(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, it shall be unlawful for the owner, occupant, or person having control or management of any land within the city to permit a public nuisance, health hazard, or source of filth to develop thereon through the accumulation of:
(1) Junked or wrecked automobiles, vehicles, machines, or other similar scrap or salvage materials, excluding inoperative farm equipment;
(2) One or more mobile or manufactured homes as defined in KRS 227.550 that are junked, wrecked, or nonoperative and which are noninhabited;
(3) Rubbish; or
(4) The excessive growth of weeds or grass.
(B) The provisions of division (A) of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Junked, wrecked, or nonoperative motor vehicles, machines, or other similar scrap or salvage materials located on the business premises of a licensed automotive recycling dealer as defined under the provisions of KRS 190.010(8);
(2) Junked, wrecked, or nonoperative motor vehicles, including parts cars, stored on private real property by automobile collectors, whether as a hobby or a profession, if these motor vehicles and parts cars are stored out of ordinary public view by means of suitable fencing, shrubbery, or other means; and
(3) Any motor vehicle as defined in KRS 281.011 that is owned, controlled, operated, managed, or leased by a motor carrier.
(KRS 381.770(2), (3)
(C) Whenever a nuisance situation is discovered, the authorized city official shall give five days' written notice to remedy the nuisance situation. The notice shall be mailed to the last known address of the owner of property, as it appears on the current tax assessment roll. Upon the failure of the owner of the property to comply, the authorized city official is authorized to send employees upon the property to remedy the situation.
(D) The city shall have a lien against the property for the reasonable value of labor and materials used in remedying the nuisance situation. The affidavit of the authorized city official shall constitute prima facie evidence of the amount of the lien and the regularity of the proceedings pursuant to KRS 381.770 and this section, and shall be recorded in the office of the County Clerk. The lien shall be notice to all persons from the time of its recording and shall bear interest at the rate established by the city thereafter until paid. The lien created shall take precedence over all other subsequent liens, except state, county, school board, and city taxes, and may be enforced by judicial proceeding. In addition to this remedy or any other remedy authorized by law, the owner of a property upon which a lien has been attached pursuant to this section shall be personally liable for the amount of the lien, including all interest, civil penalties, and other charges and the city may bring a civil action against the owner and shall have the same remedies as provided for the recovery of a debt owed.
(KRS 381.770(6), (7))
Editor’s notes:
KRS 281.011 repealed 2015 Ky. Acts ch. 19, sec. 45, effective June 24, 2015.
KRS 381.770 repealed 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 86, sec. 18, effective January 1, 2017.