[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Wawarsing 5-21-2015 by L.L. No. 4-2015. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Wawarsing
Antilitter Ordinance."
It is hereby ordained that the deposit of litter (defined in
this chapter to include garbage, refuse, and/or rubbish) and litter
is found to be a danger or nuisance to the health, safety, appearance
and welfare of the residents of the Town of Wawarsing. The Town Board
of the Town of Wawarsing hereby determines it necessary, for the above
stated reasons, to provide a method whereby vacant and improved properties
within the Town are kept clean and free of litter.
A. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
B. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words
and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein.
GARBAGE
Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the
handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
LITTER
Includes "garbage," "refuse" and "rubbish," as defined herein,
and all other waste material which, if thrown or deposited as prohibited
in this chapter, tends to create a danger or nuisance to public health,
safety and welfare.
PARK
Includes a park, playground, recreation center or any other
public area in the Town, owned or used by the Town and devoted to
active or passive recreation.
PRIVATE PREMISES
Includes any yard, grounds, walk, driveway, porch, steps
or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to any dwelling, house, building
or other structure.
PUBLIC PLACE
Includes any and all streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys
or other public ways and any and all public parks, squares, spaces,
grounds and buildings.
REFUSE
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes (except body
wastes), including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead
animals and solid market and industrial wastes.
RUBBISH
Nonputrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible
and noncombustible wastes, such as paper, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard,
tin cans, yard clippings, leaves, wood, glass, bedding, crockery and
similar materials.
VEHICLE
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, including devices
exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
All garbage shall be placed in a private container for collection.
Such container shall be constructed of metal or plastic, shall have
a handle and shall be kept covered at all times.
A. All rubbish shall be deposited in authorized private receptacles.
The placement of rubbish in authorized private receptacles to be collected
shall be so as to prevent the rubbish from being scattered or from
being carried by the elements.
B. Authorized private receptacles for rubbish pickup shall be of galvanized
iron or other material of substantial construction, with two handles
and of such size that, when filled, they can be easily handled by
an adult person, excepting commercial bulk containers. Each container
shall have its own lid and be securely covered. Boxes containing rubbish
and capable of being handled by one man will be allowed, provided
that they are securely covered and tied. Newspapers, magazines and
other such materials must be bundled and securely tied. No other type
of container for rubbish will be allowed under this chapter, with
the exception of authorized general cleanup collection.
C. Authorized private receptacles shall be placed in a location so that
the same is not visible from the public street or sidewalks, except
for the period of time commencing after 6:00 p.m. on the evening immediately
prior to the date rubbish is scheduled for collection by an authorized
rubbish removal company, and ending at 7:00 p.m. on the day in which
the rubbish has been collected.
D. Rubbish will not be collected unless put out for collection in accordance
with this section.
No person shall deposit household rubbish or garbage in public
litter receptacles.
A. No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk
or other public place within the Town.
B. No person shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, culvert, street
or other public place within the Town the accumulation of litter from
any building or lot or any litter from any public or private sidewalk
or driveway.
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park, parking
lot or vacant lot within the Town. Where public receptacles are not
provided in a park, all litter shall be carried away from the park
by the person responsible for its presence and properly disposed of
elsewhere.
No person, being the driver of or a passenger in a vehicle,
shall throw or deposit litter upon any street or public place within
the Town or upon any private property.
No person shall transport in any truck or other vehicle or in
any other manner through the public streets of the Town, streets to
which the public has access or over any land owned or controlled by
the Town any ashes, waste material, rubbish, discarded boxes, barrels
or other containers of merchandise or discarded material of any kind
or description consigned to a dump or to any other destination, unless
the same is conveyed or transported in a truck, vehicle or other manner
entirely covered or enclosed so that material cannot escape while
being so transported. In the event that the same shall be transported
or conveyed other than in an entirely closed truck, vehicle or otherwise,
such material being so transported and conveyed shall be covered by
a canvas or covering of a similar nature, securely fastened so as
to prevent the material escaping from the truck, vehicle or otherwise
onto the streets, sidewalks, ways, public land or private property.
It shall be unlawful for any person to so convey and transport ashes,
rubbish, waste or discarded material of any nature through the public
streets of the Town, on ways open to the public or over land owned
or controlled by the public or willfully to deposit or negligently
to allow such material to escape onto the streets and other places
while being so transported and conveyed. It shall be the duty of every
person transporting and conveying such material to stop and recover
the same, in the event of any escape or loss thereof, irrespective
of the cause of the escape or loss.
No person shall throw or deposit in any pond, brook or natural
waterway within the limits of the Town any dead animal, dead fish
or fish waste, rubbish, filth, foul or offensive substance or any
refuse matter whatsoever, fuel, lubricating oil, fish oil, or other
greasy substance so that the same shall create a danger or nuisance
to the public health, safety and welfare.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any occupied private
property within the Town in such a manner that it tends to create
a danger or nuisance to the public health, safety and welfare, whether
owned by such person or not, except that the owner or person in control
of private property may maintain private receptacles for collection,
as authorized by this chapter. Litter shall be deposited in such a
manner that it will be prevented from being carried or deposited by
the elements from any such occupied private property to the street,
sidewalk or other public place or upon any private property.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any open or vacant
private property within the Town, whether owned by such person or
not, so that the same shall create a danger or nuisance to the public
health, safety and welfare.
The owner or person in control of any private property shall
at all times maintain his premises free of litter so that the same
does not constitute a danger or nuisance to the public health, safety
and welfare. This section shall not prohibit the storage of litter
in authorized private receptacles for collection.
Persons owning or occupying property shall keep the sidewalk
in front of their premises free of litter.
Where a violation of the chapter is observed by a public servant employed by the Town whose duties include the enforcement of this chapter, an appearance ticket shall be issued in accordance with Chapter
2 of the Code of the Town of Wawarsing, to the property owner or individual committing the violation.
Every person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions
of this chapter shall, for the first conviction thereof, be punished
by a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500; for a second
or subsequent conviction within 24 months after any previous conviction,
such person shall be punished by a fine of not less than $200 and
not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days,
or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day of continued violation
shall constitute a separate additional violation. Additionally, the
property owner may be subjected to a litter removal proceeding as
hereinafter provided.
Where a property owner or individual has been cited and found
guilty, pled guilty or entered into a settlement or civil compromise
wherein the existence of the litter has been established and 20 days
have elapsed (unless in the disposition of the appearance ticket a
different time frame has been ordered by the Court or agreed upon
by the parties) and the litter has not been substantially removed
from the property, then a litter removal proceeding can be commenced
as hereinafter provided.
A. Report.
(1) Inspection and report. The Code Enforcement Officer shall cause an
inspection to be made of the said littering and to report his findings
thereon in writing to the Town Board. The Code Enforcement Officer
shall, for the purposes hereof, be deemed an official.
(2) Consideration of report. The Town Board shall consider the report,
and, if in its opinion the report so warrants, shall by resolution
determine that the littering is a danger or nuisance to the public
health, safety, appearance or welfare and violates the provisions
of this chapter and shall order that the littering be removed; provided,
however, that a notice thereof shall be given as provided in the next
section hereof.
B. Notice to remove; service of notice to remove; filing or proof of
service.
(1) Notice to remove. After passage of a resolution by the Town Board,
the Code Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized and empowered to
notify the owner or the agent of such owner of any private property
within the Town to properly dispose of litter located on such owner's
property which is or may become a danger or nuisance to public health,
safety, appearance or welfare. Such notice shall contain a description
of the property affected, sufficiently definite in terms to identify
it, and to the extent practical, the notice shall contain a description
of the location, quantity and/or type of litter for which removal
is being sought. The notice shall state that, unless the litter is
properly disposed of within 10 days after service of the notice, the
Town will, after a public hearing at a date and time specified in
the notice (at least 10 days from service), proceed with the removal
and proper disposition of such litter and shall cause the costs of
such removal and disposition to be charged as a municipal lien against
the premises.
(2) Service of notice to remove. The notice referred to in Subsection
B(1) above may be served upon an owner who resides in the Town, in person or by leaving it at his usual place of residence with a member of his family above the age of 14 years. If an owner shall not reside in the Town, notice may be served upon him personally or mailed to his last known post office address (which shall be presumed to be the address on file with the Assessor), by registered or certified mail, and served upon the occupant of the property, if any, or upon the agent of the owner in charge thereof. If the owner of the property is unknown or if service cannot for any reason be made as above directed, notice thereof shall be posted on the littered premises and shall be published at least once not less than 10 days before the proposed removal or proper disposition in the newspaper designated by the Town as its official newspaper. There may be inserted in the advertisement notice to the owners of several different parcels of land. Notice to infant owners or owners of unsound mind shall be served upon their guardians. Where lands are held in trust, service shall be made upon the trustees. Where lands are held by joint tenants, tenants in common or tenants by the entirety, service upon one of the owners shall be sufficient and deemed and taken as notice to all.
(3) Filing or proof of service. Proof of service of such notices shall
be filed within 10 days thereafter or within 10 days of the publication
of such notices with the Town Clerk and Assessor, but failure to file
the same shall not invalidate the proceedings if service has actually
been made as herein provided.
C. Public hearing. Upon failure to comply with a notice to remove litter, the Town Board shall hold a public hearing, notice of which and the time and place thereof to be specified in the notice provided for in Subsection
B(1) above. If after the public hearing the Town Board determines by resolution that the litter constitutes a danger or nuisance to the health, safety, appearance or welfare of the residents of the Town, then the Town Board shall by further resolution order its removal and disposition, the reasonable cost of which shall be recouped as provided. Additionally, the Town Board may authorize the Supervisor to execute a notice, in recordable form, to be indexed against the record owner(s) and to be recorded in the Ulster County Clerk's Office specifying that after a public hearing, it has been determined that the reasonable costs of the litter removal and disposition will be assessed against the property the next tax year.
D. Removal of litter. The Town Board, after a public hearing as provided in Subsection
C above, may affect the removal and proper disposition of the subject litter. Where the Town has affected the removal and property disposition of such litter or has paid for its removal and proper disposition, either by way of a third-party contractor in accordance with the Town's procurement policy or by Town employees and equipment, an accurate account of the cost and expense thereof shall be kept and a true statement under oath or affirmation shall be filed by the officer of the Town in charge of such removal or proper disposition with the Town Clerk. The Town Board shall examine the same and, if it is properly made, shall confirm it and file such report with the Assessor, who shall record it in a book to be kept for that purpose. Such statement recorded in accordance with the provisions hereof shall be prima facie evidence that all legal formalities have been complied with and that the work has been done properly and satisfactorily.
E. Collection of costs and expenses. All expenses incurred by the Town
in connection with the removal of the litter, including the cost of
actually removing the litter, and all reasonable and necessary legal
expenses incidental thereto and any other actual costs incurred by
the Town, including the service and publication costs and the costs
of filing the notice in the Ulster County Clerk's Office, shall
be assessed against the land on which said litter was located, in
which event a statement to that effect shall be filed with the Town
Clerk, which statement shall be full notice to every person concerned
that the amount of the statement constitutes a municipal lien against
the property affected and that the same is due and collectible as
hereinafter provided. The amount so charged shall forthwith become
a lien upon such lands and shall be added to and become and form a
part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such lands,
the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and shall be collected
and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
F. Remedies. The remedies provided for herein are cumulative and not
exclusive and shall be in addition to any other remedies provided
by law.