Public notice: Village of Manchester

Village Hall, Village of Manchester

ORDINANCE NO. 321

Amendment to Chapter 92 of the Village Code

Village of Manchester, Washtenaw County, Michigan

An ordinance to amend Chapter 92, Section 96.136 of the Village Code of the Village of Manchester to amend the requirements of notice for violations of the noxious weed ordinance. 

VILLAGE OF MANCHESTER, WASHTENAW COUNTY, MICHIGAN, HEREBY ORDAINS:

1. Amendment to Chapter 92, Section 96.136.

92.136  REGULATIONS.

(A)   It shall be the duty of the owner or occupant of the property:

(1)   To destroy all noxious weeds on the property before they reach a seed-bearing stage, and to prevent their regrowth;

(2)   To cut grasses and uncultivated vegetation on the property with such frequency as shall be necessary to prevent their height from exceeding 8 inches;

(3)   To remove any accumulation of dead vegetation from the property;

(4)   To regularly cultivate and otherwise properly maintain all flower beds on the property.

(B)    Nothing in this subchapter shall apply to weeds in fields devoted to the growing and raising of grain crops such as corn, wheat, oats, barley, or rye, and no farm or farm operation shall be found to be a violation of this subchapter if the farm or farm operation alleged to be a violation conforms to the generally accepted agricultural and management practices according to policy as determined by the Director of the Michigan State Department of Agriculture.

(C)   A notice shall be hand delivered or placed on the front door the primary building of the property where a violation exists if a violation exists. If the property lacks any type of structure, then the notice shall be affixed to a stake that will be placed at the edge of the property to the road.

(D)   In the event the owner has failed, refused, or neglected to comply with the provisions of this subchapter within 48 hours of notification, the village and its authorized representatives are hereby empowered to be cut, removed or destroyed and to cover the costs associated with enforcement a cutting fee of $200.00, or the actual cost of cutting, whichever is greater, shall be billed to the owner of the property. If payment in full is not received within 30 days from the due date, a late fee in the amount of $50.00 shall be charged. If payment in full is not received, the amount owed to the village shall be collected as a special assessment against the premises.

(E)   The village shall only notify property owners once in a time period from May to October in a given year. All repeat offenses during that calendar year will be subject to violation abatement methods in division (D) above without additional notice.

(F)   The Village Treasurer shall forward to the owner of lands a statement of the total charges assessed, as provided in this subchapter.  The assessment shall be payable to the Village Treasurer within 30 days from the date the statement was forwarded.  If not paid in full within the prescribed 30-day period, the statement shall be filed with the Village Assessor and shall thereupon be assessed against the land in question and become a lien on the property in accordance with this code.  The amount so charged may be discharged at any time by the payment of the amount specified in the statement together with interest at the rate of 18% per annum compiled from the time of filing the statement with the Village Assessor.

2. Repeal of Conflicting Provisions

All other Village ordinances, Village Council resolutions, and parts thereof that conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed and shall be of no further force or effect.

3. Severability

All sections, terms, provisions or clauses of this Ordinance shall be deemed independent and severable. Should a court of competent jurisdiction hold any section, term, provision or clause void or invalid, all remaining sections, terms, provisions and clauses not held void or invalid shall continue in full force and effect.

4. Publication and Effective Date.

The Village Clerk shall cause this Ordinance, or a synopsis of this Ordinance, to be published in the manner required by law within 15 days after it has been duly adopted by the Village Council. The effective date shall be 20 days after the date of passage.

Date of Adoption: 7/5/2023

Date of Publication: 7/10/2023

Effective Date: 7/25/2023

CERTIFICATION

I, Brittany Kuhnle, am the Clerk for the Village of Manchester and certify that the above Ordinance was offered by member Harvey and supported by member Chartrand and the following council members voted: 

AYE: Way, Woods, Vailliencourt, Dresch, Harvey, Chartrand

NAY: 

ABSTAINED OR ABSENT: DuRussel

Further, this Ordinance, or a synopsis of this Ordinance, was published in the Manchester Mirror, a newspaper circulated in the Village of Manchester on July 12, 2023.

Dated: July 5, 2023

Brittany Kuhnle

Village Clerk

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.