(A) The owners of property in the town shall at such time or times as the Town Council may prescribe remove, repair or secure any building, wall or other structure which might endanger the public health or safety of other residents of the town.
(B) The Town Council through its own agents or employees may remove, repair or secure any buildings, wall or any other structure, which might endanger the public health or safety of other residents of the town, wherein the owner of such property, after reasonable notice and reasonable time to do so, has failed to remove, repair or secure said building, wall or other structure.
(1) For purposes of this section, reasonable notice shall include a written notice mailed by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, sent to the last known address of the property owner and published in a newspaper having general circulation in the town in accordance with applicable provisions of VA Code § 15.2-906.
(2) No action shall be taken by the town to remove, repair or secure any building, wall or other structure for at least 30 days following the later of the return of the receipt or the newspaper publication.
(C) In the event the Town Council, through its own agents or employees, removes, repairs or secures any building, wall or any other structure after complying with the notice provisions of this section, the cost or expenses thereof shall be chargeable to and paid by the owners of such property and may be collected by the town as taxes and levies are collected.
(D) Every charge authorized by this section with which the owner of such property shall have been assessed and which remains unpaid shall constitute a hen against such property ranking on a parity with liens for unpaid local taxes and enforceable in the same manner as provided in Article 3 (VA Code §§ 58.1-3940 et seq.) and Article 4 (VA Code §§ 58.1-3965 et seq.) of Chapter 39 of Title 58.1.
(1996 Code, § 79-5)