Sec. 14-30. - Title.

The board of supervisors enacts this Article IV which shall be known and cited as the public nuisance ordinance.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-31. - Purposes.

(a)

The purpose of the public nuisance ordinance is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the County of Kings through the prevention of public nuisances in the county. The ordinance shall be construed liberally to that end.

(b)

The intention of the board of supervisors is to minimize the burden placed upon property owners, farmers and tax payers in carrying out the purposes set forth in subsection (a), above. Accordingly, those methods of abatement are to be favored which are least costly, most effective and directly related to protecting the public health, safety and welfare.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-32. - Not exclusive regulation.

The public nuisance ordinance is not the exclusive regulation of public nuisances. This article shall supplement and be in addition to other regulation and penal statutes and ordinances heretofore or hereafter enacted by the state, the county, or any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-33. - Application.

This public nuisance ordinance applies to all property owned by an individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, estate or trust, or any person, occupying or having control, charge or possession of any premises. In addition, it applies to any property owned by the United States and any agency of the United States, the State of California and any agency of the state, any city, public district or political subdivision of the State of California, insofar as it is legally possible to enforce it, or any portion thereof, against such entities.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-34. - Definitions.

Except where the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall govern the construction of the public nuisance ordinance:

Agent means a person or entity acting on behalf of and subject to the control of the owner of property or of a person legally in possession of the property.

Agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof includes, but is not limited to, the cultivation and tillage of the soil; dairy operations; the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural commodity including timber, viticulture, apiculture, aquaculture, or horticulture; the raising of livestock, fur bearing animals, fish, or poultry; and any practices performed by a farmer or on a farm as incident to or in conjunction with those farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market, or delivery to carriers for transportation to market.

Board means the board of supervisors of the County of Kings.

Cost of abatement means the direct cost to the county of abating a public nuisance.

Cost of administration means the cost to the county of performing the various administrative acts required to abate a public nuisance, including, without limitation, the costs of investigating such nuisance, but not including the actual cost of abatement.

County means the County of Kings, acting by and through the board of supervisors, the county administrative officer, or any appropriate county department.

Designee means any county employee designated by the director of planning and building inspection, the public works director, the county fire chief, the director of public health, or the sheriff, to enforce the provisions of this article.

Owner means the person in whom is vested the ownership, dominion, or title of property.

Property means the parcel of property upon which the nuisance is found to exist, and includes all the surface or subsurface areas described in the most recently recorded deed or deeds relating to such property and all improvements on the property.

Residential area means any property zoned for residential use as defined in Articles 7, 9 and 10 of the Kings County Zoning Ordinance, or any property in any zone district excluding the agricultural zones which is used primarily for residential purposes.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-35. - Nuisance; generally.

Each of the following is hereby declared to be a public nuisance which may be abated in accordance with the provisions of this article: anything which is injurious to health, including, but not limited to, the illegal sale of controlled substances, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway and affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal, or any condition which is specifically declared to be a public nuisance by any statute or ordinance.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-36. - Nuisance; maintenance of property.

It is hereby declared a public nuisance, enforceable in accordance with this article, for any person owning, occupying or having control, charge or possession of any property in the county to maintain such property, or an alleyway or other public right of way fronting said property, in such a manner that any of the following conditions are found to exist thereon:

(1)

Buildings, structures or mobile homes which are abandoned, boarded up, partially destroyed, or structurally unsafe, or left unreasonably in a state of partial construction after the building permit authorizing its construction has expired, or which are not provided with adequate egress, or which constitute a fire hazard, or are otherwise dangerous to human life, or which in relation to existing uses constitute a hazard to health, safety, or public welfare;

(2)

Used or damaged lumber, junk, trash, debris, scrap metal, concrete, sand, asphalt, cans, bottles, tires, salvage materials, boxes, containers, bins, and abandoned, discarded, inoperative or unusable furniture, stove, refrigerator, freezer, sink, toilet, cabinet or other household fixtures or equipment, yard waste or equipment, or similar used or damaged materials, and which is stored so as to be visible from any public or private property for a period in excess of 72 hours, except on commercial or industrial properties zoned and permitted for such storage or properties exempt by the "right to farm ordinance", and except that nothing herein shall preclude the placement of stacked firewood for use on the premises in the side or rear yards of a premises;

(3)

Buildings or structures maintained in violation of Chapter 5, Chapter 5A, and Appendix A of the Kings County Code of Ordinances;

(4)

Land, the topography, geology or configuration of which, whether in natural state or as a result of grading operations, causes erosion, subsidence or surface water run-off of such magnitude as to be injurious or potentially injurious to public health, safety and welfare or to adjacent properties or public rights-of-way;

(5)

Broken windows constituting hazardous conditions or inviting trespassers or malicious mischief;

(6)

Dead, decayed, diseased, dried or hazardous trees, weeds, stubble, brush, rank growths, overgrown vegetation, cultivated or uncultivated, leaves, wood, debris, wastepaper, boxes, shavings, rubbish, litter and other combustible substances which constitute a fire hazard or other danger to public health or safety, or which is likely to harbor rats, vermin or other disease vectors, or which causes detriment to neighboring properties or property values;

(7)

Any equipment, machinery, or non-operational vehicles stored continuously in excess of 72 hours within a front or side yard setback in a residential area and visible from any public or private property;

(8)

Attractive nuisances dangerous to children or other persons, including but not limited to, pools, ponds and excavations and abandoned, broken or neglected household appliances, equipment and machinery, unless located behind a solid fence reasonably restricting access to the area;

(9)

Clothes lines in residential area front yards, unless screened from public view;

(10)

Garbage cans, or similar containers, regularly stored in front yards in residential areas on non-collection days, and visible from any public or private property;

(11)

Maintenance of property in such a condition as to be detrimental to public health, safety or general welfare or in such manner as to constitute a public nuisance as defined in Civil Code Section 3480;

(12)

Residential area property maintained in such condition as to become so defective, unsightly, or in such condition of deterioration or disrepair that it is likely to cause substantial depreciation of the property values of any adjacent or nearby property;

(13)

In residential areas, any wall, fence or hedge in such condition as to constitute a hazard to persons or property or to cause substantial depreciation in the property values of any adjacent or nearby property;

(14)

Disposal of oil, gasoline, other petroleum products, noxious chemicals, pesticides, or other gaseous, liquid or solid wastes in such a manner as to constitute a health hazard or degrade the appearance of or detract from the aesthetic and property values of neighboring properties.

(15)

Any other condition declared to be a nuisance by the board of supervisors.

The listing of conditions in this section 14-36 is not intended as an exclusive listing of public nuisances related to the maintenance of property, and such specific listing shall not be, and shall not be interpreted or construed to be, a limitation on the authority of the county to abate other conditions which are found to be public nuisances under the provisions of section 14-35 above or which are otherwise specifically declared to be public nuisances under other provisions of law.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-37. - Owner's or occupier's duty.

Any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, estate or trust, or any person, occupying or having control, charge or possession of any property within the unincorporated area of Kings County has a duty to prevent a public nuisance described in section 14-35 and section 14-36, above, from arising on, or existing upon, such property.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-38. - Agricultural land use protection.

(a)

Policy. Notwithstanding any other provision in this article, agricultural operations are the principal and favored uses of land in the areas of Kings County designated "Agricultural" in the Kings County General Plan and included in the Agricultural zone districts of the Kings County Zoning Ordinance. In order to implement Goals 5 and 6 of the Kings County General Plan and Section 401 of the Kings County Zoning Ordinance, there is hereby adopted in Kings County a policy to (1) protect agricultural land, operations, and facilities from conflicting uses due to the encroachment of incompatible, non-agricultural uses of the land in agricultural areas of the county, and (2) to advise developers, owners, and subsequent purchasers of property in the county of the inherent potential inconveniences and discomforts often associated with agricultural activities and operations, including, but not limited to, equipment and animal noise; farming activities conducted on a 24-hour a day, seven-day a week basis; odors from manure, fertilizers, pesticides, chemicals, or other sources; the aerial and ground application of chemicals and seeds; dust; flies and other insects; and smoke from agriculture operations.

(b)

Lawful customary agricultural operations not a nuisance. No lawfully established and otherwise lawful agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereto, conducted or maintained for commercial agricultural purposes in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards as established and followed by similar agricultural operations in the same locality, shall be or become a nuisance, private or public, due to any changed condition in or about the locality, including, but not limited to, the encroachment of non-agricultural uses such as rural residences.

(c)

Exceptions. Subsection (b), above, shall not apply if the agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof, obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, river, bay, stream, canal, or basin, or any public park, square, street, or highway. Subsection (b) shall not invalidate any provision of California State Law, if the agricultural activity, operation, or facility, or appurtenances thereof, constitutes a nuisance, public or private, as specifically defined or described in any such provision.

(d)

Disclosure and recordation requirements. In order to carry out the goals and policies of the Kings County General Plan, the purposes of the Kings County Zoning Ordinance, and the provisions of this article, the following notices and disclosures shall be required:

(1)

All approvals of applications for rezonings, land divisions, zoning permits, and residential building permits, on property in the unincorporated territory of Kings County, shall include a condition that notice and disclosure of this agricultural land use policy be given by the applicant, or the owner if different from the applicant, to subsequent owners and occupants of the property. The applicant, or owner if different from the applicant, shall also acknowledge the contents of the notice and disclosure themselves, by signing and recording the written notice and disclosure, which includes a description of the property the notice and disclosure pertains to, in the Official Records of the Kings County Recorder, and recorded at the applicant's own expense.

(2)

Upon any transfer of property within the unincorporated territory of Kings County, including, but not limited to, the sale, exchange, installment land sale contract, contract of sale, lease with an option to purchase, any other option to purchase, ground lease, or action coupled with the actual or potential for improvements with dwelling units, the transferee shall ensure that the same statement required in subsection (1) above, shall be signed by the transferee and recorded in the Official Records of the Kings County Recorder in conjunction with the deed, or other document, conveying the property. Failure of the transferee to sign and/or record said statement shall not interfere in any way with recording the deed, or other documents, conveying the property, but failure to comply with this Section may constitute an infraction under Section 1-8.1 of this Code.

(3)

Notice of this land use policy shall be published by the Kings County Zoning Administrator, in a minimum one-eighth page advertisement, in a newspaper of general circulation in Kings County, twice each year on or about the first of March and September.

(4)

On or about the first of March and September of each year, the Kings County Zoning Administrator shall also send to each title company and real estate sales company in the county, as determined by the current "yellow pages" of local telephone books, copies of the notice of this policy with the request that copies thereof be freely available as handouts to customers.

(5)

The Kings County Zoning Administrator, after consultation with county counsel, shall develop the written forms to carry out the notice, disclosure and recordation required by this subsection.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)

Sec. 14-39. - Inspection warrant.

Where there is a report of the existence of a public nuisance or other reason to believe that a public nuisance exists on certain property, but the owner or person legally in possession of the property refuses consent to inspect it, or where circumstances justify the failure to seek consent to inspect, the county may proceed to obtain an inspection warrant pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1822.50 et seq. to enter and inspect such property; provided, however, no inspection warrant shall be required where there is an immediate threat or danger to the public health or safety and immediate abatement of a public nuisance is justified.

(Ord. No. 608, § 2, 3-5-02)