(A) Definitions. For purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
IMPROVEMENTS. Buildings, structures, balconies, sidewalks, alleys, curbs, culverts, gutters, retaining walls and/or driveway approaches.
MAINTENANCE AND ROUTINE REPAIR. Includes but is not limited to repair of cracks, holes, high joints, weathered, chipped and/or scaled surfaces, poor alignment, poor grade, snow and/or ice removal and/or other conditions which would constitute a safety hazard to pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic.
PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY. Any public street, way, place, alley, sidewalk, easement, park, square, median, parkway, boulevard or plaza that is dedicated to public use, or owned or maintained by the city, except for those rights-of-way owned by the Indiana Department of Transportation located within the city municipal limits.
(B) The responsibility for maintenance and routine repair of improvements within the rights-of-way of the city shall be that of the adjacent property owner(s).
(C) Any property owner(s) who wishes to construct an improvement within the public right-of-way or otherwise repair or replace any improvement so as to restore them to a safe condition shall first apply for and receive an encroachment permit. A successful applicant shall comply with the terms and conditions set forth by the permit, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) specifications (for sidewalk, curb or driveway approaches only), this Code and pursuant to a notice according to the provisions of this section. The property owner(s) shall make the necessary repairs and replacements at his or her cost alone and in accordance with and subject to any and all permit requirements required under city ordinances.
(D) (1) Any property owner who violates any section of this chapter may be notified of the violation by the City Manager. The notice shall contain the name of the person(s) to whom the notice is issued, the legal description or address of the improvements that are the subject of the notice, the action the notice requires, the period of time in which the action is required to be accomplished, measured from the time when the notice is given, a statement briefly indicating what action can be taken if the notice is not complied with, a statement briefly describing the property owner(s) right to request a formal heaing on the violation and the contact information of the City Manager.
(2) Any property owner alleged to have committed a violation under this chapter may request a hearing before the city's designated hearing officer for code violations. Such a request must be made in writing within ten days from when the notice described in division (D)(1) above is given. Said request must be hand-delivered or mailed, certified mail with return receipt and directed to the City Manager at the following address: Aurora City Hall, P.O. Box 158, 235 Main Street, Aurora, Indiana 47001. Said hearing must be held within 30 days of the request.
(3) At the conclusion of the requested hearing, the hearing officer may make findings and take action to affirm the notice, rescind the notice or modify the notice.
(4) If no hearing is requested, after 30 days from posting by United States mail with proper postage affixed to a notice to the owner as determined by the tax duplicates in the office of the Auditor of Dearborn County, the property owner fails to make the necessary repairs, the city may do so and charge the property owner.
(5) Upon failure of the owner to pay the charge for repair or replacement of an improvement levied by the city within 30 days after completion of the work, the Clerk-Treasurer shall file in the office of the Recorder of Dearborn County for recordation in the miscellaneous records a notice that the city claims a lien upon the real estate upon which the work was done. From and after the filing of the notice, the charge shall be a lien upon the real estate and shall be placed on the tax duplicate by the Auditor of Dearborn County. Said lien may be enforced by foreclosure in the same manner in which tax and other improvement liens are enforced under the laws of the State of Indiana. Foreclosure proceedings shall be at the cost of the defendant owner or owners and with attorney fees.
(Ord. 2017-004, passed 9-11-17)