2009 Nebraska Code
Chapter 17 CITIES OF THE SECOND CLASS AND VILLAGES
17-563 Lots; drainage; weeds or litter; nuisance; noncompliance by owner; notice; assessment of cost; violation; penalty; civil action.

17-563. Lots; drainage; weeds or litter; nuisance; noncompliance by owner; notice; assessment of cost; violation; penalty; civil action.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, a city of the second class and village by ordinance (a) may require lots or pieces of ground within the city or village to be drained or filled so as to prevent stagnant water or any other nuisance accumulating thereon, (b) may require the owner or occupant of any lot or piece of ground within the city or village to keep the lot or piece of ground and the adjoining streets and alleys free of any growth of twelve inches or more in height of weeds, grasses, or worthless vegetation, and (c) may prohibit and control the throwing, depositing, or accumulation of litter on any lot or piece of ground within the city or village.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, any city of the second class and village may by ordinance declare it to be a nuisance to permit or maintain any growth of twelve inches or more in height of weeds, grasses, or worthless vegetation or to litter or cause litter to be deposited or remain thereon except in proper receptacles.

(3) Any owner or occupant of a lot or piece of ground shall, upon conviction of violating any ordinance authorized under this section, be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.

(4) Notice to abate and remove such nuisance shall be given to each owner or owner's duly authorized agent and to the occupant, if any, by personal service or certified mail. If notice by personal service or certified mail is unsuccessful, notice shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or by conspicuously posting the notice on the lot or ground upon which the nuisance is to be abated and removed. Within five days after receipt of such notice or publication or posting, whichever is applicable, if the owner or occupant of the lot or piece of ground does not request a hearing with the city or village or fails to comply with the order to abate and remove the nuisance, the city or village may have such work done. The costs and expenses of any such work shall be paid by the owner. If unpaid for two months after such work is done, the city or village may either (a) levy and assess the costs and expenses of the work upon the lot or piece of ground so benefited in the same manner as other special taxes for improvements are levied and assessed or (b) recover in a civil action the costs and expenses of the work upon the lot or piece of ground and the adjoining streets and alleys.

(5) For purposes of this section:

(a) Litter includes, but is not limited to: (i) Trash, rubbish, refuse, garbage, paper, rags, and ashes; (ii) wood, plaster, cement, brick, or stone building rubble; (iii) grass, leaves, and worthless vegetation; (iv) offal and dead animals; and (v) any machine or machines, vehicle or vehicles, or parts of a machine or vehicle which have lost their identity, character, utility, or serviceability as such through deterioration, dismantling, or the ravages of time, are inoperative or unable to perform their intended functions, or are cast off, discarded, or thrown away or left as waste, wreckage, or junk; and

(b) Weeds includes, but is not limited to, bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), puncture vine (Tribulus terrestris), leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), perennial peppergrass (Lepidium draba), Russian knapweed (Centaurea picris), Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense), nodding or musk thistle, quack grass (Agropyron repens), perennial sow thistle (Sonchus arvensis), horse nettle (Solanum carolinense), bull thistle (Cirsium lanceolatum), buckthorn (Rhamnus sp.) (tourn), hemp plant (Cannabis sativa), and ragweed (Ambrosiaceae).

(6) A city of the second class or village by ordinance may declare it to be a nuisance to permit or maintain any growth of eight inches or more in height of weeds, grasses, or worthless vegetation on any lot or piece of ground located within the corporate limits of the city or village during any calendar year if, within the same calendar year, the city has, pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, acted to remove weeds, grasses, or worthless vegetation exceeding twelve inches in height on the same lot or piece of ground and had to seek recovery of the costs and expenses of such work from the owner.

Source

Laws 1879, § 71, p. 219;
R.S.1913, § 5137;
C.S.1922, § 4312;
C.S.1929, § 17-503;
R.S.1943, § 17-563;
Laws 1991, LB 330, § 2;
Laws 1995, LB 42, § 3;
Laws 2004, LB 997, § 2;
Laws 2009, LB495, § 8.