(A) Prohibitions.
(1) No owner, occupant or person having control or management of any land within the city shall permit a public nuisance, health hazard or source of filth to develop thereon through the accumulation of rubbish, or the excessive growth of weeds or grass.
(2) No owner of any property within the city shall permit any structure upon the property to become unfit and unsafe for human habitation, occupancy, or use, or permit conditions to exist in the structure which are dangerous or injurious to the health or safety of the occupants of the structure, the occupants of neighboring structures or other residents of the city.
(B) Rebuttable presumption. For the purpose of this section, a growth of weeds or grass in excess of 10 inches above the surface of the ground, on any lot or parcel of real estate which is developed with the public utilities of water, electricity and sewers, shall be presumed to be a public nuisance, health hazard and source of filth .
(C) Standards and procedures for the enforcement of the provisions of Kentucky Statutes.
(1) Remediation order. Whenever a Citation Officer of the city observes any violation of Kentucky Statutes, he or she shall cause to be issued to everybody in violation thereof, a written remediation order, which shall include:
(a) A description of the violation observed by the Code Enforcement Officer;
(b) An address or other description of the real estate upon which the violation was observed;
(c) An order to eliminate the violation within a specified and reasonable period of time, which shall be no less than seven consecutive calendar days after the date of the remediation order.
(D) Delivery of remediation order. The written remediation order required hereby shall be delivered to the person to whom it is issued by either:
(1) Personal delivery;
(2) Certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last know address thereof;
(3) Posting in a conspicuous place in, upon or about the structure or property which is the subject of the remediation order;
(4) Leaving a copy at that person’s usual place of residence with anyone residing therein who is over 18 years of age and who is informed of the contents of the remediation order.
(E) Civil citation. In the event that compliance with the remediation order isn’t completed within the time specified therein, the Code Enforcement Officer shall issue a civil citation as observed by the Code Enforcement Officer, to everybody in violation thereof.
(F) Elimination of violations by the city. In the event that any violation of KRS 381.220 continues without the completion of the remediation described in the order of the Citation Officer, the city shall cause all or any part of the ordered remediation to be completed; and:
(1) The city shall have a lien against the property for the reasonable value of labor and materials used in remedying the violation; and the affidavit of the Citation Officer shall constitute prima facie evidence of the amount of the lien and the regularity of the proceedings, and shall be recorded in the office of the Kenton County Clerk. The lien shall be notice to all persons from the time of its recording and shall bear interest thereafter at the rate of 8% per annum 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 proceedings; and
(2) The owner of any property upon which a lien has been attached shall be personally liable for the amount of the lien, including all interest, civil penalties, and other charges, including, without limitation, court costs and reasonable attorney fees, 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.
(G) A violation of this section occurs upon any noncompliance with any provision of this section, by wither act or omission; and each and every separate noncontinuing occurrence thereof, and watch and every day of every continuing occurrence thereof is a separate violation of this section.
(Ord. 177(7-11-01), passed 7-11-01)