(a) Damaged, dead, diseased, or insect-infested trees, or parts thereof, are hereby declared to be a nuisance, and no person shall permit the same to exist or remain on private property. For purposes of this section, "trees" include shrubs or herbs of arborescent form.
(b) Upon receipt of information that subsection (a) hereof is being violated, the Code Official shall cause a written notice to be served upon the owner, lessee, agent, or tenant having charge of such land, notifying him that the offending tree(s), or parts thereof, must be removed within sixty days after service of such notice.
(c) The form of such notice shall comply with the provisions of Section 1804.30 and shall be served in accordance with Section 1804.31.
(d) If the person to whom a notice is directed fails to comply with the requirements of the notice, the owner, lessee, agent, or tenant having charge of such land shall be assessed a civil penalty as provided in Section 1804.99, an administrative fee in the amount provided in Section 1804.38, and the costs for preparing and serving all notices.
(e) In the event that the person to whom notice was sent fails to pay such expenses within thirty days after being notified in writing, by regular U.S. mail, of the amount thereof by the Code Official, the expenses set forth in subsection (d) hereof may be collected using one or more of the following methods, provided, however, that the expenses may only be collected once:
(1) Such expenses may be certified by Council to the County Auditor and placed upon the tax duplicate for collection as a special assessment and thereupon shall be collected as other taxes and assessments; or
(2) The Director of Law is authorized to bring suit and take other necessary legal action to collect all such expenses.
(f) The remedies provided in this section shall be in addition to the penalty provided in Section 1804.99 and any other remedy allowed by law.
(Ord. 261-15. Passed 12-7-15.)