§ 15-42. Notice of violation; right to hearing; and notice to abate.

(a)

Whenever weeds are allowed to grow in excess of twelve (12) inches, or trash or rubbish allowed to accumulate upon any property or sidewalks within the city as prohibited by this article, any code enforcement officer of the code enforcement division of the department of community development shall serve a written notice of violation to the owner or lessee of the lot or premises and/or sidewalk upon which lot or premises and/or sidewalk such nuisance exists.

(b)

The notice of violation shall state:

(1)

That the owner or lessee of the lot or premises or [the person] in charge of the lot or other premises next to or abutting the sidewalk(s) is in violation of his, her or its duty to keep the lot or premises, or abutting sidewalk, free from weeds, rubbish, brush, and any other objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary matter;

(2)

The nature and location of the violation;

(3)

A statement that if the property or sidewalk(s) is not brought into compliance with this article within seven (7) days of notice of the violation, then the city may do the work or make the improvements required and may assess for the work done or improvements made and charge the expenses to the owner of the property, subject to subsection (4), infra.

(4)

The recipient of the notice of violation may request a hearing in writing to the director of the department of community development within seven (7) days of notice of the violation.

(5)

If a hearing is requested, the hearing will be before the hearing officer who is appointed under section 14-27(3) of the Code of Ordinances ["the article IV hearing officer"] and the hearing shall be held within ten (10) days after the request for hearing. The hearing officer may hear evidence from the owner, city staff or any other interested person and shall make a determination whether the violation constitutes a public nuisance and, if he so finds, shall issue an order to abate the nuisance and the time within which the nuisance must be abated. An order to abate shall be mailed in the same manner as the notice of violation and shall state that if the property or sidewalk(s) is not cleared of or made free from the weeds and/or accumulations within ten (10) days from the date the order is mailed, the city may proceed under the provisions of section 15-45 to clean the premises and assess the costs as a lien.

(Ord. No. 2005-O-114, § 1, 5-16-05)