordinance.
8.07.070. Right of Entry.
Upon presentation of the proper credentials, the director
or duly authorized representative may, with the consent of the
owner or occupier of a building or the premises, or pursuant to a
lawfully issued warrant, enter at reasonable times any property
subject to the consent or warrant to perform the duties imposed by
this chapter.
8.07.080. Violation - Penalty.
A. Any violation of any provision of this chapter
constitutes a civil violation under Kent City Code Chapter 1.04 for
which a monetary penalty may be assessed and abatement may be
required as provided therein.
B. In addition to or as an alternative to any other
penalty provided in this chapter or by law, any person who violates
any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
pursuant to Section 1.01.140 of the Kent City Code.
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8.07.090. Permit Required - Tree Removal.
A. Any person desiring to remove any tree on a public
right of way, including undeveloped and/or unopened public rights
of way not currently used for pedestrian or vehicular traffic,
shall make application in writing to the director for a permit to
do so. A permit may be issued only when:
1. The tree constitutes a fire, safety and/or
health hazard as defined in this chapter; and
2. The applicant has executed a hold harmless
agreement in a form satisfactory to the director, indemnifying the
City from claims as a result of applicant's removal of said tree.
B. The provisions of this chapter do not preclude the
City from removing or maintaining any vegetation, including trees,
in public rights of way if it deems it appropriate to do so and no
such action will create an obligation on the City to maintain such
vegetation.
Section 2. Severability. The provisions of this
ordinance are declared to be separate and severable. The
invalidity of any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
or portion of this ordinance, or the invalidity of the application
thereof to any person or circumstance shall not affect the validity
of the remainder of the ordinance, or the validity of its
application to other persons or circumstances.
Section 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take
effect and be in force thirty (30 days from the time of its final
approval and passage as provided b la
DA4 KELLEHER, MAYOR
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ATTEST:
BRENDA 3ACOBER
(,7 CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
A. IUBOVICI�, C-ITY ATTO
PASSED day of , 1993.
APPROVED day of , 1993.
PUBLISHED day of , 1993.
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct
copy of Ordinance No. 0112 , passed by the City Council of
the City of Kent, Washington, and approved by the Mayor of the City
of Kent as hereon indicated.
weeds.ord
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BRENDA JACO R, CITY CLERK