[Ord. No. 97-9 §1, 12-9-1997; Ord. No. 04-04 §1, 7-13-2004]
A. Any
condition on any lot or land that has the presence of debris of any
kind is hereby declared to be a public nuisance, subject to abatement. "Debris" includes weed cuttings, cut and fallen trees and
shrubs, rubbish and trash, lumber not piled or stacked twelve (12)
inches off the ground, rocks or bricks, tin, steel, parts of derelict
cars or trucks, broken furniture, and/or any flammable material. The
word "debris" also includes any other material which
is found on any lot or land that is unhealthy or unsafe, provided:
1. It is described in detail in the notice that is required in Section
215.260 below, and
2. The definition is not challenged by requesting a formal hearing as provided in Section
215.260 below.
[Ord. No. 97-9 §2, 12-9-1997]
A. Enforcement
of this Article shall be the responsibility of the Building Commissioner
and/or Police Department. Enforcement shall commence by providing
notice to the owner of the property of the nuisance condition existing
on his/her/its property. The notice may be delivered by personal service,
by certified mail, or by ordinary mail. (If sent by ordinary mail,
there will be a rebuttable presumption that the letter was delivered
five (5) days after the date it was sent.)
1. The notice shall generally describe the nature of the nuisance, the
location of the property (using the mailing or popular address rather
than a legal description, when reasonably possible to do so), and
ordering the property owner to, within a period of seven (7) days
from the receipt of the notice, abate the nuisance.
2. Any owner who wishes to challenge the order of abatement may do so,
provided that within the seven (7) day period he/she/it requests a
hearing on the validity of the order under the State Administrative
Procedure Act, Chapter 536, RSMo. If no such request is made within
that time period, the order becomes final and is not subject to challenge
elsewhere. If such request is made, the hearing shall be conducted
by the Board of Aldermen.
B. The
request for a hearing must be in writing, but otherwise no particular
formality is required. Notice to the property owner of his/her/its
right to request such hearing shall be given by including a copy of
this Article with any notice sent under authority of this Section.
Once a request for a hearing is received, the hearing shall be conducted
in accordance with the "contested case" provisions
of the State Administrative Procedure Act. The City Attorney shall
represent the City at such a hearing.
[Ord. No. 97-9 §3, 12-9-1997]
If the nuisance is present on the property seven (7) days after
receipt of the notice by the property owner, the Enforcement Officer
shall cause the same to be abated. The costs of abatement may include
a fee for the City's costs in administering this Article, which fee
shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00). The Enforcement Official
shall certify the cost of such abatement to the City Clerk or other
officer in charge of finance who shall cause the certified cost to
be included in a special tax bill or added to the annual real estate
tax bill, at the collecting official's option, and shall be collected
in the same manner and procedure as for collecting real estate taxes.
[Ord. No. 97-9 §4, 12-9-1997]
An owner who fails to remove a nuisance within seven (7) days of being notified to do so by the notice/abatement order described in Section
215.250 above shall be guilty of an offense and may be charged in Municipal Court with the offense of
"failure to
abate a nuisance".