Sec. 62-32. Abatement procedures.
(a) Expenses. Every person keeping, creating or maintaining any nuisance shall be liable for all costs and necessary expenses of abating the nuisance when arranged for or performed by the City. The term "costs" shall include all reasonable and necessary expenses in abating, assessing, evaluating, or testing the nuisance property. When the city manager or manager's designee shall abate any such nuisance, he or she shall keep an account of all such expenses attending such abatement and shall forthwith report the expenses to the manager to be collected by suit or otherwise in addition to penalty for violation thereof, who shall thereupon bring suit for the expenses in the name of the city against the person creating, keeping or maintaining the nuisance so abated. Expenses caused by such abatement may also be collected pursuant to a lien to be placed upon the affected property, subsequent to notice of costs and a 30-day period for payment of the costs, as required by section 2-4 of this Code. Abatement by the city may include but not be limited to removal or boarding up of the offending structure, removal of the causes of the nuisance, the filling in or fencing of open foundations or other offending structures. The city shall retain the right to abate an open foundation by filling in the foundation if it remains open for three years from the time construction has ceased.
(b) Complaints. All complaints alleging the existence of a public nuisance as defined in subsection 62-26(23) shall be filed with the director of neighborhood services and shall be subject to the following:
(1) Inspections. The director of neighborhood services or designee shall promptly inspect the premises and shall make a written report of the findings of the inspection. Whenever practical, photographs of the premises shall be attached to the written report. The director of neighborhood services shall keep all such written reports on file for at least three years.
(2) Notice to abate. If, after the inspection by the director of neighborhood services or designee, a public nuisance, as defined in subsection 62-26(23) is determined to exist, it shall be abated by repair, replacement, removal, rehabilitation or demolition upon notice by the department. The director of neighborhood services or designee shall cause a notice to be served on the owner or occupant of the property where the public nuisance exists in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
(3) Immediate danger. If the public nuisance constitutes a great and immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare, such notice shall specifically describe the public nuisance and shall direct the owner or occupant of the property where the public nuisance exists or the person causing, permitting or maintaining such nuisance to abate or remove such nuisance within 24 hours of service of the notice in accordance with subsection (c) of this section. The notice shall state that unless such nuisance is so abated or removed, the city will cause it to be abated or removed; that the cost thereof will be charged to the owner, occupant or person causing, permitting or maintaining the nuisance; and that such cost shall be a lien on the real property where the nuisance was abated or removed. Such notice shall also state the failure of such owner, occupant or person causing, permitting or maintaining the nuisance to abate the nuisance as required shall be deemed an implied consent for the City to abate or remove such nuisance.
(4) Other notice. If the public nuisance does not constitute a great and immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare, the director of neighborhood services or designee shall serve a notice to abate described in subsection (b)(2) of this section in accordance with subsection (c) of this section upon the owner or occupant of such premises, requiring the abatement or removal of the violation within 60 days.
(5) Contents of notice. The notice shall contain a statement identifying the specific problem(s) with the building or structure which constitutes a public nuisance. The notification must state a specific time period for correction of the problem(s) and action to be taken by the City if not corrected. The notice shall contain a statement as to the right to appeal pursuant to subsection (b)(8) of this section.
(6) Failure to abate. If a nuisance under subsection 62-26(23) is not abated or removed after notice pursuant to this section and within the time specified in the notice or any extension of time to comply with such notice, the director of neighborhood services or designee may cause the abatement or removal of such public nuisance, including causing the demolition or securing of the public nuisance pursuant to subsection (b)(9) of this section.
(7) Failure to abate. The owner or occupant of the property where the public nuisance exists who fails to abate or remove the nuisance as required by this section thereby consents, under the terms of this section, to have the city abate or remove the nuisance.
(8) Appeal. The person upon whom a notice to abate a nuisance is served, the property owner, occupant, or other affected person may appeal the determination of nuisance in writing to the city manager or designee. The written appeal must be filed with the city manager or designee within 30 days of service or posting or mailing of the notice. The city manager or designee may extend the time in which the nuisance must be abated, determine that a nuisance does not or no longer exists, or that the nuisance must be abated within the time period set out in the notice. The city manager or designee shall hold a hearing within five working days of the receipt of the written appeal. If the nuisance was determined to be an emergency and the opportunity for an appeal was not available due to the short period of time to abate the nuisance, an appeal may be heard after the abatement of the nuisance by the City. In that event the city manager or designee may determine that the appellant is liable for the costs or that the appellant is not liable for the costs and that a lien shall not be filed by the city upon the property.
(9) Abatement by city. Upon failure of the owner or legally responsible person of a building or structure to abate a public nuisance as required by the notice to abate, the director of neighborhood services or designee may:
a. Assess the owner or legally responsible person of a building or structure all reasonable costs which the city incurs in evaluating, assessing and testing of the property for potential demolition.
b. Direct the purchasing and contracts division to obtain competitive bids for the securing or demolition of the building or structure.
c. Issue a notice of intent to either raze/demolish or secure the building or structure upon receipt of bids, which notice shall include the estimated cost of demolition or securing, plus a fee not to exceed 25 percent of the cost of demolition or securing with a minimum of $100.00 to cover administrative and other costs. Such notice shall be served in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
d. Upon completion of the demolition, the director of neighborhood services or designee will provide a notice, in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, of the final cost of demolition or securing and of the intent to file a lien against the property.
e. In the event that the subject property is not demolished by the City, the director of neighborhood services or designee will provide notice, in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, of the final costs incurred in evaluating, assessing and testing the property for demolition and of the intent to file a lien against the property.
(10) City's lien. If the owner fails to pay the costs as set forth in the notice sent under subsection (b)(9)c of this section within 30 days of such notice being sent, the amount shall constitute a lien against the real property upon which the building or structure was or is situated. The director of neighborhood services or designee shall thereafter request authorization for payment of the cost and expense of abatement from any appropriation made available for that purpose. The city clerk shall certify a statement thereof to the county treasurer of the proper county, who shall assess and charge the cost and expense against the property involved and collect the cost and expense due, together with interest at the rate established by law for delinquent real property taxes. Any notice of lien shall consist of a sworn statement setting out:
a. A description of the real estate sufficient for identification thereof.
b. The amount of money representing the cost and expense incurred or payable by the City.
c. The date when such cost and expense was incurred by the City.
The lien created thereby shall be superior and prior to other liens regardless of date, except liens for taxes. For purposes of this section, costs and expenses shall include the demolition, removal, securing, barricading and administrative costs incurred with this section.
(c) Notification of nuisance or required action to owners and occupants. Whenever notice is required to be provided pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, it shall be accomplished in the following fashion:
(1) The notice shall be mailed first class mail with a receipt of mailing obtained from the United States Postal Service to:
a. Each and every individual or entity which is shown to have a recorded interest in the subject property as evidenced by an ownership and encumbrance review made by the public works department; and
b. The address upon which the public nuisance exists; and
(2) A notice of at least eight inches by 12 inches shall be posted in the area of the front entryway of the subject structure where the public nuisance exists.
(3) The date of mailing shall be considered the date of notice.
(4) If there is a need to take emergency action under subsection (b)(3) of this section, the 24-hour period shall commence with the posting of the premises. Notice pursuant to subsection (c)(1) of this section shall also be provided. (Code 1979, § 26-6; Ord. No. 98-89, §§ 1, 2, 11-30-1998)