Chapter 6.04   GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sections:


6.04.010   Community services officer.

The city administrator shall designate an appropriate person or persons as community services coordinator(s). The community services coordinator shall be a department head and be under the direct supervision of the city administrator. The duties in that capacity shall be:

(a)

To regulate and to prohibit the accumulation of nuisances and all decaying or injurious vegetables or other substances;

(b)

To conduct proper investigations on matters of sanitary interest or scientific importance;

(c)

To determine whenever any nuisance, source of foulness or cause of sickness hazardous to public health shall be found on private property and to require the owner to remove and abate the same at the owners expense. (

(Ord. O-11-98 § 1, 1998: Ord. O-10-96 § 2 (part), 1996)

6.04.020   Adoption of state department of health and environmental control regulations.

There is adopted and made a part of this chapter, as fully as though set out herein, all provisions and requirements of the statutes, rules and regulations promulgated by and under the purview of the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Any violation of the statutes, rules and regulations of the South Carolina Department of Health and Control shall be considered a violation of this chapter as well.

(Ord. O-10-96 § 2 (part), 1996)

6.04.030   Nuisance defined.

The act or failure to act of any person, firm, business, organization or corporation which threatens, causes injury to or is dangerous to the health or life of any other person or which is annoying to the public is declared to be a nuisance. Specific examples of such nuisances are dead animals, stagnant water, decayed vegetables and fruits, trash, weeds, rotten wood, rodent or vermin infestation, anything causing offensive odor, or similar undesirable conditions. The nuisances described in this section shall not be construed as exclusive, and any act of commission or omission and any condition which constitutes a nuisance by statute or common law of the state, when committed, omitted or existing within the city limits is declared to constitute a nuisance.

(Ord. O-10-96 § 2 (part), 1996)

6.04.040   Grass, weeds, trash, etc.

It is unlawful for any person, firm, business, organization or corporation including the owner or occupant, to maintain or permit to be maintained on any premises, including vacant lots or land, an accumulation of grass, weeds, undergrowth, trash, garbage, building materials, glass, wood or miscellaneous refuse in any manner which is or may be a nuisance, or to place or leave same on another's premises or on any public place unless done pursuant to the regulations or directives providing for its collection.

(Ord. O-10-96 § 2 (part), 1996)

6.04.045   Cutting of grass, weeds and brush.

(a)

All property owners, tenants, lessees and occupants of real property shall maintain all yards and lots so that any grass, weeds and underbrush shall not exceed ten inches in height.

(b)

Any real estate broker or agent listing property for sale shall maintain the property listed for sale in compliance with this section.

(c)

All property owners, tenants, lessees or real estate brokers or agents listing real property shall maintain such property free of trash, discarded items, old furniture, appliances, tree limbs, old wood, boards and brush piles.

(d)

In the event that this section is violated, then the city shall give a written notice of such violation to the person or business firms responsible for compliance with this section.

(e)

Such person or business firm subject to this section shall correct the condition in violation of the section within ten days from receipt of this notice.

(f)

In the event that the person or business firm responsible under this section fails to correct the violation after ten days, the city at its option may take appropriate action to cut the grass or to correct the violation.

(g)

In the event the city hires an outside contractor or outside personnel to take the appropriate action to comply with the section, then the actual charges paid by the city plus a processing fee of one hundred dollars shall be added to such actual charges.

(h)

In the event that the city uses employees of the city to take appropriate action to comply with the section, then the city shall assess a reasonable charge for the services of the city employees plus a processing fee of one hundred dollars.

(i)

The city shall then give a certificate of non-compliance with this section and an itemization of charges to the owner of the subject property.

(j)

(1)

All notices, correspondence and any certificate of noncompliance and itemization of charges shall be either personally delivered to the owner of the subject property or shall be mailed by first class mail to the property owner.

(2)

If the notices, correspondence and certificate of non-compliance and itemization of charges are mailed, they shall be placed in an envelope addressed to the property owner at the address of the property owner shown on the tax records of Greenville County. The envelope with proper postage affixed thereto shall be deposited with the United States Postal Service.

(3)

An affidavit of personal delivery or an affidavit of mailing shall be prepared and signed by the person making the personal delivery or by the person that deposited the envelope in the United States mail.

(k)

If the property owner fails to make payment of the charges described on the itemization of charges within thirty days, the city administrator shall take appropriate action to file the certificate of non-compliance and itemization of charges with the clerk of court for Greenville County to be indexed against the property owner.

(l)

The amount owed to the city set forth in the certificate of non-compliance and itemization of charges shall be a lien on the property described in such certificate and shall bear interest at the rate of interest accruing upon judgments according the law of the state of South Carolina.

(m)

In the event that any provision of this section is in conflict with any provisions of any other existing section, then the provisions of the within section shall prevail.

6.04.050   Abandoned furniture, appliances, etc.

It is unlawful for any person, firm, business, organization or corporation including the owner or occupant, to leave or permit to be left outside of any premises, building or structure, or upon a vacant lot, in a place accessible to children, any abandoned icebox, refrigerator or other container of any kind which has a snap lock or other closing device thereon, without first removing the door from the icebox, refrigerator or container. Further, any dilapidated furniture, stove or other appliance, machinery, equipment, building material, or parts thereof, or other item which is either wholly or partially rusted, wrecked, junked, dismantled, discarded or inoperative and which is not completely enclosed within the structure, shall be considered a nuisance.

(Ord. O-10-96 § 2 (part), 1996)

6.04.060   Junked motor vehicles.

It is unlawful for any person, firm, business, organization or corporation, to abandon any motor vehicle, including junk motor vehicles, upon any privately owned or publicly owned property. A junk motor vehicle is defined as one which does not have lawfully affixed current license plates or the condition of which is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative or discarded. It is also unlawful for any person, firm, business, organization or corporation including an owner or occupant, controlling privately owned property to abandon or to permit the abandonment thereupon of any motor vehicle. This requirement does not apply to city licensed automotive businesses or to individuals owing, keeping or storing classic or historic vehicles licensed by the state of South Carolina so long as they comply with the city of Travelers Rest zoning ordinance.

(Ord. O-10-96 § 2 (part), 1996)

6.04.070   Drainage ditches, stagnant water, etc.

It is unlawful for any person, firm, business, organization or corporation including the owner or occupant of property to allow or cause drainage ditches to become obstructed so as to back up water on property owned by anyone else, including property owned by the city or rights-of-way of the city; and it is unlawful for significant bodies of stagnant water to remain on any person's, business', firm's, organization's or corporation's property that would be a breeding placed for mosquitoes or other insects and constitute a hazard to the health and general welfare of the citizens of the city.

(Ord. O-10-96 § 2 (part), 1996)

6.04.080   Penalties for failure to comply.

Any person, business, firm, organization or corporation violating the provisions of this chapter shall be given a notice by the community services officer and shall thereafter have fifteen days, or longer if in the sole discretion of the community services officer more time is necessary, in which to correct or remedy the unlawful conditions. Upon failure to comply with this notice, any person, business, firm, organization or corporation or agent in violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable to the maximum criminal penalty permitted by state law for city ordinance violations. Should any property owner fail to keep their property cleared, the city may cause the property to be kept cleared and in a sanitary condition, and the cost of keeping such property clean and cleared shall be an assessment against the property owner, with the expense added to the annual tax levied and collected by the city in the same manner as the annual property tax.

(Ord. O-10-96 § 2 (part), 1996)