(a) The owner of a nuisance property who receives a notice of assessment from the Chief of Police, or his designee, under Section 680.04 may appeal the notice of assessment to the Real Property Maintenance Board by submitting a written request for a hearing to the City's Zoning, Housing, and Residential Building Commissioner. The written request for hearing shall state the name, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the appellant and provide a brief statement of the basis for the appeal and the relief requested. Any appeal shall be filed within ten (10) days of the notice that is the subject of the appeal and shall be accompanied by a non-refundable deposit of fifteen dollars ($15.00).
(b) Upon receipt of a written request for hearing, the Real Property Maintenance Board shall set a time and place for a hearing, which shall be held within a reasonable time after an appeal has been filed. Written notice of the hearing shall be mailed to the appellant by United States certified mail at least seven (7) days prior to the date of the hearing before the Real Property Maintenance Board. The Law Director of the City shall be notified of the hearing by any means reasonably calculated to give actual notice of the hearing.
(c) At the Hearing, the Real Property Maintenance Board may hear sworn testimony from the Chief of Police, or his designee, the Appellant, and any other individual offering testimony on their behalf, and shall permit cross-examination thereof. At the Hearing, the City must show by a preponderance of the evidence that each violation stated in the notice being appealed has occurred, and that the intent of the City to assess the property for abatement costs is justified. The City shall not be required to show that there has been a conviction for any criminal offense to show the existence of a nuisance. The City shall be deemed to have failed to meet this standard only if the owner demonstrates by a preponderance of evidence that:
(1) He or she was not the owner at the time of any of the nuisance activity that is the basis of the notice; or
(2) He or she had knowledge of the nuisance activity, but has promptly and vigorously taken all actions necessary to abate each nuisance, including, without limitation, the eviction of the tenant or occupant in compliance with the requirements of Ohio R.C. Chapter 5321; or
(3) He or she had no knowledge of the nuisance activity and could not, with reasonable care and diligence, have known of the nuisance activity; and upon receipt of the notice of the declaration of the property as a nuisance property, he or she promptly took all actions necessary to abate the nuisance.
(d) Any aggrieved party may appeal a final decision of the Real Property Maintenance Board to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 2506. The filing of an administrative appeal under Ohio R.C. Chapter 2506 does not operate to stay any enforcement action by the City of Fairlawn unless otherwise ordered by the court.
(Ord. 2015-030. Passed 5-18-15.)