A. The remedies which the city may bring against a public nuisance are:
1. Criminal action instituted by indictment or information in district court, or by citation in municipal court; or
2. A civil action for damages; or
3. Abatement, as set out in this chapter.
B. The remedies by indictment, information or citation are regulated by the law on crimes and punishment and criminal procedure.
C. The remedies which an individual person may bring against a private nuisance are the same as those which the city may bring against a public nuisance; except, that a private person may only report criminal conduct but is without the authority to prosecute.
1. A person injured by a private nuisance may directly abate it by removing or, if necessary, destroying the thing which constitutes the nuisance, but only so long as such removal or destruction may be done without trespassing onto private property, committing a breach of the peace or inflicting physical damage or injury to property or persons.
2. Where a private nuisance results from a mere omission of the wrongdoer and cannot be abated without entering upon the land of the wrongdoer, reasonable notice must be given before entering to abate it.
3. A private person taking "self-help" direct action to abate a nuisance does so at his or her own risk with respect to compliance with the law.
D. The abatement of a nuisance, whether by the city or by a private person, does not prejudice the right of either the city or such person to recover damages for its past existence. (Ord. 646, 3-21-2011)