(A) Owner’s responsibility to abate. Every activity or condition which has been declared to be a public nuisance by the Council pursuant to the procedure set forth in this section shall be abated by the owner or occupant of the property from which the public nuisance emanates. The abatement shall be accomplished at the expense of the owner or occupant.
(B) Notice and hearing prior to declaration of public nuisance. Prior to declaring the activity or condition in question a public nuisance, the owner or occupant shall be afforded reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing before the Council, which shall, if necessary, specially convene for this purpose.
(C) Time limit for owner abatement; failure by owner to abate; abatement by town. If, after the hearing duly held before the Council, the Council finds that the activity or condition complained of is in fact a public nuisance, the Council shall give the owner or occupant a reasonable time to abate the public nuisance, taking into account the urgency of the need for abatement and the difficulty involved in abatement. Failure by the owner to abate the public nuisance within the time limit shall constitute a violation of this subchapter and shall be punishable as prescribed in § 93.99. Upon the failure of the owner or occupant to abate the public nuisance within the time limit as established by the Council, the Town Manager or any duly authorized agent of the town may abate the public nuisance by whatever means are deemed reasonable and necessary by the Town Manager.
(D) Emergency abatement procedures. Should any public nuisance be of such a nature as to pose an immediate threat to the health or safety of the public, the public nuisance shall be abated immediately by the owner or occupant of the property from which the public nuisance emanates or arises.
(1) If the public nuisance is of a serious and immediate nature as to pose an imminent threat to the health and safety of the community, or any part of the town, or should the public nuisance fall within the legal classification of a public nuisance per se, or a public nuisance in fact, the Town Manager or other duly authorized agent of the town shall cause the town police to serve notice upon the owner or occupant of the property from which the public nuisance emanates to abate the public nuisance within a period as the Town Manager deems expedient for public health and safety.
(2) If the owner fails to abate the public nuisance, the Town Manager or duly authorized agent may take immediate and summary action to abate the public nuisance to the extent that the imminence and the seriousness of the public nuisance is reasonably reduced to a safe level. In this event, the right to notice and hearing to the owner or occupant of the property from which the public nuisance emanates or arises shall be afforded the owner as soon after the public nuisance is abated as is possible. The Council shall at the hearing render a decision as to the permanent abatement of the public nuisance, and the decision shall be implemented in the same manner as provided in division (C) of this section.
(3) The decision of the Council shall be subject to judicial review by the County Circuit Court upon appeal to that court.
(1997 Code, § 30-54)