Upon notice presented to the Director of Public Service or his or her designee or to the Planning Director or his or her designee or to the Enforcement Officer or his or her designee, that there is a public nuisance property in the City, the Director or Officer or his or her designee, in the name of Council, shall cause written notice to be served upon the owner or any other person having charge of such land, including lienholders, directing that such public nuisance be abated within ten days after service of such notice. No owner or other person or entity having charge of land shall fail to comply with such notice within those ten days. Should the public nuisance not be abated at the expiration of the time stated in the notice or order of the Director of Public Service or his or her designee or Planning Director or his or her designee or Enforcement Officer or his or her designee plus any extensions granted or such additional time as the Board of Zoning Appeals may grant, the Director of Public Service or his or her designee or Planning Director or his or her designee or Enforcement Officer or his or her designee shall be authorized at any time thereafter to take such action as deemed appropriate to abate the public nuisance, in addition to any remedies provided elsewhere in this Exterior Property Maintenance Code. The Director or his or her designated representative, is authorized to salvage any items, materials or property seized or derived from abatement of a nuisance and sell such at private or public sale at the best price obtainable and apply the proceeds to any costs incurred from abating the nuisance at the subject property. In abating such public nuisance, the Director of Public Service or his or her designee or Planning Director or his or her designee or Enforcement Officer or his or her designee may call on any department, division, or contractor of the City for whatever assistance may be necessary to abate the aforesaid public nuisance or may, by private contract, abate such public nuisance and the cost of the contract will be paid for from City funds. All costs for abating such public nuisance shall be recovered from the owner of the property in the manner specified in subsection (b) below.
(a) Cost of noncompliance. The charge for the necessary labor to abate said public nuisance shall be as follows:
(1) Seventy-five dollars ($75.00) per hour per City employee or the total cost the City is charged if a private contractor abates said public nuisance.
(2) Two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) administrative fee plus an additional fifty dollars ($50.00) if a contractor is used for the abatement.
(3) Two hundred dollars ($200.00) disposal fee or ten dollars ($10.00) per day storage fee, up to a maximum of 30 days and three hundred dollars ($300.00). Items not reclaimed after 30 days will be disposed of by the City and the ten dollar ($10.00) per day disposal fee shall apply.
(b) Collection of costs.
(1) The owner(s) shall be billed directly by certified mail deposited with the United States Post Office. In the event the certified mail envelope is returned with endorsement showing that the envelope is unclaimed, then service shall be sent by ordinary mail and the mailing shall be evidence by a certificate of mailing which shall be filed by the Director of Public Service or his or her designee or Planning Director or his or her designee or Enforcement Officer or his or her designee.
(2) The amount of the assessment shall be delivered to the City within ten days after notice of the assessment was so served. If the City has not received payment of the assessment within those ten days, the City shall make a written return or certification to the County Auditor of the amount of the unpaid assessment, plus an additional administrative charge of ten percent (10%), including with that certification a proper description of the premises. The assessed amount shall be entered upon the tax duplicate and shall be a lien upon such land from and after the date of the entry and shall be collected as other taxes and returned to the City with the General Fund.
(3) Nothing in this subsection (b) shall be construed to limit the right of the City of pursue collection of aforesaid costs by legal action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) Repeat Violators.
(1) For the second violation of the same general character occurring not sooner than fourteen days and not later than 12 months after the previous violation, the written notice contained in the first paragraph hereof may be omitted and a violation notice, specifying that the violation shall be corrected within 72 hours of receipt of said violation notice, shall be personally served upon the owner or other person or entity as specified in the first paragraph hereof, or posted on the premises if the owner or other person or entity as specified in the first paragraph hereof cannot be located. If the violation is not corrected by the specified compliance date by the owner or other person or entity under the first paragraph hereof, the Director of Public Service or his or her designee or Planning Director or his or her designee or Enforcement Officer or his or her designee shall cause such public nuisance to be removed at the expense of the owner of that land, and may employ the necessary labor at the rate specified under subsection (a) hereof, along with an administrative fee specified under subsection (a) hereof. Such fees shall be assessed against the land as specified under subsection (b)(1) and (2) hereof.
(2) For the third or continued violation, no written or oral notice will be necessary before the Director of Public Service or his or her designee or Planning Director or his or her designee or Enforcement Officer or is or her designee shall cause such public nuisance to be removed at the expense of the owner of that land, as described in Section 1460.15 of the City Exterior Maintenance Code.
(3) For purposes of Section 1460.12(c), any offenses in violation of Section 1460.19, Unsafe Structures, Section 1460.23, Structural Soundness and Maintenance of Dwellings, and Section 1460.24, Paint and Coating Materials; Residential, shall be deemed to be violations of the same general character; and any offenses in violation of Sections 1460.25, Exterior Property and Structure Exteriors; Residential, Section 1460.26, Vegetation; Residential, Section 1460.27, Stairways; Residential, and Section 1460.28, Accessory Structures; Residential, shall be deemed to be violations of the same general character.
(Ord. 04-24. Passed 5-17-04; Ord. 07-30. Passed 7-16-07; Ord. 08-25. Passed 6-2-08; Ord. 09-07. Passed 2-2-09; Ord. 11-22. Passed 4-4-11; Ord. 13-53. Passed 11-18-13; Ord. 14-27. Passed 5-19-14.)