§ 6.01.280. Removal and control of noxious plants.

(a)

It shall be unlawful and a nuisance for any landowner, lessee, agent, occupant or person in possession or control of any occupied or unoccupied lot or tract of land within the Town, or any part thereof, including the sidewalk, alley or street adjacent to the same, to permit the growth of noxious plants.

(b)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Section, will have the following meanings:

Alien plant means a plant species which is not indigenous to the State nor to the native plant community in which it is found.

Biological management means the use of an organism to disrupt the growth of undesirable plants.

Chemical management means the use of herbicides or plant growth regulators to disrupt the growth of undesirable plants.

Control means preventing a plant from forming viable seeds or vegetative propagules.

Cultural control means those methodologies or management practices conducted to favor the growth of desirable plants over undesirable plants, including, but not limited to, maintaining an optimum fertility and plant moisture status in an area, planting at optimum density and spatial arrangement in an area, and planting species most suited to an area.

Landowner or owner means any owner of record of any land, including an owner of record of any easement, right-of-way or other estate in land.

Mechanical control means those methodologies or management practices that physically disrupt plant growth, including, but not limited to, tilling, mowing, burning, flooding, mulching, hand-pulling and hoeing.

Native plant means a plant species which is indigenous to the State.

Noxious plant means an alien plant or parts thereof, which meets one (1) or more of the following additional criteria:

a.

It aggressively invades or is detrimental to economic crops or native plant communities;

b.

It is poisonous to livestock;

c.

It is a carrier of detrimental insects, diseases or parasites;

d.

The direct or indirect effect of the presence of such plant is detrimental to the environmentally sound management of natural or agricultural ecosystems; or

e.

It is a plant commonly known as leafy spurge ( Euphorbia esula ); diffuse knapweed ( Centaurea diffusa ); Russian knapweed ( Centaurea repens ); or spotted knapweed ( Centaurea maculosa ).

Noxious plant infestation means the direct or indirect presence of a noxious plant on any land that has a detrimental effect on the environmentally sound management of the natural or agricultural ecosystem of the land and the surrounding area.

Occupant or person means an individual, partnership, corporation or association which owns, occupies or controls any land, easement or right-of-way.

Plant growth regulator means a substance used for controlling or modifying plant growth processes without appreciable phytotoxic effect at the dosage applied.

(c)

It shall be unlawful and a nuisance for any landowner, lessee, agent, occupant or person in possession or control of any occupied or unoccupied lot or tract of land within the Town, or any part thereof, including the sidewalk, alley or street adjacent to the same, to permit the growth of noxious plants.

(d)

It is unlawful and deemed a nuisance to sell or import into the Town or plant or cause to be planted any female cottonwood trees ( Populus spices ), Boxelder ( Acer negundo ), Siberian Elm ( Ulmus pumila ) or other undesirable plants as designated by ordinance upon any property within the Town, and the planting or setting out of these certain plants is declared to be a menace to public health, safety and welfare and a public nuisance.

(e)

Neighborhood Services shall have the right to enter upon any premises, lands or places, whether public or private, for the purpose of inspecting for the existence of noxious plant infestations, when at least one (1) of the following circumstances has occurred:

(1)

The landowner or occupant has requested an inspection;

(2)

A neighboring landowner or occupant has reported a noxious plant infestation and requested an inspection; or

(3)

Neighborhood Services has made a visual observation from any public place and has reason to believe that an infestation exists.

(f)

No entry upon any premises, lands or places shall be permitted by Neighborhood Services until the landowner or occupant has been notified, either orally, by certified mail or by the posting of a notice in a conspicuous place on such premises, land or place that such inspection is pending. Whenever possible, Neighborhood Services shall schedule and conduct inspections with the permission of the landowner or occupant.

(g)

If, after receiving notice that an inspection is pending, the landowner or occupant denies access to Neighborhood Services, Neighborhood Services may petition the Municipal Court for a search warrant pursuant to Section 6.01.040 of this Chapter. It shall be unlawful and a violation of this Section for a landowner or occupant to deny access for an inspection to Neighborhood Services who presents a search warrant.

(h)

Neighborhood Services shall give notice to the landowner or occupant of any premises, lands or places upon which any noxious plants are discovered and advise such owner or occupant of the presence of such noxious plants. The notice shall name the noxious plants, advise the landowner or occupant to control the noxious plants and specify the best available control methods, including, but not limited to, biological management, chemical management, mechanical control or cultural control. Whenever possible, Neighborhood Services shall discuss the development of a management plan for the control of noxious plants with the affected landowner or occupant. The notice shall be served upon the landowner or occupant either by personal service, certified mail or posting in a conspicuous place on the affected premises, lands or places.

(i)

Within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice regarding the presence of noxious plants, not to exceed ten (10) days, the landowner or occupant shall either:

(1)

Comply with the best available control methods as specified in the notice; or

(2)

Acknowledge the terms of the notice and submit an acceptable alternative management and control plan and schedule for complying with the notice.

(j)

In the event the landowner or occupant fails to comply with the notice to control the identified noxious plants or the management plan, Neighborhood Services shall have the authority to:

(1)

Provide for and compel the control of such noxious plants at such time, upon such notice and in such manner as the Town chooses; and

(2)

To assess the whole cost thereof, including an additional fifteen percent (15%) for inspection and other incidental costs in connection therewith, upon the lot or tract of land where the noxious plants are located. Such assessment shall be a lien against each lot or tract of land until paid and shall have priority over all other liens except general taxes and prior special assessments. Such assessment may be certified to the County Treasurer and collected and paid over in the same manner as provided for the collection of taxes. Any amount remaining unpaid may be carried over and charged on the tax roll of the succeeding year, and any unpaid balance so carried over shall bear interest at the rate established by the commissioner of banking pursuant to Section 39-21-110.5, C.R.S., until paid. In addition, it shall be unlawful and a violation of this Section for any landowner or occupant to fail or refuse to comply with a notice to control or a management plan.

(k)

Neighborhood Services shall have the right to enter upon any premises, lands or places, whether public or private, for the purpose of ensuring compliance with requirements of a notice to control or a management plan.

(l)

The Town Council may, by resolution, exempt certain areas in the Town, whether publicly or privately owned, from the prohibitions contained in this Section, if the Town Council determines that such areas are: natural open space, natural park, conservation areas, erosion control areas, agricultural zoned property or irrigation or drainage ditch rights-of-way.

(Ord. 5.68 §1, 2008)