(A) The owner of record of any governmental, commercial or residential property, being real or personal in nature, or their agents or managers, which has any form of graffiti on any building, structure or apparatus owned, managed or operated by the owner or owner’s managers, agents, tenants and employees, shall be required to restore the defaced surface(s) by removing or concealing the graffiti within ten calendar days after receipt of written notice, by any Code Enforcement Coordinator or officer, requiring such removal. Notifications shall be made by personal service or certified mail and regular mail.
(B) When any graffiti as defined in this article is found on any property, including rights-of-way and easements, within the city or within one mile of the city limits, a Code Enforcement Coordinator or officer shall have the following authority:
(1) To enter upon property;
(2) To obtain an administrative search and inspection warrant, if necessary, as provided in G.S. 15-27.2;
(3) To issue a notice of violation and impose civil penalties;
(4) To enter upon or authorize an agent to enter upon and clean up property in violation of this chapter; and
(5) To utilize the services of an outside contractor to remove the graffiti from the property in violation of this article.
(C) Notices or orders issued by the Code Enforcement Coordinator or officer under this article shall be served on the owner or property manager of the identified property by either hand delivery or by certified mail and regular mail. Service by mail shall be deemed complete by depositing the notice or order in the mail at the address listed in the Pitt County tax records. When the manner of service is by certified mail and regular mail and the certified mail is unclaimed or refused but the regular mail is not returned by the post office within ten days of mailing, service is deemed sufficient. The person mailing the notice or order by regular mail shall certify that fact and the date of the mailing, and that certification shall be conclusive evidence of service in the absence of fraud.
(D) Notification to the property owner will advise that the conditions that exist on the identified property constitute graffiti and such shall be abated within ten calendar days of the date of the notification and that failure to abate or remove the graffiti shall result in the assessment of the costs of abatement or removal, imposition of administrative fees, and the assessment of a civil penalty as identified in this chapter. The Code Enforcement Coordinator or officer may afford the owner additional time to remove or abate the graffiti if such failure was caused by weather conditions or other factors as determined by the Code Enforcement Coordinator or officer not to have been within the control of the owner.
(E) When the owner of the property, property manager or agent fails or refuses to abate the declared nuisance, then the Code Enforcement Coordinator or officer shall issue to the owner a civil penalty in the amounts stated herein and shall forward to the Revenue Division of the Finance Department a report and invoice for the costs of the abatement of the nuisance, administrative fees and a copy of the civil citation for collection. Such charges shall be assessed against the property owner and shall become a lien upon the property, subject only to the city and county ad valorem taxes thereon. Such charges shall be collected and enforced in the same manner as unpaid taxes.
(F) A property owner, agent or manager shall have five business days from receipt of a notice of violation to file an appeal. The appeal must be made in writing to the Board of Adjustment and the appeal fee paid. Appeals of decision by the Board of Adjustment shall be as provided by state law.
(G) Where any public nuisance as set forth in this article requires immediate abatement to avoid and prevent an immediate and dangerous threat to the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the city and would degrade adjoining properties as determined by the Code Enforcement Coordinator or officer, the nuisance may be summarily removed and abated by the city without prior notice to the property owner, but the owner shall be responsible for all abatement costs, administrative fees and civil penalties.
(Ord. No. 07-123, § 1, passed 9-13-2007)