The city of Burns advises that any property within Burns city limits that is not in compliance with the nuisance vegetation ordinance will be subject to remediation by contractors hired by the city to maintain the property for the owner at the owner’s expense, plus administrative fees. If not paid within 30 days, additional late fees will be charged, which could result in a lien against the property if left unpaid. Temperatures are climbing, and fire hazards are increasing each day. Please maintain your property to reduce the risk.

If you are a licensed and insured landscaping contractor who is interested in maintaining these properties, please contact the code compliance officer at the city of Burns at 541-573-5255.

8.10.050 Nuisance vegetation:

(1) No owner or person in charge of real property shall allow nuisance vegetation on the property.

(2) The owner or person in charge of real property shall abate nuisance vegetation from the property. If weeds, grass, brush, or other forms of nuisance vegetation are allowed to exceed 10 inches in height after June 1, the city may cut the vegetation or have it cut by a private contractor, if the owner or person in charge of the property fails to do so. The owner and the person in charge shall be jointly and severally liable for the cost of abatement as provided in this chapter.

(3) If the owner or person in charge of the property fails to maintain the premises as required by this section and the city causes the vegetation on the property to be cut, there shall be filed with the city clerk an itemized copy of a statement to be sent to the offender based on charges specified in this section. The city clerk shall send a copy to the person by mail together with a notice that the statement is due and owing for the removal of weeds, grass, brush, or other nuisance vegetation.

(4) The person shall pay the costs of removal within 30 days from the date of removal. If the payment is not made within 30 days from the date of the billing, the city shall collect a late penalty of 10 percent of balance, in addition to other charges.

(5) For purposes of this section, “nuisance vegetation” means any vegetation that is:
(a) A health hazard;
(b) A fire hazard;
(c) A traffic hazard because it impairs the view of the public thoroughfare at intersections or otherwise makes use of the thoroughfare hazardous.

(6) No owner or person in charge of property shall allow nuisance vegetation to be on the property or in the right-of-way of a public thoroughfare abutting on the property. An owner or person in charge of property shall cut down or destroy nuisance vegetation as often as needed to prevent it from becoming a health or fire hazard, or, in the case of weeds or other nuisance vegetation, from maturing or going to seed.

(7) The city clerk may cause to be published, in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, a copy of subsections (4) and (5) of this section as a notice to all owners and persons in charge of property of the duty to keep their property free from nuisance vegetation.

(8) The notice provided for in subsection (7) of this section may be used in lieu of the notice required by BMC 8.10.170.

(9) Violation of this section is a Class D violation for a first offense, and will be upgraded one level for every offense thereafter within the same calendar year. [Ord. 08-794 § 1, 2008; Ord. 637 § 12, 1988]

8.10.200 Abatement by the city:

(1) If the person responsible does not remove the nuisance within the time allowed, the city may cause the nuisance to be abated.

(2) The officer charged with abatement of the nuisance shall have the right to enter into or upon property at reasonable times to investigate or cause the removal of a nuisance.

(3) The city clerk shall keep an accurate record of the expense incurred by the city in abating the nuisance and shall include a charge of not less than five percent of those expenses for administrative costs. [Ord. 08-794 § 1, 2008; Ord. 637 § 35, 1988]