(a) Should the City Administrator or designee, or the Fire Chief, find that a public nuisance as defined in Section 1317.01 exists, the City Administrator or a designee shall cause photographs of such nuisance to be made. The City Administrator or a designee shall serve a standard notice of violation conforming to the requirements of subparagraph (b) of this Section on each person and legal entity identified by the records of the Defiance County Auditor as being responsible for the payment of ad valorem property taxes levied upon the real estate upon which said nuisance is found in a manner authorized by subdivision (d) of this Section. The City Administrator or designee may also send the standard notice of violation to the lessee, tenant or occupant of the premises.
(b) The standard notice of violation shall: (i) describe the premises on which the public nuisance has been found to exist with reasonable certainty; (ii) describe the conditions constituting the public nuisance; (iii) state that the person or entity served with the standard notice of violation has seven calendar days in which to take one of the actions described in subparagraph (c) of this Section; (iv) state whether the City Administrator or designee, or the Fire Chief, finds the public nuisance to constitute an emergency; (v) describe the remediation necessary to abate the public nuisance, which may include repair, rehabilitation and/or vacation of the premises; and (vi) specify the actions to be taken by the City pursuant to this Chapter upon failure to take one of the actions described in subparagraph (c) of this Section within the seven-day time limitation.
(c) Standard Notice of Violation. In cases in which demolition is not required for abatement, a person or entity served with a standard notice of violation shall have seven calendar days from receipt of the notice of violation to take one of the following actions: (i) fully and completely abate the public nuisance; (ii) work out a schedule, satisfactory to the City Administrator or designee, for the nuisance abatement, with sufficient surety acceptable to the City to guarantee completion on schedule; or (iii) appeal the determination of the City Administrator or designee of the existence of a public nuisance and/or the remedy required to the Nuisance Abatement Board by filing a written notice of appeal with the City Administrator or designee. If a person or entity served with a standard notice of violation commences an appeal to the Nuisance Abatement Board in accordance with this Section, the Board shall affirm, reverse, or modify the determinations made by the City Administrator or designee. For purposes of this subsection, “sufficient surety acceptable to the City to guarantee completion on schedule” affords the City the sole discretion to select the necessary surety, which may include but not be limited to a cash bond or letter of credit.
(d) The standard notice of violation may be served by any of the following methods: (i) hand delivery; (ii) posting a notice of violation on the subject premises; (iii) sending certified and ordinary U.S. Mail, addressed to the usual place of residence or customary place of business of the person or entity being served, as indicated by current tax records of the Defiance County Treasurer or the real property records of the Defiance County Recorder.
(e) If no party served with a standard notice of violation takes appropriate action to abate the nuisance, makes arrangements for later abatement of the nuisance that are acceptable to the City Administrator, or institutes an appeal of the standard notice of violation to the Nuisance Abatement Board within seven calendar days following receipt of the standard notice of violation, the City Administrator or designee is authorized to take immediate action to abate the nuisance. In the exercise of this authority the City Administrator may direct municipal employees to enter upon the premises and perform the remediation work described in the standard notice of violation or may engage one or more contractors to enter upon the premises and perform the remediation work described in the standard notice of violation provided, however, that all expenditures required to engage the services of a contractor are approved in the manner required by Codified Ordinance 151.02. Alternatively, the City Administrator may commence appropriate legal or administrative proceedings. In the event the City Administrator determines to institute civil or criminal judicial proceedings or to pursue administrative remedies, the Law Director is authorized to commence such actions without further authorization by ordinance.
(Ord. 7935. Passed 8-8-17.)