Chapter 10 - Health and Sanitation

ARTICLE 10-1
ARTICLE 10-2

ARTICLE 10-1      GARBAGE AND REFUSE COLLECTION

10-1-1         Town as Collection Agency

10-1-2         Service Charges

10-1-3         Disposal of Garbage

10-1-4         Containers

10-1-5         Disposal of Refuse

Section 10-1-1    Town as Collection Agency

1. The town, or other collectors authorized by the town, shall have the exclusive right to collect all garbage and refuse within the town, except as provided in this chapter or otherwise authorized in writing by the council.
   

2. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person in possession of any building, structure, residence, place of business or apartment unit within the town shall avoid or refuse to accept garbage or refuse disposal service provided by the town and any such avoidance shall not exempt such premises from the payment of charges for such services.

Section 10-1-2    Service Charges

1. The council shall establish a monthly charge for garbage and refuse collection and disposal services, by resolution, as is necessary to produce adequate revenue to cover the cost of services rendered.
   

2. Charges to newly constructed structures shall commence upon final inspection and approval of the structure by the town building inspector.
   

3. The monthly charge shall be paid in advance of service and shall be paid by the owner, tenant, lessee, occupant or person in possession of any occupied or utilized premises.
   

4. Charges shall be delinquent upon the close of business forty-five days after the date on which they were due.  The town may enforce the collection of any unpaid and delinquent accounts by civil action or by discontinuance of service.
   

5. All monies collected by the town under the provisions of this article shall be deposited to the general fund of the town.

Section 10-1-3    Disposal of Garbage

1. It is unlawful for any owner, tenant, lessee, occupant or person in possession of any building, structure or premises within the town to fail to provide for the disposal of his garbage or refuse.
   

2. It is unlawful for any owner, tenant, lessee, occupant or person in possession of any building, structure or premises within the town to dispose of his garbage and refuse at other than a landfill approved by the town for such purpose.
   

3. The term "garbage" as used herein shall be deemed to comprise all wastes and abandoned material commonly designated by that term, including food cans and receptacles of like character and ashes, but it shall not include slop waters, dish waters and rinsings and like liquids which later shall be disposed of through the sewer or any dead animal or human or animal excrement.

Section 10-1-4    Containers

1. Each inhabited or utilized structure in the town shall permanently provide one or more substantial garbage cans of sufficient size to contain all garbage of such structure.  Said cans shall be so constructed as to contain without leakage all garbage placed therein and shall be covered with closely fitting covers of the same material which shall remain in place at all times except when being emptied or when garbage is actually being placed therein.  The cans shall be kept in some convenient place where the garbage collector may find the same and remove the garbage therefrom.  The size of all cans shall not be in excess of thirty gallons and the maximum weight of each container when full shall not exceed fifty pounds.  All cans shall be kept on private property and shall not be left upon the public streets and alleys, except for a reasonable time on the day of pickup.
   

2. The duty of providing garbage cans and covers and to see that the same are kept in the place and condition required is imposed on each owner, lessee, tenant or person in possession of a structure receiving service.  Should any can being used fail to meet the requirements provided herein and be deemed unfit for use as a garbage can in the opinion of the garbage collector of the town, the garbage collector shall place on said can a tag notifying the user thereof that the can is unfit for further use and that the can will be picked up and carried away on the next garbage collection day.
   

3. No person shall use or remove garbage from any cans or uncover or remove the same, without permission or license of the owner or other person in charge or control thereof, except a person actually engaged in the work of transporting the garbage.
   

4. No person shall place or cause to be placed in any garbage can any dead animal or any human or animal excrement.

Section 10-1-5  Disposal of Refuse

1. All refuse such as papers, rags, mattresses, old clothing, pasteboard boxes, old carpets and other household wastes of like nature shall be left in suitable containers free from ashes and garbage, or in bundles firmly fastened so as to prevent refuse from being scattered in the handling.  Refuse shall be protected from the weather and left in close proximity to the garbage can on the premises so that the refuse may be removed as is prescribed in the case of garbage.  All cardboard, composition hard board or any other types of boxes or containers shall be collapsed by the owner, tenant, lessee, occupant or person in possession of any building or premises, prior to collection by the town of such boxes or containers.
   

2. Refuse such as tree trimmings, brush, dead foliage and other rubbish of a like nature shall be collected by the person in occupancy or in possession of the premises and placed in neat piles in close proximity to the garbage can on the premises as nearly as possible before the day refuse will be collected.  All rubbish as outlined above shall conform to either the weight limitation of fifty pounds or to the size limitation of five feet, whichever limitation is met first.
   

3. All refuse such as waste materials resulting from the construction, reconstruction, modification or remodeling of any residence, business or commercial establishment or premises shall be disposed of promptly by the contractor, builder or person doing the construction, reconstruction, modification or remodeling.  It is unlawful for any contractor, builder or person doing said construction, reconstruction, modification or remodeling to permit such waste materials to blow or disperse beyond the premises or accumulate for a period in excess of sixty days.

ARTICLE 10-2      REMOVAL OF LITTER

10-2-1         Definitions

10-2-2         Placement of Litter

10-2-3         Owner to Maintain Premises

10-2-4         Notice to Remove

10-2-5         Service of Notice

10-2-6         Appeal to Council

10-2-7         Removal by Town

10-2-8         Lien for Removal

Section 10-2-1    Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Litter" means any rubbish, trash, weeds, filth or debris which constitute a hazard to public health and safety and shall include all putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes including garbage, trash, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles and solid market and industrial waste; any deposit, accumulation, pile or heap of brush, grass, debris, weeds, cans, cloth, paper, wood, rubbish or other unsightly or unsanitary matter of any kind whatsoever.
   

2. "Private premises" means any dwelling, house, building or other structure, whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant, and shall include any yard, grounds, walk, driveway, porch, steps or vestibules belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other structure.
   

3. "Public place" means any and all streets, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys or other public ways, and any and all public parks, squares, spaces, grounds and buildings.

Section 10-2-2    Placement of Litter

1. No person shall throw or deposit litter on any public place or occupied or unoccupied private premises within the town, whether owned by such person or not, except that the owner or person in control of private property may maintain authorized containers for collection in such a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any public or private property.
   

2. It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to place any litter upon any private premises or public place not owned or under the control of said person, firm or corporation and, in addition to any fine which may be imposed for a violation of any provision of this section, he shall be liable for all costs which may be assessed pursuant to this article for the removal of said litter.

Section 10-2-3    Owner to Maintain Premises

The owner or person in control of any private property shall at all times maintain the premises free of litter, provided that this section shall not prohibit the storage of refuse or garbage in suitable containers as provided in this chapter.

Section 10-2-4    Notice to Remove

To compel the removal of litter through the provisions of this article, if a person owning or controlling any property fails, neglects or refuses to remove or properly dispose of litter, located on property owned or controlled by such person, he shall be given written notice by any duly authorized official of the town to remove all litter from such property prior to the date set on the notice for compliance which notice shall be given not less than thirty days before the date set for compliance.  Such notice shall contain an estimate of the cost of removal by the town, a statement that unless the person owning or controlling such property complies therewith prior to the date of compliance that the town will, at the expense of the person owning or controlling said property, perform the necessary work at a cost not to exceed the estimate given in the notice, and that such person may appeal in writing to the council prior to the date of compliance on the notice.

Section 10-2-5    Service of Notice

Notice shall be personally served on the owner or person controlling such property, by a duly authorized official of the town in the manner provided in Rule 4(d) of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, or mailed to the owner or person controlling such property at his last known address by certified or registered mail, or the address to which the tax bill for the property was last mailed.  If the owner does not reside on such property, a duplicate notice shall also be sent to him by certified or registered mail at his last known address.

Section 10-2-6    Appeal to Council

Prior to the date set for compliance on the notice, the owner or person controlling such property may appeal in writing to the council from the demand as contained in the notice.  The council may, at its next regular meeting after receiving the appeal, hear and determine the same and the decision of the council shall be final.  The council may either affirm or reverse the decision of the duly authorized official or modify the scope of the work as required in the notice.  No action shall be taken by the town until the council has heard and determined all matters contained in the notice of appeal.

Section 10-2-7    Removal by Town

When any person to whom notice, has been given, prior to the date of compliance on the notice, or within such further time as may have been granted by the council on appeal, fails, neglects or refuses to move from such property any or all litter, the duly authorized official is authorized and directed to cause the litter to be removed and disposed of at the expense of the owner or person controlling such property.  Upon completion of the work, the duly authorized official shall prepare a verified statement of account of the actual cost of such removal or abatement, the date the work was completed, and the street address and the legal description of the property on which said work was done, including five percent for additional inspection and other incidental costs in connection therewith, and shall serve a duplicate copy of such verified statement upon the person owning or controlling such property in the manner prescribed in Section 10-2-5.  The owner or person controlling such property shall have thirty days from the date of service upon him to appeal in writing to the council from the amount of the assessment as contained in the verified statement.  If an appeal is not filed with the clerk within such thirty day period, then the amount of the assessment as determined by the duly authorized official shall become final and binding.  If an appeal is taken, the council shall, at its next regular meeting, hear and determine the appeal and may affirm the amount of the assessment, modify the amount thereof, or determine that no assessment at all shall be made.  The decision of the council shall be final and binding on all persons.

Section 10-2-8    Lien for Removal

If no appeal is taken from the amount of the assessment, or if an appeal is taken and the council has affirmed or modified the amount of the assessment, the original assessment or the assessment as so modified shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder and, from the date of its recording, shall be a lien on said private premises until paid.  Such liens shall be subject and inferior to the lien for general taxes and to all prior recorded mortgages and encumbrances of record.  A sale of the property to satisfy a lien obtained under the provisions of this section shall be made upon judgment of foreclosure or order of sale.  The town shall have the right to bring an action to enforce the lien in the superior court at any time after the recording of the assessment, but failure to enforce the lien by such action shall not affect its validity.  The recorded assessment shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of all matters recited therein and of the regularity of all proceedings prior to the recording thereof.  A prior assessment for the purposes provided in this section shall not be a bar to a subsequent assessment for such purposes, and any number of liens on the same lot or tract of land may be enforced in the same action.