Sec. 20-19. - Violations of article.

Any violation of this article shall constitute a Class 4 misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified.

(Ord. No. 164, § 8; Code 1961, § 21-19)

Sec. 20-20. - Definition.

For the purposes of this article, collections of water in which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed are those contained in ditches, ponds, pools, excavations, holes, depressions, open cesspools, privy vaults, fountains, cellars, cisterns, tanks, shallow wells, barrels, troughs (except horse troughs in frequent use), urns, cans, boxes, bottles, tubs, buckets, defective house roof gutters, tanks of flush closets or other similar water containers.

(Ord. No. 164, § 2; Code 1961, § 21-12)

Sec. 20-21. - Responsibility of tenants, landlords and others under article.

(a)

For the purposes of this article, the person responsible for the condition of any premises is the person using or occupying the same, or in case no person is using or occupying the premises, the person who, by law, is entitled to the immediate possession of the same, or in case the premises are used or occupied by two (2) or more tenants of a common landlord, or grounds appurtenant to a house occupied by two (2) or more tenants of a common landlord, then the landlord shall be the person responsible. Each tenant, however, is responsible for that part of the premises which he or she occupies to the exclusion of the other tenants.

(b)

Notwithstanding the above, in case the premises are occupied by a tenant under a yearly or monthly tenancy, or under a lease for not more than a year, or under any lease whereby the lessor is expressly or impliedly obligated to keep the premises in repair, and the collection of standing or flowing water in which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed is owing to the disrepair of the building, or to any natural quality of the premises or to any condition that existed at the time when the tenant entered into possession, or to anything done on the premises by the landlord during the existence of the tenancy or lease, then, and in such case, the landlord is the person responsible.

(c)

Any person who has caused to exist, on any premises of which he or she is not the owner, landlord, occupant or tenant, any collection of water in which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed is responsible, as well as the owner, landlord, tenant or occupant, as the case may be.

(Ord. No. 164, § 6; Code 1961, § 21-17)

Sec. 20-22. - Right of entry to enforce article.

For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this article, the director of public works or the director's authorized representative may, at all reasonable times, enter in and upon any premises within the city.

(Ord. No. 164, § 7; Code 1961, § 21-18)

Sec. 20-23. - Certain collections of standing or flowing water prohibited and declared to be nuisances.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any person to have, keep, maintain, cause or permit within the city any collection of standing or flowing water in which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed, unless such collection of water is treated so as to effectually prevent such breeding.

(b)

Collections of standing or flowing water in which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed are hereby declared to be nuisances and detrimental to the public health.

(Ord. No. 164, § 1; Code 1961, §§ 21-11, 21-13)

Sec. 20-24. - Evidence of mosquito breeding.

The natural presence of mosquito larvae in standing or running water shall be evidence that mosquitoes are breeding there.

(Ord. No. 164, § 3; Code 1961, § 21-14)

Sec. 20-25. - Prescribed methods of treatment of collections of water in which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed.

To effectually prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, collections of water in which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed shall be treated by one (1) or more of the following methods approved by the director of public works or such director's authorized representative:

(1)

Screening with wire netting of at least sixteen (16) meshes to the inch each way, or any other material which will effectually prevent the ingress or egress of mosquitoes.

(2)

Complete emptying every seven (7) days of unscreened containers, together with their thorough drying or cleaning.

(3)

Using a larvicide approved and applied under the direction of the director of public works or the director's authorized representative.

(4)

Covering completely the surface of the water with kerosene, petroleum or paraffin oil once every seven (7) days.

(5)

Cleaning and keeping sufficiently free from vegetable growth and other obstructions and stocking with mosquito-destroying fish.

(6)

Filling or draining to the satisfaction of the director of public works or the director's authorized representative.

(7)

Proper disposal, by removal or destruction, of tin cans, tin boxes, broken or empty bottles and similar articles likely to hold water.

(Ord. No. 164, § 4; Code 1961, § 21-15)

Sec. 20-26. - Failure to take action to prevent mosquito breeding after notice to do so; action by city.

In case the person responsible for the condition of premises on which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed fails or refuses to take the necessary measures to prevent their breeding, within three (3) days after notice in writing has been given by the director of public works or the director's authorized representative, or within such longer time after such notice as may be specified in the notice, the person responsible shall be deemed guilty of a separate violation of this article for each day after the expiration of three (3) days from the day on which such notice is given him, or for each day after the expiration of the time specified in the notice, as the case may be, that the person responsible fails or refuses to take such measures. In case of such failure or refusal of the person responsible, the director of public works or the director's representative is authorized to take the necessary measures to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes and all necessary costs incurred for that purpose shall be a charge against the person responsible.

(Ord. No. 164, § 5; Code 1961, § 21-16)

Secs. 20-27—20-29. - Reserved.

Editor's note—

Sections 20-27—20-29, providing for a mosquito control district and a mosquito control commission under the supervision of the department of public works, derived from Ord. No. 2838-81, § 1, were repealed by Ord. No. 3272-84.

Secs. 20-30—20-36. - Reserved.