When proceedings under this chapter result in the removal of weeds, grasses, hazardous vegetation, waste or combustible material from property by the City or their agents or contractors due to the refusal of a property owner to comply with this chapter, all costs incurred by the City in performing such removal may be assessed against the property. Such costs shall include the costs of labor, materials and equipment furnished by the City in removing such waste, hazardous vegetation and/or combustible material; the costs incurred by the City for payments to an independent contractor to remove such waste, hazardous vegetation and combustible material from the property; all administrative costs incurred by the City in removing such waste, hazardous vegetation and combustible material including actual costs of investigation, property inspection, boundary determination, measurement, clerical costs, and administrative overhead costs for supervision, insurance, costs of publication, mailing and posting of notices; preparation of contracts with independent contractors to perform the abatement work; review of bids by contractors; administration of contracts for abatement activities; and other budgeted overhead items. If waste, weeds, hazardous vegetation and/or combustible material are ultimately removed from the property by the property owner subsequent to the deadline for removal specified in any Hazard Abatement Notice issued by the Enforcement Officer, the City shall be entitled under this chapter to assess against the property all such costs incurred securing such compliance with this chapter by the property owner up to and including the final date of compliance.
The Enforcement Officer shall keep an account of such administrative and removal costs of abatement and shall submit to the City Council for confirmation an itemized written report showing such unpaid costs and their proposed assessment to the respective properties subject to the Hazard Abatement Notice. The report shall be filed with the City Clerk not less than fifteen (15) calendar days in advance of the confirmation hearing required below.
Upon receipt of the report, a public hearing shall be scheduled to receive any protests and to confirm the cost report. A statement of the proposed costs and notice of the time, date and place of the hearing, together with reference to the report on file with the Clerk, shall be mailed to the owner or owners of each parcel of property proposed to be assessed as shown on the last equalized assessment roll available on the date of mailing of the notice to the address or addresses of the owner or owners shown on the roll or any other address or addresses ascertained to be more accurate. Such notice shall be mailed not less than fifteen (15) calendar days in advance of the hearing.
Notice of the time, date and place of the public hearing by the City Council shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation published within the City. With respect to each property proposed to be assessed for which the name of the owner or owners is not shown on the last equalized assessment roll, or no address for an owner is shown on the last equalized assessment roll, the notice shall show the name or names of the owner or owners as such name or names are shown on the last equalized assessment roll, the assessor's parcel number, the street address of the property if the property has an address and the address is known to the Enforcement Officer, the name of the street or road upon which such property abuts if the property abuts upon a street or road, the amount of the proposed assessment and reference to the report on file with the Enforcement Officer. Such publication shall be made not less than fifteen (15) calendar days in advance of the hearing.
At the time fixed for receiving and considering the report, the City Council shall conduct a public hearing and shall receive and consider any objections from members of the general public or property owners liable to be assessed for the costs of abatement. The City Council shall then confirm or modify, if necessary, the report by motion or resolution. (Ord. 1698, 8-13-2019)