A. Nuisance Declared:
1. Any such weeds as jimson, burdock, ragweed, thistle, cocklebur, or other noxious weed as defined in the Illinois Noxious Weed Law 1 found growing in any lot or tract of land in the Village are hereby declared to be a nuisance, and it shall be unlawful to permit any such weeds to grow or remain in any such place.
2. It shall be unlawful for anyone to permit plants, weeds, grass, or other vegetation other than trees, bushes, flowers or other ornamental plants, to grow to a height exceeding eight inches (8") anywhere in the Village, except native plantings on native planting lots as described in subsection H of this section for which a current native planting lot permit as provided in subsection H3 of this section has been issued, or in a natural or buffer area as provided under 525 Illinois Compiled Statutes 30/1, et seq. Any such weeds, grass, plants, or other vegetation exceeding such height are hereby declared to be a nuisance.
B. Vacant Lots: All vacant lots or open land shall be maintained free of brush, rocks, garbage, rubbish, debris, dirt piles, or spoils so that the same may be mowed by the Village, or a contractor hired by the Village, at the direction of the Health Officer or Code Enforcement Officer in the event of a violation of this section and the failure of the property owner to abate any such nuisance after notice as provided in subsections C and/or D of this section.
C. Removal; Notice To Abate: It shall be the duty of the Health Officer or Code Enforcement Officer to serve or cause to be served a notice upon the owner of any such premises on which weeds, grass, plants and/or other vegetation or plants have grown in violation of the provisions of this section, and to demand the abatement of the nuisance within seven (7) days, or if a violation reoccurs within the same calendar year, demand the abatement of the nuisance within five (5) days. Where the property owner cannot be found or otherwise served with notice by mail, then alternatively notice to abate a violation of this section may be given by posting a sign in a conspicuous place near the main entrance of a structure on the property, if there is a structure on the property, otherwise, at a conspicuous place on the property. In either event, the text of the notice shall contain a reference to the provision of this Code violated and may contain such other information respecting the nature of the violation as the Health Officer and/or Code Enforcement Officer deemed advisable. It shall be unlawful for any person to deface, tamper with, or remove the "Notice to Abate" sign from the property where it is posted unless authorized by the Health Officer or Code Enforcement Officer.
D. Abatement: If the person so served does not abate the nuisance within seven (7) days after such notice, or if a violation reoccurs within the same calendar year, if the person so served does not abate the nuisance within five (5) days, the Village may enter upon the premises, or hire a contractor and authorize it to enter upon the premises, to abate such nuisance, by cutting or removing the overgrown weeds, grass, plants or other vegetation or native plantings, keeping an account of the expense of the abatement and such expense shall be charged to the owner and paid by such owner or the occupant of the property. In addition, a fee to cover the costs incurred by the Village for investigation, inspection and administrative costs associated with the abatement of the nuisance (to be known as a "nuisance abatement fee") in the amount of seventy five dollars ($75.00) shall also be charged to the owner of said property.
E. Nuisance Abatement Billing Notice: In the event the owner or occupant fails to abate the nuisance within the time prescribed in subsection D of this section, once a nuisance has been abated by the Village on a property, the Health Officer and/or Code Enforcement Officer shall notify the property owner thereof in writing of the costs incurred by the Village to abate the nuisance, and of any other fees associated with the abatement, including the nuisance abatement fee, in a nuisance abatement billing notice. Such fees shall be paid by the owner or occupant of the property to the Village within said thirty (30) days from the date stated on the nuisance abatement billing notice. If the fees are not paid within thirty (30) days, the Health Officer or Code Enforcement Officer shall prepare a notice of claim for lien for the Village Clerk's signature, together with: 1) a copy of the statute granting authority to the Village to lien the property 1 , 2) a copy of the ordinance implementing the statute referenced in item 1 of this subsection, or as codified in this section, and 3) the location of the overgrown weeds, grass, plants, or other vegetation, or native plantings in violation of subsection H of this section, which have been cut or removed. Notice of such claim for lien shall be mailed to the person or entity to whom the tax bill for the General Real Estate Taxes on the property for the taxable year immediately preceding the cutting or removal activities was mailed, and to the owner of the premises if the owner is a different person or entity, and his address is known, sent by certified mail, or delivered by personal service; provided, however, that failure of the Village Clerk or her designee to mail such notice, or the failure of the owner to receive such notice, shall not affect the validity of the debt owed to the Village. If on any one parcel the Village engaged in removal or cutting activity on more than one occasion during the course of one year, then the Village may combine any or all of the abatement costs and fees for each of those abatement activities and the applicable nuisance abatement fees into a single notice of lien.
F. Lien: The expense of the abatement and the nuisance abatement fee shall be a lien upon the premises. Whenever a bill for abatement charges remains unpaid for thirty (30) days after it has been sent, the Village Clerk or her/his designee shall file within sixty (60) days of the date on which the Village or its authorized contractor cut or removed the overgrown weeds, grass, plants or other vegetation, or native plantings in violation of subsection H of this section, a sworn statement of lien claim with the Recorder of Deeds, or Registrar of Titles of the County in which such premises are located. This sworn statement shall be signed by the Village Clerk and shall contain the legal description of the premises, the permanent index number(s), street address or other description sufficient for identification of the premises, the amount of money representing the expense and costs incurred or payable for the abatement services, the date the overgrown weeds or overgrown grass, plants or other vegetation, or native plantings were cut or removed, and the date or dates when such cost and expense was incurred by the Village, or payable for the service. The failure of the Village Clerk or her designee to timely record such sworn statement of lien claim shall not affect the validity of the debt owed the Village.
G. Foreclosure Of Lien: Property subject to a lien for unpaid abatement charges, including weed cutting and/or removal charges and/or nuisance abatement fees, may be sold for nonpayment of the same and the proceeds of such sale shall be applied to pay the charges and fees after deducting costs, as is the case with the foreclosure of statutory liens. Such foreclosure shall be in equity in the name of the Village.
The Village Prosecutor is hereby authorized to institute such foreclosure proceedings in the name of the Village, in any court having jurisdiction over such matters, against any property for which such notice as provided in this section have been properly sent and the lien has been timely recorded, and in his/her opinion has been perfected.
H. Native Planting Lot(s):
1. Terms Defined: "Native planting lot" shall mean a privately owned lot which is landscaped, or is proposed to be landscaped, so as to exhibit the deliberate and conscious decision to plant, cultivate, and maintain "native plantings" defined as those native or naturally occurring plant species identified as wildflower and prairie grasses in commonly accepted publications including "Plants of the Chicago Region", by Floyd Swink and Gerold Wilhelm (1974), "Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie, the Upper Midwest", by Sylvan T. Runkel and Dean M. Roosa (1989), "Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region", by the Audubon Society (1979), and "Native Illinois Herbs and Forbs", by the Illinois Department of Conservation. A copy of each aforesaid publication shall be on file and available for review in the Community Development Department.
2. Restrictions: Native plantings shall not:
a. Be permitted within the public parkway, unless approved and installed by the Village;
b. Obstruct a public sidewalk/path or the intended flow of any drainage easement or swale;
c. Interfere with the "native planting vision clearance triangle" defined as the triangular area determined by a diagonal line connecting two (2) points measured five feet (5') equidistant from each lot corner of the two (2) intersecting property lot lines of the subject property;
d. Be permitted without the issuance of a permit therefor as provided in subsection H3 of this section.
3. Permit: No person shall own or maintain a native planting lot without first securing a permit for a native planting lot from the Community Development Department. A permit application must be submitted or renewed each year with the Community Development Department prior to May 1st and shall be valid for one year; from May 1st to the following April 30th. Applications for a permit shall include the following:
a. Landscape plan drawn to scale with the location of existing/proposed native plant materials clearly labeled and identified;
b. List of all native plant materials by common name;
c. Common address and permanent index number (PIN) of the subject property;
d. Location of any/all easements;
e. Property lines clearly identified;
f. All existing structures, including accessory structures, fences, etc.;
g. Paved/impervious areas; and
h. North arrow.
4. Fee(s): A fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be required for an initial native planting lot permit application submittal. If the initial inspection fails and/or is not in compliance with the approved permit and/or landscape plan, a twenty five dollar ($25.00) re-inspection fee will be charged to the owner of the subject property for each subsequent inspection. Each year thereafter, a native planting lot permit application shall be required to be renewed and an annual re- inspection of the property shall occur, however no annual renewal fee/inspection will be charged. If determined by the Community Development Director or his/her designee(s) that a consultant is necessary to review the permit application and/or conduct an inspection on the subject property, the applicant shall reimburse the Village for all consultant fees and expenses charged to the Village.
5. Required Inspection(s): Once an application is approved by the Community Development Department, a permit shall be issued for the installation of the native plantings per the approved permit for the native planting lot. The owner of the subject property shall contact the Community Development Department for an inspection once the native plantings have been installed. The inspection shall be conducted by the Health Officer and/or Code Enforcement Officer for compliance with the approved permit and the plans and information submitted in support of a native planting lot. If the subject property is not in compliance with the approved permit and/or fails the inspection, a re-inspection will be required until compliance is met. Thereafter, only an annual inspection shall be conducted on the subject property for continued compliance with the approved permit on file with the Community Development Department.
6. Compliance With Permit: Compliance with the terms of this section shall be a condition of the issuance of any native planting lot permit. The terms and conditions of native planting lot permits shall be enforced in accordance with title 3, chapter 1 of this Code. If three (3) or more violations of this section occur on any property issued a native planting lot permit, said permit may be revoked by the Village President in accordance with the provisions of title 3, chapter 1 of this Code. Permits may be amended with the express written approval of the Community Development Director and/or his/her designee.
7. Annual Cutting: Native plantings on native planting lots shall be fully mowed or cut to a height of eighteen inches (18") or less at least once prior to May 1st of each calendar year. The Health Officer and/or the Code Enforcement Officer shall conduct an inspection of the subject property to verify the native plantings have been mowed or cut.
I. Penalty: Any person violating any provision of this section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense; and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which violation occurs or continues. Any such fine imposed shall be in addition to any abatement costs and nuisance abatement fees due the Village under this section, which in addition to any fine imposed by an Administrative Hearing Officer or court of competent jurisdiction, shall be a debt owed the Village.
J. Collection Of Unpaid Fees And Expenses:
1. If an owner has unpaid fines for a violation of this section and/or outstanding costs and/or fees associated with the abatement of a nuisance on any property in the Village for a violation of this section, and no lien has been recorded against said property, the Village Administrator or his/her designee, may utilize the Illinois Comptroller's Local Debt Recovery Program (IDROP) as referenced in the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Illinois Office of the Comptroller and the Village of Bartlett to collect such unpaid fines, costs and fees.
2. Properties subject to unpaid fines and/or abatement charges, including nuisance abatement fees imposed under this section, shall not be eligible for a property transfer stamp from the Village of Bartlett until said outstanding fines and/or fees have been paid in full. (Ord. 2018-105, 9-18-2018)
Notes
| 1 | 1. 505 ILCS 100/2(5). |
| 1 | 1. 65 ILCS 5/11-20-7. |