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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 4342 - Second Reading: AmendRCOChapt. 48. TallGrass&Weed ORDINANCE NO. ____ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 48.02, 48.03, 48.04, AND 48.11, OF CHAPTER 48 OF THE ROCHESTER CODE OF ORDINANCES, RELATING TO TALL GRASS AND WEED REGULATION. THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER DO ORDAIN: Section 1. Section 48.02 of Chapter 48 of the Rochester Code of Ordinances is hereby amended to read as follows: 48.02. Definitions. Subdivision 1. The following definitions shall apply to words used in this chapter. Subd. 2 1. “Boulevard” shall mean the area between the street and sidewalk or, in the absence of a public sidewalk, the area between the street and property line adjacent to all streets within the Rochester City limits. that portion of the street outside the roadway that may contain sidewalks, landscaped area, infrastructure, or amenities. Subd. 3 2. “Buffer” or “buffer strip” shall mean a management area used to separate differing landscapes and land uses to minimize the impact from these adjacent land uses. a unit of yard together with the plantings required thereon designed to mitigate nuisance between adjacent land uses or between a land use and a public street. Subd. 3 “Developed” shall mean improvements to property including roads, paths, sidewalk, any buildings, driveways, or out buildings. Subd. 4. “Landscaping” shall mean the active involvement in the encouragement of selected plants to grow on a site. Subd. 5. “Native and Naturalistic Vegetation” shall mean grasses and flowering broad-leaf plants that are native to, or adapted to, the State of Minnesota, and that are commonly found in meadow and prairie plant communities, except weeds. Subd. 6. “Native grasses” shall mean grasses (Beach Grass, Wood Chess Grass, Sand Reed Grass, Wheat Grass, Bluestem Grass, Grama Grass, Brome Grass, Buffalo Grass, Switch Grass, Indian Grass, Wild Rye) that existed in the area prior to European settlement. Subd. 7. “Native plants” shall mean plants that existed in the area prior to European settlement. Subd. 8. “Natural landscaping” shall mean the use of groups of plants native to the area. Subd. 9. “Naturalistic landscaping” shall mean the use of native and non-native plants. Subd. 10. “Noxious weeds” shall mean plants so designated by the Commissioner of Agriculture pursuant to Minnesota Statute under authority of Minn. Stat. Sec 18.77 subd. 8, those identified by Olmsted County, or USDA-APHIS. Subd. 11. “Prairie” shall mean a plant community dominated by a diversity of native perennial herbaceous plants and grasses. Subd. 12. “Regularly cut” shall mean mowing or otherwise cutting vegetation so that the dimension of the vegetation measured from the ground to the top of the vegetation(as extended upright) regardless if that is the blade of the vegetation or any other part of the plant does not exceed 12 inches in height. Subd. 13. “Temporary Erosion Control Grasses” shall mean grasses (winter wheat, oats, annual rye or regreen) that are used as single growing season cover or nurse crops to assist in the establishment of permanent vegetation. Subd. 14. “Traditional landscaping” shall mean the use of turf grasses and woody plants (shrubbery and trees) with defined areas for cultivation of annual and perennial plants. Subd. 15. “Transitional period” shall mean the amount of time to change from one type of landscaping to another. The period should not extend beyond three growing seasons for any specific area. Subd. 16. “Turf grasses” shall mean bluegrass, fescue and ryegrass blends with non-woody vegetation interspersed with them commonly used in regularly cut lawns. Subd. 17. “Weeds” shall mean prohibited noxious weeds as identified by the State of Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Olmsted County, or USDA-APHIS and any undesirable or troublesome plant that is horticulturally out of place exceeding the height limitations in this chapter. For the purposes of this ordinance, Taraxacum spp (common dandelion) is not considered a weed. 2 Subd. 18. “Wetlands” shall mean lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is near the surface. The boundary of wetlands for purposes of this chapter shall be determined according to the most recently published U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual (1987). Section 2. Section 48.03 of Chapter 48 of the Rochester Code of Ordinances is hereby amended as follows: 48.03. Nuisance Declared. It shall be unlawful and a public nuisance for any person having control of any property in the City of Rochester to permit or maintain on such property any (1) noxious weeds, or (2) growth of grass and weeds in excess of 12” in height, if the growth of grass and weeds occupies an area of at least 144 square feet and is located within 200 feet of a residence or the property line of a developed or platted parcel or within any platted property. No owner shall permit such weeds and grass to be a public nuisance, but shall abate the nuisance by cutting the weeds and grass and removing the clippings if said clippings are deposited in a manner to create areas which the vegetation will be ruined/killed. Section 3. Section 48.04 of Chapter 48 of the Rochester Code of Ordinances is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows: 48.04. Exemption and Conditions for Exemptions. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following: a. non-noxious weeds and grass vegetation in an identified wetland area; b. non-noxious weeds, grasses and herbaceous vegetation within 50’ of designated storm water ponds (lying within the storm water pond property) or within 50’ of natural or altered creeks, rivers and stream corridors, including riparian buffer strips, that convey water, provided they are cut to less than 12 inches at least once per year if located within 200’ of an occupied residence or developed property; c. non-noxious weed and grass vegetation growing on agriculturally zoned land, including pastures, that are fenced and contain animals; d. temporary erosion control grasses; e. maintained and weeded prairie, or natural/naturalistic landscape vegetation that does not contain noxious weed growth provided that the property owner applies for and is issued a natural or naturalistic landscape permit, and maintains the property in a condition sufficient to maintain the permit; f. grass and non-noxious weed vegetation in publicly owned parks designated as natural preserves area or private property so designated by the City Council or any natural undisturbed areas existing beyond 200 feet of a developed/platted property where the land and vegetation appears not to have been graded, landscaped or otherwise disturbed by human or mechanical means in recent time; g. grass and non-noxious weed vegetation on natural or altered slopes steeper than 2:1; or 3 h. ornamental grasses. Section 4. Section 48.11 of Chapter 48 of the Rochester Code of Ordinances is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows: 48.11 Mitigation by the City. Upon finding a public nuisance associated with weeds or grass, the designated Park staff may issue to the property owner an administrative citation pursuant to the “Administrative Fine” process outlined in RCO Chapter 5 or a violation notice pursuant to this chapter. For purposes of mitigation of the public nuisance the Director of Park and Recreation, or assigns, may enter onto private property to mitigate nuisance weeds or grass 48 no earlier than 4 calendar days hours after the date the administrative citation or violation notice has been issued. The Director of Park and Recreation shall keep a record showing the cost of the required mitigation on each lot or parcel. Section 5. This ordinance is effective as of the date of its publication. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, THIS _____ DAY OF ________________, 2018. ___________________________________ PRESIDENT OF SAID COMMON COUNCIL ATTEST: ____________________ CITY CLERK APPROVED THIS _____ DAY OF ___________________, 2018. ___________________________________ MAYOR OF SAID CITY (Seal of the City of Rochester, Minnesota) Ord15/48etseq 4