§ 15.20.010. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Abandoned real property means real property that has been abandoned by all of its lawful owners.

Abandoned vehicle means a motor vehicle left unattended upon an area set forth in section 15.20.030 for a period in excess of 72 hours.

Camping means use of space for the purpose of sleeping or establishing a temporary place to live including, but not limited to:

1.

Erection of a tent, lean-to, hut, or other shelter;

2.

Setting up bedding or equipment in such a manner as to be immediately usable for sleeping purposes, whether indoors or outdoors, on or under any structure not intended for human occupancy;

3.

Sleeping outdoors with or without bedding, tent, tarpaulin, hammock or other similar protection or equipment; or

4.

Setting up cooking equipment, including a campfire, with the intent to remain in that location overnight.

Cinders, dust, fly ash, noxious acids, fumes and gases mean all matter other than dense smoke, including smoke, cinders, dust and soot, formed as the result of the combustion of fuel that are carried in the gas streams so as to reach the external air and that have not been completely consumed by the combustion process.

Department as used in this chapter means the appropriate municipal agency, including the Anchorage Health Department, Department of Development Services, Planning Department, Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, or the Anchorage Police Department, responsible for regulating public nuisances, which may depend upon the type or location of the public nuisance.

Director as used in this chapter means the agency head or designee of the appropriate municipal agency.

Garbage means every accumulation of animal, vegetable or other matter that attends the preparation, consumption, decay, dealing in or storage of meats, fish, fowl, birds, fruit or vegetables, including the cans, containers, wrappers or other tangible items wasted or used along with such materials.

Hotel shall mean any building or facility used for visitor accommodations as defined in Title 21 and meeting the definitions of "hotel/ motel" or "extended-stay lodging," as those specific commercial use types are defined in section 21.05.050 of this Code.

Hotel employee shall mean any individual who has been employed or contracted by a hotel operator for the purpose of providing services at a hotel. This definition shall include any individual who is employed by a person or entity that has contracted to provide such services.

Hotel operator shall mean any person or entity that owns, controls and/or operates a hotel.

Junk or salvage means any abandoned, used, wornout, wrecked, scrapped, partially or fully dismantled or discarded tangible material, including vehicles of all kinds, or any combination of materials or items including appliances, chemicals, building materials, equipment or parts thereof, fiber, machinery, metal, scrap metal, rags, rubber, paper, plastics, lumber or wood, that cannot without further alteration and reconditioning be used for their original purposes.

Junk or salvage yard means any parcel, tract or lot or portion thereof that is used for the purpose of the outdoor storage, handling, dismantling, wrecking, keeping or sale of junk or salvage.

Junk vehicle means a vehicle that:

1.

Is not currently registered under AS ch. 28.10 for operation upon the public roads of the municipality or does not display a valid, current seasonal waiver tab issued by the state division of motor vehicles based on a seasonal use waiver granted under section 15.80.060 pursuant to AS ch. 46.14;

2.

Is stripped, wrecked or otherwise inoperable due to mechanical failure;

3.

Has not been repaired because of mechanical difficulties or because the cost of repairs required to make it operable exceeds the fair market value of the vehicle; or

4.

Is in a condition which exhibits more than one of the following elements:

a.

Broken glass;

b.

Missing wheels or tires;

c.

Missing body panels or parts; or

d.

Missing drive train parts.

Litter means all improperly discarded waste material, including but not limited to convenience food, beverage and other product packages or containers constructed of steel, aluminum, glass, paper, plastic and other natural and synthetic materials, thrown or deposited on the lands and waters within the boundaries of the municipality.

Mold shall mean any form of multicellular fungi that live on plant or animal matter in an indoor environment. Types of mold include, but are not limited to: cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, aspergillus, fuarim, trichoderma, memnoniella, mucor, and stachybotrys chartarum. Laboratory testing to identify the species of a fungi as a type of mold is not required, if the appearance, smell and other observations of the common senses make it reasonable to conclude a particular substance is mold.

Particulate matter means finely divided solid or liquid particles in the air or in an emission, including but not limited to dust, smoke, fumes, spray and fog.

Public nuisance means any act or condition forbidden by any provision of this chapter and any act or condition that annoys, injures or endangers the safety, health, comfort or repose of the public.

Putrescible waste means organic waste, including human or animal parts, excrement or bodily fluids, which is capable of being decomposed by microorganisms.

Refuse containers means all garbage cans, dumpsters, or similar containers designed and used to hold waste.

Significant when used to describe the presence of mold shall mean mold that is present on surfaces such as walls, wall cavities, wallpaper, carpeting, ceilings, piping, ventilation systems, or other interior building structures where moisture is not intended to accumulate or where mold is not customarily found, but does not include minor mold or mildew found on surfaces that can accumulate moisture as part of their proper and intended use when maintained in proper repair.

Solid waste means garbage, litter, refuse, rubbish and other unwanted or discarded matter with insufficient liquid content to be free-flowing.

Vacant building means a structure designed for residential or commercial use that has not been lawfully used for residential or commercial purposes for 180 days. Vacant building does not include:

1.

Vacation properties;

2.

Structures used only a seasonal basis;

3.

A building that has been vacant for less than 365 days, if the building has been continuously offered in good faith for sale, lease or rent since the 181st day it most recently ceased to be used for lawful residential or commercial purposes; or

4.

Buildings for which there is:

a.

A valid, open and current building permit for repair, rehabilitation, construction, or demolition,

b.

Such permitted repair, rehabilitation, construction, or demolition activity is actively underway, and

c.

Such permitted repair, rehabilitation, construction or demolition is completed within one year from the date the initial permit was issued.

Waste means useless, superfluous or discarded material.

A.

Liquid waste means any putrescible or other waste, whether combustible or noncombustible, with sufficient liquid content to be free-flowing, excluding liquids containing hazardous wastes as defined and regulated by federal, state or other municipal laws.

B.

Solid waste means any putrescible or other waste, whether combustible or noncombustible, with insufficient liquid content to be free-flowing, including but not limited to garbage, litter, refuse, rubbish, ashes, junk or salvage, animal excreta, other tangible material, and other unwanted or discarded matter, excluding solids containing hazardous wastes as defined and regulated by federal, state or other municipal laws.

Wastewater means water contaminated by human or animal excreta, food wastes, sewage, washwater and other liquid wastes discharged into water-carried sewage disposal systems, excluding liquids containing hazardous wastes as defined and regulated by federal, state or other municipal laws.

(GAAB 18.15.010, 18.20.020, 18.20.050; CAC 8.10.010, 8.10.050; AO No. 79-63; AO No. 92-129(S); AO No. 97-109(S), § 1, 8-26-97; AO No. 2003-130, §§ 2, 3, 10-7-03; AO No. 2009-83(S), § 1, 7-7-09; AO No. 2016-81(S), § 1, 8-25-16 ; AO No. 2017-119(S) , § 1, 11-9-17; AO No. 2018-118 , § 2, 1-1-19)

Cross reference

Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1.05.020.