(a) The Mayor or his or her designee shall present to Council, from time to time, a legislation which shall list therein the location and ownership of premises which the Mayor or his or her designee has reason to believe are blighted premises as defined in this chapter, and which are located in the City outside of urban renewal areas or "blighted areas" as defined in Ohio R.C. Chapter 725. The legislation will state briefly the factors which, in the Mayor's or his or her designee's opinion, would warrant the determination that the premises so listed in the legislation are blighted. The premises so listed in the legislation shall be only those blighted premises which, in the opinion of the Mayor or his or her designee, are such that, in order to eliminate the existing blight and to prevent future blight, acquisition thereof will be necessary for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) The owner of the premises cannot or will not:
A. Eliminate the blighted condition; and/or
B. Prevent recurrence of blight; or
(2) The owner has not responded to a lawful order by the City to take action to eliminate its recurrence within 30 days after notice of the order has been given by two or more of the following methods:
A. Posting such order or notice on the premises; or
B. Personal delivery; or
C. Mailing such order or notice to the last known address of the owner; or
D. Mailing such order or notice to the tax mailing address of the subject property; or
E. Publishing once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation a notice of the issuance of the order relating to the premises and directing the owner to contact the Director of Community Service and Economic Development or Housing Manager or certified building official in regard to such order; or
(3) Direct action, short of acquisition by the City to eliminate the blight, including but not limited to clearing the premises of the debris, demolition of blighted structures, or barricading such structure has proven to be unsuccessful;
A. To eliminate the blight; or
B. To prevent its recurrence; or
(4) In the opinion of the Mayor or his or her designee, based upon conditions existing on the premises and in the neighborhood, such direct action would be likely to prove inadequate to eliminate blight or prevent its recurrence.
(b) For purposes of division (a)(1) of this section, it shall be prima facie evidence that the owner of the blighted premises is unwilling or unable to eliminate or prevent the recurrence of the blighted condition of the premises if:
(1) The blighted premises has been condemned; or
(2) The blighted premises is a vacant lot which has been cited by the Commissioner of Environmental Health more than three times in a one year period or where the City has had to clean the lot at least twice during a one-year period; or
(3) The blighted premises has been used on more than two occasions during a one-year period as the site for the commission of drug offenses, prostitution, gambling or other criminal acts which constitute a public nuisance.
(c) The owner's unwillingness or inability to eliminate or prevent the recurrence of the blighted condition of the premises may also be established through testimony and documentary evidence of the Council committee hearings on the legislation.
(Ord. 90-2007. Passed 5-21-07.)