A. Notification: Except as set forth herein, upon determination by the town, through its authorized and designated employees or agents, that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the landowner, tenant, entity, or person or persons, otherwise in control of the subject property shall be notified of the violation and shall be required to remove the nuisance within a specified amount of time as set forth below. The landowner, tenant, entity, or person or persons otherwise in control of the subject property, or a combination of the same, may also be subject to fines and costs as set forth in this chapter. At the discretion of the town, through its authorized employees or agents, the town may first seek to resolve the violation through personal contact with the person or persons in control of the offending property, or by certified mailing to the person or persons at their last known address.
B. Notice Of Violation: Should the person or persons in control of the offending property, refuse to comply with the informal request to bring his or her property into compliance, or should the town determine that a formal notice should be served immediately, a formal notice of violation shall be either personally served upon or mailed by certified mail to the person or persons in control of the offending property. The notice of violation shall include a description of the subject or offending property by street address and shall inform the person of the applicable violation of this code. The notice shall include a copy of the applicable portion of this code or other code adopted by the town and shall further state what action the owner must take to bring his or her property into compliance with the code and shall set a date certain, as set forth below, in which time the subject property must be in compliance with town codes.
C. Time For Compliance: Any notice of violation conveyed in accordance with this code shall require the person or persons in control of the offending property to bring his or her property into compliance within the following time periods, measured as of the date of the notice (and not the date of receipt of the notice):
The town, through its employees or agents, may grant extensions of time for compliance for good cause shown. The person or persons in control of the offending property shall not be required to notice in the case of the obstruction of town thoroughfares as described in subsection 3-1-3D of this chapter and the town, through its agents or employees, make take immediate action to remove the obstruction or blockage in such cases.
D. Failure To Comply: Should the person or persons in control of the offending property fail or refuse to comply with the notice of violation within the time set forth in the notice, the town shall cause a summons and complaint to be served upon the person or persons, in accordance with the Colorado municipal court rules of procedure, requiring the person or persons to appear in Simla municipal court on a date certain to answer the charges against him or her.
E. Abatement: The town, through its employees and agents, upon the determination that a person or persons in control of the offending property, has failed and refused to bring the subject property into compliance, and/or upon a finding of the Simla municipal court judge that the subject property is in violation of this chapter, may take such action as is necessary to abate the nuisance and to bring the subject property into compliance. The whole cost, thereof, including the town's reasonable attorney fees, together with five percent (5%) for inspection and other incidental costs in connection therewith, shall be assessed upon the lots and tracts of land from which the nuisance item or items are removed. The assessment shall be a lien against each lot or tract of land until paid and shall have priority over all other liens except general taxes and prior special assessments.
F. Certification To County Treasurer: In the event the assessment for the abatement of the nuisance is not paid within thirty (30) days of the final billing of the town, or such deadline as established by the Simla municipal court, whichever the case may be, the town may certify the sum owed to the Elbert County treasurer who shall collect the assessment, together with a ten percent (10%) penalty for cost of collection, in the same manner as other taxes are collected. The certification described herein shall be applicable to those violations set forth in section 3-1-2; subsections 3-1-3B, C, and D; and section 3-1-4 of this chapter. (Ord. 246, 10-5-2004; amd. Ord. 319, 8-11-2020)