This chapter shall be known as the "Chronic Nuisance Property Regulations."
The purpose of this chapter is to establish the obligation of owners of property to register so the Village can advise such an owner whether there are nuisances regarding the owner's property that have become chronic and require immediate abatement of those nuisances on and from that property and to establish a registry for any property requiring certain inspections as a result of being adjudged a chronic nuisance property in violation of this chapter.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
CONTACT Includes any communication made by an owner, tenant, guest, neighbor, or other individual to police or other emergency services.
CONTROL The ability to regulate, restrain, dominate, counteract, or govern conduct that occurs on that property either directly or by intervention of any governmental authority.
DIRECTOR The Village's Building and Zoning Administrator.
[Amended 5-20-2019 by FMC-2019-8]
DISABILITY With respect to a person:
A. A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities;
B. A record of having such an impairment; or
C. Being regarded as having such an impairment, but such term does not include current illegal use of, or addiction to, a controlled substance, as defined in the Federal Controlled Substance Act, 21 U.S.C. § 802.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Physical abuse, harassment, intimidation of a dependent, interference with personal liberty or willful deprivation, but does not include reasonable direction of a minor child by a parent or person in loco parentis.
DWELLING UNIT One or more rooms which are arranged, designed, or used as living quarters for a family, or for a community residence as a single housekeeping unit. A dwelling unit includes bathroom and kitchen facilities in addition to sleeping and living areas.
NUISANCE ACTIVITY or NUISANCE ACTIVITIES Any of the Village Building Code or Property Maintenance Code violations; criminal activities, behaviors, or conduct, as defined by federal or state law; and, shall include the physical conditions and criminal activities set forth in §
220-1-5A and B, respectively, but excludes any activities set forth in §
220-1-5C.
OWNER Any person, partnership, land trust, or corporation having any legal or equitable interest in the property. "Owner" includes, but is not limited to:
A. Mortgagee in whom is vested:
(1) All or part of the legal title to the property.
(2) All or part of the beneficial ownership and the rights to the present use.
(3) A right to pursue foreclosure when mortgage is in default.
B. An occupant who can control what occurs on the property.
C. Any person acting as an agent of an owner as defined herein.
PERMIT To suffer, allow, consent to, acquiesce by failure to prevent, or attempt to prevent, or expressly assent or agree to the doing of an act.
PERSON Any natural person, association, partnership, corporation, or other entity capable of owning, occupying, or using property in the Village.
PERSON IN CHARGE Any person in actual or constructive possession of a property, including, but not limited to, an owner, property manager, tenant or occupant of the property in question under his or her ownership or control.
PROPERTY Any real property, including its land and that which is affixed, incidental, or pertinent to land, including, but not limited to, any premises, room, house, building, or structure, or any separate part or portion thereof.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE Has the meaning provided under Section 10 of the Safe Homes Act, 765 ILCS 750/10.
TENANT A person who has entered into an oral or written lease with an owner whereby the person is the lessee under the lease.
Nothing in this chapter shall limit or prohibit the authority of Village officers or employees from enforcing any other provision of this Village Code or any state or federal law under their jurisdiction. None of the inspection provisions shall prohibit, condition, or otherwise limit any inspection conducted under any other provision of this Village Code or other applicable law.
[Amended 5-20-2019 by FMC-2019-8]
A. "Chronic nuisance property" means any property upon which two or more nuisance activities within a six-month period have occurred as a result of any two separate factual events that have been independently investigated and verified by any law enforcement agency or the Building Department and the owner has failed to correct within the time period provided for compliance or they have reoccurred; or two or more citations for offenses defined as nuisance activities within a six-month period, which have been adjudicated and findings of liable or findings of guilty have been entered either by the Village's administrative Adjudication Hearing Officer or a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. A chronic nuisance property is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.
C. It shall be unlawful for any residential property within the Village to become or remain a chronic nuisance property in violation of this chapter.
D. It shall be unlawful for any owner, owner representative, or tenant in possession to:
(1) Encourage, aid, abet or permit a property to become a chronic nuisance property; or
(2) Allow a property to continue as a chronic nuisance property after receipt of notice to abate the nuisance activity.
E. Each day that a violation of this section continues shall be considered a separate and distinct offense.
The Village hereby creates a Nuisance Property Registry and a property that is determined to be a chronic nuisance property shall be placed on that registry.
[Amended 5-20-2019 by FMC-2019-8]
A. Upon a property being placed on the Nuisance Property Registry, it shall be subject to a health and safety or nuisance inspection limited to but covering all the relevant nuisance activities. A property shall be placed on the Nuisance Property Registry for 12 months until its end of the registry period performance evaluation is performed as provided in this chapter.
B. Notice of inspection. The Building Department shall serve written notice of the date and time of any inspection to be conducted under this chapter, by mailing such notice by first-class mail at least 14 calendar days prior to the date of inspection to the owner at the address of the property and to the taxpayer of record at the address shown on the county tax rolls. If the property has been rented, the Building Department shall also mail the notice to the occupants of each rental dwelling unit, the owner, and the owner representative (if applicable). The Building Department shall also post official notice of the inspection in a conspicuous area upon the property. In the case of multiple owners of the same property, notice to any one of the owners shall comply with the notice requirement under this section.
C. Entry.
(1) The owner shall provide the Inspector from the Building Department with access to the property.
(2) If the property is rented, the owner is responsible for obtaining the consent of the tenant of any rental dwelling unit to permit entry. If the tenant does not consent to the entry for inspection, the Building Department is authorized to seek an inspection warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction. If a tenant or occupant of a rental dwelling unit refuses to allow the inspection, the owner is not in violation of this section.
(3) If the Inspector is prevented from inspecting the property and has reasonable cause to believe that the property is so hazardous, unsafe, or dangerous as to require immediate inspection to safeguard the public health or safety, the Inspector shall have the right to immediately enter and inspect the property and may use any reasonable means required to effect the entry and make an inspection.
D. Results of inspection.
(1) If the Inspector finds no Village Code violations, the Inspector shall issue a notice of compliance that shall state in plain language that the property is in compliance with all applicable laws in the same manner as the notice of inspection provided for in §
220-1-8B hereof.
(2) If, upon inspection, the Inspector discovers one or more Village Code violations and any other applicable law, the Inspector shall cause to be issued a notice and order to the owner to correct the violations. The order shall state in plain language the violations of law found and the sections of law with which the property is not in compliance.
(a) The order shall also state that failure to correct the violations may result in additional inspection fees and other enforcement actions. The Inspector shall mail the notice in the same manner as the notice of inspection provided for in §
220-1-8B hereof and order to the occupants of each dwelling unit, the owner, and the owner representative to the addresses provided on the registration application.
(3) If the Inspector determines that the conditions pose a present, imminent, extreme and immediate hazard to health or safety, he or she shall order abatement of the conditions within 48 hours. Within 24 hours after the time to abate, the Building Department shall conduct a reinspection of the property to determine compliance with the order. If the condition has not been abated, the Building Department is authorized to make the necessary repairs to ensure immediate repair of dangerous, life-threatening conditions.
(4) Except as provided in Subsection
D(3), the Building Department shall specify a reasonable time period for correction of the violations, depending on the severity of the condition, between 48 hours and 30 days from receipt of the order to correct the violations and schedule a reinspection of the property. A fee for the additional inspection required under this subsection shall be imposed. The Village may also commence any other enforcement actions.
(5) Except for conditions specified in Subsection
D(3), if the violation has not been corrected by the compliance date, but the owner has made significant progress in correcting the violation since the prior inspection, the Building Department may grant a single extension of time not to exceed 30 days. In determining whether to grant the extension of time, the Building Department shall consider the frequency of prior inspections, the current condition of the property, prior Village Code violations and whether the owner has other property with Village Code violations.
E. After being added to the Nuisance Property Registry and having an initial inspection, the property shall also be required to have a subsequent inspection six months after being placed on the registry.
[Amended 5-20-2019 by FMC-2019-8]
A. At the end of the 11th month on the Nuisance Property Registry, the Building Department shall do a review of the status of the property to determine if the property should be removed from the registry or be required to remain on the registry for an additional twelve-month registry period.
B. Those owners who have resolved the issue(s) that caused their property to be placed on the nuisance property registry and have had no or few violations will be removed from the registry while those who have properties that continue to have violations shall remain on the registry.
Whenever the Chief of Police of the Village receives one or more police reports documenting the occurrence of a nuisance activity, as herein defined, on or within a property, the Chief of Police shall independently review such reports and any other relevant facts or evidence to determine whether criminal activity, nuisance activity or other prohibited conduct as provided in this chapter has occurred at the property in question. Upon a finding that the complained of activity has occurred, the Chief of Police may notify the owner, in writing, that the property is in danger of becoming a chronic nuisance property. The notice shall contain the following information:
A. The street address and property index number sufficient for identification of the property.
B. A statement that the police department has information that the property may be a chronic nuisance property, with a concise description of the criminal or nuisance activity(ies) that may exist or that has occurred.
C. Service of notice shall be provided by either personal delivery or by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the owner at the address of the property believed to be a chronic nuisance property, or such other place which is likely to give notice of the determination by the Chief of Police.
D. A copy of the notice shall also be served on the taxpayer of record at such address as shown on the tax rolls of the county and/or the occupant, at the address of the property, if these persons are different from the owner and shall be made either personally or by first-class mail, postage prepaid.
E. Demand that the owner respond and meet with the Chief of Police within 20 days of receipt of the notice. Refusal of receipt of the notice by any party to whom notice is sent shall be deemed receipt of the notice for purposes of this section.