City of Troy, Kansas                                  Created Jan 14, 2011

AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE CUTTING OF WEEDS AND VEGETATION, PROVIDING OFR NOTICE AND PROVIDING FOR CUTTING BY THE CITY OF TROY, KANSAS, AND PROVIDING FOR CHARGES THEREFORE.

                BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF TROY, KANSAS:

SECTION 1.   WEEDS TO BE REMOVED.  It shall be unlawful for any owner, agent, lessee, tenant, or other person occupying or having charge or control of any premises situate within the corporate city limits of the City of Troy, Kansas (herein City) to permit weeds to remain upon 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.

SECTION 2.         DEFINITIONS.

1. Calendar Year as used herein, means that period of time beginning January 2 and ending December 31 of the same year.
2. Weeds and indigenous grasses which may attain such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property.

             (1)              Brush or woody vines shall be classified as weeds.

              (2)           Weeds and indigenous grasses which may attain such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property.

                                (3)           Weeds which bear or may bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature;

                                (4)           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;

                                (5)           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 12 inches in height.

SECTION 3.         PUBLIC OFFICER; NOTICE TO REMOVE.  The Governing Body of the City (herein Governing Body) shall designate the Chief of Police of the City of Troy and such other public officers as it deems necessary to be charged with the administration and enforcement of this ordinance.  The Chief of Police or other designated officer 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 ordinance, by mail or by personal service, once per calendar year.  Such notice shall include the following:

That the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property is in violation of the City weed control law.

1. That the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property is ordered to cut the weeds within ten (10) days of receipt of notice.
2. 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 (5) days of the receipt of notice.
3. 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.
4. That the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the property will be given the opportunity to pay the assessment, and, if it is not paid, it will be added to the property tax as a special assessment.
5. That for the remainder of the current calendar year, no further notice is required or shall be given prior to removal of weeds from the property.
6. That the Chief of Police or such other public officers as may be designated by the governing body 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.

SECTION 4.   ABATEMENT, ASSESSMENT OF COSTS. 

1. Upon the expiration of ten days after receipt of the notice required by Section 3, and in the event that the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the premises shall neglect or fail to comply with the requirements of Section 1, the public officer or an authorized assistant shall cause to be cut, destroyed and/or removed all such weeds and abate the nuisance created thereby at any time during the current calendar year.
2. The public officer or an authorized assistant shall give notice to the owner, occupant or agent in charge of the premises by restricted 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.
3. 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 by the City Clerk to the County 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 our 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.

SECTION 5.  RIGHT OF ENTRY.             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 ordinance.

                SECTION 6.         UNLAWFUL INTERFERENCE.  It shall be unlawful for any person t interfere with or attempt to prevent the public officer or 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 an ordinance violation.

                SECTION 7. NOXIOUS WEEDS.

1. Nothing in this ordinance shall affect or impair the rights of the City under the provisions of Chapter 2, Article 13 of Kansas Statutes Annotated, relating to the control and eradication of certain noxious weeds.
2. For the purpose of this section, the term noxious weeds shall mean Kudzu (Pueraria lobata), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), Russian knapweed (Centaurea picris), horay cress (Lepidum draba), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), quackgrase (Agropyron repens), leafty spurge (Euphorbia esula), burragweed(Farseria tomentosa and discolor), pignut (Hoffmannseggia denisflora), musk (nodding) thistle (Carduus nutans L.), and Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense).

SECTION 8.   OTHER ORDINANCES.  Nothing in this ordinance shall affect or impair the right of the City of Troy to utilize the terms and provisions of City of Troy Ordinance No. 545 or any other ordinance or state statutes relating to the abatement of nuisances.

                SECTION 9.         EFFECTIVE DATE.  This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its publication in The Kansas Chief, the official city newspaper.

ADOPTED AND APPROVED by the Governing Body, this 18^th day of May, 1999.

Leonard Clary, Mayor

Attest:

Jane Boeh

City Clerk