No owner, operator or occupant of any parcel of land or any other responsible party shall maintain or permit to be maintained any part of such parcel in such a manner that grass or weeds of any kind, type or nature located thereon extend or stand more than six inches above grade, or allows an accumulation of rubbish, garbage, broken, dilapidated or unusable furniture, mattresses or other household furniture, plastic materials, paints, miscellaneous coverings and/or any other materials, or contains dead grass, trees, shrubbery or plantings that significantly debase the property. This requirement shall be enforced as follows:
(a) The Code Official and/or his/her designee are authorized to issue notices and citations to the owner, operator or occupant of any property maintained in violation of this section, or to any other responsible party.
(b) The official shall post a notice in a conspicuous location on the property. The notice shall state the time when the notice was issued and shall indicate that the violation must be corrected within 48 hours after posting, weather permitting.
(c) No person shall fail to comply with such notice.
(d) Nothing herein shall be construed as modifying in any way Section 1113.18 of the Health and Sanitation Code.
(e) Whenever a property owner fails to comply with the notice within 48 hours, the City shall authorize abatement of the nuisance. The property owner shall be billed a dollar amount in accordance with a fee schedule established by the Code Official and maintained in the Building and Housing Department. Additional charges will apply to lots larger than 7,500 square feet or lots with grass and/or weeds in excess of 12 inches, and any other items found to be in violation of this section. Multiple charges shall apply to multiple lots with a single owner. The payment shall be deposited with the Housing Department within 30 days of the date of the bill. Any bill that is not paid within 30 days shall be placed on the property taxes of the property owner as a tax lien for collection, by the Finance Director.
(f) Grass Watch List. If a property has received two notices as set forth in division (a), the property will be placed on a Grass Watch List which shall be enforced as follows:
(1) Notice will be issued to the property owner of the placement of the property on the Grass Watch List. The notice may be served by delivering it personally to the owner or occupant or leaving it at the owner's or occupant's usual place of business or residence, or by posting it in a conspicuous place on the real estate, building, or structure involved, or by mailing or email delivery it to the owner or occupant.
(2) If a property is placed on the Grass Watch List, by the City shall authorize abatement of the nuisance or cut the grass when the grass reaches the maximum permitted grass height of six (6) inches. Grass cutting MAY be done every ten (10) days or when grass height reaches six (6) inches whichever occurs first.
(3) Any fees shall be collected and assessed as set forth in division (e).
(g) Appeal. A property owner, bank, mortgage company, preservation company or other interested party that has ownership rights, may appeal the placement of the property on the Grass Watch List by filing an appeal as set forth in Section 1753.09. A property may be removed from the Grass Watch List upon the payment of any outstanding grass cutting fees for that grass culling season and by maintaining the proper grass height for two regular inspections.
(Ord. 92-1996. Passed 5-6-96; Eff. 6-6-96; Ord. 85-2005. Passed 6-6-05; Ord. 75-2007. Passed 5-7-07; Ord. 26-2022. Passed 3-7-22.)