(A) The owner, lessor, lessee, tenant, occupants, or person or persons having care and control of a plot or ground within the city shall cut down and remove all offensive and noxious weeds, vines, and grass of a height of ten inches or more and all weeds, vines, and grass constituting a threat to the public health, safety, comfort, and welfare. For the purposes of this section, when a piece of real property is in the process of foreclosure, the person or entity who holds the mortgage upon which the foreclosure is taking place may be considered to be an additional person having care and control of the property.
(B) (1) When the Safety-Service Director determines that such weeds, vines, or grass, as described in division (A) of this section, exist, he or she shall serve written notice to the owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or person having care of or control of the plot of ground, ordering the cutting and removal of such weeds, vines, or grass within five days of the receipt of such notice. The Safety-Service Director shall also post the notice in a conspicuous place on the property advising the owner of the order to cut and remove weeds, vines, or grass within five days of the posted notice. The posted notice shall list the date of the notice and the name of the Safety-Service Director and his or her address and telephone number.
(2) The notice shall be deemed properly served if, in addition to the posted notice described above, the notice is either:
(a) Delivered via regular U.S. Mail to the recipient's last known address; or
(b) Served personally by hand-delivery to the recipient.
(3) The date of receipt of the regular mail notice, as described in division (B)(1) above, shall be considered to be the third day after it was mailed by the Safety-Service Director.
(C) If the property in violation of division (A) is vacant, the address of the owner or person having charge of the land is unknown, or service cannot be completed by the methods described in division (B), it is sufficient to publish the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. The date of receipt of the notice shall be deemed to be the date of publication.
(D) Only one notice per calendar year under divisions (B) or (C) above is required for a particular lot or parcel. If after a notice has been served in accordance with this section, the Safety-Service Director determines that a subsequent violation has occurred, the city may proceed with the remedies set forth in this section without any further notice.
(E) The owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or person having care or control of the plot or ground shall cut and remove the non-complying weeds, vines or grasses within five days of the receipt of the notice. Failure to comply with the notice shall be a minor misdemeanor punishable according to the penalties enumerated in § 130.99. Each day of violation may be the basis of a separate offense. If, having been previously convicted of a violation of this section, a person is convicted of a new offense, that offense shall be a misdemeanor of the fourth degree punishable according to § 130.99. The owner, owners, tenant, or tenants may be jointly and severally responsible for compliance with this section, and the conviction of one does not preclude the conviction of another.
(F) In addition to the criminal penalties noted in division (E), a failure to comply with the notice given by the Safety-Service Director shall cause the city to cut and remove the non-complying weeds, vines, or grass. Such cutting shall be at the owner's expense, and the actual cost of removal, along with an administrative fee of 20% of the cost, shall be charged to the owner and assessed against the plot or ground.
(G) Notice of such charge and assessment shall be sent by mail or given to the owner of the lot charged therewith. All assessments not paid within 30 days after such notice is mailed shall, after approval by City Council, be certified by the Clerk of Council to the County Auditor to be placed on the tax duplicate and collected as other taxes are collected.
(Ord. 931, passed 12-18-73; Am. Ord. 03-19, passed 9-2-03; Am. Ord. 04-25, passed 10-5-04; Am. Ord. 19-03, passed 2-5-19) Penalty, see § 130.99