Waverly council adopts updated Health & Sanitation Nuisances ordinance, standardizes noise hours

City Attorney Rhonda Pagel presented the council with a final review of the revised Chapter 90 — Health & Sanitation Nuisances — at the April 22 special session and the council adopted the ordinance with housekeeping changes.

Pagel said the council removed a prior provision that limited the number of vehicles on a residential lot to twice the number of licensed drivers because it was impractical to enforce. Other existing provisions addressing unlicensed or inoperable vehicles that may not remain on a lot for more than seven days remained in place. Pagel recommended standardizing the hours for domestic power equipment, construction activities and recreational vehicles to 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily to simplify enforcement and public understanding; the council agreed and authorized the change to be incorporated before publication.

The council approved Resolution 2026-19 adopting Chapter 90 with minor housekeeping corrections and verbal amendments made during the meeting. The council also approved Resolution 2026-20 to adopt the summary for publication; Pagel confirmed the summary was not affected by the minor ordinance edits. Both resolutions passed by roll-call vote 5–0.

Why it matters: The ordinance governs health, sanitation and nuisance standards in the city, clarifies enforceable provisions and standardizes noise hours to aid consistent enforcement.

Next steps: City staff will incorporate the agreed edits, finalize housekeeping corrections and publish the ordinance and its summary in accordance with statutory publication processes.