(A) Notice.
(1) Whenever the Board of Health or designated official is of the opinion that any building or structure in the city is an unsafe building, he or she shall file a written statement to this effect with the City Clerk/Treasurer. The City Clerk/Treasurer shall thereupon cause the property to be posted accordingly, shall file a copy of the determination in the office of the County Register of Deeds, and shall serve written notice upon the owner thereof, and upon the occupant thereof, if any, by certified mail or by personal service.
(2) The notice shall state that the building has been declared to be in an unsafe condition, that the dangerous condition must be removed or remedied by repairing or altering the building or by demolishing it, and that the condition must be remedied within 60 days from the date of receipt. The notice may be in the following terms:
“To (owner-occupant of premises) of the premises known and described as _______________________ “You are hereby notified that ______________(describe building) on the premises above mentioned has been determined to be an unsafe building and a nuisance after inspection by_______________. The causes for this decision are _______________________(here insert the facts as to the dangerous condition). “You must remedy this condition or demolish the building within 60 days from the date of receipt of this notice or the city will proceed to do so. Appeal of this determination may be made to the City Council, acting as the Board of Appeals, by filing with the City Clerk/Treasurer within ten days from the date of receipt of this notice a request for a hearing.” |
(3) If the person receiving the notice has not complied therewith within 60 days from the date of receipt of the notice, or taken an appeal from the determination that a dangerous building exists within ten days from the time when this notice is served upon the person by personal service or certified mail, the designated official may, upon orders of the City Council, proceed to remedy the condition or demolish the unsafe building.
(Prior Code, § 147.03)
(B) Appeal.
(1) Upon receiving the notice to repair or demolish the building, the owner of the building, within the time stipulated, may in writing to the City Clerk/Treasurer request a hearing before the City Council, sitting as the Board of Appeals, to present reasons why the building should not be repaired or demolished.
(2) The City Council shall grant the hearing within ten days from the date of receiving the request.
(3) A written notice of the City Council’s decision following the hearing shall be sent to the property owner by certified mail.
(4) If the City Council rejects the appeal, the owner shall have 60 days from the sending of the decision to begin repair or demolition and removal.
(5) If after the 60-day period the owner has not begun work, the City Council shall proceed to cause the work to be done, provided that the property owner may appeal the decision to the appropriate court for adjudication, during which proceedings the decision of the City Council shall be stayed.
(6) Where the city has not adopted a Building Code, the statutes of the state relating to bonded indebtedness and collection of delinquent taxes shall apply.
(Prior Code, § 147.04)
(Ord. 2013-8.8, passed 10-14-2013)
Statutory reference:
Authority to prevent and abate nuisances and unsafe buildings, see Neb. Rev. Stat. 18-1720, 18-1722, and 18-1722.01