1.  A public nuisance is a crime against the order and economy of the State.

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Terms Used In Nevada Revised Statutes 202.450

  • controlled substance: means a drug, immediate precursor or other substance which is listed in schedule I, II, III, IV or V for control by the State Board of Pharmacy pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes 0.031
  • county: includes Carson City. See Nevada Revised Statutes 0.033
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: means a natural person, any form of business or social organization and any other nongovernmental legal entity including, but not limited to, a corporation, partnership, association, trust or unincorporated organization. See Nevada Revised Statutes 0.039
  • population: means the number of people in a specified area as determined by the last preceding national decennial census conducted by the Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of Commerce pursuant to Section 2 of Nevada Revised Statutes 0.050

2.  Every place:

(a) Wherein any gambling, bookmaking or pool selling is conducted without a license as provided by law, or wherein any swindling game or device, or bucket shop, or any agency therefor is conducted, or any article, apparatus or device useful therefor is kept;

(b) Wherein any fighting between animals or birds is conducted;

(c) Wherein any dog races are conducted as a gaming activity;

(d) Wherein any intoxicating liquors are kept for unlawful use, sale or distribution;

(e) Wherein a controlled substance, immediate precursor or controlled substance analog is unlawfully sold, served, stored, kept, manufactured, used or given away; or

(f) That is regularly and continuously used by the members of a criminal gang to engage in, or facilitate the commission of, crimes by the criminal gang, is a public nuisance.

3.  Every act unlawfully done and every omission to perform a duty, which act or omission:

(a) Annoys, injures or endangers the safety, health, comfort or repose of any considerable number of persons;

(b) Offends public decency;

(c) Unlawfully interferes with, befouls, obstructs or tends to obstruct, or renders dangerous for passage, a lake, navigable river, bay, stream, canal, ditch, millrace or basin, or a public park, square, street, alley, bridge, causeway or highway; or

(d) In any way renders a considerable number of persons insecure in life or the use of property, is a public nuisance.

4.  A building or place which was used for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing a controlled substance, immediate precursor or controlled substance analog is a public nuisance if the building or place has not been deemed safe for habitation by the board of health and:

(a) The owner of the building or place allows the building or place to be used for any purpose before all materials or substances involving the controlled substance, immediate precursor or controlled substance analog have been removed from or remediated on the building or place by an entity certified or licensed to do so; or

(b) The owner of the building or place fails to have all materials or substances involving the controlled substance, immediate precursor or controlled substance analog removed from or remediated on the building or place by an entity certified or licensed to do so within 180 days after the building or place is no longer used for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing a controlled substance, immediate precursor or controlled substance analog.

5.  Except as otherwise provided in subsections 6 and 7, it is a public nuisance for any person:

(a) By force, threat or intimidation, or by fencing or otherwise enclosing, or by any other unlawful means, to prevent or obstruct the free passage or transit over or through any:

(1) Highway designated as a United States highway;

(2) Highway designated as a state highway pursuant to NRS 408.285;

(3) Main, general or minor county road designated pursuant to NRS 403.170;

(4) Public road, as defined in subsection 2 of NRS 405.191;

(5) State land or other public land; or

(6) Land dedicated to public use; or

(b) To knowingly misrepresent the status of or assert any right to the exclusive use and occupancy of such a highway, road, state land or other public land or land dedicated to public use, if the person has no leasehold interest, claim or color of title, made or asserted in good faith, in or to the highway, road, state land or other public land or land dedicated to public use.

6.  An unlocked gate which is erected and maintained across:

(a) A road described in subparagraph (3) or (4) of paragraph (a) of subsection 5 located in a county whose population is less than 100,000, does not, in and of itself, constitute a public nuisance if the gate is erected and maintained in accordance with the rules and regulations of the board of county highway commissioners made pursuant to NRS 403.095.

(b) A road described in subparagraph (4) of paragraph (a) of subsection 5 located in a county whose population is 100,000 or more, does not, in and of itself, constitute a public nuisance if the gate is erected and maintained pursuant to an ordinance adopted or an agreement entered into by the board of county commissioners pursuant to NRS 405.280.

7.  It is not a public nuisance for a person to fence or otherwise enclose any public land if such fencing or enclosure is authorized or required by a federal agency having jurisdiction over the public land.

8.  Agricultural activity conducted on farmland consistent with good agricultural practice and established before surrounding nonagricultural activities is not a public nuisance unless it has a substantial adverse effect on the public health or safety. It is presumed that an agricultural activity which does not violate a federal, state or local law, ordinance or regulation constitutes good agricultural practice.

9.  A shooting range is not a public nuisance with respect to any noise attributable to the shooting range if the shooting range is in compliance with the provisions of all applicable statutes, ordinances and regulations concerning noise:

(a) As those provisions existed on October 1, 1997, for a shooting range that begins operation on or before October 1, 1997; or

(b) As those provisions exist on the date that the shooting range begins operation, for a shooting range in operation after October 1, 1997. A shooting range is not subject to any state or local law related to the control of noise that is adopted or amended after the date set forth in paragraph (a) or (b), as applicable, and does not constitute a nuisance for failure to comply with any such law.

10.  A request for emergency assistance by a tenant as described in NRS 118A.515 and 118B.152 is not a public nuisance.

11.  As used in this section:

(a) ’Board of health’ has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 439.4797.

(b) ’Controlled substance analog’ has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 453.043.

(c) ’Criminal gang’ has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 193.168.

(d) ’Immediate precursor’ has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 453.086.

(e) ’Shooting range’ has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 40.140.

(f) ’State land’ has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 383.425.