(A) Option for new construction/post construction. In lieu of divisions (B)-(F) below, the owner of any stormwater feature may pay an amount determined by the department heads to be deposited in a fund maintained by the city for future construction of a stormwater feature of the city’s choosing and in a location of the city’s choosing.
(B) Ownership. The owner of any stormwater feature shall have full responsibility for maintenance activities so that the stormwater feature remains in good working order. The owner could include a homeowners’ association or it could include the city; whoever owns the property once all construction operators have relinquished control of the property (see CGP for notice of termination).
(1) The maintenance activities shall be performed according to the below guidelines with the first applicable item to serve as the prevailing guideline.
(a) Documents submitted to and reviewed by the city and filed at the county with the property that establish the maintenance activities for the stormwater feature, if available.
(b) The manufacturer’s recommended maintenance activities if the stormwater feature was manufactured.
(c) Generally accepted maintenance activities prescribed specifically for the area, if available.
(d) Generally accepted maintenance activities.
(2) Maintenance activities resulting in the following are prohibited:
(a) Increased erosion potential;
(b) Decreased bank stability;
(c) Increased flooding potential;
(d) Increased pollutants;
(e) Unnecessary disturbance of vegetation and riparian areas; or
(f) Increased proliferation of invasive species.
(C) Notice of violation for new development or re-development.
(1) In the event any owner, tenant, agent or person responsible for or claiming or having supervision or control over real property governed by this chapter fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter, the city, by and through its Code Enforcement Officer or designee shall give a notice of violation to such owner. Such notice shall be given in any of the following ways:
(a) Personally to the owner in writing;
(b) By letter addressed to the owner at the owner’s address as recorded in the appraisal district records of the appraisal district in which the property is located; or
(c) If personal service cannon be obtained:
1. By publication in the city’s official newspaper at least once;
2. By posting notice on or near the front door of each building on the property to which the violation related; or
3. By posting a notice to a placard attached to a stake driven into the ground on the property to which the violation relates, if the property contains no buildings.
(2) If the city mails a notice to the owner in accordance with division (C)(1) above, the United States Postal Service returns the notice as “refused,” “unclaimed,” or if the address required by division (C)(1) was used and the notice is returned as “not deliverable as addressed” (or an equivalent marking), the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered as delivered.
(3) In a notice provided under this section, the city may inform the owner by regular mail and a posting on the property that if the owner commits another violation of the same kind or nature on or before the anniversary of the date of the notice, the city, without further notice, may correct the violation at the owner’s expense and assess the expense against the property or issue citations. If a violation covered by a notice under this division occurs within 1 year, and the city has not been informed in writing by the owner of an ownership change, then the city, without notice, may take any action permitted in division (D) below and assess its expenses as provided in division (E) below.
(D) Citations, work or improvements by the city; charges against owner. If the owner fails or refuses to comply with the demand for compliance in the notice within 10 days of such notice, the city may:
(1) Issue citations as provided; and
(2) Do the work or make the improvement(s) required, pay for the work done or improvement(s) made and charge the expenses to the owner of the property as provided herein. The property owner will have 20 days to reimburse the city from the completion date of such work to abate the violation(s) at the property.
(E) Assessment of expenses; lien.
(1) In the event the owner fails or refuses to pay such expenses charged to the owner, within 20 days after the abatement work is completed, a lien may be obtained. The lien and any other expenses incurred by the city may be filed against the property.
(2) To obtain a lien, the city must file a statement of the expenses incurred to correct the condition of the real property with the County Clerk of the county in which the property is located. The statement must also state the name of the owner, if known, and the legal description of the property. The lien attaches upon filing of the statement with the County Clerk.
(3) The city’s lien shall be a prior lien on such property, second only to tax liens and liens for street improvements. The lien amount shall include simple interest, which shall accrue at the rate of 10% annually on the date the expenses were incurred by the city. The city may bring suit for foreclosure to recover the expenditures and the interest due.
(F) Right of entry; inspection. The owner shall grant the city a right of entry in the event that the DPW or the Code Enforcement Officer has reason to believe it has become necessary to inspect, monitor, maintain, repair, reconstruct, or discontinue the use of stormwater features and/or structure BMPs; however, in no case shall the right of entry, of itself, confer an obligation on the city to assume responsibility for the stormwater feature and/or structural BMPs.
(1) Where an owner has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the owner shall make necessary arrangements with its security guards so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, the city will be permitted to enter without unreasonable delay for the purposes of performing his/her responsibilities.
(2) The city shall have the right to set up on the owner’s property, or require installation of, such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling and or metering of the owner’s operations.
(3) Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the owner at the written or verbal request of the city and shall not be replaced. The cost of clearing such access shall be borne by the owner.
(4) Unreasonable delays in allowing the city access to the owner’s premises shall be a violation of this section.
(Ord. 785, passed 6-2-2020)