2021-08-10 P & Z Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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RELEVANT LINKS: See LMC information memo, When ordering the owner to correct or remove any hazardous conditions, Dangerous Properties. specific statutory procedures must be followed, including enforcement through judicial action. Any attempt to order correction must proceed through the guidance and assistance of the city attorney. Minn. Stat. § 463.251. Vacant properties can also be a detriment to a community’s health, safety, City of Wells v. Swehla, No. and general welfare. Unoccupied, unsecured properties can quickly C3-00-319, (Minn. Ct. App. 2000) (unpublished opinion). become the breeding ground for rodents, trash, and criminal activities. Cities can order vacant or unoccupied structures to be secured against trespass and provide for the emergency securing of a building when health and safety concerns require. A number of cities have adopted local regulations related to vacant structures. K. Consumption of police services Some cities have adopted ordinances declaring excessive use of police services to be a public nuisance. Under these regulations, the costs of excessive police services are pushed back onto those individuals whose Minn. Stat. § 504B.205. nuisance activities resulted in repeat police responses (and additional costs) to one location. Cities adopting such measures must be careful not to impede an individual’s right to seek police or other emergency assistance when needed. L. Miscellaneous Minn. Stat. § 609.74. This list of nuisance activities is not intended to be definitive. Cities, either specifically within a general nuisance ordinance or elsewhere within the city code, regulate or prohibit harmful, indecent or offensive conduct. As a few final examples, cities regularly enforce city ordinances concerning: Noxious smells or odors. Graffiti. Animated signage. Excessive or misdirected light. Glare. A city may certainly find other acts or uses to be nuisances, and the list and type of activities may change over time. Before making such a declaration, seek the advice of the city attorney. VI. Municipal regulations Seiler, Bryan M., Note, There are various reasons why cities regulate nuisance activities or Moving from “Broken conditions. When a city does become involved, it needs be sure that it has Windows” to Healthy Neighborhood Policy: the general authority to act and complies with any statutory or ordinance Reforming Urban Nuisance requirements. Cities need to limit their actions to public, not private, Law in Public and Private Sectors, 92 Minn. L. Rev. nuisances. 883, 903 (2008). League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 4/16/2020 Public Nuisances Page 13