(A) If weeds and other rank vegetation exist on property in town, an officer of the Town Police Department, or designated code enforcement officer, shall issue a written warning (“warning”) to the property owner and/or occupants, either by personal delivery or by leaving the notice on an exterior door. The warning will:
(1) Describe, with reasonable particularity, the conditions that constitute a violation of this subchapter;
(2) Direct the property owner and/or occupants to abate the violation within a prescribed time, not more than five days; and
(3) Advise the property owner and/or occupants that if the violation is not abated within the prescribed time, a violation notice will be issued.
(B) (1) If a violation of this subchapter is not abated, within the time prescribed in a written warning, an officer of the town Police Department, or designated code enforcement officer, shall issue, by first class mail, registered or certified mail, as prescribed by I.C. 7-1-1-7, a written notice of violation (“violation notice”) to the property owner, and all persons with a substantial property interest in the property, at the last address of each, as indicated in the records of the Johnson County Auditor on the date of the notice. The violation notice shall:
(a) Inform the property owner, and all persons with a substantial property interest in the property, of a violation of this subchapter and describe, with reasonable particularity, the conditions that constitute the violation;
(b) Direct the property owner, and all persons with a substantial property interest in the property, to abate the violation within ten days;
(c) Inform the property owner, and all persons with a substantial property interest in the property, that if the violation is not abated the town may elect to abate the violation and bill the property owner for the costs incurred by the town, including administrative costs and attorney's fees; and
(d) Advise the property owner, and all persons with a substantial property interest in the property, that the violation may be appealed by submitting, within ten days from the date of receipt of the violation notice, a written notice of appeal.
(2) If an initial violation notice is provided by certified mail or registered mail, a continuous abatement notice may be posted at the property, at the time of abatement, instead of by certified mail or equivalent service as required by I.C. 36-7-10.1-3. A continuous abatement notice serves as notice to the property owner, and all persons with a substantial property interest in the property, that each subsequent violation during the same year for which the initial notice of the violation was provided may be abated by the town or its contractors.
(C) The issuance of a written warning, prior to the issuance of a violation notice is the adopted policy of the town, but is discretionary and not a prerequisite to the issuance of a violation notice or abatement action by the town; particularly for second and subsequent violations on the same property.
(Ord. 2017-14, passed 11-21-2017)