(A) Prohibition of nuisances. No person, being the owner, agent or occupant of or having under his or her control, any building, lot, premises or unimproved real estate within the limits of the Town, shall maintain or allow any nuisance to be or remain therein.
(B) Ascertaining nuisances. Whenever the pursuit of any trade, business or the manufacturing or maintenance of any substance or condition of things is, upon investigation, considered by the Town Manager or Code Enforcement Officer dangerous to the health of any of the inhabitants of the Town, or is declared a nuisance by this Chapter, the same shall be considered a nuisance and shall be abated.
(C) Filing a complaint. Complaints of nuisances may be made to the Town Manager, Chief of Police, a police officer, Town Clerk, Mayor, Town Board of Trustees, Land Use Administrator, or Code Enforcement Officer. Whenever possible, any complaint shall state the nature of the nuisance; the location, including street address; the name of the owner, agent or occupant of the building or lot, if known; and the name and address of the complainant.
(D) Responsibility of owner, occupant, or agent.
(1) Where a nuisance exists upon private property and is the outgrowth of the usual, natural or necessary use of the property, the owner thereof or his or her agents are declared the author thereof; but where any nuisance arises from the unusual use to which such property may be put, or from any business conducted thereon, the occupant shall also be deemed the author thereof. Any person who, by himself or herself or through an agent, causes or creates the same shall be deemed the author of the nuisance.
(2) In the event a nuisance must be abated by the Town, no provision of this Section should be construed to relieve any property owner from any of the provisions contained in this Chapter.
(3) The reasonable time for abatement shall not exceed fourteen (14) days, unless it appears from the facts and circumstances that compliance could not reasonably be made within fourteen (14) days or that a good faith attempt at compliance is being made.
(4) Any officer or employee of the Town who is authorized under this Chapter to abate any nuisance specified in this Chapter has authority to engage the necessary assistance and incur the necessary expenses thereof. In any case where a nuisance is to be abated by the Town, it is the duty of the authorized person to employ such assistance and adopt such means as may be reasonably necessary to effect abatement of the nuisance. It is also the duty of the Town or any of its representatives to proceed in all abatement cases with due care and without any unnecessary destruction of property unless the facts and circumstances mandate a different result.
(E) Right of Entry.
(1) Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any of the provisions of this Chapter, or whenever the Town Manager, Land Use Administrator, Code Enforcement Officer, Chief of Police or police officer has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in any building, or upon any premises, any condition which constitutes a nuisance under this Chapter, the Town Manager, Land Use Administrator, Code Enforcement Officer, Chief of Police or police officer may enter the building or premises at all reasonable times to inspect the same or to perform any duty imposed on any of them; provided that, if the building or premises are occupied, the person shall first present proper credentials and demand entry. If the building or premises are unoccupied, he or she shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner and/or occupant or other person having charge or control of the building or premises and, upon locating the owner, occupant, or other person, shall present proper credentials and demand entry.
(2) If entry is refused, the person shall give the owner and/or occupant (or, if the owner and/or occupant cannot be located after a reasonable effort, shall leave at the building or premises) twenty-four (24) hours’ written notice of intention to inspect. The notice given to the owner and/or occupant or left on the premises, as designated in this Section, shall state that the property owner has the right to refuse entry and that, in the event entry is refused, inspection may be made only upon issuance of a search warrant by the Municipal Judge or judge of any other court having jurisdiction, and absence of refusal shall be deemed consent to entry.
(3) In the case of any nuisance involving a serious threat to public safety or order, after the expiration of said twenty-four-hour period, the Town Manager, Town Attorney, Chief of Police, Land Use Administrator, or any of them may appear before the Municipal Judge and, upon showing of probable cause, obtain a search warrant entitling him or her to enter the building or upon the premises. Upon obtaining the search warrant such persons may enter into the building or upon the premises using such reasonable force as may be necessary to gain entry therein. Nothing contained in this Section is intended to negate the authority of the officials described in this Section to enter any portion of any property which is not posted or otherwise protected by the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution or for which entry has not been allowed in order to enforce the provisions of this Chapter.
(4) It is unlawful for any owner and/or occupant of the building or premises to resist reasonable force used by the Town Manager, Chief of Police or Code Enforcement Officer acting pursuant to this Chapter.
(F) Abatement procedures and lien against property.
(1) The person responsible for any nuisance within the Town is liable for and shall pay and bear all costs and expenses of the abatement of such nuisance, which costs, and expenses may be collected by the Town in any action at law, collected in connection with an action to abate a nuisance or assessed against the property as provided in this Chapter.
(2) Except for nuisances requiring summary abatement, a notice shall be sent to or served upon the person deemed responsible for the nuisance and shall state that, if the nuisance is not abated within the time stated in the notice, the cost of such abatement may be assessed as a lien against the property (such notice describing the same) pursuant to the terms of this Chapter, together with an additional fee as set by Town resolution for inspection and incidental costs and an additional ten- percent assessment for costs of collection, and collected in the same manner as real estate taxes against the property. The notice may be mailed, posted on the property and/or served by any officer directed or deputized to mail, post or serve the same. In causing notice to be served, the Mayor, Chief of Police or Town Manager may authorize Town officials, inspectors or any other appropriate Town employee to issue the notice of abatement.
(3) Upon receipt of a statement from the Town Manager, the Town Clerk shall mail a notice to the owner of the premises as shown by the tax roll, at the address shown upon the tax rolls, by first-class mail, postage prepaid, notifying the owner that work has been performed pursuant to this Chapter, stating the date of performance and the nature of the work and demanding payment of the costs thereof, as certified by the Town Manager, together with the inspection/incidental costs fee and costs of collection fee in connection therewith. The notice shall state that if the amount is not paid within thirty (30) days of mailing the notice, it shall become an assessment on and a lien against the property of the owner (such notice describing the same) and will be certified as an assessment against the property together with the costs described in this Section, and the assessment will be collected in the same manner as a real estate tax upon the property.
(4) If, after the expiration of the period of time provided for in the notice, or as extended, the nuisance is not abated, then the Town may abate the nuisance and, if costs or expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Town in the abatement or in connection with the abatement of the nuisance are not otherwise collected, the Town Manager may thereafter certify to the Town Clerk the legal description of the property upon which the work was performed, together with the name of the owner thereof as shown by the tax rolls of the County, together with a statement of the work performed, the date of performance and the costs thereof.
(5) Certified abatement.
(a) If the Town Clerk does not receive payment within the period of thirty (30) days following the mailing of the notice, the Town Clerk shall certify to the County Treasurer the whole cost of the work and costs described in this Section in connection therewith upon the lots and tracts of land upon which the nuisance was abated.
(b) Each assessment shall be a lien against each lot or tract of land until paid and shall have priority over other liens, except general taxes and prior special assessments.
(G) Alternative procedure.
(1) When any person has responsibility for a nuisance, and the nuisance exists or is found and the responsible person fails to abate the same after the giving of the notice as provided for in this Chapter, or as extended, then the Town Attorney may, as an alternative procedure, institute proceedings in the Municipal Court or in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain a judicial determination that the nuisance exists, to abate the nuisance and to enjoin the same, and for such other and further relief as may seem proper or necessary, including but not limited to collections of expenses of abatement.
(2) Upon a judicial determination that a nuisance exists, the Town Manager may be authorized to abate the nuisance or cause the same to be abated, employing such forces and persons as may be necessary to abate the same, including the employees of the Town, or by contract or otherwise. The Chief of Police and all other Town officials and employees are authorized and directed to render such assistance as may be required for the abatement of the nuisance and in connection with the enforcement thereof.
(H) Emergencies; summary abatement.
(1) Whenever an emergency situation exists in relation to the enforcement of any of the provisions of this Chapter, the Town Manager, Fire Chief, Chief of Police, authorized police officer, Code Enforcement Officer or Land Use Administrator, upon a presentation of proper credentials or identification (in the case of an occupied building or premises), may enter into any building or upon any premises within the jurisdiction of the Town. In an emergency situation, such person may use such reasonable force as may be necessary to gain entry into the building or upon the premises.
(2) For the purposes of this Section, an emergency situation includes, but is not limited to, any situation where there is imminent danger of loss of life, limb and/or property or immediate danger to the public health or safety and which cannot await abatement by other means available under this Chapter.
(3) It is unlawful for any owner and/or occupant of the building or premises to resist reasonable force used by any authorized official acting pursuant to this Chapter.
(4) Each and every nuisance mentioned, declared or defined by any ordinance of the Town is prohibited and, depending upon the exigency of circumstances, may be subject to summary abatement. The Mayor, Town Manager or Chief of Police or Code Enforcement Officer is authorized, in his or her discretion, to cause the same to be summarily abated in such manner as he or she may direct. Assessment of costs and charges of summary abatement shall be as provided in subsection (F) through (H) of this Section.
(5) Upon authorization by the Mayor, Town Manager or Chief of Police, if any nuisance found to exist causes such imminent danger to life, limb, property, or health as to require immediate abatement, any such nuisance may be summarily abated by action of a police officer, the Town Manager, the Land Use Administrator, or the Code Enforcement Officer as may be directed by the Chief of Police, Mayor, or Town Manager.
(I) Cumulative remedies. No remedy provided herein shall be exclusive, but the same shall be cumulative. The taking of any action under this Chapter, including charge or conviction of a violation of this Chapter in the Municipal Court, shall not preclude or prevent the taking of other action under the provisions of this Chapter to abate or enjoin any nuisance found to exist.
(J) Concurrent remedies. Whenever a nuisance exists, no remedy provided for herein shall be exclusive of any other charge or action and, when applicable, the abatement provisions of this Chapter shall serve as and constitute a concurrent remedy over and above any charge or conviction of any municipal offense or any other provision of law. Any application of this Chapter that is in the nature of a civil action shall not prevent the commencement or application of any other charges brought under this Code or any other provision of law.
(K) Abatement; penalty. Any person who is responsible for creating or maintaining any nuisance as provided for in this Chapter may, in addition to the civil penalties and costs provided herein, be punished in accordance with the provisions of § 10.99 of this Municipal Code. Every person violating or contributing in any way to the violation of any provision of this Chapter shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each day during which such violation continues and may be punished for each such violation as provided in this Section.
(Ord. 2023-2, passed 6-8-2023)