[Ord. No. 780 §§1 —
5, 10-22-1997]
A. Debris Defined. 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, overgrown vegetation and noxious weeds
which are seven (7) inches or more in height, rubbish and trash, lumber
not piled or stacked twelve (12) inches off the ground, rocks or bricks,
tin, steel, parts of inoperable or 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) that it is described in detail in the notice that is required in Subsection
(B) below, and (2) that the definition is not challenged by requesting a formal hearing as provided in Section (B) below.
B. Notice. Enforcement of this Section shall be the responsibility
of the Health Commissioner. 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 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 Adjustment. The request for a hearing must be in writing, but otherwise
no particular formality is required. Notice to the property owner
of his/her right to request such hearing shall be given by including
a copy of this Section 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.
C. Abatement Of Nuisance. 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 cost in administrating
this Section, 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.
D. Violation Is An Offense. 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 Subsection
(A) above shall be guilty of an offense and may (at the option of the City) be charged in Municipal Court with the offense of "failure to abate a nuisance".