(A) Every citizen of the city owning real estate within its corporate limits has a duty to remove hazardous structures, debris, burned wood, or building materials from his or her real estate within 60 days after fire, natural disaster, or other event that caused the condition, accumulation, or nuisance to occur.
(B) Should the property owner have insurance benefits that will pay for the removal of such debris or hazardous structure, the city shall have a lien upon the proceeds in an amount equal to $5,000, or the cost of the debris removal, whichever is greater. The property owner shall have a duty to inform the city within seven days after the fire or other natural disaster of the existence, name, and address of the applicable insurance carrier and the nature of coverage available.
(C) In the event real property is damaged by fire or other natural disaster and no building permit is obtained to repair such damage within 60 days of the date of the fire, the city may proceed to remove the debris and restore the property so that it is in compliance with all city codes. Should the city do so, it may seek actual reimbursement of its costs from the property owner for such removal of debris and property restoration. The city may charge the property owner an amount equal to the actual cost of debris removal and property restoration or $5,000, whichever is greater.
(D) Should a property owner fail to comply with the terms of this section, the property owner shall be assessed a fine for which the property owner is personally liable in the amount of $5,000, or the cost of debris removal as set out hereinabove, whichever is greater.
(E) Should any citizen or owner of real estate within the city find that the time limits mandated by this section impose an unreasonable or undue hardship upon him or her, he or she may make application to the city Board of Public Works and Safety for an extension. The Board shall consider the application, and, if it determines that the enforcement of the time limits as set forth herein are unreasonable or create an undue hardship for the applicant, due to circumstances beyond his or her control, the Board may extend the time limit set forth herein. However the Board may not make any single extension of greater than 30 days. In the event a property owner needs additional time, subsequent applications must be made to the Board of Public Works and Safety, and additional time can only be granted after the Board reviews each individual request.
(Ord. 3627, passed 8-15-11)