(A) Complaint. Any department of the city which receives a complaint regarding environmental public nuisance within the city shall forward that complaint to the Code Enforcement Department.
(B) Assignment of complaint. The Code Enforcement Department shall thereafter forward the complaint to the officer for processing, who, in turn, shall visually inspect the property in question. If the officer determines that a violation exists, they shall issue a notice of violation as provided below.
(C) Notice to abate. When a complaint addresses private property, the officer through the Code Enforcement Department shall cause a written notice to abate to be served upon the owner of the property in question, granting that owner a minimum of ten calendar days in which to remove the environmental nuisance. This notice shall be served by certified mail and regular mail to the owner and by a notice place card conspicuously posted on the property, which mail and notice shall contain the following information: The address of the property; the date of the notice; the name of the agency enforcing this subchapter; the address of the agency; the phone number of the agency; and a warning that if the environmental public nuisance is not removed within ten calendar days after the posting; and notice that the city has the right to enter on the property to abate and/or correct the condition and bill the owner for costs incurred in so doing and/or file a court action against the owner for an ordinance violation.
(D) Exception to notice to abate requirement. If the officer finds a violation which constitutes a traffic hazard, the officer shall find it necessary to waive the ten-day grace period and abate the problem as soon as possible.
(E) Inspection. Following the expiration of the notice to abate an officer shall visually inspect the property to determine whether an environmental public nuisance still exists. If an environmental public nuisance exists, action shall be taken to abate that nuisance in accordance with this subchapter.
(F) Publication of notice on certain environmental public nuisances. In lieu of the notice required by division (C) above, the Code Enforcement Department, through the authorized employee, officer, and/or the Clerk-Treasurer shall publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, on two separate occasions during the month of April, that if any environmental public nuisance violations are not corrected by May 15 of that year, such violations shall be cut and/or removed by the Code Enforcement Department and the owner of the property charged with the costs under the provision of §§ 91.25 and 91.99 below. The publication shall contain all the information required of the notice to abate in environmental public nuisance violations such as weeds, grass, or other rank vegetation and shall allow the city to correct such violations as many times as is necessary to comply with this subchapter and charge the actual costs to the property owner.
(G) Continuous abatement notice on certain environmental public nuisances. After providing an initial notice of the violation of an environmental public nuisance such as weeds, grass, or other rank vegetation under division (C) above, a continuous abatement notice may be posted at the property at the time of abatement instead of certified mail or equivalent service. Such continuous abatement notice shall allow the city to correct such violation as many times as necessary to comply with this subchapter and charge the actual costs to the owner.
(H) Abatement by city on government property. Where the complaint addresses governmental property and it is determined by the officer that a violation exists and threatens the health and safety of the people of the city, the officer may direct the city to immediately enter upon the premises and remove the environmental public nuisance.
(Ord. 4-2022, passed 5-10-2022) Penalty, see § 91.99