[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Beekman 9-27-2004 by L.L. No. 4-2004. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is hereby determined by the Town Board that litter carelessly
deposited in the Town is a cause of civic disgrace; that litter is
a health, fire and safety hazard and pollutant; and that litter is
a matter affecting the public interest and quality of life and consequently
should be subject to supervision and administrative control for the
purpose of safeguarding the health, safety and general welfare of
the people of the Town of Beekman.
The Town Board of the Town of Beekman does hereby ordain and
enact the Town of Beekman Littering Law pursuant to the authority
and provisions of Town Law and § 10 of the Municipal Home
Rule Law.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling,
storage, sale, preparation, cooking or consumption of food.
Garbage, refuse, handbills, newspapers and rubbish, as such
are defined, and all other waste materials which, if thrown or deposited
as herein prohibited, tend to create a danger to the public health,
safety and welfare or render the streets, private grounds or public
places unsightly, including household waste.
A park, playground, recreation center or any other public
area owned or used by the Town of Beekman or other public entity or
government, which is devoted to recreational purposes.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, political subdivision,
government agency, corporation or organization of any kind.
Any dwelling, house, building or other structure designated
or used, either wholly or in part, for private residential purposes,
whether inhabited or not or vacant, and includes any yard, grounds,
walks, driveways, porches, or steps belonging to such dwelling, building
or other structure.
Any and all streets, sidewalks, alleys, or other public ways,
and any and all public parks, squares, spaces, grounds and buildings.
Any structure or building owned or operated by the federal,
state, county or Town government or governmental agency.
All putrescible solid waste, except body waste, including
but not limited to garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleaning, dead
animals, abandoned automobiles, dismantled automobiles and parts thereof,
scrap metal, junk, machinery and solid market and industrial waste.
All nonputrescible solid wastes, consisting of both combustible
and noncombustible wastes such as papers, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard,
tin cans, glass, bedding, crockery, furniture, building materials
and other similar materials.
Any lakes, ponds, reservoirs, streams, springs, rivers, marshes,
regulated and unregulated wetlands, and all other perennial bodies
of surface water, natural or artificial, public or private.
All retail stores which permit off-premises consumption of
food or beverages.
The Town of Beekman, County of Dutchess, State of New York.
Real property owned by the Town of Beekman.
Every vehicle upon or by which any person or property is
or may be transported upon a highway, including devices used exclusively
upon stationary rails or tracks.
A.
Littering prohibited. No person shall throw or deposit litter in
or upon any Town property, except in public receptacles or in authorized
public receptacles for collection; provided, however, that said public
receptacles shall not be used by persons owning or occupying property
in the vicinity of said public receptacles for the deposit of domestic,
commercial and industrial litter arising from the conduct of said
daily activities.
B.
Litter thrown from vehicles. No person, while a driver or a passenger
in a vehicle, shall throw or deposit litter upon any Town or private
property.
C.
Litter from trucks. No person shall drive or move any truck or other
commercial vehicle unless the vehicle is constructed or loaded so
as to prevent any litter from being blown or deposited upon any Town
or private property.
D.
Parks. No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park except
in public receptacles and in such a manner as to prevent litter from
being carried or deposited by the elements upon any part of the park
or upon any street or other public place. Where public receptacles
are not provided, all litter shall be carried from the park by the
person responsible for its presence and shall be properly disposed
of elsewhere.
E.
Surface waters. No person shall throw or deposit litter in any Town-owned
body of water.
F.
Private property. No person shall throw or deposit litter on any
private property, whether owned by him or not, except that the owner
or person in control of private property shall maintain private receptacles
or collection in such a manner that litter will not be carried or
deposited by the elements upon any other public property or upon any
other private property.
The owner or person in control of any private property shall
at all times maintain the premises free of litter. This section shall
not be construed to prohibit the storage of litter in private receptacles
for collection.
A.
Distribution on Town property. No person shall throw or deposit any
commercial handbills in or upon any sidewalk, street or other Town
property.
B.
Distribution to vehicles. No person shall throw or deposit any commercial
handbill in or upon any vehicle.
C.
Distribution on uninhabited or vacant private property. No person
shall throw or deposit any commercial handbill in or upon any private
property which is temporarily or continuously unoccupied or vacant.
D.
Distribution on inhabited private property. No person shall throw,
deposit or distribute any commercial handbill in or upon private property
with the Town unless the person distributing such handbill obtains
the written consent of the person owning or occupying the property.
However, this prohibition shall not apply to the distribution of advertising
materials through the mail, nor to newspapers nor to the distribution
of advertising materials by any charitable and/or nonprofit organizations,
except that these materials shall be placed on private property in
such a manner as to prevent their being carried or deposited by the
elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public property or upon
private property.
E.
Political and campaign signs shall be exempt from this section; however,
they shall be limited to the following:
It is hereby declared to be a duty of the owner or operator
of a take-out restaurant, delicatessen or luncheonette to provide
not less than one authorized private receptacle for the receipt of
trash, litter, paper, napkins, cups and remnants of food and nonfood
items at each exit, available to the patrons as they leave the premises.
A.
Notice to owner to remove. The Code Enforcement Officer or his duly
designated agent is authorized and empowered to notify the owner of
any private premises or vacant land, or the agent of such owner, to
dispose properly of litter located on such owner's property,
which is dangerous to the public health, safety or welfare. Notice
shall be by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested,
addressed to said property owner or his agent at his last known address,
or served personally upon said owner or his agent.
B.
Action upon owner's noncompliance. Upon the failure, neglect or refusal of any owner or agent so notified to dispose properly of said litter within 10 days from the receipt of the written notice specified in Subsection A of this section or within 10 days after the date of such notice in the event that it is returned to the Town by the United States Postal Service because of inability to make delivery thereof, provided that the notice was properly addressed to the last known address of the owner or agent, the Code Enforcement Officer or his duly designated agent is authorized and empowered to cite the owner or agent of such owner with a violation of this chapter.
Any Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of Beekman, or any
police agency in the Town of Beekman is hereby authorized and empowered
to issue or cause to be issued an appearance ticket for any violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter, returnable in the Justice
Court of the Town of Beekman, or any other court of competent jurisdiction,
and to exercise such powers as may be necessary or convenient to carry
out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 11-4-2015 by L.L. No. 4-2015]
Any person or persons, associations, firms or corporations who
or which shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall
be guilty of an offense and shall be punishable by a fine of $750
for the first offense and $1,000 for the second and any subsequent
offenses.
In the event that a landowner fails to properly dispose of litter on his/her property after being notified to remove the litter as provided in § 103-8 of this chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer or his duly designated agent shall notify the owner or agent of such owner that he/she has been found to be in violation of this chapter, that a fine has been assessed him/her and the amount of said fine. The notice shall also state that if the fine is not paid to the Town of Beekman within 30 days of the date of the notification, then the notice of offense and failure of paying the fine will be referred to the Town of Beekman courts in the form of an appearance ticket. Said notice shall be sent to the owner of the property or the agent of such owner by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the last known address or served personally upon said owner or agent.
Each day's continued violation of this chapter shall constitute
a separate, additional offense.
