(A) Fines. Any person, firm or corporation who violates any provision of this chapter shall upon conviction thereof be fined in an amount not less than $100 nor more than $2,500 and may be subject to other penalties provided in the Municipal Code. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during which a violation occurs or continues after the time has passed for correction stated in the Notice of Noncompliance. Any person, firm or corporation adjudged guilty of violating any provision of this subchapter may also be adjudged to pay the costs of prosecution. In addition, the City Engineer may:
(1) Declare the premises to be unsafe as provided by the Housing Code, entitled “Unsafe Building Law”; and
(2) Issue an emergency order where immediate action is required to protect the health and safety of the public or of the occupants of the premises as provided by the Building Code, entitled “Emergency Orders”, and
(3) Seek any of the additional relevant remedies provided by the Housing Code.
(B) Failure of owner or occupant to correct noncompliance; costs of removal. In the event the owner or occupant of the premises fails to correct the public nuisance condition of the premises as specified in the notice of noncompliance within the time required by § 96.01(C), the Board of Public Works and Safety may proceed to correct the condition and shall keep an account of all costs incurred in correction of the public nuisance condition. The Clerk-Treasurer shall make a certified statement of all costs incurred by the city involved in correcting the public nuisance condition to be issued immediately to the owner or occupant of the premises in the same manner as provided for issuance of the notice of violation by this chapter. The owner or occupant shall pay the amount of all costs incurred by the city as noted on the certified statement to the Clerk-Treasurer within 30 days from the date the certified statement is served upon the owner or occupants.
(1) Lien: Delinquent Accounts.
(a) All costs by the city to correct a public nuisance as provided in this chapter, shall be and the same is hereby declared a lien in favor of the city upon and against the premises on which the corrective activity is undertaken. All costs, together with any penalty applicable thereto as provided by this chapter, shall be collected in any manner provided. The lien herein created is superior to and takes precedence over all other liens except for the lien for taxes.
(b) In the event the full amount due the city is not paid to the Clerk-Treasurer by the owner of the premises within 30 days after receipt of the certified statement expenses as provided herein, the costs shall thereupon become and is hereby declared to be delinquent and a penalty of 25% of such cost shall thereupon attach to the cost and be included in the lien, as herein provided, and shall be collectible in addition to the cost of such removal and disposal.
(c) In the event a delinquency occurs for nonpayment of the costs set out in the certified statement, the Clerk-Treasurer shall record in the office of the County Recorder a notice of lien setting forth the name or names of the owner of the premises upon which the costs have become delinquent, the description of the premises as shown by the records of the County Auditor and the amount of such delinquent costs and the penalty thereon. The lien shall attach to the premises described in the notice of lien from the time of the recording of the notice of lien.
(2) Civil action: Foreclosure for nonpayment.
(a) If the costs incurred by the city for the correction of the public nuisance are not paid to the city as herein provided and become delinquent, then the amount due the city for such corrective action, the penalty thereon and all costs of collection thereof, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, may be recovered by the city in a civil action brought in the name of the city against the owner of the premises responsible for payment thereof.
(b) If the costs incurred by the city for the correction of a public nuisance is not paid to the city as herein provided and becomes delinquent, the city, as an additional or alternative remedy, may foreclose the lien created by this chapter as a means of collecting the amount due the city, including the penalty thereon. In the event an action is brought to foreclose the lien as herein created, the city is entitled to recover the amount due the city for nuisance correction, any penalty thereon and all costs of the foreclosure of the lien, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, and the Court shall order that the sale of the premises be made without relief from valuation and appraisement laws.
(c) In the event the costs incurred by the city for nuisance correction is not paid to the city as herein provided and becomes delinquent, the city, as a further additional or alternative remedy, may authorize the Clerk-Treasurer to certify to the County Auditor a true copy of the notice of lien and the amount of delinquent costs and any penalty thereon which shall then be charged to the premises on the tax duplicate and shall be collected in a manner that taxes are collected by law. Upon collection of the costs and penalty thereon, the County Auditor or any other appropriate official shall pay to the Clerk-Treasurer the total amount of the costs so collected together with the penalty thereon.
(C) Other legal remedies. In addition to the enforcement remedies provided by this chapter, the city may enforce the provisions of this chapter, by all other legal remedies, including but not limited to the use of a mandatory injunction to require abatement of any public nuisances within the city by the owner or occupant of the affected premises. In all such actions brought by the city to enforce the provisions of this chapter, the city is entitled to recover all costs of such litigation, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.
(D) Transfer of ownership. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any premises who has received a notice of violation of this chapter to sell, transfer, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of the premises to another until the provisions of the notice of violation have been complied with, or until such owner shall first furnish the grantee, transferee, mortgagee, or lessee a true copy of any notice of violation and shall furnish the city a signed and notarized statement from the grantee, transferee, mortgagee, or leasee acknowledging the receipt of such notice of violation and fully accepting the responsibility without condition for making the corrections or repairs required by the notice of violation.
(E) Synthetic cannabinoids. In addition to any other penalty for an ordinance violation provided by law, upon first violation of § 96.07, a person shall be fined the sum of $100, and upon second violation of § 96.07, a person shall be fined the sum of $1,000, and upon third and subsequent violations, a person shall be fined the sum of $2,500. PERSON shall have the meaning set forth in § 10.05 of this code.
(‘85 Code, § 6.99; Am. Ord. 12-1997, passed 8-11-97; Am. Ord. 24-2010, passed 11-8-10)
Cross-reference:
For procedures regarding all code and ordinance violations and penalties, see § 10.99