SECTION 603.01  Public Nuisance defined:

Whoever by his act or failure to perform to legal duty intentionally does any of the following is guilty of maintaining a public nuisance, which is a misdemeanor:

a)Maintains or permits a condition which unreasonably annoys, injures or endangers the safety, health, morals, comfort, or repose of any considerable number of members of the public; or

b)Interferes with, obstructs, or renders dangerous for passage any public highway or right-of-way, or waters used by the public; or

c)Is guilty of any other act or omission declared by law or this ordinance to be a public nuisance and for which no sentence is specifically provided.

SECTION 603.02  Public nuisances affecting health:

The following are hereby declared to be nuisances affecting health:

a)Exposed accumulation of decayed or unwholesome food or vegetable matter, except within an enclosed compost pile that meets state and county regulations;

b)All diseased animals running at large;

c)Carcasses of animals not buried or destroyed within 24 hours after death;

d)Accumulations of manure, refuse, or other debris;

e)Privy vaults and garbage cans which are not rodent free or fly-tight or which are so maintained as to constitute a health hazard or to emit foul and disagreeable odors;

f)The pollution of any public well or cistern, stream or lake, canal or body of water by sewage, industrial waste, or other substances;

g)All noxious weeds as defined by state law;

h) Dense smoke, noxious fumes, gas and soot, or cinders, in unreasonable quantities.  (Ord. 96-18, 9/3/96)

SECTION 603.03  Public nuisances affecting peace and safety:

The following are declared to be nuisances affecting public peace and safety:

a)All trees, hedges, billboards or other obstructions which prevent persons from having a clear view of all traffic approaching an intersection;

b)All wires and limbs of trees which are so close to the surface of street as to constitute a danger to pedestrians or vehicles;

c)All unnecessary noises and annoying vibrations;

d)Obstructions and excavations affecting the ordinary use by the public of streets, or public grounds except under such conditions as are permitted by this ordinance or other applicable law;

e)Radio aerials or television antennae erected or maintained in a dangerous manner;

f)Any barbed wire fence less than six feet above the ground and within three feet of a public way;

g)Accumulations in the open of discarded or disused machinery household appliances, automobile bodies or other material, in a manner conducive to the harboring of rats, mice, snake or vermin, or to fire, health or safety hazards from such accumulation or from the rank growth of vegetation among the items so accumulated;

h)Any well, hole or similar excavation which is left uncovered or in such other condition as to constitute a hazard to any child coming on the premises where it is located;

i)Obstruction to the free flow of water in a natural waterway or a public street drain, gutter or ditch with trash or other materials;

j)The placing or throwing on any street, or other public property of any glass, tacks, nails, bottles, or other substance which may injure any person or animal or damage any pneumatic tire when passing over such substance;

k)The depositing of garbage or refuse on a public right-of-way or private road or on adjacent private property;

l)The existence of a dump site or debris pile on any private property, and

m)All other conditions or things which are likely to cause injury to the person or property of anyone.  (Ord. 96-19, 9/3/96)

SECTION 603.04  Animal Nuisances:

It shall be determined that an animal is a nuisance for the purposes of this ordinance to habitually or frequently bark or cry at night, to chase vehicles, to molest or annoy any person or other animal away from the property of his owner or custodian, or to damage, defile, or destroy public or private property.  Failure of the owner or custodian of an animal to prevent the animal from committing such a nuisance is a violation of this ordinance.

SECTION 603.05  Penalty:

Violation of this ordinance shall be considered a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine, or imprisonment, or both, but in each case including the costs of prosecution thereof.

SECTION 603.06  Deer Feeding:

Subdivision 1.  Findings and Purpose:  The City Council finds that feeding of deer contributes to a high deer density in the City which in turn causes a threat to the public health, safety and welfare.  The high deer density has resulted in damage to landscapes and damage to the understory of wooded areas.  Further, the high deer density causes an increased potential for accidents between vehicles and deer and the increased potential for contact with deer ticks that could result in contacting Lyme disease.

Subd. 2.  Prohibition:  No person shall feed deer within the City of Sunfish Lake.  For purposes of this Section 603.06, feeding shall mean providing grain, fruits, vegetables, nuts, hay or other edible material, either on the ground or at a height of less than five (5) feet above the ground, in a manner that attracts or is designed to attract or is likely to attract deer on a regular basis.  Living food sources, such as fruit trees, or other live vegetation, shall not be considered as deer feeding.

Subd. 3.  Exception:  The prohibition contained in Section 603.06, subd. 2 shall not apply to veterinarians or governmental game officials, who in the course of their duties have deer in their custody or under their management.  Further, the prohibition contained in Section 603.06, subd. 2 shall not apply to a Minnesota Department of National Resources deer management program approved by the City of Sunfish Lake.

Subd. 4.  Penalty:  Violation of this Section 603.06 shall be a misdemeanor. (Ord. 1995-6, 8/1/95) (Ord. 1996-04, 8/6/96) (Ord. 1997-09, 9/2/97)

SECTION 603.07  Junk Vehicles:

For purposes of this Section 603.07, 603.08 and 603.09, the following terms shall have the following meanings.

Subd. 1 Junk Vehicle:  "Junk Vehicle" means any Motor Vehicle or Implement of Husbandry or Trailer which is not in good and operable condition, or which is partially dismantled, or which is used for sale of parts, or as a source of repair or replacement parts for other vehicles, or which is kept for scrapping, dismantling, or salvage of any kind.  The term Junk Vehicle also includes a Motor Vehicle, except a Farm Tractor, which is not properly licensed for operation within the State of Minnesota by the State of Minnesota.

Subd. 2 Vehicle:  "Vehicle" means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

Subd. 3 Motor Vehicle:  "Motor Vehicle" means every Vehicle which is self-propelled and every Vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires.  Motor vehicle does not include a vehicle moved solely by human power.

Subd. 4 Farm Tractor:  "Farm Tractor" means every Motor Vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines, and other Implements of Husbandry.

Subd. 5 Trailer:  "Trailer" means any Vehicle designed for carrying property or passengers on its own structure and for being drawn by a Motor Vehicle.

Subd. 6 Implement of Husbandry:  "Implement of Husbandry" means every Vehicle designed and adapted exclusively for agricultural, horticultural, or livestock-raising operations or for lifting or carrying an implement of husbandry and in either case not subject to registration if used upon the highways.

Section 603.08 Parking and Storage:  

No person shall park, keep, place, or store, or permit the parking or storage of a Junk Vehicle on a public street or alley, or on any private easement or on any private lands or premises which he owns, occupies, or controls unless the Junk Vehicle shall be within a building on such private premises.

Section 603.09 Repair, Service or Maintaining: 

No person shall service, repair, replace parts or do maintenance work on a Junk Vehicle on a public street or alley, or on any private easement or on any private lands or premises unless the Junk Vehicle shall be within a building on such private premises. 

(Ord. 92-01, 4/8/92)