By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
On the heels of one council member’s request, Whitewater officials recently reviewed what mechanisms the city has in place for potentially hazardous situations on private properties. Issues could range from diseased trees to unsound structures.
Last month, council member Ken Kidd suggested the city have a single ordinance outlining how the city would handle perceived hazardous situations on private property.
In response, the entire council directed City Attorney Wally McDonnell to go through the municipal code with a fine-tooth comb and extract any ordinances that empower city staff to take action as situations arise.
At the council’s meeting March 4, McDonnell compiled upwards of 40 ordinances that address how the city can handle a myriad of different nuisance related issues, ranging from pollution to junk cars.
Remedies for diseased trees – a hot topic within the community, given last year’s discovery of emerald ash borer just outside Whitewater’s city limits – also are outlined in several ordinances.
“Several of the ordinances adopt state laws, such as the state building code, that are voluminous statutory or administrative code laws,” McDonnell wrote in a memo to the council.
He added, “It’s also important to note that there are numerous state statutes and common law actions and remedies that the city has available to help enforce illegal conditions on private property.”
In his extensive document to the council, McDonnell provided a table of contents that outlines all of the different types of nuisance related issues. The various ordinances address potentially hazardous situations from a safety and aesthetic standpoint.
For example, Chapter 8 within the city code addresses the handling of rubbish. It requires all such materials be screened so they are not easily viewed. At the same time, the chapter outlines the prohibition of overflowing rubbish because of the safety hazard it can present.
Kidd said he was hoping to have one clear-cut ordinance that outlines how the city could address hazardous situations. But after the review of the various complexities, Kidd and other council members it would not be practical.
