(A) Appointment and duties of Code Enforcement Officer.
(1) The Code Enforcement Officer shall enforce the provisions of this subchapter.
(2) The Code Enforcement Officer is authorized to:
(a) Perform all functions necessary to enforce the provisions of this subchapter; and
(b) Inspect, or cause to be inspected, as often as needed, all buildings, structures, lots, or places for the purpose of determining whether such are in compliance with the provisions of this subchapter.
(3) If the Code Enforcement Officer concludes there exists an objectionable condition in violation of this subchapter, the Code Enforcement Officer shall:
(a) Ascertain the names of the owners and occupants, and descriptions of the premises where such objects and conditions exist;
(b) Serve notice, in writing, upon the owner or occupant of such premises, either personally or by mailing notice, postage prepaid, addressed to the owner and occupant at their last known post office addresses as disclosed by the records of the County Recorder, or as otherwise ascertained, requiring such owner or occupant, or both, as the case may be, to eradicate or destroy and remove the same within such time as the Code Enforcement Officer may designate, which shall not be less than ten days and no more than 30 days following the date of service of such notice to correct the objectionable condition. Notwithstanding the foregoing, where the objectionable condition consists of, or includes, graffiti, an owner or occupant shall be given not less than one week, as discussed below in § 90.05, to remove any graffiti, which is visible from the street, from the property; otherwise the notice required by this section shall contain a specific statement of the nature of the violation and generally describe the:
1. Premises on which the violation exists;
2. Inform the person that in the event he or she fails or neglects to correct the objectionable condition, the city will impose a fee of $100 and/or shall correct the objectionable condition;
3. Will charge the costs of so correcting the objectionable condition to the person; and
4. If the city is required to collect the costs by court action, the person will be assessed court costs together with reasonable cost of correcting the violation against the property as a tax.
(c) A notice sent by certified mail shall be deemed received by the addressee owner three business days following posting in the U.S. mail. In all cases practicable, the notice shall be sent through the mail with a return receipt requested. Failure on the part of the addressee to accept delivery or to sign the return receipt shall not be sufficient to defeat the presumption of receipt for the otherwise properly-mailed notice, and will be considered an automatic denial.
(d) Only one notification procedure shall be necessary for continuing violations on the same premises within the same calendar year, and shall be deemed sufficient on any lot or parcel, or property, for the entire calendar year. The second notification and offense shall be an automatic $100 fine; the third notification and offense shall be an automatic $250 fine; and the fourth notification and offense shall be an automatic $500 fine.
(e) The owner, occupant, or other person having an interest in the land described in the notice may submit a written request for a hearing regarding the alleged violations outlined in the notice. If a written request for hearing is not filed pursuant to § 90.58, the notice of the Code Enforcement Officer shall be final.
(B) Failure to comply. If any owner, occupant, or other person having an interest in the land described in such notice or decision, to whom the notice was given shall fail or neglect to conform to the requirements thereof relating to the eradication, destruction, or removal of such weeds, garbage, refuse, objects, or structures either in whole or part, the Code Enforcement Officer shall serve a “last attempt” notice with a citation that imposes a $100 fee and the violator will be given ten days to correct the violation. If, after ten days, the issue has not been corrected, the city will employ all necessary assistance to cause such objectionable objects or conditions to be removed or destroyed by an abatement order as outlined below, at the expense of the city and collect from owner, occupant, or other person having interest as outlined in division (C) below. The process to remove objectionable objects or conditions to be removed or destroyed, is as follows:
(1) The city may summarily and without prior notice (except as outlined in § 90.04(A)(3)(b)) to the owner, occupant, or other person having interest, proceed to take action to abate the nuisance. Under the City Manager’s direction, the Code Enforcement Officer shall prepare an abatement order to be approved by either authority listed below, authorizing city personnel to either perform such abatement work or to engage a private contractor to perform such work under the direction of the city. The order shall identify the property and describe the abatement work to be performed thereon. Administrative abatement orders shall be obtained by the City Manager, at their discretion and working with the City Attorney, by either of these options:
(a) Order of the Mayor, by authority of § 30.03; or
(b) Order of a Justice Court Judge or other applicable judicial authority.
(2) Upon issuance of an abatement order, city personnel or any authorized private contractor may enter upon the described private property and perform the work specified in the abatement order in any reasonable manner. If the owner or occupant eliminates the nuisance before the city performs the abatement work, the owner or occupant shall still be responsible for the costs incurred by the city in responding to the owner’s or occupant’s failure to abate the nuisance in a timely manner.
(3) If the owner or occupant refuses to allow entry, or other conditions exist on the property affecting the city’s ability to enter the property or otherwise complete the necessary abatement work, the city may seek, but is not required to seek, such judicial process as it deems necessary to affect the abatement.
(4) Personal property constituting a nuisance under this chapter may be confiscated as part of the abatement process. The City Manager will adopt rules and procedures providing for the disposition of such property, including the disposition of inoperable, unlicensed, or abandoned vehicles and equipment.
(C) Itemized statement. The Inspector shall prepare an itemized statement of all expenses incurred in the removal and destruction of nuisances, and shall mail a copy thereof to the owner or occupant, or both, or to persons having an interest in the property, demanding payment within 14 days of the date of mailing. The notice shall be deemed delivered when mailed by registered mail addressed to the last known address of the property owner, occupant, or person having an interest in the property.
(D) Failure to make payment. In the event the owner, occupant, or person having an interest in the property fails to make payment of the amount set forth in the statement to the City Treasurer within the 14 days, the Inspector either may cause suit to be brought in an appropriate court of law or may refer the matter to the County Treasurer, as provided in this subchapter.
(E) Collection by lawsuit. In the event collection of expenses of destruction and removal is pursued through the courts, the city shall sue for, and receive judgment for, all of said expenses of destruction and removal, together with reasonable attorney’s fees, interest, and court costs, and shall execute upon such judgment in the manner provided by law.
(F) Collection through taxes. In the event that the Code Enforcement Officer elects to refer the expenses of destruction or removal to the County Treasurer for inclusion in the tax notice of the property owner, he or she shall make, in triplicate, an itemized statement of all expenses incurred in the destruction and removal of the same, and shall deliver the three copies of the statement to the County Treasurer within 20 days after the completion of the work of destroying or removing such weeds, refuse, garbage, objects, or structures. Thereupon, the cost of the work shall be pursued by the County Treasurer in accordance with the provisions of UCA § 10-11-4, and the recalcitrant owner shall have such rights, and shall be subject to such powers, as are thereby granted.
(G) Criminal proceeding. The commencement of criminal proceedings for the purpose of imposing penalties for violations of this chapter shall not be conditioned upon prior issuance, or the granting, to the defendant of an opportunity to abate or remove the nuisance. The provisions of this chapter relating to notice and abatement shall be deemed merely alternative and additional methods of securing conformity to the provisions of this subchapter.
(Prior Code, § 8.06.040) (Ord. 05-2020, passed 4-1-2020; Ord. 23-2023, passed 11-1-2023) Penalty, see § 90.99