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At the discretion of the Plan Commission, the Administrator or his or her duly authorized designees may issue a citation to a person who commits a violation of written commitments, and to the legal owner, the contract vendee, or any person or entity with a possessory interest in the real estate upon which the violation occurs.
(A) The citation may be served by personal service, by certified mail or by placement in a conspicuous place on the property where the violation occurs and shall serve as notice to a person that he or she has committed a violation of written commitments.
(B) The city shall enforce commitments made as part of plan/plat approval.
(C) The city may elect, but is not obligated, to enforce covenants when the violation has a severe negative impact on property values, health, safety or the general welfare of adjacent property owners.
(Ord. 07-16, passed 12-10-2007)
(A) General requirements. Any violation of this ordinance that presents an immediate risk to the health, safety or welfare of the public or to property within the city may be corrected by the Administrator, or a person, firm or organization selected by the Administrator without prior notice to the property owner or other person responsible for the violation.
(B) Immediate public risk violation defined. Immediate public risk violations shall include but not limited to:
(1) Obstructions. Signs, structures, landscaping or other materials placed in an easement, sight visibility triangle or other non-public right-of-way in violation of this ordinance;
(2) Distractions. Any sign, structure, landscaping or other material located on private property that serves to distract or inhibit operators of motor vehicles on adjacent public streets, pedestrians or other members of the general public; and
(3) Other threats. Any other immediate threat to public welfare as determined by any representative of the city or by the Board of Zoning Appeals based upon the advice and recommendation of the Administrator.
(C) Seizure of materials. Any sign, structure, landscaping or other material that constitutes an immediate public risk violation may be seized by the Administrator in a manner that results in the least amount of damage to the material or the property on which it is located under the circumstances.
(D) Notice of violation. The Administrator shall provide notice to the owner of the property, as listed in the records of the Clerk Treasurer’s office, upon which the violation was located, or any discernible appropriate owner of materials placed within the right-of-way in violation of this ordinance, by placing a notice in a conspicuous place on the property and by mailing a letter to that property owner.
(1) Notice time requirements. All notice letters shall be sent to the property owner via certified mail within 24 hours of the seizure. Any notice that is to be posted on the property shall be posted at the time the material is seized.
(2) Notice contents. The letter and posted notice shall include the following:
(a) A description of the materials seized;
(b) A citation of the section(s) of the ordinance that were violated and the characteristic(s) of the violation that posed an immediate threat to public welfare;
(c) The address and phone number of the Administrator and the name of the person to be contacted by the property owner to discuss the violation and request the return of the seized item(s); and
(d) Instructions describing how, where and when the seized items may be claimed.
(E) Storage and retrieval of seized materials. The Administrator shall store any sign, structure, landscape materials or other items seized in a secure location for a period of no less than 30 days from the date notice was mailed to the property owner. The property owner may claim the seized property at any time following its seizure upon the payment of the fine specified on the fee schedule and the establishment of a memorandum of agreement between the property owner and Administrator regarding the future use of the item in a manner consistent with this ordinance.
(F) Liability. Neither the Administrator, city nor any other official or entity involved in the seizure shall be liable for any damage to the seized materials or the property from which they were taken.
(Ord. 07-16, passed 12-10-2007)
(A) Stop-work orders. The Planning and Zoning Administrator may place a stop-work order on any land/property improvement process.
(1) Procedure. Stop-work orders shall be issued by written letter that shall state the nature of the violation and that the work and/or any other illegal activity must stop immediately until the matter is resolved. If someone other than the property owner occupies the property, a copy of the stop work order shall be provided to the occupant(s). This letter shall be posted in a conspicuous place and be delivered/mailed to the property owner.
(2) Reasons. Reasons for a stop-work order include, but are not limited to:
(a) Not complying with any element of the development standards and/or any regulation of the unified development ordinance;
(b) Not obtaining an improvement location permit or any other required permit or approval prior to the construction or installation of any improvement for which an approval or permit is required by this ordinance;
(c) Not completing structures or other improvements consistent with any approved improvement location permit, variance, conditional use or other approval;
(d) Not meeting the conditions or commitments of a conditional use, variance, rezoning or other approval whether recorded or not;
(e) Not meeting the conditions of a site development plan, planned unit development detailed plan or any written commitment associated therewith; and
(f) Illegal use or expansion of use of structures or structures and land in combination.
(B) Appeals. Any stop-work order issued as a result of the enforcement of this ordinance, may be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals. This appeal shall follow the provisions established for administrative appeals.
(C) Resumption of construction activity. The stop-work order shall be lifted and construction activity may resume upon the resolution of the violation(s) to the satisfaction of the Administrator.
(Ord. 07-16, passed 12-10-2007)
(A) Applicability. Any person who uses property in violation of the unified development ordinance of the city shall be deemed to have committed a civil zoning violation and may be issued a citation by City Code Enforcement.
(B) Citation and fine. Each day a violation remains uncorrected is a distinct and separate civil zoning violation subject to an additional citation and fine in the amount prescribed below, provided a warning ticket has first been issued pursuant to § 10.2.
(1) Any person held liable by a court of competent jurisdiction for a violation of the unified development ordinance of the city shall be fined not less than $100 and not more than $2,500 for each violation.
(2) The monetary fine for each civil zoning violation shall range from $100 to $2,500 per day from the date of compliance requested by the Administrator in the notice of violation.
(C) Payment of fines. All fines prescribed by this section for civil zoning violations shall be paid to the Administrator, who shall render to the person making the payment a receipt stating the amount and purpose for which the fine has been paid, and duplicate of which shall be made a part of the records of the Plan Commission. All fines thus received shall be forwarded to the City Clerk-Treasurer for deposit in the General Fund.
(D) Accountability. The owner or tenant of any building, structure, premises or part thereof, and any architect, builder, contractor, realtor, agent or other person who commits, participates in, assists in or maintains a violation may each be found guilty of a separate offense and suffer the penalties herein provided.
(E) Cost of attorney, investigation and other fees. If the Board of Zoning Appeals or the city is required to utilize the services or the City Attorney or any other attorney in investigating a possible violation of this ordinance or in enforcing the provisions of this ordinance pursuant to this section or any other section, and the investigation results in a determination that a violation has occurred, or if the Board of Zoning Appeals or city is successful in its enforcement of the ordinance by way of suit, appeal or other appropriate proceeding; the respondent, defendant or party investigated for a violation shall pay the city’s reasonable attorney’s fees and all costs related to the investigation of the violation and/or the enforcement of this ordinance, unless the attorney fees or the costs are specifically waived by the Common Council of the city.
(F) Waiving fines. The Administrator may, at his or her discretion, waive the assessed fine for timely correction of the violation.
(Ord. 07-16, passed 12-10-2007)
(A) Violation and fine. Any person or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this ordinance or fail to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof, or who shall build, reconstruct or structurally alter any building in violation of any detailed statement or plan submitted and approved thereunder shall, for each and every violation or noncompliance, be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $100 and not more than $300. Each day that the violation or noncompliance shall be permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(B) Construction without permit. Any person who shall initiate construction prior to obtaining any permit required by Chapter 9 of this ordinance, shall pay twice (2x) the amount of the filing fee set forth herein.
(C) Failure to provide as-built plans. Failure to provide correct as-built plans to the city within two months of the completion of public improvements shall be considered a violation of this ordinance. Applicants who fail to provide these plans within the specified time period shall be guilty of an infraction, and upon conviction, shall be fined in the sum of not less than $100 and not more than $300 per day for each violation. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(D) Accountability. The owner or tenant of any building, structure, premises or part thereof, and any architect, builder, contractor, realtor, subdivider, agent or other person who commits, participates in, assists in or maintains the violation may each be found guilty of a separate offense and suffer the penalties herein provided.
(Ord. 07-16, passed 12-10-2007)