Any weeds such as jimpson, burdock, ragweed, thistle, cockleburr, or other weeds of a like kind found growing in any lot or tract of land in the Village are declared to be a nuisance. It shall be unlawful to permit such weeds to grow or remain on any place.
No person shall permit any weeds, grass, or plants other than trees, bushes, flowers, or other ornamental plants to grow to a height exceeding eight inches anywhere in the Village. Any plants or weeds exceeding eight inches are declared to be a nuisance.
It shall be a nuisance and unlawful to plant or permit the growth of the bush of the species of tall, common, or European Barberry, further known as Berberis vulgaris, or its horticultural varieties within the Village.
[Amended 7-27-1988 by Ord. No. 88-06; 4-26-1999 by Ord. No. 99-2; 10-25-1999 by Ord. No. 99-17; 11-22-1999 by Ord. No. 99-19; 8-22-2005 by Ord. No. 05-36; 7-26-2010 by Ord. No. 10-24; 10-8-2012 by Ord. No. 12-24; 5-27-2014 by Ord. No. 14-16]
The Village shall serve a notice on the owner (and occupant, if applicable) of any premises on which weeds or plants are permitted to grow in violation of the provisions of this chapter and to demand abatement of the nuisance within five days. This notice shall be served for each violation in which the Village intends to enter upon the premises to abate the nuisance; provided, however, that in the case of an "abandoned residential property," as that term is defined in § 99-1A(10) and 65 ILCS 5/11-20-15.1, the Village shall not be required to serve more than one notice directing the removal of nuisance greenery during any one calendar year. In such cases, the initial notice shall identify the nuisance conditions, provide the property owner(s) with five days after receipt of the notice to abate the nuisance, and stipulate that, thereafter, while the property remains an "abandoned residential property," the Village will proceed with removal of nuisance greenery without further notice whenever such nuisance conditions as defined in § 96-20, 96-21 or 96-22 of the Village Code manifest themselves again and are allowed to persist without abatement for a period of five days.
[Amended 7-27-1988 by Ord. No. 88-06; 11-22-1999 by Ord. No. 99-19; 4-23-2001 by Ord. No. 01-03; 8-22-2005 by Ord. No. 05-36; 7-26-2010 by Ord. No. 10-24]
A. 
If the person so served does not abate the nuisance within five days, or, in the case of an abandoned residential property, if the Village has previously served said person with a notice of violation during the same calendar year and the same or substantially similar nuisance greenery conditions re-manifest themselves and are not abated within five days of reappearance, the Village may proceed to abate the nuisance. The Village shall keep a record of all time spent abating the nuisance and, in the case of an abandoned residential property, such additional records as are identified in § 99-4C, and the property owner (and occupant, if applicable) shall be billed at the rate of $200 per hour for the first hour or fraction thereof and $150 per hour for each additional hour or fraction thereof.
[Amended 5-27-2014 by Ord. No. 14-16]
B. 
Should the property owner (and occupant if applicable) fail to pay the charges when billed by the Village, the Village Administrator shall cause a lien to be recorded on the owner's property following the procedures set forth in § 96-25 or 98-4. Such lien shall remain in force until all costs are paid in full, including any and all legal costs incurred in filing and recording such liens, and any release thereof.
[Amended 7-26-2010 by Ord. No. 10-24]
A. 
If the Village elects to incur a removal cost under this chapter, then that cost is a lien upon the underlying parcel. To perfect such a lien, the Village must, within one year after the removal cost is incurred, file notice of lien in the office of the recorder in the county in which the underlying parcel is located or, if the underlying parcel is registered under the Torrens system, in the office of the Registrar of Titles of that county. The notice must consist of a sworn statement setting out:
(1) 
A description of the underlying parcel that sufficiently identifies the parcel;
(2) 
The amount of the removal cost; and
(3) 
The date or dates when the removal cost was incurred by the Village. If, for any one parcel, the Village engaged in any removal activity on more than one occasion during the course of one year, then the Village may combine any or all of the costs of each of those activities into a single notice of lien.
B. 
Prior to filing any lien for the costs of abating the nuisance, the Village shall send notice by first class United States mail to the person to whom was sent the tax bill for the general taxes on the property in the year preceding the abatement activity that within 10 days the Village intends to file a lien upon the subject property for the costs of nuisance abatement. The notice shall state that the person may appeal this determination by contacting the Village within 10 days and requesting a hearing. Upon a request for hearing, the Village President shall, within 30 days, hear the appeal and shall, within five days thereafter, issue a written decision instructing the Village Administrator to file or not to file the lien subject to the appeal.
[Added 10-8-2012 by Ord. No. 12-24]
C. 
The removal cost is not a lien on the underlying parcel unless a notice is personally served on, or sent by certified mail to, the person to whom was sent the tax bill for the general taxes on the property for the taxable year immediately preceding the removal activities. The notice must be delivered or sent after the removal activities have been performed, and it must:
(1) 
State the substance of this section and the substance of any ordinance of the municipality implementing this section;
(2) 
Identify the underlying parcel, by common description; and
(3) 
Describe the removal activity.
D. 
Upon payment of the lien cost by the owner of the underlying parcel after notice of lien has been filed, the Village (or its agent) shall release the lien, and the release may be filed of record by the owner at his or her sole expense as in the case of filing a notice of lien.
E. 
The provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code, ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, § 11-20-15, shall be followed and shall apply to all liens filed hereunder.
F. 
A lien under this section may be enforced by proceedings to foreclose as in case of mortgages or mechanics' liens. An action to foreclose a lien under this section must be commenced within two years after the date of filing a notice of lien.