Maintaining your property is not just about aesthetics; it’s a matter of public safety and avoiding costly fines. Local authorities conduct inspections to ensure properties comply with regulations, and violations can lead to penalties that could impact your wallet. Understanding common violations and how to prevent them can save you from unnecessary expenses.
Common Property Violations and How to Avoid Them
Several common issues can result in property violation notices. Addressing these proactively can help you maintain a compliant and safe property.
Overgrown Lots: Taming Your Yard
Overgrown vegetation, including weeds, shrubs, and grass, is considered a fire and safety hazard. As a property owner or occupant, you are responsible for keeping your yard trimmed. This means maintaining weeds and grass at a maximum height of 9 inches and ensuring brush and shrubbery do not exceed 7 feet.
Fines:
- 1st Offense: $50 – $1,000
- 2nd Offense: $100 – $1,500
- 3rd Offense: $200 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: Regularly mow your lawn and trim any excessive weeds and shrubbery. Promptly remove any accumulated trash or rubbish from your property to prevent further violations.
Dangerous Buildings: Securing Vacant Structures
Vacant buildings and structures must be properly secured to prevent unauthorized entry and potential hazards. This includes ensuring windows, doors, and other openings are locked or covered. If a vacant building is not secured, property owners may be required to board it up. Storage sheds and garages also fall under this regulation and must be secured.
Fines: $200 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: If you have vacant buildings, ensure all windows, doors, and openings are tightly closed and secured. Consider obtaining a permit for necessary repairs or to properly secure the building if needed.
Permitting Conditions for Pests: Preventing Rat Harborage
Allowing conditions that attract pests, particularly rats, is a violation. Accumulating materials like lumber, boxes, barrels, or similar items that can serve as harborage for rats is prohibited. Controlling rat infestations on your property is the responsibility of the owner or occupant.
Fines: $100 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: Remove any garbage, rubbish, lumber, barrels, or other materials that could provide shelter for rats or rodents. For commercial properties, ensure all stored materials are elevated at least 18 inches above the ground surface with clear space underneath to deter pest harborage.
Stagnant Water: Eliminating Mosquito Breeding Grounds
Accumulated stagnant water is not only a nuisance but also a health and safety risk, as it can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Fines:
- 1st Offense: $50 – $1,000
- 2nd Offense: $100 – $1,500
- 3rd Offense: $200 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: Regularly inspect your property and eliminate any standing water. Fill in holes in the ground and remove containers, including old tires, that can collect water and promote mosquito breeding.
Garbage, Rubbish, and Trash: Proper Waste Disposal
Maintaining a property free from garbage, trash, and rubbish is a fundamental responsibility. Depositing or allowing junk, trash, litter, and rubbish to accumulate on your lot or street is a violation. There are also regulations regarding when heavy trash or oversized items can be placed at the curb for collection.
Fines:
- 1st Offense: $50 – $1,000
- 2nd Offense: $100 – $1,500
- 3rd Offense: $200 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: Ensure all refuse is placed in approved containers and disposed of according to local Solid Waste Department guidelines and pickup schedules. Contact your local authorities or check their website for specific guidelines and schedules.
Open Excavation: Addressing Unprotected Holes
Unprotected holes, excavations, and sharp protrusions on your property are considered health and safety hazards.
Fines: $250 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: Fence off or fill in any open holes with approved fill material like sand or dirt. Securely seal or plug unused water wells and remove or fill unused septic tanks to eliminate these hazards.
Discharging Raw Sewage: Maintaining Proper Sewage Connections
Property owners or occupants are responsible for maintaining proper connections to public sewer systems or approved septic systems to prevent the discharge of raw sewage.
Fines: $200 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: Immediately address and correct any conditions causing sewage discharge, whether on private property or public right-of-way. Sanitize any affected spill areas to mitigate health risks.
Junk Motor Vehicles: Managing Inoperable Vehicles
A vehicle is considered a junk motor vehicle if it is visible from a public place or right-of-way and meets any of the following conditions: wrecked, dismantled, discarded, or inoperable for more than 30 continuous days on private property, and displays an expired or no license plate. Such vehicles must be screened from public view by being completely enclosed in a building; car covers or tarps are not acceptable screening methods.
Fines: $200 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: Remove, repair, or properly store any vehicles that are inoperable, wrecked, dismantled, or discarded, or that remain inoperable for 30 days or more. Ensure they are not visible from public areas unless properly screened within a building.
Open and Visible Storage Materials: Proper Storage Practices
Storing materials out in the open can lead to violations. This includes items such as dead trees, tires, refuse, glass, building materials, appliances, inoperable boats, and junk vehicles. Accumulating junk, trash, litter, and rubbish on your property, including auto parts, furniture, and discarded items, is also prohibited.
Tires Fines: $250 – $2,000
To avoid fines: Remove or properly store any tires out of open view.
Boats / Trailers Fines: $200 – $2,000
To avoid fines: Remove any rubbish or garbage from boats or trailers. Elevate boats or trailers at least 6 inches above the ground surface and store boats so water cannot accumulate. Trailers must be operable if a boat is stored on one.
Appliances Fines: $200 – $2,000
To avoid fines: Remove and properly dispose of inoperable refrigerators, freezers, air conditioning units, and other appliances.
Dead Trees Fines: $200 – $2,000
To avoid fines: Remove and properly dispose of dead trees and tree limbs.
Broken Fences and Other Structures: Maintaining Structural Integrity
Property owners or occupants are responsible for maintaining fences and accessory structures, including detached garages and sheds, in structurally sound condition and good repair.
Fines: $200 – $2,000
How to Avoid Fines: Repair and maintain fences and accessory structures to ensure they are in good repair and structurally sound.
Bandit Signs: Avoiding Illegal Sign Placement
Placing signs on city property and rights-of-way is prohibited. Bandit signs, often including political, real estate, and garage sale signs illegally placed on public property, are a common violation.
Fines: $300 – $500
How to Avoid Fines: Refrain from placing any signs on city property or rights-of-way, including public buildings, structures, and streets.
Conclusion
Staying informed about common property violations and taking proactive steps to maintain your property can save you from incurring fines that, in some cases, can drive up to 200 dollars on a car repair. By addressing these issues promptly, you contribute to a safer and more compliant community while protecting your finances. Regular property maintenance is an investment that pays off by avoiding penalties and ensuring a well-kept environment.
