It shall be unlawful for any owner, agent, lessee, tenant or other person occupying or having charge or control of any premises to permit weeds to remain upon said premises or any area between the property lines of said premises and the centerline of any adjacent street or alley, including but not specifically limited to, sidewalks streets, alleys, easements, rights-of-way and all other areas, public or private.  All weeds as hereinafter defined are hereby declared a nuisance and are subject to abatement as hereinafter provided.

(Code 2001; Ord. 993)

Weeds as used herein, means any of the following:

(a)      Brush and woody vines shall be classified as weeds;

(b)     Weeds and grasses which may attain such large growth as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property;

(c)      Weeds which bear or may bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature;

(d)     Weeds which are located in an area which harbors rats, insects, animals, reptiles, or any other creature which either may or does constitute a menace to health, public safety or welfare; and

(e)      Weeds and grasses on or about residential property which, because of its height, has a blighting influence on the neighborhood.  Any such weeds and indigenous grasses shall be presumed to be blighting if they exceed 12 inches in height.

(Code 2001; Ord. 747; Ord. 993)

(a)      Nothing in this chapter shall affect or impair the rights of the city under the provisions of Kansas law relating to the control and eradication of certain noxious weeds.

(b)     For the purpose of this article, the term noxious weeds shall mean hoary cress (Lepidium draba), leafy spurge (Euphorbia virgata), quackgrass (Elymus repens), Russian knapweek (Rhaponticum repens), kudzu (Pueraria montana variety lobata), pignut (Hofmannseggia glauca), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), musk thistle (Carduus nutans), sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata), Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense), and bur ragweed (Ambrosia grayii). 

(K.S.A. 2-1314; Code 2001; Ord. 993)

Except as expressly provided in this article, the Code Enforcement Officer or any law enforcement officer of the city shall enforce this article in accordance with the provisions and procedures described in Sections 8-101 through 8-111.

(Ord. 993)