A. Definition Of Personalty; Nuisance Declared: Unsheltered storage of unused, stripped, junked, and other automobiles, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, watercraft or any other motor vehicle, not in good and safe operating condition and bearing a current state of Minnesota license or registration for that type of vehicle, and of any other vehicles, machinery, implements, and/or equipment and personal property of any kind which is no longer safely usable for the purposes for which it was manufactured, all of which is hereinafter described as "said personalty", for any period of thirty (30) days or more within any given year (except in licensed junkyards) within the corporate limits of the city is hereby declared to be a nuisance and dangerous to the public safety.
B. Unsheltered Storage: For purposes of this chapter, "unsheltered storage" means said personalty which is not stored in a permitted building complying with the then existing and controlling city ordinances. The period of one year, for purposes of considering whether or not a continuing violation exists, commences upon the date of notice of the violation. In the event that any violation is corrected but a same or similar act occurs within the one year time period set forth herein, it shall be considered a continuation of the original violation, and each day that said violation exists may be considered a separate violation as well as a continuation of the original violation.
C. Abatement By Owners: The owner, owners, tenants, lessees and/or occupants of any lot within the corporate limits of the city upon which such prohibited storage or any other violation of this chapter is made, and also the owner, owners, and/or lessees of said personalty involved in such storage or any other material constituting a violation of this chapter, all of whom are hereinafter collectively referred to as "owners", shall jointly and severally abate said nuisance by the prompt removal of said personalty or materials into completely enclosed buildings authorized to be used for such purposes, or to a licensed junkyard or waste facility, or remove it to a location outside the corporate limits of the city.
D. Abatement By City: Whenever said owners fail to abate such nuisances, the city shall remove the said personalty or materials to a location of its selection. Abatement of such nuisance by the city shall be in accordance with section 5-1-11 of this chapter. Costs incurred by the city during said abatement, including the cost of storage or disposal, shall be recoverable from the said owners, jointly and severally, in accordance with section 5-1-12 of this chapter or in a suit at law.
E. Disposal Of Property After City Abatement; Disposition Of Funds: When said personalty or materials have been removed and placed in storage by the city, as provided for herein, said personalty shall be sold by the city after the lapse of such time as is provided for by law. If the proceeds of such sales are insufficient to pay the costs of abatement and storage, said owners shall be liable to the city for the balance of the costs. If the proceeds are in excess of the costs, including storage, the balance shall be paid to said owners or deposited in the city treasury for their city. (2005 Code)