A. Complaints; Investigation: Only signed written complaints shall be reviewed and investigated by the board. Upon receipt of a complaint, the board shall immediately notify the landowner of the complaint and name a voting member to act as a contact for the landowner. That board member shall arrange with the landowner a time for the appointed investigatory team to examine the orchard or private orchard in question.
B. Investigatory Team:
1. Appointment: The board shall appoint three (3) investigators to carry out the field inspection of any orchard or private orchard under review by the board.
2. Composition: The investigatory team shall be composed of that board member named as the contact person for the landowner, and that person employed by the University of Idaho as the county agricultural extension agent to act as an advisor. The other member of the investigatory team shall be determined by the board.
C. Inspection Procedures: The board in conjunction with that person employed by the University of Idaho as the county agricultural extension agent, University of Idaho agricultural extension service; any other agricultural extension specialist deemed necessary; and a representative of the Idaho department of agriculture, division of plant industries, will establish the inspection procedures to be used by any board investigatory team. Such procedures shall be reviewed by the board of county commissioners and must be approved by the board of county commissioners prior to implementation.
D. Notice To Control: If the investigatory team finds that an orchard or private orchard does in fact contain orchard pests, the landowner in question shall be given written notice to control such pests within ten (10) days of receipt of the notice. Such notice shall comply with Idaho Code section 25-2607.
E. Failure To Control; Notice Of Hearing: If the landowner fails to control the specified pest or pests within ten (10) days, the landowner in question shall be given notice, not less than seven (7) days before the hearing, to appear before the board to show cause why the board should not initiate steps to control the pest or pests.
F. Contract To Control: Unless the landowner can show that the agricultural pests do not exist, or that they do exist but it is not necessary to control them, such landowners shall be requested to enter into a contract with the board specifying a time in which such pests will be controlled by the landowner, and any other provisions determined by the board to be necessary for the fulfillment of the purposes of this chapter.
G. Duty To Examine Possibilities And Mechanisms: It shall be the duty of the board and the landowner to examine all possibilities and mechanisms to resolve the situation, including, but not limited to, funding, education, contract spraying, orchard or private orchard destruction and uprooting, and chemical herbiciding of tree stumps. (Ord. 91-04, 8-12-1991)
H. Failure To Appear; Control By Board: If the landowner does not appear at the hearing, or does appear but refuses to enter into the contract as requested by the board, or fails to comply with the terms of the contract, the board shall cause control procedures to be initiated as soon as practicable at owner's expense. Collection of said expenses shall be made through a private cause of action brought by the members of the board. (Ord. 91-04, 8-12-1991; amd. Ord. 94-08, 5-16-1994)