[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the County of Frederick 9-12-1984 as Ch. 14 of the 1984 Frederick County Code. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Air pollution and open burning — See Ch. 45.
Solid waste — See Ch. 142.
Sewage disposal and sewers — See Ch. 161.
Zoning — See Ch. 165.
[1]
Editor's Note: For statutory provisions relating
to the authority of the County to adopt such measures as it may deem
expedient to secure and promote the health of the inhabitants of the
County, see Code of Virginia, § 15.2-1200.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following
words and terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them
by this section:
That which annoys, vexes or creates a health hazard or that
which, by its use or existence, works annoyance, injury or damage
to others.
Feathers, offal, dead animals or portions thereof, meat wastes,
blood, tankage or any putrescible, organic matter; provided, however,
that the term "offensive matter" shall not be construed to apply to
livestock manure and poultry manure.
It shall be unlawful for any person to permit,
deposit, store or hold any noxious or offensive, either to health
or to comfort, matter on any premises or place or in any building
or structure, unless such matter is so treated, screened, covered
or placed so as not to create a nuisance.
All containers for the storage of noxious or offensive matter, as defined in § 122-1, shall completely confine the matter, shall be rodentproofed and insectproofed and shall be kept in an inoffensive and sanitary condition.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 1-4, entitled "Removal or transportation of offensive material," § 1-5, entitled "Operation, etc. of slaughterhouse, rendering plants, etc.," and § 1-6, entitled "Location of hog pens," all of which immediately followed this section, were repealed 12-9-1992. For current provisions dealing with slaughterhouses and hog pens, see Ch. 165, Zoning.
It shall be unlawful for any person to cause
water to collect and become stagnant and thereby to become a nuisance
or a health hazard. Any foundation or other excavation that allows
the collection of such water shall be pumped dry or drained within
10 days after receiving notice to do so from the Health Officer. This
section shall be not construed to apply to farm ponds that are constructed
for the benefit of fish or livestock.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 1-8, entitled "Accumulation and disposition of garbage," § 1-9, entitled "Depositing garbage or trash on property of another," § 1-10, entitled "Transportation of garbage and trash," and § 1-11, entitled "Disposition of wastewater from sinks, bathtubs, etc.," all of which followed this section, were repealed 12-9-1992. For current provisions dealing with garbage, rubbish and refuse, see Ch. 142, Solid Waste. For current provisions dealing with disposition of wastewater, see Ch. 161, Sewage Disposal and Sewers.
[Amended 3-10-1999]
It shall be unlawful for the owners of developed
or undeveloped property located in a platted residential subdivision,
within a residentially zoned district (RP Residential Performance,
R4 Residential Planned Community, R5 Residential Recreational Community,
and MH1 Mobile Home Community) to permit grass, weeds and other foreign
growth standing more than 18 inches in height to remain on property
which lies within 100 feet of any dwelling or building. Any person
who fails, refuses or neglects to cut or remove such grass, weeds
and other foreign growth to a height not to exceed three inches, within
10 days after receiving written notice to do so from the Zoning Administrator
or other properly designated official, shall be guilty of a violation.
[Added 3-10-1999]
In the event of a violation of § 122-5, the Zoning Administrator or other properly designated official may have such grass, weeds or other foreign growth cut by its own agents or employees, in which event the reasonable cost thereof shall be chargeable to and paid by the owners of such property and may be collected by the County as taxes and levies are collected. Every charge authorized by this section with which the owners of any such property shall have been assessed and remains unpaid shall constitute a lien against such property.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any lot
in any platted subdivision to allow weeds and undergrowth on such
lot so as to endanger the public health and welfare of the community.
The Health Officer or Officers of the County shall be responsible
for the administration of this section, including the swearing out
of criminal warrants for the violation thereof.
It shall be unlawful for any person to cause
or maintain a public nuisance not otherwise provided for in this Code
or the other ordinances of the County.
[Amended 12-9-1992]
If any person responsible for the existence
and continuance of a nuisance or health hazard, after being duly notified
in writing by the Health Officer to abate such nuisance or health
hazard, shall fail to abate the same for 24 hours after the time allowed
for such abatement, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
[Amended 3-10-1999]
Both the Sheriff and the Health Officer shall, in addition to their other duties, be specifically charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, with the exception of § 122-5, which shall be the responsibility of the Zoning Administrator.
[Amended 12-9-1992]
Any person found guilty of the violation of
any of the sections of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punishable
by a maximum fine of $2,500 or by imprisonment for not more than 12
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and failure to abide
by the order of the County Court to remove or abate a nuisance or
health hazard shall be deemed a separate offense for each day thereafter
that the nuisance or health hazard is permitted to exist.
[Added 10-11-2017]
Any person who is convicted of an offense for manufacture of
methamphetamine pursuant to Virginia Code § 18.2-248 or
18.2-248.03 shall be liable, at the time of sentencing or in a separate
civil action, to the County, the Sheriff, or any other law enforcement
entity for the expense in cleaning up any methamphetamine lab related
to the conviction. The amount charged shall not exceed the actual
expenses associated with cleanup, removal, or repair of the affected
property or the replacement cost of personal protective equipment
used.
