[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of New Carrollton 1-4-1989 (Ch. 5 of the 1975 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Housing and property maintenance — See Ch. 71.
[Amended 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11]
The purpose of this chapter is to prohibit nuisances
and disturbing elements which may affect the health and welfare of
any person within the City of New Carrollton and to prohibit any acts
of aggression which may have an adverse effect upon the health and
welfare of any person within the City of New Carrollton.
A.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall examine from time
to time the sanitary conditions of all streets, roads and alleys in
the city and lots and property abutting thereon and shall execute
and enforce all health regulations of the city.
[Amended 4-2-1997 by Ord. No. 97-01]
B.
Said
Code Enforcement Officer shall investigate any complaint of violations
of the International Property Maintenance Code and take such steps
as are necessary to see that the Code is complied with and, where
necessary, shall cause to be removed and abated all nuisances and
agencies tending to create a nuisance upon any street, road or alley
or any lots or property abutting thereon, the presence of which might,
in the opinion of said Code Enforcement Officer, endanger public health,
and shall investigate any complaint as to alleged nuisances on any
premises or enclosure and, if any nuisance is found to exist, shall
cause the abatement thereof.
[Amended 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11]
[Amended 1-17-1990; 4-2-1997 by Ord. No. 97-01; 4-5-2000 by Ord. No. 00-01; 9-6-2000 by Ord. No. 00-03; 2-21-2001 by Ord. No. 01-02]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to cast, throw,
discharge or cause to flow on or into any street, roadway, alley,
ditch, gutter or public place within the limits of the City of New
Carrollton any house refuse, offal, garbage, dead animal, decaying
vegetable matter or organic wastes or substances of any kind or any
slops, greasy or soapy water or other matter, liquid or solid, which
is offensive or liable to become a source of nuisance after exposure
to the atmosphere.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any tenant, property owner
or any occupant or occupants of any business establishment to keep,
collect or suffer to be on their premises any trash or garbage except
in a suitable metal, metal-lined or commercially produced plastic
trash container, and such container shall be securely and tightly
covered. Yard clippings, leaves, shrubs, etc., may be contained in
suitable plastic or paper bags.
C.
It
shall be unlawful for any person to place, collect, keep or suffer
to be kept on any property within the limits of the City of New Carrollton
any house refuse, offal, garbage, dead animal, decaying vegetable
matter or organic wastes, substances of any kind or any slops, greasy
or soapy water, stagnant water, nauseous liquids or any other offensive
matter, liquid or solid, liable to become a source of nuisance after
exposure to the atmosphere or which by a stench or smell becomes a
nuisance to the neighborhood or which becomes a breeding place for
germs or is liable to become a detriment to the public health.
[Amended 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11]
D.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep cattle
or livestock within the City of New Carrollton.
E.
It
shall be unlawful to erect, use or maintain any vault or cesspool
in the corporate limits of the City of New Carrollton upon any premises.
[Amended 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11]
F.
It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit or
bury the contents of any privy, vault, cesspool, reservoir or earth
closet or the body of any dead animal within the corporate limits
of the City of New Carrollton.
G.
It shall be unlawful to bring or to keep within the
City limits of New Carrollton any animal affected with a dangerous
communicable disease or for the bodies of animals which have died
from these diseases on account thereof to be buried within the city
limits of New Carrollton.
H.
It shall be unlawful to inter or bury any human body
within the corporate limits of the City of New Carrollton.
I.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, manager, clerk,
employee or agent of any store, warehouse, office, hall, place of
business or dwelling in the City of New Carrollton to take therefrom
and deposit in the public trash receptacles of said city any animal
or vegetable matter, ashes, shells or refuse of any kind.
J.
It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, deposit,
scatter or drop or cause to be thrown, deposited, scattered or dropped
in or upon any vacant lot or open space within the corporate limits
of New Carrollton any sawdust, shavings, vegetable matter, paper,
metal cans, glass of any description, pans or pails or any dead animal,
offal, garbage, putrescible matter of any sort or any matter or thing
injurious to the public health.
K.
It shall be unlawful for any owner or tenant to permit
a hedge bordering on any sidewalk or path within the corporate limits
of the City of New Carrollton to be more than four (4) feet in height
or have any hedge, shrub or tree bordering upon any such sidewalk
or path to encroach upon or project over the same so as to present
an obstacle to the free passage of pedestrians along said sidewalk
or path or to permit any hedge, shrub or tree to constitute an obstruction
to the vision of motorists.
L.
It shall be unlawful to establish or conduct an abattoir,
soap or candle factory, bone-boiling, meat-roasting, barbecue or other
establishment whereby offensive or unhealthy or disagreeable odors
or gases are generated and emitted.
M.
It shall be unlawful to use a dwelling or establishment
of any kind in any unsanitary manner or unsafe condition so as to
be dangerous or a menace to the public health or morals.
N.
Weeds,
plants and debris. No owner or occupant of property within the corporate
limits of New Carrollton shall cause or permit debris to accumulate
or remain or cause or permit weeds, grass, thickets or other growths
to grow upon his, her or their property so as to constitute a menace
to health or a menace to public safety or a fire hazard or a public
nuisance or a nuisance to adjoining property owners or an obstruction
to free passage of persons using the sidewalks or streets contiguous
to the property. High grass or weeds in excess of twelve (12) inches
in height shall constitute a violation of this section. All owners
and occupants of the property within the corporate limits of the City
shall contain any rapidly spreading plant within their own boundaries.
Turf grasses such as Kentucky Bluegrass, Bermuda and zoysia grasses
shall not be considered spreading plants nor exceed the height requirements
provided in this section. Dead vegetation, including, but not limited
to, grass, weeds, shrubs and trees and residue therefrom, regardless
of age or condition, shall be removed and stumps reduced to grade
or below grade level.
(1)
If a condition exists that is prohibited by the foregoing section,
the Mayor or his or her designee shall notify the owner or occupants
of the property to remedy the condition within five (5) days after
the receipt of such notice, and, upon failure to comply with such
notice, the City shall employ a person to have the work done who shall
have the right of entering the premises for the purpose, and the cost
thereof shall be assessed against the property owner by the City,
and if the cost thereof as so assessed shall not be paid by the property
owner before the City levy is made next following the time such work
is done, said assessment shall be included as a charge against the
property and shall become a lien and due and payable with other taxes
levied against said property at said time.
(2)
Charges for remedying the condition aforesaid shall also be a lien
upon the premises. Whenever a bill for charges remains unpaid for
thirty (30) days after it has been rendered, the Mayor or his or her
designee may file with the Recorder of Deeds of Prince George's
County a statement of lien claim. The statement shall contain a legal
description of the premises, the expense and costs incurred and the
date the condition was remedied and a notice that the city claims
a lien for this amount. Notice of such lien claim shall be mailed
to the owner of the premises at his or her last known address as shown
on the tax rolls of the city; provided, however, that failure of the
Clerk to record such lien claim or to mail such notice or the failure
of the owner to receive such notice shall not affect the right to
foreclose the lien for such charges as provided herein or in the applicable
laws of the State of Maryland relating to tax sales.
(3)
Property subject to a lien herein may be sold for nonpayment of the
same in accordance with the applicable provisions of Maryland law
relating to tax sales.
O.
Keeping
of fowl. It shall be unlawful and it is hereby prohibited for any
person or persons, firm, partnership or corporation, whether the same
is owner, tenant or occupant, of any property located within the corporate
limits of New Carrollton to harbor, keep or maintain or permit to
be kept or maintained on said property any fowl, including any chickens,
turkeys, geese, guinea keets, ducks, pigeons or any other domestic
or wild birds commonly kept as pets or for food or show purposes.
[Amended 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Subsections P, regarding spitting in public places, and Q, regarding premises that are dangerous to human health, and redesignated former Subsection R as Subsection O. It also repealed former Subsection S, regarding the discharge of smoke, and redesignated former Subsections T through X, as amended, as Subsections P through T, respectively.
P.
It shall be unlawful and it is hereby prohibited for
any person to cause or permit the storage of unused or abandoned iceboxes,
refrigerators and other containers with airtight doors or with locks
that cannot be opened from the inside of the container in any place
accessible to children unless the doors are removed.
Q.
It shall be unlawful for the owner, operator or manager of any business within the City of New Carrollton to permit shopping carts to be removed from the premises of said business. The Mayor or his or her designee shall be empowered to impound shopping carts found abandoned off the premises of said business, and shopping carts so removed shall be held for a period of at least fourteen (14) days, after which any unclaimed cart may be disposed of at the discretion of the Director of Public Works. The owner of any cart so impounded, if ownership can be determined, shall be notified in some expedient manner of the number of carts held and the procedure for obtaining release of the carts. Upon payment to the City of New Carrollton of a fee as set forth in Chapter 57, Fees, any impounded cart shall be released to its owner.
R.
It shall be unlawful for any person to burn any substance on public or private property within the city in an underground pit, on the ground surface or in any container. Only items listed in the definitions of "barbecue," "grill," "outdoor fireplace" and "rotisserie" in § 66-4, Definitions, are exempt from this section.
S.
Use of outdoor portable toilets on residential property.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, tenant or occupant to place, use
or keep any outdoor portable toilet on residential property within
the incorporated limits of New Carrollton.
T.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to place a portable
storage container on public property.
[Added 2-6-2008 by Ord. No. 07-19]
(1)
PORTABLE STORAGE CONTAINER, PORTABLE ON-DEMAND STORAGE (pods)
Definition. As used in this subsection, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any box container constructed of wood, steel or other similar
material intended for the use of storage or keeping household goods
or other personal property or construction material that is intended
to be filled, refilled, or emptied while located outdoors on a residential
property which may be later removed from the property for storage
off-site or on completion of remodeling or building. This definition
shall also include any polystructure or polyshelter which means any
structure with a frame of steel or other material which is covered
by plastic, polyurethane, vinyl, canvas or other similar flexible
sheeting material.
(2)
Limitations on portable storage containers on residential
and commercial property. In residential zones one (1) portable storage
container shall be allowed on a lot, and for no longer than a total
of thirty (30) days in any consecutive twelve-month period. The portable
storage container must be placed a minimum of six (6) feet from the
property line. Any portable storage container shall not exceed eight
(8) feet in height, eight (8) feet in width and sixteen (16) feet
in length. On a commercially zoned site, more than one (1) portable
storage container may be permitted by the city for good cause shown
and only in conjunction with development or redevelopment of such
commercial property. Before placing a portable storage device on any
property, a permit shall be obtained from the City. Such permit shall
be good for thirty (30) days. The fee for such permit shall be set
from time to time by the City Council. The permit shall be displayed
on the exterior of the portable storage container at all times.
(3)
Maintenance. All portable storage containers shall
be maintained in a condition free from rust, peeling paint and other
visible forms of deterioration.
(4)
Extension. The Code Enforcement Department may extend
the permit for thirty (30) days for good cause. Good cause shall mean
a reasonable or practical problem that the building or remodeling
has not been completed within the original thirty-day period. Any
subsequent request for extension shall be referred to the Mayor or
his/her designee who may approve additional extensions for good cause
but only if the delay is beyond the control of the applicant.
(5)
Violations. Any violations of the article shall be a municipal infraction
and subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
The initial fine for the first infraction shall be one hundred dollars
($100), which shall double for each additional infraction up to the
maximum above. Each day a violation exists shall be considered a separate
infraction.
[Amended 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11[3]]
[Added 4-5-2000 by Ord. No. 00-01; amended 2-21-2001 by Ord. No.
01-02]
As used in this section, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A permanent structure made of brick or other decorative nonflammable
material, which is constructed for the sole purpose of food preparation.
Any device not designed for the sole use of food preparation.
A cooking utensil designed only for food preparation where
the food is cooked through exposure to heat.
A commercial or decorative device utilized to contain small
fires for entertainment or warmth.
An appliance designed only for food preparation on which
food is rotated by or over a source of heat.
Any hole, shaft or cavity in or on the ground utilized for
burning.
[Amended 4-2-1997 by Ord. No. 97-01; 4-5-2000 by Ord. No. 00-01]
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm or corporation to violate any of these sections, which are hereby declared by the City Council to be municipal infractions, subject to the provisions of § 1-21A of this Code. Each day a violation continues after initial notice shall constitute a separate or repeat offense.
