[HISTORY: Adopted by the President and Board of Trustees
of the Village of Sidney 9-8-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-09.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance was adopted as Ch. 237, but
was renumbered to maintain the organization of the Code.
Stagnant water identified in § 204-2 of this chapter is hereby declared to be a nuisance. It shall be unlawful for any person owning, possessing, or being in control of any lot or tract of real estate in the Village of Sidney, Illinois, to have stagnant water on such lot or tract.
Stagnant water, which is declared a nuisance by § 204-1 hereof, shall include standing water which is likely to become foul, putrid, offensive, a harborage for insects and/rodents or detrimental to the health and comfort or persons residing in the vicinity thereof.
It shall be the duty of the President and Board of Trustees,
or the designee of either, to serve or cause to be served a notice
upon the owner or occupant of any premises on which stagnant water
is in violation of the provisions of this chapter and to demand abatement
of the nuisance within the period of not less than seven days.
If the person so served does not abate the nuisance within seven
days, an enforcement person designated by the President and/or Board
of Trustees may enter upon the subject property without liability
for trespass and proceed to abate such nuisance, keeping an account
of the expenses of the abatement, and such expense shall be charged
and paid by such owner or occupant. The Village is not required to
abate such nuisance, however.
A.
The cost of the nuisance abatement authorized by § 204-4 shall be a lien upon the real estate affected as provided by 65 ILCS 5/11-20-7. Whenever a bill for such nuisance abatement remains unpaid for 15 days, the Village Clerk shall file, within 60 days after the cost and expense of such nuisance abatement is incurred, a notice of lien with the Recorder of Deeds of Champaign County.
B.
The notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out:
C.
A copy of such notice shall be mailed by the Village Clerk to the
owner of the premises, if his/her address is known to the Clerk, but
such mailing is not necessary to establish the validity of the Village's
lien.
D.
Property subject to a lien for such unpaid bills shall be sold for
nonpayment of the same, and the proceeds of the sale shall be applied
to pay the charges, after deducting costs, as in the case in the foreclosure
of statutory liens. Such foreclosure shall be in equity in the name
of the Village.
E.
The Village Attorney is hereby authorized and directed to institute
such proceedings in the name of the Village in any court having jurisdiction
over such matter, against any property for which such nuisance abatement
bill remains unpaid after the filing of the Village's notice
of lien. The Village may, to the extent allowable under state law,
also recover its foreclosure costs, including its reasonable attorney's
fees, from the proceeds of sale.
A.
Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be fined not more than $750 for each offense; and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which such nuisance continues unabated after seven days from receipt of the notice required by § 204-3.
B.
Any fine shall be in addition to the Village's costs of removing
the stagnant water and abating the nuisance under this chapter. The
Village authorities may determine, within the preceding fine range,
the fine deemed appropriate, and if such fine is voluntarily paid,
no further proceedings are necessary. If the fine is not paid, the
Village Attorney may prosecute the offender in the appropriate court
for imposition of fines and any necessary injunctive relief to abate
the nuisance(s).
