[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. IV)]
The following procedure shall be used by the Village of Dwight, its officers and agents with respect to the abatement, removal, extinguishment, or lessening of any nuisance declared by the Village President and Board of Trustees within the Village of Dwight as follows:
A.
Any nuisance set forth in Article II, § 195-16, Subsections A through F, L and M, and O through U, shall be a nuisance per se, and shall be immediately abated upon an order to abate directly to the owner or lienholders of such property by the Village Board, its officers, or agents.
(1)
If the person so served does not abate the nuisance within 48 hours after service of the notice set forth in this Subsection A hereof, the Village may proceed to abate such nuisance, and the cost to be paid to the Village of Dwight by such owner or occupant for the abatement of any such nuisance hereunder shall be billed on a per-hour basis for abatement work done under this subsection. Such hourly fee shall be established by the Village Administrator. Any other amounts expended by the Village of Dwight for the service of the notice upon the owner or occupant of said premises, including costs and attorney fees, shall also be included in the billing.
B.
The nuisances set forth in Article II, § 195-16, Subsections G, H and I, shall be abated pursuant to the following procedure; to wit:
(1)
When the Village Administrator of the Village of Dwight, after hearing witnesses and reviewing evidence with respect to the condition of and/or existing on or about any premises, declares or finds that any premises within the Village of Dwight is being maintained contrary to one or more of the provisions of Article II, § 195-16, Subsections G, H and I, the Village Administrator shall direct that a notice to the owner of the premises and any lienholder of record shall be served setting forth the conditions which constitute the nuisance as declared, and shall order the abatement of the nuisance within 30 days after the service of said notice. The date of the service of the notice shall constitute the first day of the notice period, and the notice shall be served by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by an officer authorized to serve legal notices, including any officer of the Village of Dwight Police Department. Said notice shall be delivered with a copy of the ordinance passed by the Board of Trustees setting forth the conditions which constitute the nuisance, and setting forth the date and place of declaration of said nuisance. In the event that the property owner or lienholder cannot be located for service upon such individual, or if such owner of lienholder is unknown, then notice to such owner or lienholder shall be made by publication, by publishing a notice in a newspaper generally circulated within the Village of Dwight, for three consecutive weeks, setting forth the description of the property, the parties to be notified, the action to be taken, and the nuisance declared. The first date of publication shall constitute the date of service. Unknown owners and unknown lienholders shall be designated as "unknown owners and unknown lienholders." Any notice served or published hereunder shall also include a provision that in the event the property owner or lienholder does not agree with the determination of the Village Administrator with respect to said nuisance, the owner or lienholder may, within the thirty-day abatement period, ask for a hearing before the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Dwight wherein a hearing shall be held before the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Dwight to hear testimony and evidence of all competent witnesses and evidence respecting the condition constituting the nuisance, including the estimated cost of its abatement and any other matter that may be pertinent. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board of Trustees shall, by resolution passed by a majority of those elected, declare its findings and in light of those findings may declare the condition existing to be a nuisance and direct the persons owning the property or any lienholder thereof to abate the nuisance within an additional 30 days from the date of the determination after such hearing. In the discretion of the corporate authorities, additional time may be granted the property owner and/or lienholder to abate the nuisance, if, in the opinion of the corporate authorities, good cause for such an extension exists.
(2)
If the owner of the premises and/or lienholder fails to abate the nuisance within the time as set forth above, or any extension as granted by the corporate authorities, the Village may proceed to abate the nuisance.
(3)
The Village shall keep an itemized account of the expenses involved in abating the nuisance. The Village shall post conspicuously on the property and shall also serve on the owner of the property and any lienholder of record, by certified mail or by personal service at least 10 days prior to any such hearing, a statement showing the expense of the abatement, together with a notice of the time and place when the statement will be submitted to the Board for approval and confirmation and at which time the Village Board of Trustees shall consider objections or protests to the cost of the work performed.
(4)
At the time fixed for the hearing on the statement of expense, the Village Board of Trustees shall consider the statement and protest or objections raised by the person liable to be assessed for the cost of abatement. The Board of Trustees may revise, correct or modify the statement as it considers just and thereafter shall confirm the statement or motion or resolution. The decision of the Village Board of Trustees on all protests and objections which may be made shall be final and conclusive.
(5)
If the property owner and/or lienholder does not pay the expense of abating the nuisance within 10 days after the Village Board of Trustees confirms the cost of abatement as originally submitted or as may be modified after the hearing thereon, the cost shall become a lien against the real estate on which the nuisance was abated. The lien shall continue until it is paid, together with interest as from time to time charged by the county in which the property is located on delinquent real estate taxes until the statement is fully paid.
(6)
When conditions which constitute a nuisance pose an immediate threat to the public peace, health, or safety, the Village Board of Trustees may order the nuisance abated immediately or take steps itself to abate the nuisance after the adoption of the resolution declaring the facts which constitute the emergency. The resolution to be effective shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the corporate authorities of the Village of Dwight.
C.
The Village of Dwight does hereby implement the procedures under 24 ILCS 11-31-1 by reference herein, and any amendments thereto, which shall specifically apply to the demolition, repair or to cause the demolition or repair of any dangerous and unsafe buildings or uncompleted and abandoned buildings within the Village of Dwight which are herein declared to be nuisances under Article II, § 195-16, Subsection L, such procedures (unless in conflict with the aforementioned statute in which case such statute shall prevail) being as follows:
(1)
The corporate authorities of the Village of Dwight shall notify, in writing, the owner or owners of record, including the lienholders of record, by a fifteen-day written notice by mail notifying the owner or owners of record and lienholders that if he/she/they fail to put such building in a safe condition or demolish the same within 15 days, that the corporate authorities shall apply to the circuit court of the county in which said building is located for an order authorizing such action be taken with respect to any such building with respect to any repair and/or demolition as the corporate authorities shall determine necessary to eliminate said nuisance. Notice may be by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by any officer authorized to serve writs or notices. For purposes of such notice, the day of receipt or service shall not be counted and the first day after receipt or service shall be the first day of the fifteen-day notice period.
(2)
In the event that the identity or whereabouts of the owner or owners of any such building including the lienholders of record is not ascertainable, notice mailed to the person or persons in whose name such real estate was last assessed is sufficient notice under this section, and the date of mailing shall constitute the first day of notice.
(3)
In the event that the owner or owners of record or lienholders have not, within 15 days after notice as hereinbefore set forth has been given with respect to the repairing and/or demolition of a building heretofore declared to be a nuisance or such other action as to make such building no longer a nuisance, then the corporate authorities shall apply to the circuit court of the county in which the building is located for an order of demolition.
(4)
Upon the granting of an order of demolition or repair, the corporate authorities of the Village of Dwight shall file a lien within 60 days after the repair or demolition for the cost thereof, and a notice of such cost and expense shall be filed in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in the county in which said title is recorded. Such notice shall consist of a sworn statement setting out a description of the real estate sufficient for identification thereof, the amount of money representing the cost and expenses incurred and the date or dates when the cost and expense was incurred by the municipality or by the lienholder of record. Upon payment of the costs and expenses by the owner of or persons interested in the property after notice of lien has been filed, lien shall be released by the municipality or person in whose name the lien has been filed and the release may be filed of record as in the case of filing notice of lien. The lien may be enforced by proceedings to foreclose as in the case of mortgage or mechanics liens as set forth in the statute heretofore mentioned, as from time to time amended.