(A) Complaint. Violations under this subchapter shall be cited by any city department that receives a complaint regarding an environmental public nuisance on any property within the city and they shall forward that complaint to the Board of Public Works and Safety.
(B) Assignment of complaint. The Board of Public Works and Safety shall then forward the complaint to the Inspector, who, in turn, shall process the complaint and follow the case through to its resolution.
(C) Notice to abate.
(1) When a complaint addresses private property, the Inspector, through the Board of Public Works and Safety, shall cause a written notice to abate to be served upon the owner of the property in question, who shall be granted a minimum of five calendar days to remove the environmental nuisance.
(2) This notice shall be served by a law enforcement officer, by certified mail to the owner, or by conspicuously posting on the property a "notice" placard containing the following information:
(a) The address of the property;
(b) The date of the notice;
(c) The address and the telephone number of the Board of Public Works and Safety; and
(d) A warning that, if the environmental public nuisance is not removed within five calendar days after posting, the city will abate the nuisance and seek recovery of the actual costs involved in its removal and that costs and fines may be assessed without further notice for subsequent violations pursuant to § 97.19(C)(4).
(3) After posting a notice to abate, the Inspector shall serve the owner of the subject property with a copy of the notice by regular first class United States mail, postage prepaid. However, any failure to give the written notice shall not constitute a defense to any action to enforce § 97.18.
(4) Any notice to abate issued shall be valid until the end of the calendar year in which it is issued for any additional offenses under the same provisions of this chapter. The Board of Works is not required to re-notify a property owner of each subsequent violation of the same section of this chapter before it takes action to remove the nuisance and further cite the property owner.
(D) Publication of notice.
(1) In lieu of the notice required by division (C) above, the city, through the Board of Public Works and Safety, may, on two separate occasions during the month of March, publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, that weeds not cut by May 1 of that year will be cut by the city in an ongoing as-needed basis, and the owner of the property shall be charged with the costs under division (C) above.
(2) The published notice shall contain all of the information required of the notice to abate.
(3) The city may cut weeds as many times as are necessary and its actual cost shall be charged to the property owner.
(E) Inspection. Following the expiration of the notice to abate, an Inspector shall visually inspect the property to determine whether an environmental public nuisance exists. If an environmental public nuisance exists, action shall be taken to abate that nuisance in accordance with this subchapter.
(F) Abatement by city on governmental property. Where the complaint addresses governmental property, the Inspector, having determined that a violation exists and threatens the health and safety of the people of the city, may direct the city to immediately enter upon the premises and remove the environmental public nuisance.
(Ord. G-01-25, passed 6-21-2001; Ord. G-11-35, passed 11-17-2011)