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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Ordinance 2008-15CITY OF PLYMOUTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA ORDINANCE NO. 2008-15 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER IX OF THE PLYMOUTH CITY CODE CONCERNING PUBLIC PEACE AND SAFETY THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA ORDAINS: SECTION 1. Section 960 of the Plymouth City Code is added as follows: Section 960 — Public Peace and Safety 960.01. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. The purpose of this Chapter of the Code is to prohibit certain conduct that is harmful to the health, safety, and welfare of the community and to prevent and abate nuisance conduct, events, characteristics or conditions and their deleterious effects on City neighborhoods by maximizing the means and methods by which public officers can efficiently and effectively enforce the law and by imposing and collecting service call fees from the owner or occupant, or both, of real property to which public officers are repeatedly called to respond to nuisance violations as set forth in this Chapter of Code. The City Council finds that excessive noise, disruption and other public nuisance activities are injurious to the public health, safety and welfare and interfere with the quiet enjoyment of life and property and that excessive nuisance service calls unduly divert law enforcement resources from general crime prevention and law enforcement. The excessive nuisance service call fee is intended as a cost recovery mechanism for excessive law enforcement services, over and above the cost of normal law enforcement services to the public, attributable to unabated nuisance conduct, conditions or characteristics occurring, maintained or permitted to exist on the private property. It is not intended to constitute punishment separate from or in addition to any criminal prosecution for the conduct underlying the nuisance or excessive nuisance service calls. Nothing herein is meant to limit constitutional rights under the federal or state constitution. 960.02 DEFINITIONS. When used in this Chapter, the following words, terms, and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (a) Abatement notice - notice served upon property owner and interested party by the City Manager or the Manager's designee of law enforcement responses to two (2) or more nuisance service calls within a 365 -day period on property in which they have an interest pursuant to Section 960.03, subdivision 3, paragraph (c) of this Code. (b) Alcoholic beverage - any beverage containing more than one-half of one (1) percent alcohol by volume. 1 (c) Clandestine lab site - any structure of conveyance or outdoor location occupied or affected by conditions or chemicals typically associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine or any other unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance. (d) Disorderly house - any residential property which disturbs, injures or endangers the peace, comforts, health, welfare, safety or character of the neighborhood or community. A residential property that has three (3) or more verified nuisance service call incidents as set forth in subsection (i) of this section within a 365 -day period will be deemed a disorderly house. (e) False report to public officer - a report to any public officer that a violation of Code or state law has been committed, knowing that the conduct or conditions reported do not constitute a crime or that the report is false and intending that the public officer act in reliance upon the report. (f) Incident - single behavioral incident as defined by Minnesota Statutes Section 609.035, as may be amended from time to time. In the case of property conditions or characteristics constituting a nuisance, a single behavioral incident constitutes those violations, the existence of which is the result of a single illegal objective or coincident errors of judgment. (g) Interested party - any known lessee or tenant of the residential property or affected portion of the residential property; any known agent of an owner, any known management company. (h) Nuisance incident notice - notice served upon property owner and interested party by the City Manager or the Manager's designee of a law enforcement response to a nuisance service call to property in which they have ap interest pursuant to Section 960.03, subdivision 3, paragraph (a) of this Code. (i) Nuisance service call - public officer response to a verified incident of any activity, conduct or condition occurring on private property that is likely to unreasonably interfere with the quiet enjoyment of neighboring properties or the safety, health, morals, welfare, comfort, or repose of the residents therein, including without limitation: (1) Unlawful gathering, as defined in subsection (o) of this Section. (2) Disorderly conduct, as defined by Minnesota Statutes Section 609.72, as may be amended from time to time. (3) Assault, as defined by Minnesota Statutes Sections 609.221, 609.222, 609.223, 609.223 1, and 609.224, as may be amended from time to time, excluding domestic assaults. (4) Public nuisance, as defined by Section 2010.01, subdivision 1 of this Code or Minnesota Statutes Sections 609.74 -.745, as may be amended from time to time. (5) Noise in violation of Section 2025 of this Code. (6) Unlawful consumption of alcoholic beverages in violation of Section E 2005.15 of this Code. (7) The unlawful furnishing, sale, use, or possession of intoxicating liquor or non -intoxicating malt liquor in violation of Minnesota law or Chapter XII of this Code. (8) The possession or use of gambling devices or the conduct of any gambling in violation of Minnesota law. (9) Prostitution in violation of Minnesota law or acts relating to prostitution, or the conduct of unlicensed escort services, sexually oriented business or massage or massage services, in violation of Minnesota law or Chapters 615 and 1175 of this Code. (10) The unlawful sale, use, or possession of controlled substances as defined in Minnesota Statutes Section 152.02, as may be amended from time to time. (11) The unlawful sale or possession of small amounts of marijuana in violation of Minnesota Statutes 152.027 subd.4. (12) The unlawful possession or use of drug paraphernalia in violation of Minnesota Statutes 152.092. (13) Indecent exposure in violation of Minnesota Statutes Section 617.23, as may be amended from time to time. (14) Unlawful use or possession of a firearm in violation of Minnesota law or Section 930 of this Code. (15) Failure to comply with dangerous dog requirements in violation of Section 915 of this Code or Minnesota Statutes Chapter 347. (16) Failure to comply with animal noise regulations in violation of Section 915 of this Code. (17) Failure to restrain a domestic animal in violation of Section 915 of this Code. (18) Cruelty to animals in violation of Minnesota law. (19) Excess number of domestic animals in violation of Section 915 of this Code. (20) Illegal possession of a wild animal in violation of Section 915 of this Code. (21) Unlicensed dog in violation of Section 915 of this Code. (22) Illegal open burning in violation of Section 940 of this Code. (23) Illegal refuse in violation of Section 600 of this Code. (24) Abandoned or junk vehicles in violation of Minnesota law. (25) Illegal exterior storage in violation of Section 21105.11 of this Code. (26) Illegal parking or storage of recreational vehicles in violation of Section 21105.11 of this Code. (27) Illegal parking or storage of vehicles in violation of Section 21105.11 of this Code. (28) False report to public officer in violation of Section 960.03, subdivision 2 of this Code. 3 (29) Rental of a dwelling unit without a license or in violation of the conditions of licensure in violation of Section 410 of this Code. (30) Illegal home occupation in violation of Section 21145 of this Code. 0) Private property - any real property the legal ownership of which, as officially recorded by Hennepin County, is held by one or more natural persons, a partnership, including a limited partnership, a corporation, including a foreign, domestic or non-profit corporation, a trust, or any other organization, but not including the State of Minnesota or any of its political subdivisions, the federal government or any other governmental agency or entity. The existence of any public easement, right-of-way or other limited right of access on the property not, for the purpose of this Article of the Code, be deemed to transform private property to public property. (k) Property - means a parcel or contiguous parcels of real property, including buildings and other structures thereon owned by the same legal entity and under common management. In the case of multi -unit residential or commercial property, the term shall apply to the entire complex. (1) Public officer - a police officer, fire marshal or inspector, community service officer, building inspector, or code enforcement inspector, each of whom, for the purposes of this Article, shall be considered law enforcement officers. (m) Public place - an area generally visible to public view, including streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots, automobiles (whether moving or not) and buildings open to the general public, including those buildings in which food or drink is served or entertainment or lodging is provided. (n) Residential property - any real property containing a structure suitable for affording shelter for human beings, including any appurtenant or connected structure, including trailers, mobile homes, multiple family dwellings, buildings containing multiple dwelling units, and any property situated within a residential zoning district as defined by Chapter 21 of this Code. (o) Unlawful gathering - any party or gathering where there is any of the following conduct or behavior: (1) The unlawful sale, furnishing, use, or possession of intoxicating liquor or 3.2 percent malt liquor in violation of Minnesota law and Chapter XII of this Code; (2) The unlawful sale, use, or possession of controlled substances as defined in Minnesota Statutes, Section 152.02, as may be amended from time to time; (3) The unlawful sale, use, or possession of tobacco -related products in violation of Minnesota law or Section 1150 of this Code; (4) Any conduct, activity or condition constituting a violation of Minnesota 4 laws or this Code prohibiting or regulating prostitution, gambling, firearms, disorderly conduct, public nuisance, or permitting a public nuisance; (5) Any conduct or activities likely to disturb non -participating persons by: (A) Noise of sufficient volume, or of such nature by virtue of its type, persistence, time of day or location, to disturb; the peace, quiet, or repose of non -participating persons nearby in the manner and according to the standards set forth in Section 2025 of this Code; (B) Assaultive behavior; (C) Unlawful consumption of alcoholic beverages in violation of Section 2005.15 of this Code; (D) Urinating in public; (E) Public indecency or indecent exposure in violation of Minnesota Statutes Section 617.23, as may be amended from time to time. (p) Verified incident - an incident where there is a law enforcement response and a public officer, having completed a timely investigation, is able to find evidence of nuisance conduct, conditions or characteristics as set forth in Section 960.02(i) of this Code. It shall not be necessary that criminal charges be brought or convictions obtained relative to the incident. Multiple offenses verified during a single response shall count as one response for the purpose of imposing an excessive nuisance call service fee. Verified incidents shall be attributable separately to the source of the nuisance conduct, condition or activity, as follows: (1) The same tenant or lessee or persons acting in conjunction with or under the control the same tenant or lessee; (2) The same rental unit while occupied by the same tenant or lessee or within two or more rental units by the same tenant or lessee; (3) The property owner or persons acting in conjunction with or under the control of the property owner who either actively participated in the creation of the nuisance conduct, condition or characteristic or who knew or should have known of the ongoing nuisance conduct, condition or characteristic and failed to take reasonable steps to abate it. (q) Verified incident follow-up - where there has been a prior verified incident of property conditions or characteristics constituting a nuisance, each subsequent response to those same conditions or characteristics initiated by the City as follow-up during a course of remediation, shall not constitute an additional verified incident unless additional nuisance conditions or characteristics constituting additional incidents are found to exist. 960.03 PROHIBITED CONDUCT. Subd. 1. Public Nuisance Prohibited. Any person who shall knowingly commit, cause or create a public nuisance or permits a public nuisance condition to be created or placed upon or to remain upon any private property owned, under the control of, or occupied by that person, or any publicly -owned property, including tax -forfeited property under public control, shall be 5 guilty of a misdemeanor. In addition, the City may enforce this Subsection by injunctive action or other appropriate civil remedy. Subd. 2. Disorderly House and False Report To Public Officer Prohibited. It shall constitute a misdemeanor to do any of the following: (a) To keep, permit or be present in a disorderly house; as defined in Section 960.02(d) of this Code; (b) Be an owner or person in control of any residential property and to permit the building to be used as a disorderly house; or (c) To provide a false report to any public officer. Subd. 3. Excessive Nuisance Service Call. (a) Nuisance Incident Notice. Where the City Manager or the Manager's designee determines that public officers have been dispatched to private property on a nuisance service call as defined in section 960.02(1) of this Code, the City Manager or the Manager's designee may issue a written nuisance incident notice to the owner of the property, and may provide a copy thereof to any other interested parties. The nuisance incident notice may be served upon the owner of said premises by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by regular mail, supported by an affidavit of service by mailing, to the address determined by the most recent property tax records maintained by Hennepin County for said premises. The service of a nuisance incident notice, as provided herein, shall be prima facie evidence that the owner has knowledge of and has permitted subsequent conduct or behavior at said premises. (b) Contents of the Notice. The nuisance incident notice shall: (1) Identify the type and specific location of nuisance service call(s), including tenant or lessee names where applicable; (2) Summarize the evidence of the nuisance occurring on the property; (3) Provide the dates on which the nuisance calls for service were made and the dates of any prior responses by public officers to nuisance incidents on the property; and (4) Warn the owner, occupant and persons in control of the property that future nuisance service calls may subject them jointly and severally to an excessive nuisance service call fee in the amount of $250.00 or more, up to $2,000.00, based upon the actual cost of the law enforcement response. (c) Abatement Notice. Where the City Manager or Manager's designee determines that public officers have been dispatched to two (2) or more nuisance service calls, as defined in Section 960.02(1) and counted pursuant to Section 960.02(p -q) of this Code, to the same property within a 365 -day period, he or she shall cause a written abatement notice to issue to the owner of the property and interested party. The abatement notice may be served by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by regular mail, supported by an affidavit of service. The service of an abatement notice, as provided herein, shall be prima facie evidence that an owner or interested C.1 party served has knowledge of and has permitted subsequent conduct or behavior at said premises. (d) Contents of the Abatement Notice. The Abatement Notice shall: (1) Identify the type and specific location of nuisance service calls, including tenant or lessee names, where applicable; (2) Summarize the evidence of the nuisance occurring on the property; (3) Provide the dates on which the nuisance service calls were made and the dates of any prior responses by public officers to nuisance incidents on the property; and (4) Warn the owner and interested parties that future nuisance service calls will subject them jointly and severally to an excessive nuisance service call fee in the amount of $250.00 or more, based upon the actual cost of the law enforcement response, up to $2,000.00, for each separate call. The costs of providing the excess law enforcement services shall include without limitation the gross salaries, including all fringe benefits and overhead paid to the public officers responding, the pro rata cost of all equipment, including vehicles and K-9 officers, and the cost of repairs to any City equipment or property damaged in responding to the nuisance service call. The civil penalty will issue in the manner set forth in Chapter XX of this Code and if left unpaid will be charged against the property and collected in the manner of a tax; (5) Advise the owner and interested parties that subsequent conduct in violation of this Section of Code may also subject them jointly and severally to criminal charges punishable by up to a $1,000.00 fine and 90 days in jail for each separate violation. (e) Imposition of Excessive Nuisance Service Call Fee. Property owners, tenants and other persons having control over a property shall be jointly and severally responsible for nuisance incidents occurring thereon and individually responsible for payment of any Nuisance Service Call Fee issued to that party hereunder. Where an abatement notice was properly served upon the owner and interested party as set forth in subsection (c) hereof each successive nuisance service call within the same 365 -day period shall result in an administrative citation to that party in the amount of $250.00 or more based upon the actual cost of the law enforcement response, up to $2,000.00 for each separate call. The costs of providing the excess law enforcement services shall include without limitation the gross salaries, including all fringes, benefits and overhead paid to the public officers responding, the pro rata cost of all equipment, including vehicles and K-9 officers, and the cost of repairs to any City equipment or property damaged in responding to the nuisance service call. The civil penalty will issue in the manner set forth in Chapter XX of this Code and if left unpaid will be charged against the property and collected in the manner of a tax. (f) Affirmative Defenses. In the case of rental property, it shall constitute an affirmative defense to the issuance of an Excessive Nuisance Service Call fee by administrative 7 citation that the property owner has commenced eviction proceedings against the tenant or tenants responsible for the nuisance conduct, conditions or characteristics. In the case of large public accommodations, it shall constitute an affirmative defense to the issuance of an Excessive Nuisance Service Call fee by administrative citation that the property owner or the owner's property manager has entered into and complied with a memo of understanding with regard to security with the Plymouth Police Department. (g) Appeal. Any party issued an Excessive Nuisance Service Call fee by administrative citation may appeal the citation by filing a written request for a hearing with the City Manager's Office within ten (10) calendar days of the issuance of the citation. A hearing shall be held within forty-five calendar days. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall be effective following its passage. ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Plymouth, Minnesota this 27th day of May, M ATTEST: Sandra R. Engd ,City Clerk N Ut6awk,_ Kelli Slavik, Mayor