(a) Any dismissal of a summons and complaint through the operation of subsections (b) or (c) of this section shall be admissible evidence in future proceedings under this chapter as some evidence of a property owner's knowledge or intent.

(b) The first time a property owner is charged under section 62-27 with a violation of section 62-26(b) it shall be an absolute defense to the charge that the property owner has through appropriate court action evicted and permanently removed from the premises or otherwise in fact removed and effectively barred from returning to the property the property occupant who either directly or through the agency or actions of a guest, invitee, licensee, employee, or agent was responsible for creating the nuisance situation. Any property owner who raises this affirmative defense after having done so on prior occasions shall, as a mandatory precondition of availing themselves of this defense on all subsequent occasions, be required to have obtained a criminal history background check conducted through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation on all tenants whose term of tenancy commenced or was renewed subsequent to the date the property owner first raised this defense.

(c) Property owners who have elected abatement actions other than that action listed in the notice provided pursuant to § 62-26(b), or whose actions in accordance with the notice have been determined by the City as not having been timely initiated and pursued in good faith shall bear the burden of proof to persuade the court by a preponderance of the evidence that their actions have abated and will necessarily continue to abate the nuisance activity of the "proscribed acts" listed in the notice. If property owners meet this burden of proof their action(s) shall be deemed to be an affirmative defense to charges raised pursuant to § 62-26(b). Parties raising an affirmative defense under this subsection shall do so in writing no later than ten (10) days after their arraignment. The court shall hear and rule on motions raised under this subsection at least 10 days prior to the trial on the underlying charge. (Code 1979, § 26-2-.5; Ord. No. 99-19, § 4, 7-12-1999; Ord. No. 96-43, § 2, 10-7-1996)