(A) It is unlawful for any owner, occupant, or person having control or management of any land within the territorial limits of the city to permit a public nuisance, health hazard, or source of filth to develop thereon through the accumulation of rubbish or the excessive growth thereon of weeds or grass.
(B) If within 5 days after written notice of the existence of any such nuisance as defined in division (A), the owner of such real estate property or the occupant or person having control or management of such property shall fail to remedy such situation, then the person shall be guilty of a violation and subject to a fine not in excess of one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days, or both. Each day that such nuisance shall continue after the lapse of the five (5) days from the receipt of the notice as herein provided shall constitute a separate violation.
(C) Whenever such a situation is discovered, the police department shall give the five (5) days written notice to remedy the nuisance situation. The notice shall be mailed to the last known address of the owner of property, as it appears on the current tax assessment roll. Upon the failure of the owner of the property to comply, the authorized city official is authorized to send employees upon the property to remedy the situation.
(D) The city shall have a lien against the property for the reasonable value of labor and materials used in remedying the nuisance situation. The affidavit of the authorized city official shall constitute prima facie evidence of the amount of the lien and the regularity of the proceedings pursuant to KRS 381.770 and this section, and shall be recorded in the office of the County Clerk. The lien shall be notice to all persons from the time of its recording and shall bear interest at 6% per annum thereafter 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 proceeding. In addition to this remedy or any other remedy authorized by law, the owner of a property upon which a lien has been attached pursuant to this section shall be personally liable for the amount of the lien, including all interest, civil penalties, and other charges 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.
(Ord. 75-0703, passed 7-2-75)
Cross reference:
Animals, see Ch. 91