(a) All buildings, premises, and structures and exterior property, including all vacant or unimproved property, shall be ratproofed and maintained in a ratproof condition and be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation. Where rodents are found, they shall be promptly exterminated by approved processes which will not be injurious to human health. After extermination, proper precautions shall be taken to eliminate rodent harborage and prevent reinfestation. The owner of such building premises, structure, or exterior property shall be responsible for complying with the provisions of this section.
(b) No building, premises, or structure shall be used for the storage or handling of solid waste, including debris, garbage, litter and rubbish, which provide a place for rodents to harbor.
(c) All barrels, bottles, building materials, boxes, cans, cartons, containers, fabricated goods, food, foodstuff, junk, lumber, machinery, raw materials and similar things that may afford harborage or food for rats shall be kept, stored or handled in a manner or method approved by the Public Health Director.
(d) Whenever there is a rat infestation in any building, open area or other premises, the occupants thereof and, in
the case of a multiple dwelling, the owner thereof, shall immediately institute rat control and shall continuously maintain such measures until any such building,
open area or other premises are declared by the Public Health Director to be free of rat infestation.
(e) No building, or part thereof, shall be used as a place where food or foodstuff is stored, processed, prepared, manufactured, sold or offered for sale unless such building, or part thereof, is free from vermin and rodents. No license shall be issued for the storing, processing, preparing, manufacturing, selling or offering for sale of any food, foodstuff or food products until the applicant therefor secures approval or a certification from the Public Health Director that the place where such operation is to be conducted is of ratproof construction or has been rendered ratproof.
(f) Owners, occupants, contractors, employees or agents of public utilities or any other persons, who make alterations, additions, extensions, enlargements or repairs or in the installation of wires, conduits, pipes or other installations or for any other purpose, shall not remove or fail to restore in like condition the ratproofing from any building or to make new openings therein that are not ratproofed.
(g) A person shall not feed wild birds other than from bird feeders which can only be accessed by birds, and be elevated at least 48 inches above ground level.
(h) A person shall not intentionally feed, make available, nor assist another person to make food available outdoors on public or private property for any cats or dogs for which they are not the owner. This prohibition excludes the short-term feeding of an owned animal on private property by the owner or wherein permission was given to another person by the owner of said property. Short term feeding is seven calendar days total within a 30-day period. Upon notifying the City’s Animal Care and Control Division of the presence of a cat or dog for which they are not the owner, a person may engage in the temporary feeding, being less than seven calendar days total within a 30-day period, to facilitate the humane capture and removal of such animal by the City.
Codified by Ord. No. 28-19 (JCC 7/23/2019, Passed 9/10/2019, Approved 9/11/2019, Published 9/20/2019, Effective 10/1/2019); Amended by Ord. No. 2021-23 (JCC 6/8/2021, Passed 7/13/2021, Approved 7/19/2021, Published 8/10/2021, Effective 8/10/2021).
Codified by Ord. No. 28-19 (JCC. 7/23/19, Pass. 9/10/19, App. 9/11/19, Pub. 9/20/19, Eff. 10/1/19); Amended by Ord. No. 2020-31 (JCC. 3/3/20, Pass. 7/21/20, App. 7/27/20, Pub. 3/26/21, Eff. 12/9/20).