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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. PZ2010-29CITY OF KENAI PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. PZ10 -29 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, RECOMMENDING THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, ADOPT AN AMENDMENT TO KMC CHAPTER 12.10, NUISANCES IN GENERAL, TO INCLUDE IN THE DEFINITION OF A PUBLIC NUISANCE UNSIGHTLY PREMISES AND ALSO CERTAIN STRUCTURES DESTROYED OR PARTIALLY DESTROYED BY FIRE OR BY OTHER MEANS. WHEREAS, there are within the City many structures that have been damaged or destroyed by fire or by other means and that have not been repaired, replaced, or removed, sometimes for an extended period; and, WHEREAS, there are also many properties within the City where owners or occupants have failed to maintain the premises and the properties are so dilapidated that the failure to address basic cleanliness and/or maintenance standards on the premises have adversely affected the property values of surrounding properties; and, WHEREAS, damaged and dilapidated structures and properties appeal both to children looking for adventure and to persons seeking to engage in illegal activities such as the sale and use of drugs, trespass, and the dumping of rubbish and noxious waste; and, WHEREAS, damaged and dilapidated structures and unsightly premises negatively affect the property values of parcels nearby and injure the surrounding neighborhood by discouraging investment in the neighborhood and undermining a sense of community within the neighborhood; and, WHEREAS, the definition of what status and/or conduct is a public nuisance in the City's Code does not include unsightly premises or buildings or structures that have been destroyed or partially destroyed and where the owner has failed to make repairs or remove the remaining structure and otherwise attend to the economic burdens of property ownership; and, WHEREAS, the City of Kenai has an interest in encouraging active use of properties and in discouraging the wasting of properties in order to prevent the loss of tax revenues from the decline in property value of the destroyed or partially destroyed structure and from the decline in property values of properties close to these structures or premises; and, New Text Underlined; [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] WHEREAS, the City of Kenai also has an interest in regulating these premises in order to protect the health and safety of the general public to discourage illegal uses and to prevent injury; and, WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the City to encourage proper property maintenance to promote community, to protect the health and safety of its residents, to protect and preserve property values, and to create a healthy tax base to support the provision of City services to the general public. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RECOMMENDED THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, AMEND KENAI MUNICIPAL CODE as follows: Section 1. Form: This is a Code ordinance. Section 2. Amendment of Chapter 12.10 of the Kenai Municipal Code: The Kenai Municipal Code, Section 12.10.010, is hereby amended to read as follows: 12.10.010 Definitions. In addition to other public nuisances declared by other sections of this Code, the following are hereby declared to be public nuisances: (a) The sale or offering for sale of unwholesome food or drink or a place where such sales or offerings are made; (b) The sale, offering for sale, or furnishing of intoxicating liquor in violation of the State law or ordinances of the City, or a place where intoxicating liquor is sold, offered for sale, or furnished in violation of the State law or ordinances of the City; (c) The exposure, display, sale, or distribution of obscene pictures, books, pamphlets, magazines, papers, documents, or objects, or a place where such are exposed, displayed, sold, or distributed; (d) A place where persons gamble, whether by cards, slot machines, punch boards, or otherwise; (e) A place where prostitution, illicit sexual inter[ ]course['] or other immoral acts are practiced; (f) A p[P]lace where activities in violation of State law or ordinance are carried on; (g) The public exposure of a person having a contagious disease; The continued making of loud or unusual noises which annoy persons of ordinary (b) sensibilities, or the keeping of an animal which makes such noises; (i) The operation or use of any electrical apparatus or machine which materially and unduly interferes with radio or television reception by others; New Text Underlined; [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] (j) Any use of a street or sidewalk or a place adjacent thereto which causes crowds of people to gather so as to obstruct traffic on such street or sidewalk or which otherwise obstructs traffic thereon, except as may be authorized by law or ordinance; (k) All ditches, drains, wells, pools, cisterns, bodies, or containers of water in which mosquitoes breed or are[A] likely to breed, or which are so constructed, formed, conditioned, or situated as to endanger the public health or safety; (1) Rank weeds or grass, carcasses, accumulations of manure, refuse, or other things which are or are likely to be breeding places for flies, mosquitoes, vermin, or disease germs; (m) Any building or structure which is dangerous to the public health or safety because of damage, decay, or other condition; (n) Any pit, hole, or other thing which is so constructed, formed, conditioned, and/or situated as to endanger the public safety; (o) Any fire or explosion hazard which endangers the public peace, health, safety, or welfare; and, (p) Any occupation or activity which endangers the public peace, health, safety, morals, or welfare (q) Any building or structure that is partially or wholly burned or otherwise partially destroyed by other means and that is unsightly, hazardous to the safety of any person, a continuing fire hazard, or is structurally unsound to the extent that there is a likelihood of injury to any person entering the structure. (r) Unsightly premises, including exteriors or structures maintained in such condition as to become so defective or unsig,htly or in such condition of deterioration or disrepair that the property causes appreciable diminution of the property values of surrounding property or is materially detrimental to proximal properties and improvements. This includes the keeping or disposing of or the scattering over the property or premises of any waste, lumber,or unused objects of equipment such as automobiles, furniture, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, cans or containers; stagnant water or excavations; or any device, decoration, design, fence, structure, clothesline or vegetation that is unsightly by reason of its condition or its inappropriate location. Section 4. Severability: If any part or provision of this ordinance or application thereof to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part, provision, or application directly involved in all controversy in which this judgment shall have been rendered, and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this title or application thereof to other persons or circumstances. The City Council hereby declares that it would have enacted the remainder of this ordinance even without such part, provision, or application. New Tex Underlined; [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] Section 4. Effective Date: Pursuant to KMC 1.15.070(f), this ordinance shall take effect one month after adoption. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CITY OF KENAI PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION RECOMMENDS COUNCIL ADOPT AN AMENDMENT TO KMC CHAPTER 12.10, NUISANCES IN GENERAL, TO INCLUDE IN THE DEFINITION OF A PUBLIC NUISANCE UNSIGHTLY PREMISES AND ALSO CERTAIN STRUCTURES DESTROYED OR PARTIALLY DESTROYED BY FIRE OR BY OTHER MEANS. PASSED BY THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, August 11. 2010. New Text Underlined; DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]