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RELEVANT LINKS: <br />A. Public nuisances <br />Victor E. Schwartz & Phil <br />Public nuisance laws have developed over centuries of English and U.S. <br />Goldberg, The Law of Public <br />court decisions (common law). In addition, state and local governments <br />Nuisance: Maintaining <br />Rational Boundaries on a <br />determine through state statutes and/or local ordinances what are <br />Rational Tort, 45 Washburn <br />considered nuisance activities for a particular jurisdiction. <br />L.J. 541 (2006). <br /> <br />Nuisance laws have evolved over time and will continue to do so. With <br />more and more people living and working closely in our cities, individuals <br />have a greater opportunity to impact the living conditions of their <br />neighbors. Changes in industrial and commercial practices also lead to <br />different beliefs on what are appropriate uses of property, real and <br />personal, and what is not proper. <br />Kelsey v. Chicago R.I. & <br />Public nuisances negatively impact a community—perhaps the city at <br />P.R. Co., 264 Minn. 49, 117 <br />large, or an otherwise significant area such as a neighborhood. Public <br />N.W.2d 559 (Minn. 1962). <br />nuisance laws address both intentional acts and negligent conduct. <br /> <br />1. Statutory criminal offenses <br />Minn. Stat. § 609.74. <br />State statutes provide that a person is guilty of maintaining a public <br />nuisance (a misdemeanor offense) when he or she, by an affirmative action <br />or upon a failure to act, does any of the following: <br /> <br /> Maintains or permits a condition which unreasonably annoys, injures, <br /> <br />or endangers the safety, health, morals, comfort, or repose of any <br /> <br /> <br />considerable number of members of the public. <br /> <br />State v. Nelson, 189 Minn. <br /> Interferes with, obstructs, or renders dangerous for passage any public <br />87, 248 N.W. 751 (Minn. <br />highway, right-of-way, or waters used by the public. <br />1933). <br /> Is guilty of any other act or omission declared by law to be a public <br />nuisance and for which no sentence is specifically provided. <br />Minn. Stat. § 609.745. <br />Both the person in control of the real property where a public nuisance is <br />maintained, as well as a property owner who rents property with <br />knowledge of the nuisance conditions, may be guilty of a misdemeanor. <br />Statutory nuisance violations can be enforced through criminal <br />prosecutions. <br /> <br />2. Injunctions and abatements <br />Minn. Stat. §§ 617.80-.87. <br />In addition to possible criminal prosecutions, the state statutes also provide <br /> <br />a mechanism for obtaining temporary or permanent injunctions or orders <br /> <br />for abatement of certain defined public nuisance activities. An injunction <br />is an order that requires a person to stop doing something that harms (e.g., <br />refraining from loud noises, odors, etc.); an abatement order would require <br />a harmful condition to be removed from the property (e,g., cutting weeds, <br />draining stagnant water, etc.). <br />League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 4/16/2020 <br />Public Nuisances Page 5 <br /> <br />