(a) Weeds. Any weeds, such as jimson, burdock, ragweed, thistle, cocklebur, wild lettuce or other weeds of a like kind, found growing in any lot or tract of land in the Village, are hereby declared to be a nuisance, and no person shall permit any such weeds to grow or remain in any such place.
(b) Height of Weeds and Grasses. No person shall permit any weeds, grasses or plants, other than trees, bushes, flowers, vegetables or other cultivated or ornamental plants, to grow to a height exceeding six inches anywhere in the Village. Any such weeds, grasses or plants exceeding such height are hereby declared to be a nuisance.
(c) Removal Notice. It shall be the duty of the code compliance officer to cause a written notice to be personally served on, or sent by certified mail to, the owner and occupant of any premises on which weeds, grasses or plants are permitted to grow in violation of the provisions of this section, at their last known addresses. Such notice shall state the substance of this section and demand the cutting and removal of the weeds, grasses or plants that constitute a nuisance, within seven days.
(d) Abatement of Nuisance. If the owner or occupant of the premises on which weeds, grasses or plants are permitted to grow in violation of this section does not abate the nuisance within the time frame specified in the violation removal notice, the Village and/or its agents, employees and contractors may proceed upon such property to abate such nuisance, keeping an account of the cost of such abatement. Such costs shall be the cost of cutting and removal of the weeds, grasses and/or plants, together with any legal or administrative fees (“removal costs”) incurred by the Village and shall be paid by the owner of the premises in question. The minimum charge shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
(e) Notice of Charges for Weed Cutting and Removal. After the nuisance has been abated by cutting and removing the weeds, grasses and plants as provided for in subsection (d) hereof, the code compliance officer shall cause a written notice to be personally served on, or sent by certified mail to, the taxpayer of record, as shown in the records of the Cook County Collector, for the premises on which the nuisance was abated. The notice shall state the substance of this section implementing Section 11-20-7 of the Illinois Municipal Code, the identity of the property by common description, the location on the premises of the weeds that were cut and removed (e.g., the front yard, the east thirty feet, etc.), and the charges to be paid by the owner or occupant of the premises for the cost and expense incurred by the Village for cutting and removing the weeds, grasses and plants from the property and abating the nuisance.
(f) Lien Procedure. If the removal costs for weed cutting remain unpaid thirty days after the removal costs were incurred by the Village, such costs shall be a lien upon the property and the Village Clerk shall file a Notice of Lien with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. The Notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out: (1) a description of the real estate sufficient for identification thereof; (2) the amount of money representing the removal costs incurred or payable for the weed cutting service, including the cost of recording the Notice of Lien; and (3) the date or dates upon which such weed cutting and removal were performed and the removal costs thereof were incurred by the Village.
(Ord. 1017. Passed 9-27-99; Ord. 1573A. Passed 4-28-14.)