A. When the chief of police, or his designee, receives police documentation confirming the occurrence of three (3) or more nuisance activities within a sixty (60) day period on the property, the chief of police, or his designee, may review such reports to determine whether they describe the nuisance activities enumerated in section 6-7-2 of this chapter. Upon such a finding, the chief of police, or his designee, shall notify a property owner at the address shown on the county auditor records, and shall notify the person in charge of the property in writing that the property is in danger of being declared a chronic nuisance property.
B. The notice shall contain:
1. The street address or a legal description sufficient for identification of the property;
2. A concise description of the nuisance activities that exist, or that have occurred on the property;
3. A demand that the owner or person in charge respond to the chief of police, or his designee, within ten (10) days of service of the notice to discuss the nuisance activities and create a plan to abate the chronic nuisance;
4. Offer the person in charge an opportunity to abate the nuisance activities giving rise to the violation; and
5. A statement describing that if legal action is sought, the property could be subject to closure, civil penalties and/or costs assessed up to one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day after the notice of the chronic nuisance property is received.
C. Such notice shall be either: 1) personally served, or 2) delivered by first class mail to the person in charge of the property with a copy mailed to the owner at the address indicated by the Spokane County auditor, if different than the person in charge of the property.
D. If the person in charge fails to respond to the notice within the time prescribed, the chief of police, or his designee shall post such notice at the property and issue the person in charge a class 1 civil infraction. If the person in charge fails to respond to the issue infraction the matter shall be referred to the city attorney for further action.
E. If the person in charge responds as required by the notice and agrees to abate the nuisance activity, the chief of police, or his designee, and the person in charge and/or the property owner, may work out an agreed upon course of action which would abate the nuisance activity. If an agreed course of action does not result in the abatement of the nuisance activities or if no agreement concerning abatement is reached, the matter shall be forwarded to the city attorney for enforcement action.
F. It is a defense to an action for chronic nuisance property that the person in charge at all material times could not, in the exercise of reasonable care or diligence, determine that the property had become chronic nuisance property, or could not in spite of the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, control the conduct leading to the determination that the property is a chronic nuisance property. (Ord. 224, 10-6-2015)