A. Abatement Required; Graffiti Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for the owner of any property to not remove or paint over any prohibited sign painted directly on an exterior wall of a building or on any structure upon that property. A prohibited sign includes but is not limited to any permanent display of any letter, numeral, figure, emblem, insignia, picture, outline, character, spectacle, delineation, announcement or any combination thereof which are painted of a color different from the color of the exterior of the structure on which it is painted and which are visible beyond the boundaries of the property, placed thereon without the permission of the owner, commonly known as graffiti.
B. Failure To Remove; Enforcement Actions: When the owner of the property refuses or neglects to remove from the exterior of structures upon the owner's property any permanent display of a prohibited sign in compliance with the regulations of this Code, the Village may take the following enforcement actions.
C. Notice To Owner: The Village shall send notice by certified mail return receipt requested to the owner of the property if on file with the Village Clerk and the person in whose name the general taxes for the last preceding year were paid and by regular mail to each business licensed by the Village Clerk on that property of the violation of this Section and for its abatement within twenty one (21) days from the postmark of said notice.
D. Abatement By Village; Assessment Of Costs: If the owner does not abate the violation during the notice period, the Village Manager or his designee may proceed to abate such violation keeping an account of the expenses of the abatement which shall include an administrative fee of the greater of twenty five dollars ($25.00) or ten percent (10%) of the cost of abatement. All expenses, including interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per year, shall be charged to and paid by such owner.
If the owner authorizes the Village to remove the prohibited sign and pays the Village for such expenses within thirty (30) days of its removal, the Village shall not add the administrative fee to the expenses for abatement.
E. Notice Of Lien: The expenses for abatement shall become a lien upon the property affected superior to all subsequent liens and encumbrances except tax liens, if within sixty (60) days after such expense is incurred, the Village files notice of lien in the office of the recorder in the county in which such real estate is located. The notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out a description of the real estate, the amount of money representing the expenses incurred or payable for the service and the date or dates when such costs and expense was incurred by the Village. However, the lien shall not be valid as to any purchaser whose rights in and to such real estate have arisen subsequent to the abatement and prior to the filing of such notice, and the lien shall not be valid as to any mortgage, judgment creditor or other lienor whose rights in and to such real estate arose prior to the filing of such notice.
F. Release Of Lien: Upon payment of the expenses by the owner of or persons interested in such property after notice of lien has been filed, the lien shall be released by the Village and the release may be filed of record as in the case of filing notice of lien. The lien may be enforced at any time by a proceeding to foreclose as in the case of mortgages or mechanics liens. (Ord. 1994-52, 10-6-1994)