The town shall remedy or abate any nuisance within this subchapter in the following manner.
(A) Abatement by town.
(1) If any owner, tenant or agent in charge of real property shall allow junk, junk vehicles or a junkyard to exist on any lot, block or parcel after being notified to abate the nuisance through the written notice as submitted by the Code Enforcement Officer, by a date certain, then the Town Manager, or the Manager’s designee, may direct that the nuisance be abated or caused to be abated by the town, and charge the cost thereof to the owner, tenant or agent in charge, together with 5% additional fee of the total cost, for inspection and other incidental costs. The total cost shall include the town’s legal fees spent in the prosecution of the matter, if any.
(2) Further, the town may file a lien against each lot or tract of land, which created the nuisance, until paid and such lien shall have priority over all other liens, except general taxes and prior special assessments or may use any other method available to the town for collection at said time. Should the owner, tenant or agent in charge of the real property not pay the total costs of abatement within 30 days of assessment, the costs may be certified by the Town Clerk to the County Treasurer who shall collect the assessment, together with a 10% penalty for cost of collection, in the same manner as other taxes are collected. All other remedies that may be available to the town shall remain as an option for collection.
(B) Abatement through Town Municipal Court.
(1) The Code Enforcement Officer may, with the assistance of the Town Attorney, choose to seek the adjudication and abatement of said nuisance through the town’s Municipal Court.
(2) In such case, the abatement procedures set forth in division (A) above shall remain fully enforceable, though monitored by the town’s Municipal Court Judge.
(C) Collection of costs of abatement by town.
(1) In the event the nuisance on any lot, block or parcel of ground, or along the sidewalk or public right-of-way adjoining the same, is abated by order of the Town Manager and Town Chief of Police, the whole cost of abatement, together with 5% for inspection and other incidentals, shall be paid within 30 days after mailing by the Town Clerk to the occupant or owner of such lot, block or parcel of ground, by registered or certified mail, notice of the assessment of such cost.
(2) Failure to pay such assessment within such period of 30 days shall cause such assessment to become a lien against such lot, block or parcel of land and shall have priority over all liens, except general taxes and prior special assessments, and the same may be certified at any time, after such failure to so pay the same, within 30 days, by the Town Clerk to the County Treasurer to be placed upon the tax list for the current year and to be collected in the same manner as other taxes are collected, with 10% penalty to defray the cost of collection.
(Prior Code, § 521.3) (Ord. 378, passed 7-7-1994; Ord. 379, passed 8-4-1994; Ord. 385, passed 2-2-1995; Ord. 397, passed 5-2-1996; Ord. 398, passed 6-6-1996; Ord. 409, passed 12-5-1996; Ord. 411, passed 1-2-1997)