This article shall be known as the “Environmental Code.”

(Code 2004)

The governing body has found that there exist within the city unsightly and hazardous conditions due to: dilapidation, deterioration or disrepair of walls, siding, fences or structure exteriors; accumulations increasing the hazards of accidents or other calamities; structural defects; uncleanliness; unsightly stored or parked material, equipment, supplies, machinery, vehicles or parts thereof. Such conditions are inimical to the general welfare of the community in that they have a blighting influence on the adjoining properties, the neighborhood and the city, or are injurious to the health and safety of the residents of the city. The governing body desires to promote the public health, safety and welfare by the repair, removal, abatement, and regulation of such conditions in the manner hereafter provided.

(Code 2004)

The purpose of this article is to protect, preserve, upgrade, and regulate the environmental quality of industrial, commercial and residential neighborhoods in this city, by outlawing conditions which are injurious to the health, safety, welfare or aesthetic characteristics of the neighborhoods and to provide for the administration and enforcement thereof.

(Code 2004)

For the purpose of this article, the following rules of construction shall apply:

(1)   Any part thereof - Whenever the words premises, structure, building or yard are used they shall be construed as though they were followed by the words “or any part thereof.”

(2)   Gender - Words of gender shall be construed to mean neuter, feminine or masculine, as may be applicable.

(3)   Number - Words of number shall be construed to mean singular or plural, as may be applicable.

(4)   Tense - Words of tense shall be construed to mean present or future, as may be applicable.

(5)   Shall - The word “shall” is mandatory and not permissive.

(Code 2004)

The words and phrases listed below when used in this article shall have the following meanings:

(1)   Abandoned Motor Vehicle - any motor vehicle which is not currently registered or tagged pursuant to K.S.A. 8-126 to 8-149 inclusive, as amended; or parked in violation of the code; or incapable of moving under its own power; or in a junked or wrecked condition.

(2)   Accessory Structure - a secondary structure detached from the principal structure but on the same premises, including, but not limited to, garages, sheds, barns, or outbuildings.

(3)   Commercial or Industrial - used or intended to be used primarily for other than residential purposes.

(4)   Dilapidation, Deterioration or Disrepair - shall mean any condition characterized by, but not limited to: holes, breaks, rot, decay, crumbling, cracking, peeling or flaking paint, rusting, or other evidence of physical damage, neglect, lack of maintenance, excessive use or weathering.

(5)   Exterior - those parts of a structure which are exposed to the weather or subject to contact with the elements; including, but not limited to: sidings, facings, veneers, masonry, roofs, foundations, porches, screens, shutters, windows, doors or signs.

(6)   Garbage - without limitation any accumulation of animal, fruit or vegetable waste matter that results from the handling, preparation, cooking, serving, delivering, storage, or use of foodstuffs.

(7)   Person - any individual, individuals, corporation, partnership, unincorporated association, other business organization, committee, board, trustee, receiver, agent or other representative who has charge, care, control or responsibility for maintenance of any premises, regardless of status as owner, renter, tenant or lessee, whether or not in possession.

(8)   Premises - any lot, plot or parcel of land including the structures thereon. Premises shall also mean any lot, plot or parcel of land without any structures thereon.

(9)   Refuse - garbage and trash.

(10) Residential - used or intended to be used primarily for human habitation.

(11) Structure - anything constructed or erected which requires location on the ground or is attached to something having a location on the ground including any appurtenances belonging thereto.

(12) Trash - combustible waste consisting of, but not limited to: papers, cartons, boxes, barrels, wood, excelsior, furniture, bedding, rags, leaves, yard trimmings, or tree branches and non-combustible waste consisting of, but not limited to: metal, tin, cans, glass, crockery, plastics, mineral matter, ashes, clinkers, or street rubbish and sweepings.

(13) Weathered - deterioration caused by exposure to the elements.

(14) Yard - the area of the premises not occupied by any structure.

(Code 2004)

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

(Code 2004)

No person shall be found in violation of this article unless the public officer, after a reasonable inquiry and inspection of the premises, believes that conditions exist of a quality and appearance not commensurate with the character of the neighborhood. Such belief must be supported by evidence of a level of maintenance significantly below that of the rest of the neighborhood. Such evidence shall include conditions declared unlawful under section 8-208 but shall not include conditions which are not readily visible from any public place or from any surrounding private property.

(Code 2004)

It shall be unlawful for any person to allow to exist on any residential, commercial or industrial premises, conditions which are injurious to the health, safety or general welfare of the residents of the community or conditions which are detrimental to adjoining property, the neighborhood or the city. For the purpose of fair and efficient enforcement and administration, such unlawful conditions shall be classified as follows:

(a)   Exterior conditions (yard) shall include, but not be limited to, the scattering over or the parking, leaving, depositing or accumulation on the yard of any of the following:

(1)   lumber, wire, metal, tires, concrete, masonry products, plastic products, supplies, equipment, machinery, auto parts, junk or refuse;

(2)   abandoned motor vehicles; or

(3)   furniture, stoves, refrigerators, televisions, sinks, bicycles, lawn mowers, or other such items of personal property.

(4)   nauseous substances, carcasses of dead animals or places where animals are kept in an offensive manner.

(b)   Exterior conditions (structure) shall include, but not be limited to, deteriorated, dilapidated, or unsightly:

(1)   exteriors of any structure;

(2)   exteriors of any accessory structure; or

(3)   fences, walls, or retaining walls.

(Code 2004)

(a)   The governing body shall serve upon the owner, any agent of the owner of the property or any other person, corporation, partnership or association found by the public officer to be in violation of section 8-208 an order stating the violation. The order shall be served on the owner or agent of such property by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal service. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, then by mailing the order by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the owner.

(b)   If the owner or the agent of the owner of the property has failed to accept delivery or otherwise failed to effectuate receipt of a notice or order sent pursuant to this section during the preceding 24 month period, the governing body of the city may provide notice of the issuance of any further orders to abate or remove a nuisance from such property or provide notice of the order by such methods including, but not limited to, door hangers, conspicuously posting notice of such order on the property, personal notification, telephone communication or first class mail. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, notice provided by this section shall be given by telephone communication or first-class mail. The order shall state:

(a)   The condition which has caused the violation of this article; and

(b)   That the person in violation shall have:

(1)   10 days from the date of the mailing of the notice to alleviate the exterior conditions (yard) violation; and/or;

(2)   45 days from the date of the mailing of the notice to alleviate the exterior conditions (structure) violation; or in the alternative to subsections (1) and (2) above,

(3)   10 days from the date of the mailing of the notice to request, as provided in section 8-213 a hearing before the governing body or its designated representative on the matter; and

(c)   That failure to alleviate the condition or to request a hearing may result in prosecution under section 8-210 and/or abatement of the condition by the city according to section 8-211 with the costs assessed against the property under section 8-214.

(K.S.A. 12-1617e; Code 2004)

The public officer may file a complaint in the municipal court against any person found to be in violation of section 8-208, provided however, that such person shall first have been sent a notice as provided in section 8-209 and that the person has neither alleviated the conditions causing the alleged violation nor requested a hearing before the governing body within the time periods specified in section 8-209. Upon such complaint in the municipal court, any person found to be in violation of section 8-208 shall upon conviction be punished by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $100, or by imprisonment, for not more than 30 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, for each offense. For the purposes of this article, a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which such violation is permitted to exist.

(Code 2004)

In addition to, or as an alternative to prosecution as provided in section 8-210, the public officer may seek to remedy violations of this article in the following manner. If a person to whom an order has been served pursuant to section 8-205 has neither alleviated the conditions causing the alleged violation nor requested a hearing before the governing body within the time periods specified in section 8-206, the public officer may present a resolution to the governing body for adoption authorizing the public officer or other agents of the city to abate the conditions causing the violation at the end of 10 days after passage of the resolution. The resolution shall further provide that the costs incurred by the city shall be charged against the lot or parcel of ground on which the nuisance was located as provided in section 8-214.

A copy of the resolution shall be served upon the person in violation in one of the following ways:

(a)   Personal service upon the person in violation;

(b)   Certified mail, return receipt requested; or

(c)   In the event the whereabouts of such person are unknown and the same cannot be ascertained in the exercise of reasonable diligence, an affidavit to that effect shall be made by the public officer and filed with the city clerk, and the serving of the resolution shall be made by publishing the same once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official city newspaper and by posting a copy of the resolution on the premises where such condition exists.

(d)   If the owner or the agent of the owner of the property has failed to accept delivery or otherwise failed to effectuate receipt of a notice or order sent pursuant to this section during the preceding 24 month period, the governing body of the city may provide notice of the issuance of any further orders to abate or remove a nuisance from such property or provide notice of the order by such methods including, but not limited to, door hangers, conspicuously posting notice of such order on the property, personal notification, telephone communication or first class mail. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, notice provided by this section shall be given by telephone communication or first-class mail.

(Code 2004)

If a hearing is requested within a 10-day period as provided in section 8-209, such request shall be made in writing to the city clerk. 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 during any later proceedings. The initial hearing shall be held by the public officer as soon as possible after the filing of the request therefor, and the person shall be advised by the city of the time and place of the hearing at least five days in advance thereof. If the person requesting such a hearing is unsatisfied with the results of such hearing, such person may appeal the public officer’s determination to the city administrator by filing a request in writing with the city clerk. The hearing before the city administrator shall be held by the administrator at the earliest possible date and the city will be obliged to provide the person requesting such hearing within five days following the city administrator’s determination, a hearing before the governing body. The hearing by the governing body shall be held as soon as possible after the filing of the request therefore and again, the person shall be advised by the city of the time and place of the hearing at least five days in advance thereof. At any of the administrative hearings provided for herein, the person requesting such hearing may be represented by counsel, and the person and the city may introduce such witnesses and evidence as is deemed necessary by the administrative official or the governing body, as the case may be. The hearing need not be conducted according to the formal rules of evidence. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer and/or governing body, as the case may be, shall record its determination of the matter by means of adopting a resolution and serving the resolution upon the person in the manner provided in section 8-211.

(Ord. 496, Sec. 1; Code 2004; Code 2019)

Any person affected by any determination of the governing body under sections 8-211 or 8-212 may appeal such determination in the manner provided by K.S.A. 60-2101.

(Code 2004)

If the city abates or removes the nuisance pursuant to section 8-211, the city shall give notice to the owner or his or her agent by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the total cost of the abatement or removal incurred by the city. The notice shall also state that the payment is due within 30 days following receipt of the notice. The city also may recover the cost of providing notice, including any postage, required by this section. The notice shall also state that if the cost of the removal or abatement is not paid within the 30-day period, the cost of the abatement or removal shall be collected in the manner provided by K.S.A. 12-1,115, and amendments thereto, or shall be assessed as special assessments and charged against the lot or parcel of land on which the nuisance was located and the city clerk, at the time of certifying other city taxes, shall certify the unpaid portion of the costs and the county clerk shall extend the same on the tax rolls of the county against such lot or parcel of land and it shall be collected by the county treasurer and paid to the city as other city taxes are collected and paid. The city may pursue collection both by levying a special assessment and in the manner provided by K.S.A. 12-1,115, and amendments thereto, but only until the full cost and applicable interest has been paid in full.

(Code 2004)

Nothing in this article shall be construed to abrogate or impair the powers of the courts or of any department of the city to enforce any provisions of its laws nor to prevent or punish violations thereof. The powers conferred by this article shall be in addition to and supplemental to the powers conferred by the Kansas Constitution, by any other law or by ordinance.

(Code 2004)

It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to permit the discharge, whether intentionally or unintentionally and whether knowingly or unknowingly, a hazardous material or pollutant as such materials may be defined by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency, the bi-county health department, or the Butler County Emergency Operations Plan, into or upon the air, waterways, or ground in Butler County, Kansas.

(Ord. 425, Sec. 1)

Upon the discharge of such materials or upon reaching a determination that the discharge of such materials is likely, the city or the board of county commissioners of Butler County acting through its Emergency Management Department or any other department or any other entity contracting with Butler County, shall be permitted to take any and all steps necessary to confine, contain, and limit pollution to the environment of the city and shall be further authorized to take such steps as may be reasonable and necessary to clean the area of such discharged materials and dispose of such material in such fashion as may be permitted by law.

(Ord. 425, Sec. 2)

Any and all persons or entities who are determined to be the owner or possessor of a material so discharged or determined to be responsible for the release or threatened release of such materials which results in governmental action to confine such discharge or clean the environment following such discharge shall be strictly liable for the recoverable expenses resulting from the governmental action. In general, recoverable expenses are those expenses which are reasonable and necessary for the emergency action. Recoverable expenses may include, but are not limited to:

(a)   The costs of disposable materials and supplies acquired, consumed and expended specifically for the purpose of the emergency action.

(b)   Compensation of employees for the time and efforts devoted specifically for the purpose of emergency action that is not otherwise provided for in the governmental entity’s operating budget.

(c)   Rental or leasing of equipment used specifically for the emergency action (e.g., protective equipment or clothing, scientific and technical equipment).

(d)   Replacement cost for equipment owned by the county that is contaminated beyond reuse or repair, if the county can demonstrate that the equipment was a total loss and that the loss occurred during the emergency action (e.g., self-contained breathing apparatus irretrievable or contaminated during the response).

(e)   Decontamination of equipment contaminated during the response.

(f)   Special technical services specifically required for the response (e.g., costs associated with the time and efforts of technical experts or specialists not otherwise provided for by the governmental entity).

(g)   Other special services specifically required for the emergency action.

(h)   Laboratory costs for purposes of analyzing samples taken during the emergency action.

(i)    Any costs of clean-up, storage, or disposal of the released material.

(j)    Costs associated with the services, supplies, and equipment procured for a specific evaluation.

(k)   Medical expenses that may be incurred as a result of response activity.

(l)    Legal expenses that may be incurred as a result of the emergency action, including efforts to recover expenses pursuant to this section.

(m)  All expenses assessed to Butler County by any party or parties including governmental agencies who contract with Butler County for the purpose of providing the services contemplated herein.

(n)   Discharge shall mean any release, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, infecting, escaping, leeching, dumping, or dispensing into or upon the environment.

(Ord. 425, Sec. 3)

Butler County, on behalf of the city, shall keep a detailed record of its recoverable expenses resulting from the emergency action. Promptly after completion of the emergency action, such expenses shall be certified to the county’s legal counsel who shall bring a civil action for the recovery of such expenses against any and all persons responsible for the emergency action. Not less than 30 days before filing such civil action, the county’s legal counsel shall submit a written, itemized claim for the total certified expenses to the responsible party or the owner of the material discharged as well as a written notice that unless the amounts are paid in full to Butler County within 30 days after the date of the mailing of the claim and notice, that a civil action for the stated amount shall be filed. Moneys recovered under this resolution shall be credited to the appropriate fund of the county from which moneys were expended in performing the emergency action.

(Ord. 425, Sec. 4)

In addition to the foregoing remedy, Butler County, on behalf of the city, may cause a lien in the amount of the recoverable expenses provided for herein to be placed against any real property located within the city owned by the person owning or possessing such discharged materials or found to have caused or be responsible for the emergency action.

(Ord. 425, Sec. 5)