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Florence, KY Code of Ordinances
CITY OF FLORENCE, KY CODE OF ORDINANCES
TITLE I: GENERAL PROVISIONS
TITLE III: ADMINISTRATION
TITLE V: PUBLIC WORKS
TITLE VII: TRAFFIC CODE
TITLE IX: GENERAL REGULATIONS
TITLE XI: BUSINESS REGULATIONS
TITLE XIII: GENERAL OFFENSES
TITLE XV: LAND USAGE
TABLE OF SPECIAL ORDINANCES
PARALLEL REFERENCES
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§ 33.81 ORDINANCE CIVIL FINE SCHEDULE.
   Ordinance civil fine schedule. Violations of Ordinances that are enforced by the City Board shall constitute a civil offense and pursuant to Section 2(2)(b) of the Act shall be subject to the following schedule of civil fines:
   (A)   A specific civil fine that will be imposed for each offense if the person who has committed the offense does not contest the citation as follows:
Violation
1st Offense
2nd Offense
All Others
Animal Control
$25
$50
$100
Zoning
$50
$150
$300
Nuisance
$50
$150
$300
Property Maintenance Code Violations
$50
$150
$300
Parking
$30
$30
$30
Occupational License
$50
$150
$300
Life Safety Code Violations
$50
$150
$300
Fire Prevention Code Violations
$50
$150
$300
Chronic Nuisance Property
$500
$500
$500
Special Events Policy
$500
$500
$500
Other
$50
$150
$300
 
   (B)   A maximum civil fine that may be imposed for each offense if the citation is contested under subsection (6) of Section 7 of the Act, as follows:
Violation
1st Offense
2nd Offense
All Others
Animal Control
$100
$100
$100
Zoning
$500
$1,000
2,000
Nuisance
$500
$1,000
2,000
Property Maintenance Code Violations
$500
1,000
2,000
Parking
$100
200
$500
Occupational License
$500
$1,000
$2,000
Life Safety Code Violations
1,000
$1,500
$2,000
Fire Prevention Code Violations
1,000
1,500
2,000
Chronic Nuisance Property
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
Special Events Policy
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
Other
$500
$1,000
$2,000
 
   (C)   (1)   For violations of Ordinance No. O-1-14, the Chronic Nuisance Property Ordinance (§§ 102.01 through 102.99), the Board may impose a penalty of not less than $500, nor more than $5,000 for each violation.
      (2)   In addition the Board may, applying the criteria set forth in Ordinance No. O-33-05, recommend to the City Council that judicial proceedings are necessary with respect to such violations.
(Ord. O-07-02, passed 4-30-02; Am. Ord. O-10-16, passed 6-21-16)
§ 33.82 LIENS; FINES; CHARGES AND FEES.
   (A)   The city shall possess a lien on property owned by any person found by a nonappealable final order as defined by subsection (8) of Section 1 of the Act, or by a final court to have committed a violation of a city ordinance. The lien shall be for all civil fines assessed for the violation and for all charges and fees incurred by the city in connection with the enforcement of the ordinance, including abatement costs. An affidavit of the Code Enforcement Officer shall constitute prima facie evidence of the amount of the lien and the regularity, of the proceedings pursuant to KRS 65.8801 to 65.8839.
   (B)   The lien shall be recorded in the office of the County Clerk. The lien shall be notice to all persons from the time of its recording and shall bear interest at the legal rate until paid.
   (C)   The lien shall take precedence over all other liens, except state, court, School Board and city taxes, and may be enforced by judicial proceedings, including an action to foreclose.
   (D)   Shall continue for ten years following the date of the nonappealable final order, or final judgment of the court.
   (E)   In addition to the remedy prescribed in division (A), the person found to have committed the violation shall be personally responsible for the amount of the lien, including all civil fines assessed for the violation and for all charges, fees and abatement costs incurred by the city in connection with the enforcement of this subchapter. The city may bring a civil action against the person and shall have the same remedies as provided for the recovery of a debt.
   (F)   Nothing in this section shall otherwise affect the rights or obligations between the owner of the property and those persons who claim a security interest in the property.
      (1)   The city shall implement a system for notification to lienholders that meets the minimum requirements of division (F)(2) of this section and shall comply with the procedures to permit remedial action by lienholders as provided in division (F)(3) of this section in order to obtain and maintain the lien priority over previously filed liens granted in Section 10 of the Act.
      (2)   The city shall create a notification system that provides lienholders and others that elect to do so with electronic notifications of all final orders entered pursuant to KRS 65,8801 to 65.8839. The system shall meet the following minimum requirements:
         (a)   An individual or entity may register with the city to receive information on each final order by providing a name, mailing address, phone number, and an electronic mailing address to the city. The city shall accept this information in any form submitted by a registrant. It shall be the responsibility of the registrant to maintain and update its contact information with the city, except that the city shall inform a registrant of any evidence the city receives that the electronic mailing address is invalid or not functional in order to provide the registrant an opportunity to submit an updated electronic mailing address:
         (b)   No less than once a month but no more frequently than once per week, the city shall send electronic mail notification of all final orders issued pursuant to the provisions of KRS 65.8801 to 65.8839 since the last date of notification to each party registered pursuant to division (F)(2)(a) of this section. The notification shall, at a minimum, include or provide an electronic link to a document or database meeting the requirements of this division that includes:
            1.   The name of the person charged with a violation;
            2.   The physical address of the premises where the violation occurred;
            3.   The last known mailing address for the owner of the premises where the violation occurred;
            4.   A specific description of the citation leading to the final order, including the citation detail set forth in paragraphs (a) to (h) of subsection (4) of Section 7 of The Act, which may be satisfied by including a copy of the full citation;
            5.   The    findings of the final order, including the penalty or penalties imposed by the final order, which may be satisfied by providing a copy of the full final order; and
            6.   The status of the final order in regards to its ability to be appealed pursuant to Section 9 of The Act, except that the city shall provide an update to registrants if an appeal is filed on a final order pursuant to Section 9 of this Act.
         (c)   The city shall post the notification required under division (F)(2)(b) of this section or provide a summary of the information regarding each final order required by division (F)(2)(b) of this section in a conspicuous place on its public Web site, which shall be affiliated with the city and contain other information about the city within ten days of the issuance of the final order. If the city posts using summary form:
            1.   The summary shall be calculated to reasonably allow identification of the specific properties which may be impacted by the lien;
            2.   Upon request, the city shall provide the complete record of a final order created under division (F)(2)(b) of this section without charge; and
         (d)   The city shall maintain the records created under this section for a period of ten years following their issuance.
      (3)   (a)   A lienholder of record may, within 45 days from the date of issuance of notification under division (F)(2) of this section, correct the violation if it has not already been abated, or elect to pay all civil fines assessed for the violation and all charges and fees incurred by the city in connection with the enforcement of the ordinance, including abatement costs. This section shall not prohibit the city from taking immediate action if necessitated under Section 12 of The Act.
         (b)   The lien provided by Section 10 of The Act shall not take precedence over previously recorded liens if:
            1.   The city failed to comply with the requirements of division (F)(2) of this section for notification of the final order; or
            2.   A prior lienholder corrected the violation or paid all civil fines assessed for the violation and all charges and fees incurred by the city in connection with the enforcement of this subchapter, including abatement costs within 45 days as provided in division (F)(1) of this section.
         (c)   A lien that does not take precedence over previously recorded liens under the circumstances outlined, in division (F)(2)(b) of this section, shall if the final order remains partially unsatisfied, take precedence over all other subsequent liens except liens for state, county, school board and, city taxes.
         (d)   Nothing contained in this subsection shall prohibit the city from recording a lien before the 45- day period established in division (F)(2)(a) of this section expires. If the lien is fully satisfied prior to the expiration of the 45-day period established in division (F)(2)(a) of this section, the city shall release the lien in the County Clerk's office where the lien is recorded within 15 days of satisfaction.
(Ord. O-07-02, passed 4-30-02; Am. Ord. O-10-16, passed 6-21-16)
§ 33.83 STATE STATUTES ADOPTED BY REFERENCE.
   All of the terms, conditions and procedures of the Act relating to the organization and powers of the Board, enforcement, procedure, appeals and other matters are hereby adopted by the city and incorporated herein by reference as if fully rewritten.
(Ord. O-07-02, passed 4-30-02; Am. Ord. O-10-16, passed 6-21-16)
§ 33.84 CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES.
   (A)   Criteria. In the event the Board should consider the need to recommend to Council that judicial proceedings are necessary in order to enforce any particular lien for payment of unpaid civil fines, the Board is hereby directed to carefully consider the following factors before recommending judicial proceedings.
      (1)   Whether the violator has been given notice of the violation as required by §§ 33.76 and 33.78.
      (2)   Whether a civil suit seeking a money damages only against the violator or a civil proceeding seeking a judicially ordered sale of the subject property, will be the appropriate course of action.
      (3)   Whether the conduct of the violator has demonstrated indifference to or disregard for the necessity of compliance with the applicable city ordinance by statement, conduct, or inaction with regard to the violation.
      (4)   Whether the violation(s) which is/are the subject of the liens constitute a present danger to the public health, safety or welfare of the residents in the vicinity, or materially interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of adjacent property.
      (5)   The period of time for which the violation has existed must be considered in relation to the severity of the threat to the public health, safety or welfare of the residents in the vicinity.
      (6)   Whether three convictions of the same violation have been found to exist since the enactment of these criteria.
   (B)   Procedures.
      (1)   Upon notification to the Board by the City Clerk that liens have been filed in accordance with § 33.82, the Board, no sooner than 30 days after the Clerk’s notification, may consider whether the above factors exist. If so, it may make a formal written recommendation to the City Council that judicial proceedings be initiated. All liens filed prior to the enactment of this section shall be so considered by the Board within 60 days of the effective date hereof.
      (2)   The Board’s recommendation must be accompanied by written findings of fact in support of the recommendation. These findings must clearly demonstrate which of the above criteria have been met. In all cases, criteria specified in divisions (A)(1) through (A)(3) must be met in order to support the recommendation. Further, either criteria specified in divisions (A)(4), (A)(5) or (A)(6) must be met, individually or in combination.
      (3)   The Board’s recommendation must state whether it is recommending either (a) a civil suit before the court of proper jurisdiction seeking money damages only, or (b) a civil suit seeking monetary damages and an order of sale of the subject real estate.
      (4)   Upon receipt of a recommendation from the Board that judicial proceedings be initiated, City Council may follow the recommendation, seek different relief from that recommended by the Board, or take no action in response to the recommendation.
(Ord. O-33-05, passed 12-20-05)