§ 74-4. Responsibilities and standards in general.
(a)
Garbage, litter, and refuse. No person shall deposit on or bury in, or cause to be deposited on or buried in, or place or keep, on any public highway, road, street, alley, right-of-way, bridge, thoroughfare or any other public lands, or any storm sewer, vacant or unoccupied lot, or any lake, canal, creek, or watercourse, any noxious, filthy, malodorous or offensive liquid or solid materials, garbage, litter, refuse or other wastes anywhere within the city limits other than in an approved residential, commercial, or automated service container which is collected regularly.
(1)
Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit private, backyard, nuisance-free composting practices for home gardening purposes.
(2)
When any garbage, litter, or refuse is thrown or discarded from a motor vehicle or vessel, the operator or owner of the motor vehicle or vessel, or both, shall be deemed in violation.
(3)
Owners and occupants of all property, whether improved or unimproved, shall be responsible for keeping their entire premises, including the yard, one-half of the alley right-of-way, street right-of-way and/or easement, and the parkway or swale and/or easement adjoining the property free from garbage, litter and refuse, except for those periods immediately prior to collection as permitted in this chapter. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the maintenance of medians by surrounding property owners or occupants.
(b)
Bulk goods and white goods. No person shall deposit on, or cause to be deposited on, or place or keep or store on, any land, public square, street, alley, sidewalk, bridge, other public passageway, or vacant or unoccupied lot, or any lake, canal, creek or watercourse, or exterior of residence or commercial establishment, any bulk goods or white goods anywhere within the city limits, except in areas designed for use and storage of such goods and for those periods immediately prior to collection as permitted herein.
(1)
Any person placing an icebox, refrigerator, freezer deep-freeze locker, clothes washer, clothes dryer, or similar airtight unit shall remove the door(s) from the appliance.
(2)
Bulk goods and white goods should not be placed out for collection after a hurricane warning or watch has been issued, or during a named storm as such items can pose a hazard in strong winds and have potential to damage the surrounding area.
(c)
Yard and garden wastes.
(1)
All lands in the city shall be kept free from vegetation, trees, yard and garden wastes, or any other matter that, by reason of height, proximity to neighboring structures, physical condition, disease, such as, but not limited to, lethal yellowing of palms, or other peculiar characteristics, and during time of tropical force winds, might cause damage to life or property within the immediate area.
(2)
No yard and garden waste shall be placed on a non-collection day after a named storm, storm watch or warning has been issued by the National Weather Service.
(3)
All lands in the city shall be kept free from weeds and grass of a height exceeding six inches.
(4)
All lands in the city shall be kept free of all vegetation or trees that overhang any sidewalk, street or other public place in such a way as to impede or interfere with traffic or travel on such sidewalk, street, public place or way, or that create a danger to traffic by impeding or obstructing the view of intersections, traffic signs, railroad crossings or traffic on any street, road, or highway.
(5)
Owners and occupants of all property, whether improved or unimproved, shall be responsible for keeping their entire premises, including the yard, one-half of the alley right-of-way, street right-of-way and/or easement, and the parkway or swale and/or easement adjoining the property free from yard and garden wastes, including tree limbs, leaves, branches, and any other yard wastes, except for those periods immediately prior to collection as permitted in this chapter. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the maintenance of medians by surrounding property owners or occupants.
(6)
Privately employed tree trimmers, tree surgeons, landscape contractors and operators of tree, shrubbery and lawn maintenance services shall remove and dispose of all waste from the premises upon which they are working, including, but not limited to, limbs, tree trunks, roots, shrubbery and grass clippings and other debris emanating from their work.
(7)
It shall be unlawful to rake, blow, or otherwise deposit yard and garden wastes into the street, street gutter, catch basin, sidewalk, and any other public rights-of-way except for those periods immediately prior to collection as permitted by this chapter.
(d)
Construction debris.
(1)
Builders, building contractors, construction tradesmen and owners shall be responsible for removing all construction debris emanating from their work and shall use vehicles and containers designed or outfitted so as to prevent the wastes carried therein from being blown, dropped or spilled from the vehicle or container.
(2)
Any person, including owners and/or occupants of property and/or building contractors using commercial collection service shall use only those commercial collection service providers with a valid franchise to operate commercial collection services within the city. Any person or entity issued a construction or remodeling building permit by the city shall be required to obtain the services of a franchised commercial collection service. Demolition and roofing contractors may haul their own roofing or demolition debris in accordance with section 74-128.
(3)
No person shall cause, maintain, permit or allow the accumulation of any garbage, litter, or refuse on any construction or building site before, during or after completion of said construction or building. It shall be the duty of the owner, or the owner's agent, of the property in question to make adequate provisions for the disposing of debris, garbage, litter, and refuse and to have on the construction or building site adequate facilities for the disposing of said debris, garbage, litter and refuse and to make appropriate arrangements for the collection thereof.
(e)
Hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is not solid waste as defined in this article and shall not be placed in residential or commercial containers for collection and disposal by the city. Hazardous waste shall be disposed of in accordance with applicable state law, county ordinance or city ordinance.
(f)
Dead animals. Dead animals are not solid waste as defined in this article and shall not be placed in residential or commercial refuse containers for collections. Dead animals shall be disposed of in accordance with applicable state law, county ordinance or city ordinance.
(g)
Private property. No person shall dump garbage, litter, or refuse or bury waste in any manner or amount whatsoever on any private property, unless prior written consent of the owner has been given, and such disposal has been authorized via permit by the county health department, provided said garbage, litter, refuse, or waste will not cause a public nuisance or be in violation of any other state or local laws or regulations.
(h)
Hauling.
(1)
A vehicle hauling construction debris, garbage, litter, refuse, yard or garden waste may not be driven or moved on any highway unless the vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any of its load from dropping, shifting, leaking, blowing or otherwise escaping therefrom, except that sand may be dropped only for the purpose of securing traction or water or other substance may be sprinkled on a roadway in cleaning or maintaining the roadway.
(2)
It is the duty of every owner and driver, severally, of any vehicle hauling, upon any public road or highway open to the public, dirt, sand, lime rock, gravel, silica or other similar aggregate or trash, garbage, litter, refuse, any inanimate object or objects, or any similar material that could fall or blow from such vehicle, to prevent such materials from falling, blowing, or in any way escaping from such vehicle. Covering and securing the load with a close-fitting tarpaulin or other appropriate cover or a load securing device meeting the requirements of 49 C.F.R., section 393.100 or a device designed to reasonably ensure that cargo will not shift upon or fall from the vehicle is required and shall constitute compliance with this section.
(i)
Other responsibilities. No person shall burn or cause to be burned any solid waste, dead animal or hazardous waste anywhere within the city limits, except as otherwise provided by law.
(j)
Handbills and newspapers.
(1)
It is unlawful for any person, either directly or indirectly, to dispose, discard, deposit, place, throw, scatter or cast any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or on any public thoroughfare, park, ground or other public place within the city. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to prohibit the handing, transmitting or distributing of any handbill as provided by section 54-61 of this Code. No person who distributes any commercial or noncommercial handbill on a public sidewalk or in a public park shall neglect to remove any such handbill which is distributed by that person or another person also distributing copies of the same handbill, which handbill is then disposed, discarded, deposited, placed, thrown, scattered, or cast on the ground by another person within 100 feet from the location of the particular distribution by said person.
(2)
No person, firm, organization, association, or business shall dispose, discard, deposit, place, throw, or distribute or cause the throwing, depositing, or distribution of any commercial or noncommercial handbill or unsolicited newspaper upon any private premises if requested by anyone on such premises not to do so by at least two notices to the distributor, or if there is placed on such premises in a conspicuous position near the entrance thereof, a sign bearing the words, "No Advertisements," "No Unsolicited Newspapers," or any similar notice, indicating in any manner that the occupants of such premises do not desire to have their right of privacy disturbed or to have any such handbill or unsolicited newspaper left upon such premises. Governmental agencies, or those acting on behalf thereof, or on behalf of any public safety or utility organization in the performance of their official duties are exempt from the requirements of this section.
(3)
No person, firm, organization, association or business shall throw or deposit or cause the throwing or depositing of any commercial or noncommercial handbill or unsolicited newspaper in or upon any private premises which are inhabited, except by handing or transmitting any such handbill or unsolicited newspaper directly to the owner, occupant or other person then present in or upon such private property. In the case of inhabited private premises which are not posted, however, such person, firm, organization, association, or business, unless requested by anyone upon such premises not to do so by at least two notices to the distributor, may place or deposit any such handbill or unsolicited newspaper in or upon such inhabited private premises, provided that such handbill or unsolicited newspaper shall be wrapped, bound or secured in such a manner as to prevent them from being carried or deposited by the elements upon public or private property and/or any such handbills or unsolicited newspapers are placed as follows:
Anywhere on the private premises of the owner or occupant. Consent shall be implied for placement of materials in the driveway or front yard, where no express denial of consent is made.
(4)
No person in an aircraft shall throw out, drop or deposit within the city any litter, handbill, or any other object.
(5)
No person shall throw or deposit any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any private premises which are temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant. The presence on the property of two or more visible uncollected handbills shall constitute notice to the person distributing handbills that the premises are uninhabited or vacant.
(6)
It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute unsolicited materials to any premises where there is accumulated two or more items from the same distributor.
(k)
Pet waste.
(1)
All pet owners and keepers are required to immediately, without delay properly dispose of their pet's solid waste deposited on any property, public or private, not owned or possessed by that person by placement of the pet solid waste in a designated waste receptacle, or discarded in a refuse or other suitable container which is regularly emptied by the city or some other refuse collector.
(2)
Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance or service animal shall be exempt from the provision of this section while such animal is being used for that purpose.
(l)
Containers .
(1)
All containers shall be maintained in good condition.
(2)
Residential:
a.
Owners of residential property who use residential containers shall provide their own containers. Residential containers shall be of sufficient capacity and/or quantity to hold four days' accumulation of residential garbage and refuse. Additional containers shall be provided by the owner as necessary to hold all garbage and refuse generated by each dwelling unit.
b.
Any residential container having ragged or sharp edges or holes, or being unable to support the weight of its contents, or having any other defect likely to cause bodily injury or in any manner to hamper collection of its contents, shall not be emptied by city employees. Upon notification by the city, the owner shall correct the defects or replace the container. If the owner of a defective commercial container does not comply with the above notification, and after the passage of three consecutive collection days, the container shall be deemed abandoned by its owner and shall be removed by the city.
(3)
Commercial:
a.
The city shall provide appropriate commercial containers to serve the volume of garbage and refuse emanating from commercial establishments, except those commercial establishments requiring containers and compactors over eight cubic yards.
b.
When the volume of garbage and refuse does not exceed 96 gallons on average, a commercial customer may use an automated service container. No more than one automated service container shall be issued to a commercial establishment under this provision. Additional automated service containers, as allowed by the city, may be purchased by commercial establishments.
(4)
Theft of a city-issued automated service container or city-issued commercial container shall be reported to the police and a police report obtained and provided to the public works department before a replacement will be issued. There shall be no fee for the first replacement. Subsequent replacements shall be charged in accordance with the fee established by resolution of the city commission.
(5)
The owner and/or occupant shall be responsible for charges associated with replacement of any city-owned receptacle, including automated service containers, damaged due to negligence or abuse by owner and/or occupant.
(Ord. No. 4160-08, § 1, 9-22-2008; Ord. No. 4267-10, § 2, 9-7-2010; Ord. No. 4792-18, § 3, 8-13-2018)