What is a “nuisance”?

If approved by voters, the new Self-Governance Act authorizes county commissions to take legal actions to require those responsible to remove or correct a list of items that constitute a “nuisance”. The term “nuisance” is defined as one of the items listed below that works to “hurt, inconvenience or damage” an “ordinary reasonable” citizen.

The only items that can be considered a nuisance are specifically listed in the act and are:
unsanitary sewage
noise
litter and rubbish
pollution
weeds
junkyards
and animals

In an effort to reduce confusion and insure that citizens are protected from unwarranted actions, the legislation also defines many of the items that can be considered a nuisance. For example:

“Litter" is defined as, “rubbish, refuse, waste material, garbage, dead animals or fowl, offal, paper, glass, cans, bottles, trash, scrap metal, debris, or any foreign substance of whatever kind and description, and whether or not it is of value. Any agricultural product in its natural state that is unintentionally deposited on a public highway, road, street, or public right-of-way shall not be deemed litter”.

“Rubbish” is defined as “solid wastes, excluding ashes, consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes. Combustible rubbish includes paper, rags, cartons, wood, furniture, rubber, plastics, yard trimmings, leaves and similar materials. Noncombustible rubbish includes glass, crockery, metal cans, metal furniture and like materials which will not burn at ordinary incinerator temperatures, not less than 1600 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“Weeds” are defined as “an abundance of overgrown grass or weeds” that “is injurious to the general public health, safety, and general welfare by providing breeding grounds and shelter for rats, mice, snakes, mosquitoes, and other vermin, insects, and pests; or attaining heights and dryness that constitute a serious fire threat or hazard; or bearing wingy or downy seeds, when mature, that cause the spread of weeds and, when breathed, irritation to the throat, lungs, and eyes of the public; or hiding debris, such as broken glass or metal, that could inflict injury on a person going upon the property; or being unsightly”.

“Junkyard” is defined as property that creates a public health nuisance because it is being used for storing “old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper trash, rubber debris, waste or junked, dismantled or wrecked automobiles, or parts thereof, iron, steel, and other old or scrap ferrous or nonferrous material or for the maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard”.