Lincoln, Neb., Mun. Code ch. 21.05 § 21.05.240

Section 202 of the International Property Maintenance Code is amended to read as follows:

SECTION 202 - GENERAL DEFINITIONS

A nchored . Secured in a manner that provides positive connection.

A pproved . Approved by the code official.

B asement . That portion of a building which is partly or completely below grade.

B athroom . A room containing plumbing fixtures including a bathtub or shower.

B edroom . Any room or space used or intended to be used for sleeping purposes.

Blight or Bligh ted . Any unsightly condition including the accumulation of debris, litter, rubbish or rubble; fences characterized by holes, breaks, rot, crumbling, crackling, peeling or rusting; landscaping that is dead, characterized by uncontrolled growth or lack of maintenance, or is damaged and any other similar conditions of disrepair and deterioration regardless of the condition of other properties in the neighborhood.

Code or Building Off icial . The Planning Director who is charged with the administration and enforcement of this code, or any duly authorized representative.

Code Vio lation . A violation of Lincoln Municipal Code Titles 5, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, or 27 requiring some corrective action on the part of an owner, local property manager, or tenant as a result of an inspection by the Building Official pursuant to procedures as set forth in Lincoln Municipal Code Titles 5, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, or 27, hereinafter referred to as “the Codes.”

Com plaint Based Ins pection . Any inspection required as a result of a complaint placed with the Building Official.

Cond emn . To adjudge unfit for occupancy.

Deb ris . Any substance of little or no apparent economic value including, but not limited to, deteriorated lumber, old newspapers, furniture parts, stoves, sinks, cabinets, household fixtures, refrigerators, car parts, abandoned, broken or neglected equipment, or the scattered remains of items.

Det ached . When a structural element is physically disconnected from another and that connection is necessary to provide a positive connection.

Det erioration . To weaken, disintegrate, corrode, rust or decay and lose effectiveness. The lowering in quality of the condition or appearance of a building, structure or parts thereof characterized by holes, breaks, rot, crumbling, peeling, rusting, or any other evidence of physical decay or neglect or excessive use or lack of maintenance over a substantial or widespread area as opposed to a limited or concentrated area.

Dwelling Uni t . Any room or group of rooms located in a structure and forming a single habitable unit with permanent facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.

Eas ement . That portion of land or property reserved for present or future use by a person or agency other than the legal fee owner(s) of the property. The easement shall be permitted to be for use under, on or above a said lot or lots.

Equipment Supp ort . Those structural members or assemblies of members or manufactured elements, including braces, frames, lugs, snuggers, hangers or saddles, that transmit gravity load, lateral load and operating load between the equipment and the structure.

Exterior Prop erty . The open space on the premises and on adjoining property under the control of owners or operators of such premises.

Ext ermination . The control and elimination of insects, rats or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials that serve as their food; by poison spraying, fumigating, trapping or by any other approved pest elimination methods.

Gar bage . The animal or vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.

Gua rd . A building component or a system of building components located at or near the open sides of elevated walking surfaces that minimizes the possibility of a fall from the walking surface to a lower level.

Habi table Spa ce . Space in a structure for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces, and similar areas are not considered habitable spaces.

Health Off icer . The Director of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Department of Health or any duly authorized representative.

Housekeeping Uni t . A room or group of rooms forming a single habitable space equipped and intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating which does not contain, within such a unit, a toilet, lavatory and bathtub or shower.

Imminent Dan ger . A condition which could cause serious or life-threatening injury or death at any time.

Infes tation . The presence, within or contiguous to, a structure or premises of insects, rats, vermin or other pests.

Insp ection . Any investigatory review by the Building Official of a house or dwelling unit for compliance with the Codes.

Juri sdiction . The City of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Labe led . Equipment, materials or products to which have been affixed a label, seal, symbol or other identifying mark of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, inspection agency or other organization concerned with product evaluation that maintains periodic inspection of the production of the above-labeled items and whose labeling indicates either that the equipment, material or product meets identified standards or has been tested and found suitable for a specified purpose.

Let for Occupancy or Let . To permit, provide or offer possession or occupancy of a dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming unit, building, premise or structure by a person who is or is not the legal owner of record thereof, pursuant to a written or unwritten lease, agreement or license, or pursuant to a recorded or unrecorded agreement of contract for the sale of land.

Litt er . Decaying or non-decaying solid and semi-solid wastes including, but not limited to, both combustible and non-combustible wastes, such as paper, trash, cardboard, waste material, cans, yard clippings, wood, glass, bedding, debris, scrap paving material, discarded appliances, discarded furniture, dry vegetation, weeds, dead trees and branches, overgrown vegetation and trees which may become a fire hazard, piles of earth mixed with any of the above or any foreign objects, including inoperable vehicles, except, for purposes of this ordinance, litter shall not include organic materials being composted in a safe and sanitary manner in accordance with Chapter 5.41 of the Lincoln Municipal Code .

Neg lect . The omission, failure, or unreasonable forbearance in providing maintenance, pursuant to the Property Maintenance Code of the City of Lincoln, to buildings and structures.

Nui sance . Nuisance shall mean any public nuisance known at common law or in equity jurisprudence including, but not limited to the following:

(a) Any attractive nuisance which may prove detrimental to children whether in a building, on the premises of a building, or on an unoccupied lot. This includes any abandoned wells, shafts, basements or excavations; abandoned refrigerators and motor vehicles; or any structurally unsound fences or structures; or any lumber, trash, fences, debris or vegetation which may prove a hazard for inquisitive minors.

(b) Whatever is dangerous to human life or is detrimental to health, as determined by the health officer.

(c) Overcrowding a room with occupants.

(d) Insufficient ventilation or illumination.

(e) Inadequate or unsanitary sewage or plumbing facilities

(f) Uncleanliness, as determined by the health officer.

(g) Whatever renders air, food, or drink unwholesome or detrimental to the health of human beings, as determined by the health officer.

(h) Any building or structure which as a result of vandalism, neglect, inadequate maintenance, or lack of repair is permitted to become so blighted, deteriorated or dilapidated that such building or structure is detrimental to or endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the public or occupants thereof.

(i) Any premises which as a result of vandalism, neglect or inadequate maintenance or lack of repair is permitted to become so blighted that such premises is detrimental to or endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the public or occupants thereof.

(j) Vacant or abandoned buildings which for a period of three months or more have been boarded up, left in a partial state of destruction, or left in a state of partial construction after the expiration of a building permit for such construction.

Occ upancy . The purpose for which a building or portion thereof is utilized or occupied.

Occ upant . Any individual living or sleeping in a building, or having possession of a space within a building.

Openable Area . That part of a window, skylight or door which is available for unobstructed ventilation and which opens directly to the outdoors.

Oper ator . Any person who has charge, care or control of a structure or premises which is let or offered for occupancy.

Owner . Any person, agent, operator, firm or corporation having a legal or equitable interest in the property; or recorded in the official records of the state, county or municipality as holding title to the property; or otherwise having control of the property, including the guardian of the estate of any such person, and the executor or administrator of the estate of such person if ordered to take possession of real property by a court. This includes the authorized representative of the trust or estate, and the trustee, executor, personal representative, or administrator of a decedent’s estate that is authorized to take control or possession of real estate pursuant to court order or applicable law. This would include trusts as well as decedents’ estates.

Permit Ins pection shall mean any inspection required as part of the permit issuing process required in Section 5.38.020 .

Per son . An individual, corporation, partnership or any entity recognized by law.

Pest Elimi nation . The control and elimination of insects, rodents or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials that serve as their food or water; by other approved pest elimination methods.

Preliminary Insp ection . The first or initial inspection in any inspection process.

Prem ises . A lot, plot or parcel of land, easement or public way, including any structures thereon.

Public Way . Any street, alley or similar parcel of land essentially unobstructed from the ground to the sky, which is deeded, dedicated or otherwise permanently appropriated to the public for public use.

Put rescible . Something that could become rotten and foul smelling from the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria, fungi, and oxidation.

Rooming Hou se . A building arranged or occupied for lodging, with or without meals, for compensation and not occupied as a one- or two-family dwelling.

Rooming Unit . Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit occupied or intended to be occupied for sleeping or living, but not for cooking purposes.

Rubb ish . Combustible and noncombustible waste materials, except garbage; the term shall include the residue from the burning of wood, coal, coke and other combustible materials, paper, rags, cartons, boxes, wood, excelsior, rubber, leather, tree branches, yard trimmings, tin cans, metals, mineral matter, glass, crockery and dust and other similar materials.

Rubb le . Broken solid surface fragments usually resulting from the decay or deterioration of a building; miscellaneous mass of broken or apparently worthless materials.

S olid Waste . All putrescible and nonputrescible wastes whether in solid or liquid form and includes garbage, scavenger matter, rubbish, ashes, refuse, fill dirt, sewage sludge, street refuse, commercial and industrial wastes, demolition debris and all used construction material, building rubbish, discarded automobile and other types of vehicle body parts or portions thereof, machinery or parts thereof, discarded home or industrial appliances, iron, steel and other old or metal scrap material, manure, human excrement, vegetable or animal solids and semi-solid waste, infectious waste, special waste, lawn waste, tree limbs, branches, shrubbery, bushes, and other similar organic waste, including garden vegetative material, dead animals or parts thereof, and other discarded solid materials.

Strict Liability Off ense . An offense in which the prosecution in a legal proceeding is not required to prove criminal intent as a part of its case. It is enough to prove that the defendant either did an act which was prohibited, or failed to do an act which the defendant was legally required to do.

Str ucture . That which is built or constructed or a portion thereof.

Ten ant . A person, corporation, partnership or other entity recognized by law, whether or not the legal owner of record, occupying a building or portion thereof as a unit.

Toilet Roo m . A room containing a water closet or urinal but not a bathtub or shower.

Ultimate Def ormation . The deformation at which failure occurs and which shall be deemed to occur if the sustainable load reduces to 80 percent or less of the maximum strength.

Ven tilation . The natural or mechanical process of supplying conditioned or unconditioned air to, or removing such air from, any space.

Wor kmanlike . Executed in a skilled manner; e.g., generally plumb, level, square, in line, undamaged and without marring adjacent work.

Yard. An open space on the same lot with a structure.

( Ord. 21786 §49; September 29, 2025 : Ord. 20258 §2; October 19, 2015: Ord. 19422 §2; August 2, 2010: Ord. 19349 §24; March 1, 2009).