(A) Notice to abate and remove a nuisance shall be given to each owner or owner's duly authorized agent and the occupant, if any, by personal service or by first-class mail with such mail being conspicuously marked as to it importance. The address for the property owner pursuant to the most recent real estate tax statement issued by the Colfax County Treasurer regarding the subject property shall be sufficient for address for such first class mail unless the owner, duly authorized agent or occupant has provided to the city a more recent or updated address. In addition to the foregoing, the city may, but is not required to, post a notice on the subject lot or ground upon which the nuisance is to be abated and removed. Except as provided in § 94.004, the notice shall contain the following:
(1) The notice shall contain an order to abate the nuisance within five days (a notice of 48 hours shall apply to these nuisances as provided in § 94.004) of receipt of the notice if the owner or occupant of the lot or piece of ground does not request a hearing with the city;
(2) The notice shall contain a list of persons to contact, the location of the nuisance, the description of what constitutes the nuisance, a statement of acts necessary to abate the nuisance;
(3) The statement that if the nuisance is not abated as directed and no request for hearing is made within five days of receipt of the notice, the person for whom such notice was made shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and every 24 hours thereafter will be considered a separate offense (a notice of 48 hours shall apply to those nuisances as provided in § 94.004);
(4) A statement that if the nuisance is not abated as directed and no request of hearing is made, the city shall seek the non-exclusive remedy of an administrative penalty of $50 per day, and that such administrative penalty will continue to accrue for each day the nuisance continues to exist, and a statement that the owner, occupant or agent may stop the approval of the administrative penalty by abating the nuisance and advising the Chief of Police or the Chief's designated representative of the abatement.
(B) The procedure for a property owner to appeal a nuisance citation shall be as follows: Within five days after receipt of such notice, the owner, owner's duly authorized agent or occupant of the lot or piece of ground may request a hearing with the city to appeal the decision to abate or remove a nuisance by filing a written appeal with the office of the City Clerk.
(C) The City may seek the remedy of prosecution and enforcement for failure to comply with the administrative order and notice of abatement for maintaining a nuisance under this subchapter and the city will have the authority to update such nuisance and assess the costs thereof against the property and pursue any of the remedies available. That if the person on whom notice to abate a nuisance was served pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter fails to abate the nuisance, the Chief of Police, or other duly designated officer of the city, shall proceed to abate such nuisance and shall prepare a statement of costs incurred in the abatement. Such statement of costs and expenses shall be forwarded to the owner and shall be paid by the owner. If said costs and expenses are unpaid for two months after such work is done, the city may either:
(1) Pass a resolution for such costs and expenses and levy and set same upon the lot or piece of ground so benefitted in the same manner as other special taxes for improvements are levied and assessed; or
(2) Recover in a civil action the costs and expenses of the work upon the lot or piece of ground and the adjoining streets and alleys.
(D) The procedure provided by this section is not exclusive, but is in addition to procedures provided by other ordinances; and the Building Inspector, Chief of Police, police officer or Community Service Technician, may proceed summarily and without following the procedure set forth in this section, to abate a health, safety, or other condition that constitutes, in the opinion of a police officer, Community Service Technician or Building Inspector, an immediate and grave hazard to public health and safety requiring immediate action.
(E) As additional remedies, the governing body of the city may authorize the filing of a cause of action in the District Court of Colfax County, Nebraska, in the form of a complaint of public nuisance and requesting abatement of same and if such abatement is caused by the city, to levy the cost thereof as a special assessment against the property. Said special assessment shall be a lien on the real estate and shall be collected in the manner provided for special assessments. Further, the governing body of the city shall have authority to request the violating owner/party to appear before the governing body and show cause why a subject property should not be declared a public nuisance and abated.
(Ord. 2013-06, passed 5-21-2013; Ord. 2014-16, passed 11-18-2014) Penalty, see § 94.999