(A) If the City Council determines by a preponderance of the evidence that a property is a public nuisance, it may, by resolution, in addition to any other remedies available to the city at law or in equity, direct the City Attorney to seek from a court of competent jurisdiction an order of abatement of the nuisance.
(B) The abatement process shall be conducted as follows:
(1) If it is determined that all or a portion of the property is to be ordered vacated, the court shall order the property vacated and declare that occupancy of all or a portion of the property is prohibited and authorized the Police Department to prohibit the occupancy of the property by either padlocking all or a portion of the property or boarding or otherwise securing all or a portion of the property, as is appropriate, for a period of up to one year as the court shall determine based upon the evidence;
(2) Determine that the owner shall be liable for the full cost of any materials and personnel (including police and any other city employees or contractors) involved in the padlocking, boarding or securing of the property in the first instance and the full cost of any personnel and materials involved in any subsequent or remedial padlocking, boarding or securing of the property;
(3) Determine that the owner shall be liable for the full cost to the city in bringing the action to abate before the court;
(4) Determine that the costs set out herein shall be a personal debt of the owner and/or assess those costs against the property as a lien as provided for in the City Charter for property taxes; and
(5) Where only a discreet area under the control of a person or persons other than the owner is involved in the illegal activity, the court shall not order that any other than the part of used for the illegal activity be vacated. The court shall not order that any part of the business or other property be vacated provided the owner or owners of the property take steps, as ordered by resolution of City Council adopting a good neighbor agreement, to police the activity taking place near the business or property. These actions include, but are not limited to, hiring a private security firm to patrol the area, the installation of cameras and other surveillance equipment, posting of signs on the building, and cooperation with the Police Department. Failure to comply with the resolution of City Council shall result in a hearing of a declaration of public nuisance as provided for in this subchapter. It is the intent of this provision to protect those truly and completely innocent of any participation in the act and those not having any notice of, or direct or imputed knowledge of, the illegal acts from being deprived of the use of their property. By way of example and limitation, if only a single apartment in a multiple dwelling is used for illegal purposes as provided for in this subchapter, the court may vacate only the apartment used for the illegal purposes and shall not vacate the entire building.
(Ord. 506, passed 9-21-2004)