[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018[1]]
A.
NUISANCE
1.
2.
As used in this Chapter, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any act done or committed or suffered to be done or committed
by any person, or any substance or thing kept, maintained, placed,
or found, on any public or private property that is injurious to the
public health, safety or welfare; or
Any pursuit followed or act done by any person to the hurt,
injury, annoyance, inconvenience, or danger of the public.
B.
The above definition includes, but is not limited to, the following:
1.
Any building or premises kept or maintained in a condition unhealthy
or unsanitary to the public, including:
a.
Any premises abandoned, neglected, or disregarded so as to permit
the premises to become unclean with an accumulation of litter or waste
thereon or to permit the premises to become unsightly, unsanitary
or obnoxious or a blight to the vicinity or offensive to the senses
of users of the public way abutting the premises;
b.
Any property, lot, use, building, or structure that is allowed
by reason of lack of sufficient or adequate maintenance to fall below
the same standards and level of maintenance as the surrounding properties
and that depreciates the enjoyment and the use of the property in
the immediate vicinity to such an extent that it is harmful to the
community in which the property is situated or such conditions exist;
2.
Any cellar or basement that is wet or damp from defective hydrants,
water pipes, sewer pipes, cisterns, wells, gutters, drains or rainspouts;
3.
Any stagnant, foul, or dirty water or liquid discharged or allowed
to accumulate on public or private property or discharged through
any sewer, drain pipe, or spout to the injury and annoyance of the
public;
4.
All privies or private vaults kept in such condition as to emit
any offensive, noxious or disagreeable odor and all substances discharged
therein emitting an offensive, noxious, unhealthy or disagreeable
effluvia or resulting in the obstruction, contamination, or damage
of a public sewer;
5.
The keeping of animals of any kind, domestic or wild, upon any
public or private place or premises in such a manner or condition
that same constitute a hurt, injury, annoyance, inconvenience, or
danger to the public or the residents of the vicinity;
6.
Causing, keeping, maintaining, or permitting the accumulation
of debris of any kind, weed cuttings, cut, fallen, dead, or hazardous
trees and shrubs, overgrown vegetation and noxious weeds which are
seven (7) inches or more in height, rubbish, garbage, and trash;
7.
Causing, keeping, maintaining, or permitting the accumulation
of lumber not piled or stacked at least twelve (12) inches off the
ground, rocks or bricks, tin, steel, partly dismantled, wrecked, dilapidated,
abandoned or non-operative automobiles, tractors, trailers or other
motor vehicles or parts thereof, broken furniture, any flammable material
that may endanger public safety, or any material or condition which
is unhealthy or unsafe;
8.
All trees, bushes, or vegetation located on private property
which overhang a street or sidewalk and which obstruct the sight or
passage of traffic or pedestrians, including any hedge, shrub, plant
or other growth to a height greater than three (3) feet or a tree
having any portion of a limb less than seven (7) feet above the ground
within a triangle formed by the curb lines of intersecting streets
and a line drawn between two (2) points located twenty-five (25) feet
along each curb line measured from the point of intersection of the
curb lines; and
9.
Any condition resulting from the failure to construct or maintain
privately owned streets in a safe operating condition.
C.
ABATE
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
OWNER
In addition, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
To remove, repair, replace, destroy, or otherwise act to
eradicate the condition(s) causing or constituting a nuisance.
The Building Commissioner and those delegated to enforce
this Article.
The owner or occupant of a property on which a nuisance exists.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance repealed former Ch. 220,
Nuisances, adopted and/or amended by Code 1955 §§ 20-1
through 20-2, 32-1 through 32-5, and as further amended.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
No person shall create, cause, permit, maintain, or fail to abate a nuisance as defined in Section 220.010 hereof. Any person convicted of violating this Section shall be subject to punishment as provided in Section 100.180 of this Code.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
A.
Whenever the enforcement officer determines that a nuisance exists,
the officer shall so declare and shall deliver written notice as provided
herein.
1.
The notice shall be sent via first class United States mail
to the last known address of the owner of the property causing the
nuisance or on which the nuisance is located.
2.
Personal service shall also be attempted on any owner residing
or present at the property causing the nuisance or on which the nuisance
is located.
3.
A copy of the notice shall also be posted in a prominent place
on the premises.
4.
The effective date of the notice shall be the date of personally
delivering, or lacking same, three (3) days following the date of
mailing.
B.
Such notice shall:
1.
Identify, by address or legal description, the property harboring
the nuisance;
2.
Specifically describe the nuisance condition(s), with reference to that portion of Section 220.010 being violated;
3.
Order the abatement of such condition within a time specified,
which shall not be less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30)
days of the effective delivery of the notice by mail, except that
if the nuisance consists of overgrown vegetation and noxious weeds
seven (7) inches or more in height, or dead or damaged tress or plant
materials, the notice may order abatement of the nuisance within five
(5) business days of the effective delivery of the notice by mail.
C.
The enforcement officer may extend the time for any nuisance abatement,
either in the notice or after its delivery, to a date certain if circumstances
justify an extension.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
A.
If an owner fails to abate the nuisance within the time allowed,
the Enforcement Office may:
1.
File a complaint with the City's prosecuting attorney for
prosecution in the Municipal Court, provided that if the violation
is corrected prior to the court date, the inspector may request the
prosecuting attorney to dismiss the matter;
2.
Abate, or effect the abatement of, the nuisance at the cost
of the owner, having first secured, if necessary, an administrative
warrant as provided in Section 135.110 hereof for entry onto private
property; or
3.
File suit in the St. Louis County Circuit Court to enjoin the
owner to abate the nuisance, or to pursue any other equitable or legal
remedy for such abatement, at the cost of the owner.
B.
All costs and expenses incurred by the City in abating a nuisance
shall be assessed against the property on which the nuisance is located
and the owner as provided herein.
1.
If the enforcement officer acts to abate the nuisance, or to
effect its abatement:
a.
The officer shall certify the costs of abatement, and the proof of notice to the owner required by Section 220.030 hereof, to the City Clerk or Finance Director;
b.
The City shall assess the certified cost against the property
and the owner by either including it in a special tax bill, delivered
to the owner, or by adding it to the property's annual real estate
tax bill for collection by St. Louis County;
c.
The assessment shall be collected by the City or the County
Collector in the manner and procedure allowed by law for collecting
real estate taxes, including delinquent and back taxes if not timely
paid; and
d.
The assessment shall be deemed a personal debt against the owner
from the date of its issuance and a first lien on the property and
shall incur interest at the rate of eight percent (8%) or such higher
rate as may be allowed by law, until paid;
e.
Each assessment made under this Article shall also include such
reasonable administrative charges as may be determined by the City
Administrator for inspecting, giving notice, issuing and recording
the special tax bill.
2.
If an owner is convicted of violating Section 220.020 hereof, the Municipal Judge may order restitution of any costs incurred by the City in the abatement of the nuisance.
3.
If the City files suit to enjoin the owner to abate the nuisance
or to force or ensure its abatement, the City shall be entitled to
its costs of filing and pursuing the action, including attorney fees,
on the successful prosecution of same.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the City from pursuing
any alternative remedy as may be necessary or convenient and allowed
by law, in equity or law, for the abatement of a nuisance or the collection
of abatement costs expended by the City, including but not limited
to injunctive relief, a personal judgment and execution on special
tax bills, equitable foreclosure or constructive trusts, or any other
remedy.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
A.
In any nuisance prosecution, the Municipal Judge may provide in any
judgment of conviction that if the same nuisance recurs within twelve
(12) months after the date of the judgment, no further notice shall
be required to sustain a subsequent prosecution, and the same defendant
may be summoned on complaint and information into Municipal Court
regarding the recurring nuisance.
B.
If the nuisance consists of overgrown vegetation and noxious weeds seven (7) inches or more in height, and if same are allowed to grow on the same property in violation of Section 220.010(B)(6) more than once during the same growing season, the enforcement officer may, without further notification to the owner, cause the same to be abated, and the cost of abatement shall be assessed as provided in Section 220.040 hereof.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the City may abate any nuisance in a summary manner when the nuisance immediately threatens the general health, safety, or welfare and reasonably requires immediate abatement. The cost of such summary abatement shall be assessed to the owner as provided in Section 220.040 hereof.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
The following terms shall have the following meanings:
To remove, repair, replace, destroy, or otherwise act to
eradicate the condition(s) causing or constituting a criminal nuisance.
A continuing occurrence of more than one (1) of the following
acts or physical conditions on a premises within twelve (12) months:
The illegal sale, manufacture, storing, possession, distribution,
or use of narcotics or other controlled substances or precursors;
The illegal sale, manufacture, storing, possession, distribution,
or use of drug paraphernalia or precursors;
The illegal sale, storing, possession, use, or distribution
of firearms, weapons or explosive devices;
Prostitution;
Illegal gambling;
The illegal sale, distribution, or consumption of alcoholic
beverages;
The violation of municipal, State, or Federal business licensing
regulations; or
Any other condition or activity prohibited by the City Code
or by State or Federal law and which is injurious or detrimental to
the health, safety, welfare, or convenience of the inhabitants of
the City.
The Building Commissioner or other City officer designated
to enforce this Article.
The person or entity who owns, occupies, or has the care,
custody, or control of premises used as a criminal nuisance.
Any parcel of real property, any building or structure located
on real property, any personal property, such as a car, trailer, camper,
etc., and any portion of the public way that abuts or supports such
premises used as a criminal nuisance.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
A.
No owner shall fail to abate a criminal nuisance on any premises
after notice as provided herein. Any person convicted of violating
this Section shall be subject to punishment as provided in Section
100.180 of this code.
B.
Whenever a criminal nuisance exists on any premises, the enforcement
officer shall provide written notice as provided herein:
1.
The notice shall be sent via first class United States mail
to the last known address of the owner of the property causing the
nuisance or on which the nuisance is located.
2.
Personal service shall also be attempted on any owner residing
or present at the property causing the nuisance or on which the nuisance
is located.
3.
A copy of the notice shall also be posted in a prominent place
on the premises.
4.
The effective date of the notice shall be the date of personally
delivering, or lacking same, three (3) days following the date of
mailing.
C.
The notice shall:
1.
Be accompanied by a copy of this Article;
2.
Identify the activities or conditions constituting the nuisance;
3.
Direct the owner to immediately abate the nuisance;
4.
Inform the owner that any recurrence of the nuisance so specified
or any occurrence of another criminal nuisance on the premises within
the next following twelve (12) months may lead to Municipal Court
prosecution and administrative enforcement under this Section; and
5.
Provide the owner with a reasonable opportunity to meet with
a City representative to discuss the nuisance and the need for abatement
measures.
[Ord. No. 1976, 12-18-2018]
A.
If additional criminal nuisance activity occurs on the noticed premises
within twelve (12) months of the date of the notice, the City Administrator
or the Administrator's designee may hold an administrative hearing
to determine and declare the nuisance and to ensure its abatement.
Administrative enforcement may be pursued in addition to or in lieu
of criminal prosecution.
B.
The City Administrator shall deliver a written notice of hearing to the owner, not later than thirty (30) days prior to the hearing date, as provided in Section 220.110(B)(1). The notice shall:
1.
Be accompanied by a copy of this Article;
2.
Identify the activities or conditions constituting the nuisance;
3.
Direct the owner to immediately abate the nuisance; and
4.
Provide the owner with a reasonable opportunity to meet with
a City representative to discuss the nuisance, the need for abatement,
and the hearing.
C.
The City Administrator or the Administrator's designee shall
serve as hearing officer and shall be represented by the City Attorney.
The hearing officer may grant continuances on application and a finding
of good cause and may issue subpoenas to secure the attendance and
testimony of relevant witnesses and the production of relevant documents.
D.
The hearing shall be conducted as follows:
1.
The hearing officer shall:
a.
Take all testimony under oath or affirmation;
b.
Ensure that the hearing is recorded, whether by tape recording,
digital recording, or a court reporter; and
c.
Conduct the hearing in accord with Section 536.070, RSMo., with
regard to the rules of evidence, objections, witnesses, judicial notice,
affidavits as evidence, and the transcript requirements of the hearing;
2.
The case for the City shall be presented by the prosecuting
attorney, and the City shall prove, by a preponderance of the evidence,
that criminal nuisance activity as defined herein has occurred and
has recurred on the noticed premises within twelve (12) months of
the date of the original notice;
3.
Proof of a germane conviction for the violation of this Article
shall be prima facie evidence of the occurrence or recurrence of criminal
nuisance activity;
4.
The owner may appear and be represented by an attorney, who
shall file a written appearance with the hearing officer, and the
owner may offer evidence and cross-examine the City's witnesses;
5.
The owner shall have the opportunity to:
a.
Contest the occurrence and recurrence of the criminal nuisance;
b.
Show cause as to why, if a nuisance is found, administrative
enforcement is not otherwise necessary or appropriate;
c.
Submit evidence or argument concerning possible administrative
remedies, and the severity and extent thereof, if a nuisance is found;
and
d.
Offer such further evidence and argument as may be relevant
to the proceedings.
E.
On conclusion of a hearing, the hearing officer shall issue findings
of fact, conclusions of law and an order setting forth the hearing
officer's determination.
1.
If the hearing officer finds that the City has failed to carry
its burden of proof on whether criminal nuisance activity has occurred
or recurred, there shall be no administrative enforcement.
2.
If the hearing officer finds that criminal nuisance activity
has occurred and recurred, the hearing officer shall require that
the owner implement reasonable measures designed to prevent the recurrence
of the nuisance activity. Those measures may include, but are not
limited to, making security improvements to the premises, hiring of
licensed and insured security personnel, appointment of a receiver,
the initiation and execution of eviction proceedings against tenants
or occupants who engaged in the nuisance behavior, or the closing
and boarding of the premises for a period not to exceed one (1) year.
3.
The hearing officer's order shall inform the owner of the
right to seek judicial review as provided in Sections 536.100 to 536.140,
RSMo.
F.
If the hearing officer determines that a nuisance exists and orders
that the abatement of the nuisance requires closure of the subject
premises, the following shall apply:
1.
If the premises is occupied at the time of the order of closure,
the building shall be deemed a nuisance, condemned and vacated. It
is unlawful for any person to occupy or use any premises ordered to
be closed under this Article, and any person convicted of violating
this Section shall be subject to punishment as provided in Section
100.180 of this code.
2.
Prior to any reoccupancy, the premises shall be inspected by
all germane City, State and Federal inspectors, and the premises shall
be in compliance with all applicable City, State and Federal health,
safety, property maintenance and building regulations, including this
Article.
