A.
The owners of all vacant, developed or undeveloped
property in the Town, including such property upon which buildings
or other improvements are located, shall cut and remove grass, weeds
and other foreign growth from such lots at intervals to be designated
by the Town Council.
B.
Reasonable notice of the date fixed by the Town Council
for the cutting and removal of such grass, weeds and other foreign
growth shall be given by newspaper publication, mail or by delivery
of written notice to each owner of a vacant lot. Upon the failure
of the owner of such vacant lot to cut such grass, weeds or other
foreign growth, as provided in such notice, the Town Manager may have
such grass, weeds and other foreign growth cut and upon such cutting,
the costs or expenses thereof shall be chargeable to and paid by the
owner of such property and may be collected by the Town as taxes are
collected.
C.
Any owner who fails, neglects or refuses to comply
with the provisions of this section upon written notice above described
to cut and remove from such property all of the grass, weeds and other
foreign growth on such property shall further be subject to a civil
penalty, in the amount of $50 for the first violation, or violations
arising from the same set of operative facts. The civil penalty for
subsequent violations not arising from the same set of operative facts
within 12 months of the first violation shall be in the amount of
$200. Each business day during which the same violation is found to
have existed shall constitute a separate offense. In no event shall
a service of specified violations arising from the same set of operative
facts result in civil penalties that exceed a total of $3,000 in a
twelve-month period.
D.
In the event that three civil penalties have previously
been imposed on the same owner for the same or similar violation,
not arising from the same set of operative facts, within a twenty
four-month period, such violations shall constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor;
provided, however, for any violation which constitutes a Class 3 misdemeanor
hereunder, no civil penalty may be imposed for such violation.
E.
Every charge authorized by this section with which
the owner of any such property is assessed and which remains unpaid
shall constitute a lien against such property ranking on a parity
with liens for unpaid local taxes and enforceable in the same manner
as provided in Article 3 (§ 58.1-3940 et seq.) and 4 (§ 58.1-3965
et seq.) of Chapter 39 of Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia 1950,
as amended. The Town Council may, but shall not be required to, waive
such liens in order to facilitate the sale of the property. Such liens
may be waived only as to a purchaser who is unrelated by blood or
marriage to the owner and who has no business relationship with the
owner. All such liens shall remain a personal obligation of the owner
of the property at the time the liens were imposed, notwithstanding
such waiver.
