Before any order is issued by the city council or any work is performed by the city administrator on any building which is in violation of this article, except under section
3.03.185 dealing with emergency remedies, there shall first be a hearing conducted by the city council.
(1999 Code, sec. 26-361)
The following standards shall be followed by the city council
in ordering the repair, vacation, relocation of occupants, demolition
or removal of a structure:
(1) The
city council may issue an order requiring the vacation, relocation
of occupants, securing, repair (with or without vacation), removal
or demolition of the structure if the city council finds that any
of the following conditions exist:
(A) The structure in question is dilapidated, substandard or unfit for
human habitation, and a hazard to the public health, safety and welfare;
(B) Regardless of its structural condition, the structure is unoccupied
by its owners or other invitees and is unsecured from unauthorized
entry to the extent that it could be entered or used by vagrants or
other uninvited persons as a place of harborage or could be entered
or used by children; or
(C) If boarded up, fenced or otherwise secured in any manner, if:
(i) The building constitutes a danger even though secured from entry;
or
(ii)
The means used to secure the building are inadequate to prevent
unauthorized entry or use of the manner described in subsection (1)(B)
of this section.
(2) If
the city council finds that the structure is in violation, the council
shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee of the building to,
within 30 days:
(A) Secure the structure from unauthorized entry; or
(B) Repair, remove or demolish the structure within 30 days unless the
owner or lienholder establishes at the hearing that the work cannot
be reasonably performed within 30 days.
(3) If
the owner establishes that the work cannot be reasonably completed
in 30 days and the city council determines that additional time is
necessary, the council shall establish specific time schedules for
the commencement and performance of the work and shall require the
owner, lienholder or mortgagee to secure the property in a reasonable
manner from unauthorized entry while the work is being performed.
(4) The
city council shall not allow an owner, lienholder or mortgagee more
than 90 days to repair, remove or demolish the structure or fully
perform all work required to comply with the order unless the owner,
lienholder or mortgagee:
(A) Submits a detailed plan and time schedule for the work at the hearing;
and
(B) Establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be completed
within 90 days because of the scope and complexity of the work.
(5) If
the city council allows the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than
90 days to complete any part of the work required to repair, remove
or demolish the structure, the council shall require the owner, lienholder
or mortgagee to regularly submit progress reports to the city administrator
to demonstrate that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee has complied
with the time schedules established for commencement and performance
of the work. The order may require that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee
appear before the city administrator to demonstrate compliance with
the time schedules.
(6) In
the public hearing to determine whether a structure complies with
the standards set out in this article, the owner, lienholder or mortgagee
has the burden of proof to demonstrate the scope of work that may
be required to comply with this article and the time it will take
to reasonably perform the work.
(1999 Code, sec. 26-362)
Any person affected by any order may seek to appeal the order
within 30 days to the state district court for relief, and upon failure
to do so within such period of time, such order shall be final.
(1999 Code, sec. 26-363)
Following the hearing authorized in section
3.03.182, any person wishing to appeal the decision of the city council shall request that the council make such findings as the council believes necessary to support its order. If a party fails to request such findings within 30 days, it shall be presumed that the city council made such findings as are necessary to support its decision.
(1999 Code, sec. 26-364)
If a structure constitutes a substantial and immediate hazard
to the public health, safety and welfare as a result of fire, civil
disobedience or natural disaster to the extent that an imperative
public need exists to abate a portion or all of the structure, the
city administrator may immediately, without prior hearing before the
city council, abate that portion of the structure which causes the
hazard, provided:
(1) The
city administrator has made a reasonable effort to determine the name
and location of each owner, lienholder or mortgagee and has attempted
to give each owner, lienholder or mortgagee notice of the impending
action by the city administrator. The notice may be given orally,
and a record shall be kept of the time and date of each communication.
(2) The structure shall be abated only to the extent necessary to remove the immediate hazard to the public health, safety and welfare. The structure shall then be treated as any other substandard structure, and additional abatement may be done only after notice and hearing as provided in divisions
6 and
7 of this article.
(1999 Code, sec. 26-365)