(A) If the owner or occupant of any real property within the corporate limits of the city neglects or refuses, after being given seven days’ written notice by the Police Department or code enforcement officers of the city, to remove, abate or eliminate any condition referred to in § 154.047. the city will do whatever is necessary to correct the condition and will charge the cost of the correction to the property owner to secure its costs; the city will perfect a lien against the affected property pursuant to A.C. §§ 14-54-903 et seq.
(B) Before any abandoned or inoperative motor vehicle is taken into custody and possession from private property, the city shall give the private property owner or occupant and the owner of the motor vehicle, if ascertainable, 30 days’ notice by registered or certified mail that such action will be taken unless the motor vehicle is restored to a functional use, disposed of in a manner not prohibited by A.C. §§ 8-6-401 et seq., or placed in an enclosed building. The 30-day notice may be waived by the owner or occupants of the property jointly and severally.
(C) Any owner/occupant shall be presumed to have notice for the violation if the owner/occupant has received notice of a similar type violation within the previous one year.
(D) The lien provided for in A.C.§ 14-54-903 may be enforced and collected in either one of the following manners:
(1) At any lime within ten years after a lien has been filed, by an action for foreclosure in the circuit court; or
(2) The amount of the lien may be determined at a hearing before the City Council held after 30 days’ written notice by certified mail to the owner of the property if the name and whereabouts of the owner are known. If the name of the owner cannot be determined, then the amount will be determined only after publication of notice of the hearing in a newspaper having a bona fide circulation in the county where the property is located for one insertion per week for four consecutive weeks. The determination of the City Council is subject lo appeal by the property owner in the circuit court. The amount so determined at the hearing, plus ten percent penalty for collection, shall be certified by the city to the tax collector of the county and placed on the tax books as delinquent taxes, and collected accordingly. The amount, less three percent thereof, when so collected shall be paid to the city by the County Tax Collector.
(E) In addition to any liens provided for in this subchapter, any violation of this subchapter by a property owner and/or person holding a possessory interest in the property, such as a leasehold tenant, are punishable by those penalties prescribed in this code.
(Ord. 2011-12-384, passed 12-6-11; Am. Ord. 2016-08-592, passed 8-3-16)
Statutory reference:
Enforcement of lien, see A.C. §§ 14-54-904