A. Duty Of Responsible Person: Every person owning, having charge or control of, or occupying any real property, lot, part of a lot or land abutting on any street of the city within the developed or inhabited areas of the city, or vacant land adjacent to or in the middle of the developed or inhabited areas of the city, and anywhere in the city where the fire chief or his designee determines a fire hazard exists, is responsible for keeping such property free of rubbish, garbage, inoperable vehicles, junk, dirt, weeds more than four inches (4") in height for residential or commercial property and more than twelve inches (12") for agricultural or unimproved property, and brush. Any person in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to criminal citation at any time and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in section 1-4-1 of this code. A criminal citation for violation of this section may be issued by the police department, the fire chief or his designee, or the code enforcement officer. The word "weeds", as used herein, does not include crops or other vegetation which has a legitimate business purpose or use.
B. Notice To Responsible Person: In addition to criminal citation, the fire chief or his designee, or the code enforcement officer may give a responsible person found to be in violation of the requirements of subsection A of this section a verbal or written notice and directive to clean real property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property and, when given, the person or persons given such notice must comply with the directive and clean the real property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property as directed within ten (10) days after receipt of notice, unless a longer period is given to comply within the notice. A written notice and directive will be delivered to a responsible person personally or mailed to a responsible person by certified mail, return receipt requested, and first class mail at the mailing address for the subject property or the mailing address or addresses of a responsible person. The written notice must specify the conditions which must be corrected and the date by which the specified conditions must be corrected.
C. Removal Of Weeds, Garbage Or Other Specified Items:
1. In case of failure, refusal or neglect to comply with a directive to clean real property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property as specified in subsection B of this section within the time allotted in the notice and directive given by the fire chief or his designee, the code enforcement officer, the public works director or his designee, or the planning and redevelopment director or his designee, may cause the cleaning and/or removal and proper disposal of the specified items and charge the cost to the responsible person or persons and against the subject property. Upon request of the responsible person or persons after the notice and directions are given, but before the cleanup and/or removal and proper disposal of specified items from the subject property has occurred, the public works director will provide an approximate estimate of the cost of the cleanup of the subject property and/or removal and proper disposal of specified items from the subject property.
2. If, after notice has been given as provided in subsection B of this section, a responsible person has not complied with the directive to clean property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property, and if the city then elects to clean real property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property, or if the city contracts with an independent contractor to do so, the cost of cleaning the subject real property and/or removal and proper disposal of specified items from the subject real property will be charged to the responsible person or persons and against the subject property until paid. The charge for cleaning real property and/or removing and properly disposing of specified items from real property, whether accomplished by city staff or by an independent contractor retained by the city, will be one hundred dollars ($100.00) or the cost of cleaning the subject real property and/or removing and properly disposing of specified items from the subject real property, plus administrative fee, whichever is greater. If the cleanup and/or removal and proper disposal of specified items is completed by city staff, the charge to the responsible person or persons and against the subject property will include the salary of city personnel involved for the time involved at each employee's hourly rate of pay, equipment, materials and administrative fee. If the cleanup and/or removal and proper disposal of specified items is performed by an independent contractor, the charge to the responsible person or persons and against the subject property will include the amount charged by the independent contractor for services rendered plus administrative fee. Whether the work is performed by city staff or an independent contractor, an additional twenty percent (20%) of the costs incurred for personnel, materials and equipment will be added as an administrative fee payable to the city. All charges billed to a responsible person or persons must be paid within thirty (30) days of the date notice of charge was personally given or mailed to the responsible person or persons.
3. Any expense incurred by the city for cleaning real property and/or removing and properly disposing of specified items from real property, whether accomplished by city staff or contracted for by the city, will accrue interest at the statutory rate from the date the cleaning of real property and/or removal and proper disposal of specified items from real property occurs until fully paid. Additionally, the city may lien the subject property for payment of the costs incurred by the city in the event the responsible person or persons do not reimburse the city within thirty (30) days of billing.
D. Exceptions: Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit any property owner from using earth combined with broken concrete, stones, caliche or broken building blocks and/or bricks as fill material for the purpose of bringing to ground level any gully, excavation or depression. Property owners desiring to fill property in the manner stated above must first secure any required or necessary permits including, but not limited to, building permits or flood control permits.
E. Hearing: As specified in Nevada Revised Statutes section 268.4122(2), any person receiving a notice and direction to clean real property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property, may request and be afforded a hearing before the planning and redevelopment director or his designee upon written request within the time allotted in the notice to clean real property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property. any such timely request for a hearing by the planning and redevelopment director suspends the time given to clean and/or remove specified items from real property until the hearing is held and the final written decision is issued by the planning and redevelopment director or his designee. The planning and redevelopment director will render his final written decision as soon as possible after the hearing. Within ten (10) business days of issuance of the final written decision of the planning and redevelopment director or his designee, any person wishing to appeal the planning and redevelopment director's final written decision may do so in writing to the city council. Any timely appeal will be calendared at the next public hearing after it is received, subject to the posting and notice requirements of the Nevada open meeting law. If the decision of the planning and redevelopment director or his designee is not appealed, then the remaining period given to clean real property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property commences at the conclusion of the appeal period. If the decision of the planning and redevelopment director or his designee is appealed to the city council and the city council does not sustain the appeal, the remaining period given to clean real property and/or remove and properly dispose of specified items from real property commences unless the city council gives a longer time for the responsible person or persons to comply. (Ord. 209, 6-23-1998; amd. Ord. 287, 10-22-2003)