It shall be unlawful for any owner, agent, lessee, tenant, or other person occupying or having charge or control of any premises to permit weeds to remain upon said premises or any area between the property lines of said premises and the centerline of any adjacent street or alley, including but not specifically limited.to sidewalks, streets, alleys, easements, rights-of-way and all other areas, public or private. All weeds as hereinafter defined are hereby declared a nuisance and are subject to abatement as hereinafter provided.

(Code 1990)

Weeds as used herein, means any of the following:

(a)   Brush and woody vines shall be classified as weeds;

(b)   Weeds and indigenous grasses which may attain such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property;

(c)   Weeds which bear or may bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature.

(d)   Weeds which are located in an area which harbors rats, insects, animals, reptiles, or any other creature which either may or does constitute a menace to health, public safety or welfare;

(e)   Weeds and indigenous grasses on or about residential property which, because of its height, has a blighting influence on the neighborhood. Any such weeds and Indigenous grasses shall be presumed to be blighting if they exceed 12 inches in height.

(Code 1990)

The mayor shall designate a public officer to be charged with the administration and enforcement of this article.

(a)   The public officer shall make inquiry and inspection of premises upon receiving a written complaint or when informed that weeds may exist in violation of sections 8-401 and 8-402. The public officer may also make such inquiry and inspection when he or she observes conditions which may violate sections 8-401 and 8-402. Upon making inquiry and inspection, the public officer shall make a report of his or her findings to the mayor and city council.

(b)   The owner and any person in possession of any property found by the public officer to be in violation of sections 8-401 and 8-402 shall be served with a written notice of such violation. The notice shall be served by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested; or, if the owner, possessor, or his or her agent in charge of the property is a resident of Rooks County, Kansas, the notice may be personally served by the public officer, mayor, or city clerk the notice to:

(c)   Such notice shall state:

(1)   The property’s legal description and street address;

(2)   The condition(s) which has caused the violation;

(3)   That the person in violation shall have 30 days from the date of

(A)  Alleviate the violation; or,

(B)  Request a hearing, as provided in section 8-209, such request must be in writing and must be personally delivered to the Mayor or the City Clerk;

(4)   That failure to make a timely request for a hearing shall constitute a waiver of the person’s right to contest the findings of the public officer; and,

(5)   That failure to alleviate the condition or to request a hearing may result in abatement of the condition by the city according to section 8-404 with the costs assessed against the property.

(d)   If the owner or his or her agent in charge of the property cannot be served in the above manner, service may be made by publishing one notice in the official city newspaper. If notice is made by publication, the owner or his or her agent in charge of the property will be ordered to cut the weeds within ii days from the date of publication.

(Code 1990; Ord. 200; Code 2019)

(a)   Upon the expiration of 30 days after the date of publication or other notice required by section 8-403, and in the event that the owner or his or her agent in charge of the premises shall neglect or fail to comply with the requirements of section 8-401 or request a hearing, then the public officer or an authorized assistant shall cause to be cut, destroyed and/or removed all such weeds and abate the nuisance created thereby.

(b)   If the city abates the nuisance pursuant to subsection (a), the total cost of abatement shall be charged against the property on which the weeds were located.

(1)   The public officer shall advise the city clerk of the total cost of abatement. The city clerk shall then notify the owner or person in possession of the property providing them with an itemized invoice of the abatement costs and advising them that they have 30 days to reimburse the city for the cost of abatement.

(2)   Should the person fail to reimburse the city voluntarily, then the city clerk shall, at the time of certifying other taxes to the county clerk, certify the costs as the city’s special tax assessment against the subject property. The county clerk shall place the same on the tax rolls and it shall be collected by the county treasurer and paid to the city as other city taxes are collected and paid.

(K.S.A. 12-1617(1); Code 1990; Ord. 200; Code 2019)

The public officer, and the public officer’s authorized assistants, employees, contracting agents or other representatives are hereby expressly authorized to enter upon private property at all reasonable hours for the purpose of cutting, destroying and/or removing such weeds in a manner not inconsistent with this article.

(Code 1990)

It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with or to attempt to prevent the public officer or the public officer’s authorized representative from entering upon any such lot or piece of ground or from proceeding with such cutting and destruction. Such interference shall constitute a code violation.

(Code 1990)

(a)   Nothing in this article shall affect or impair the rights of the city under the provisions of Chapter 2, Article 13 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, relating to the control and eradication of certain noxious weeds.

(b)   For the purpose of this section, the term noxious weeds shall mean kudzu (Pueraria lobata), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), Russian knapweed (Centaurea picris), hoary cress (Lepidium draba), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), quack grass (Agropyron repens), leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), burragweed (Franseria tomentosa and discolor), pignut (Hoffmannseggia densiflora), musk (nodding) thistle (Carduus nutans L.), and Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense).

(K.S.A. 2-1314; Code 1990)