(A) General.
(1) It shall be the duty of the City Council to enforce the provisions of this subchapter and the City Council may, by resolution, delegate to other officers or agencies power to enforce particular provisions of this section, including the power to inspect private premises, and the officers charged with the enforcement of this subchapter shall take all reasonable precautions to prevent the commission and maintenance of public nuisances.
(2) The City Administrator or designee is authorized to enter upon any property if necessary to determine whether the provisions of this code or any applicable state statute has been violated, to make any examinations or surveys or to conduct any tests as may be reasonably necessary in the performance of their duties. All inspection and testing must be done in a reasonable manner.
(B) Notice to owner or to person or persons responsible. Whenever it is determined upon investigation by the officer charged with enforcement that a public nuisance is being maintained or exists within the city, a notice of violation shall be served upon the owner or the person or persons responsible therefor in the manner prescribed in divisions (C) and (D) below.
(C) Form. The notice of violation described in division (B) above shall be in accordance with all of the following:
(1) Be in writing;
(2) Include a description of the real estate sufficient for identification;
(3) Include a statement of the violation or violations, and why the notice is being issued; and
(4) Include a corrective order allowing a reasonable time to make the corrections and improvements required to bring the property or structure into compliance with the provisions of this code.
(D) Method of service. The notice of violation shall be properly served.
(1) The notice of violation shall be deemed to be properly served if a copy thereof is:
(a) Delivered personally;
(b) Sent by first-class U.S. mail addressed to the person listed as the taxpayer on the county’s tax records; or
(c) Posted on the premises if the premises are not occupied, or the address of the owner is unknown and no other responsible party can be reasonably identified.
(2) When an enforcement officer shall find a vehicle parked in violation of § 91.007 of this chapter, the officer shall cause additional notice to be placed upon the vehicle in substantially the following form:
(a) Notice to the owner and all persons interested in the attached property:
NOTICE TO THE OWNER AND ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE ATTACHED PROPERTY This property, (setting forth brief description) , is unlawfully upon property known as (setting forth brief description of location) and in violation of § 91.007 of the Municipal Code and, therefore, is declared to constitute a public nuisance and must be removed within 72 hours from the date of this notice. If this vehicle is not removed from the premises or placed in a lawful garage or storage building on or before (setting forth date and time) it shall be removed by order of the city. Dated this: (setting forth date of posting of notice) Signed: (setting forth name, title, address and telephone number of enforcement officer) |
(b) The notice shall be not less than eight inches by ten inches and shall be sufficiently weather-proof to withstand exposure to the elements.
(E) Abatement. Except for vehicles constituting a public nuisance, which shall follow the procedures set forth in § 91.007 of this chapter, all violations of this subchapter may be corrected by abatement by the city at the expense of the property owner, occupant or other responsible party following the procedures listed herein.
(1) If the owner, occupant or other responsible party does not comply with the notice of violation within the time specified therein, the City Council may, after notice to the owner and occupant or other responsible party and an opportunity to be heard, provide for abating the nuisance by the city.
(2) The notice shall be served in the same manner as prescribed in division (D) above and shall be given at least ten days before the date stated in the notice when the Council will consider the matter.
(3) If the notice of violation was served by posting, at least 30 days shall elapse between the day of posting and the hearing.
(F) Summary abatement. The enforcing officer may provide for abating a public nuisance without following the procedure required in division (E) above when:
(1) There is an immediate threat to the public health or safety;
(2) There is an immediate threat of serious property damage;
(3) A public nuisance has been caused by private parties on public property; and
(4) If the enforcing officer abates the nuisance pursuant to this section, the officer must reasonably attempt to notify the owner, occupant or other responsible party of the action and inform the owner, occupant or other responsible party of the right to appeal any cost at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting.
(G) Cost recovery.
(1) The owner of property on which a nuisance has been abated by the city, or a person who has caused a public nuisance on property not owned by that person, shall be personally liable to the city for the cost of abatement, including administrative costs. As soon as the work has been completed and the cost determined, the City Administrator or his or her designee shall prepare a bill for the cost, plus an additional 10%, and mail it to the owner or other responsible party. Thereupon, the amount shall be immediately due and payable at the office of the City Administrator.
(2) The City Administrator or City Administrator’s designee shall keep a record of the costs of abatements done under this section and shall report monthly all work done to the appropriate officer for which assessments are to be made, stating and certifying the description of the land, lots, parcels involved and the amount assessable to each.
(H) Assessment.
(1) If the cost, or any portion of it, has not been paid under division (G) above, within 30 days after the date of the bill, the unpaid cost may be certified against the property to which the cost is attributable.
(2) On or before September 1 of each year, the City Administrator or City Administrator’s designee shall list the total unpaid charges for each abatement against each separate lot or parcel to which they are attributable.
(3) Before certification against the property, reasonable notice of the impending certification and an opportunity to be heard by the City Council must be given to the taxpayer of record.
(4) Failure of the taxpayer to receive the notice shall not invalidate the certification, however.
(5) The City Council may then spread the charges or any portion thereof against the property involved as a special assessment under M.S. § 429.101, as it may be amended from time to time, and other pertinent statutes, for certification to the County Auditor for collection the following year along with current taxes or in annual installments, not exceeding ten, as the City Council may determine in each case.
(I) Landlord’s liability.
(1) For the purpose of this division (I), OWNER is defined to include corporations and partnerships as well as individual owners.
(2) Violation of the noise control regulations shall be the act of the owner of the residential dwelling unit as well as the persons on the premises who violate the regulations; except that, the owner shall be liable only for those violations occurring after receipt of written notice from the city of violation of the noise control regulations having occurred at the residential dwelling unit.
(Prior Code, § 607.09) (Ord. 694, passed 03-11-2002; Ord. 844, passed 05-20-2010; Ord. 556, passed 03-20-1995; Ord. 694, passed 03-11-2002)