(A) Duty of Police Department. The Bellevue Police shall, as soon as possible but not less than every thirty (30) days after criminally citing or arresting persons or executing court-issued search warrants for crimes included in the definition of a criminal nuisance violation, notify the Code Enforcement Officer in writing of the specific violation investigated, the address of the property on or in which the violations occurred, and the circumstances of the violation. After the police notify the Code Enforcement Officer of the criminal nuisance violation at a property for the first time, the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify the owner of the criminal nuisance violation by regular U.S. mail,
(B) Notice. Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer receives information that a criminal activity nuisance exists in or upon a property, i.e., a second criminal nuisance violation has occurred at the property, the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify the owner that the property is a criminal activity nuisance and that the nuisance must be abated (the "Notice"). The notice shall be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested and by regular mail. If the Notice by certified mail is not accepted or received by the owner, then notice may be served by personal delivery upon the owner. If the whereabouts of the owner are unknown and cannot be ascertained by the Code Enforcement Officer in the exercise of reasonable diligence, or if the whereabouts of the owner are known and he or she refuses to accept the notice, then the Code Enforcement Officer shall make an affidavit to that effect, and thereafter may serve the notice by posting a copy of it in a conspicuous place on the property, and by sending a copy of the Notice by regular U.S. mail to the owner's last known mailing address, by newspaper publication, pursuant to KRS Chapter 424, and by recording the notice in the real estate records of the Campbell County Clerk's Office.
(C) Abatement.
(1) Should the criminal activity nuisance not be abated at the time stated in the notice, or by any extension granted by the city or its agencies, the Code Enforcement Officer shall be authorized at any time thereafter to issue an order closing and vacating the property, or portions thereof, to the extent necessary to abate the criminal activity nuisance ("Order"). Such closing and vacating shall be for such period as the Code Enforcement Officer reasonably may direct, but in no event shall the closing and vacating be for a period of more than one (1) year from the date of the order. An order issued hereunder is not an act of possession, ownership, or control by the city.
(2) If the property contains multi-unit dwellings, multiple tenants, or mixed uses and the criminal activity nuisance has occurred solely within a unit or units, the order shall be restricted to the unit(s) in which the criminal activity nuisance has occurred, and shall not extend to any other unit on the property.
(3) Upon the issuance of an order, a copy of the order shall be served on the owner in the same manner as the notice and a copy shall be conspicuously posted on the property.
(4) If an owner fails to comply with an order issued hereunder, the Code Enforcement Officer may:
(a) Prohibit the furnishing of utility service, including but not limited to gas, electric, water, and heating oil, to the Property by any public utility holding a franchise to use the streets and public ways of the city;
(b) Revoke the Certificate of Occupancy of the property or the Occupational License of a business occupying or operating the property; or
(c) Use any other legal remedy available under the laws of the Commonwealth and the city's ordinances.
(5) Relief from order. The Code Enforcement Officer may vacate or suspend the provisions of an order upon a showing by clear and convincing evidence that the criminal activity nuisance has been abated and the owner has taken steps to insure that additional violations will not be permitted at the property.
(6) Abatement actions not in violation of law. Actions taken by an owner to abate a criminal activity nuisance shall not be deemed to be violations of any fair housing laws or other landlord/tenant statutes or ordinances.
(7) Other remedies available. Enforcement of this subchapter does not impair or restrict the ability of the city to bring a separate action to revoke the occupational license of a landlord or business that allows a criminal activity nuisance to exist on the property or to bring an action before the Code Enforcement Board for the imposition of civil fines. No civil fines will be assessed by the Code Enforcement Board until after notice is sent pursuant to division (B) of this section or if an eviction proceeding has been instituted pursuant to § 95.37(C) of this subchapter.
(8) Appeals. All orders and civil fines may be appealed to the Code Enforcement Board.
(Ord. 2012-05-01, passed 6-13-12)