Vacant structures and property shall be kept in conformance with the Property Maintenance Code and/or other property maintenance standards being enforced by the City. Vacant properties shall be maintained in conformance with the following:
(a) The City reserves the right to post the name, telephone number and address of the property owner of a vacant property in a conspicuous manner in a location clearly visible and legible from a public right-of-way. In the case of property being maintained by a person other than the owner, the name, telephone number and address of the person responsible for the maintenance of the property may also be posted by the City.
(b) The structure and property will be kept in conformance with the general requirements of the Property Maintenance Code of the City, in relation to the exterior of the property and the structure. The specific exterior requirements will be determined by the Department.
(c) The vacant property will be registered and a non-refundable registration fee in the amount of three hundred dollars ($300.00) per property shall accompany the initial registration form, and there shall be provisions for installment payments of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) per month for no longer than a period of six months.
(1) The three hundred dollars ($300.00) will be maintained in an account and used by the Department to keep the property and the exterior of the structure in compliance with local property maintenance regulations.
(2) On the date the Department determines the property to be vacant, the Department will invoice the owner for that amount, and if at any time additional funds are required to maintain the three hundred dollars ($300.00) individual fund balance, the owner shall be invoiced and shall have 30 days in which to pay that amount specified to maintain the revolving fund.
(3) Failure to register a vacant property with the City or to pay to the City any and all amounts invoiced in accordance with subsection (c) may result in a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and legal action from the City.
(d) In the event the vacant structure is razed or partially razed, at a cost borne by the City for such demolition, the vacant structure proceeds shall be forfeited by the property owner and retained by the City as reimbursement for demolition costs if the property owner registered the vacant structure for demolition with the City. The owner will be responsible for the maintenance of the property.
(e) The Department shall invoice each owner for any extraordinary property maintenance activities which it must carry out which would exceed the balance in the respective individual revolving fund.
(f) Property Maintenance Code violations which are not rectified by an owner after proper notice are hereby declared to be a nuisance.
(Ord. 4810. Passed 9-9-98; Ord. 4855. Passed 5-10-00; Ord. 4987. Passed 4-12-06; Ord. 5083. Passed 4-27-11; Ord. 5190. Passed 12-9-15; Ord. 5221. Passed 2-8-17; Ord. 5302. Passed 11-18-20; Ord. 5319. Passed 10-13-21.)