(A) Generally. The nuisance, health and/or sanitation violation is brought to the governing body by the Village Nuisance Officer, or the board of health or upon the governing body’s own action. The governing body then may declare by resolution a nuisance, health and/or sanitation violation.
(1) The nuisance, health and/or sanitation ordinances may be enforced by:
(a) Village administrative procedures;
(b) Penal prosecutions through the courts; and/or
(c) By civil procedures in the courts.
(2) Any of these procedures, or any combination of these procedures, may be used to enforce the nuisance, health and/or sanitation ordinances of the village.
(B) Administrative procedure. The village may proceed with abatement of the nuisance, sanitation and/or health violation with or without court involvement after the following procedure is followed.
(1) After a nuisance is declared, the Village Clerk notifies the Nuisance Officer to serve notice upon the violator(s).
(2) The Nuisance Officer shall prepare and serve notice which shall describe the found nuisance and state the required date of abatement and removal of the nuisance shall be accomplished. The notice shall also provide information as to how the interested parties may request a hearing before the governing body described in division (B)(4) below.
(3) The notice shall be given to each owner or owner’s duly authorized agent and to the occupant, if any, by personal service or certified mail. If notice by personal service or certified mail is unsuccessful, said notice shall be given by a single publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the village or county of the village, and by conspicuously posting the notice on the lot or ground upon which the nuisance is to be abated and removed. The date of service is determined by the later of certified mail receipt, personal service or publication date.
(4) The accused violator (owner/agent/occupant) may request in writing a hearing before the governing body of the village within five days after notice of violation is served or published. For tree nuisance violations, the period for requesting a hearing is extended to 30 days after service.
(5) If no request for a hearing is received in the required time period, the governing body may cause a hearing to be held. This option is at the sole discretion of the governing body to be used in exceptional cases.
(6) If a hearing is requested, the Village Clerk shall fix a date of said hearing to be no later than 15 days from receipt of the request for the hearing. Notice of said hearing and with the date and time shall be served upon the agent, owner and occupant of the nuisance property by certified and regular mail.
(7) The hearing shall be a “show cause” hearing in which the agent, owner, occupant of the nuisance property (objecting property) shall provide evidence why the alleged condition should not be found to be a public nuisance and remedied. This hearing shall be heard before a quorum of the governing body. The presiding official of the governing body may conduct the hearing, or said presiding official may appoint another person as the hearing officer, to conduct the hearing (said hearing officer may be the Village Attorney or the enforcement officer). At the hearing, the hearing officer shall mark and receive evidence which was presented when the finding of a nuisance was made, relevant evidence of the nuisance since that time, and evidence that the notices were properly given. The objecting party shall then provide its evidence. The rules of evidence are not required at said hearing, but all evidence must be relevant to the particular nuisance being heard. Testimony shall be under oath as administered by the hearing officer, or any person so designated by the hearing officer, and the person providing the testimony is subject to the laws of perjury. Evidence may be submitted in writing by affidavit.
(8) No later than 14 days after the hearing and consideration of the evidence, the governing board may by majority vote rescind the resolution of violation. If the resolution of violation is not rescinded, it shall stand. Furthermore, if the objector or its designated agent fails to appear at the hearing or does not provide evidence, the nuisance shall stand. If the resolution is not rescinded, the governing board may, by resolution, extend the date that owner, occupant, lessee or mortgagee shall abate and remedy the said public nuisance, but in no case shall this time exceed 60 days. The findings of the governing board shall be made no later than 14 days after the hearing and notice of its finding shall be served upon the objecting party by regular U.S. mail within five days of the finding. The finding of this hearing is final, provided that an interested party or parties may appeal such decision to the appropriate court for adjudication.
(9) If the Nuisance Officer determines the nuisance is not remedied and abated within the time period designated, the village shall cause the abatement of the nuisance.
(10) If an interested party properly appeals to an appropriate court the findings and orders of the village, the village actions shall be stayed during until such time that the legal proceedings are completed or dismissed. In cases of appeal from an action of the village condemning real property as a nuisance or as dangerous under the police powers of the municipality, the owners of the adjoining property may intervene in the action at any time before trial.
(Ord. 3-18, passed 6-13-2018)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see Neb. RS 19-710