The officer charged with enforcement shall cause any owner or other responsible person to be notified of the existence of such condition on the premises and the obligation to reimburse the City the costs incurred as a result of extinguishing any fire occurring as a result of such condition. The officer charged with enforcement shall direct that such persons shall abate such condition or appear before the appropriate Hearing Officer at a stated time and place and show cause why such condition should not be abated by the City at such persons' expense. The Hearing Officer for the conditions set forth in Section 5-5-201 of this article shall be the Weed Abatement Hearing Officer, and all other hearings shall be held before the Hearing Officer.
The notices shall be substantially in the following form:
Notice to Abate Public Nuisance |
Notice is hereby given that the owners of the real property hereinafter described are required to abate the public nuisance consisting of (describe the existing nuisance) existing upon (description of the place where the nuisance exists) by removing the same or appear and show cause at the office of the ______, at ______, on ____, 20__, at the hour of m. on said day, then and there to show cause, if any they have, why such nuisance should not be removed and abated by the City of Turlock and the cost of the same, and an administrative charge of fifty-eight (58%) percent, made a personal obligation and a lien upon the premises. |
Notice is further given that you are required to reimburse the City of Turlock for any and all costs associated with the extinguishment of any fire which may occur on the real property which is a result of, or has been aggravated by, such public nuisance. |
Your name appears on the County records as the owner of the property or other records as the person responsible for the above property. If you are not the owner of the property or responsible for its conditions, do not throw this notice away. Please inform me and the County of the change in ownership so that you will not be held liable for the abatement hereinabove referred to. |
DATED this ____ day of ______, 20__. |
CITY OF TURLOCK |
By ________________ |
A copy of the notice provided for in Sections 5-5-301 and 5-5-302 of this article shall be sent to the owner and may be sent to any other such persons sought to be charged with the responsibility of abatement not less than ten (10) days prior to the date set for the hearing. The notice may be given in person or in writing or shall be sent by mail, postage prepaid, and addressed as follows:
(a)
To the owner. As such person's name and address appear on the last equalized assessment roll of the County or as known to the officer authorized to give such notice; and
(b)
To any other such person. As such person's name and address are known to the officer authorized to give such notice.
The officer giving such notice shall file a copy thereof with a declaration or certificate stating the time and manner in which such notice was given. The failure of any owner or any other such person to receive such notice shall not affect in any manner the validity of any proceeding taken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
At the time fixed in such notice, the officer shall hear testimony offered on behalf of the persons sought to be charged, which testimony tends to show why such conditions should not be abated and the expense thereof and administrative costs charged to such persons as a civil debt and/or made a lien upon the premises. The Hearing Officer may hear rebuttal testimony on behalf of the City. If, at the conclusion of such hearing, the officer is satisfied that such condition exists and concludes that it should be abated at the expense of such persons as aforesaid, he shall so advise such persons attending the hearing, either orally or in writing. In the event any person given notice of the hearing, as shown by the evidence of mailing, shall fail to appear at such hearing, then as to him such evidence of mailing, without the taking of further testimony, shall be sufficient evidence of the existence of facts in support of such conclusion. The Hearing Officer shall give his decision in writing to any responsible person not appearing at the hearing.
In all cases in which the Hearing Officer has determined to proceed with abatement, then on the sixth (6th) calendar day following the conclusion of such hearing the City shall acquire jurisdiction to abate such condition at the expense of the responsible person. Any property owner or responsible person shall have the right to abate such condition, or have the condition abated at his expense, provided such condition has been abated prior to the arrival of the officer charged with enforcement to do so. A charge of Twenty-Five and no/100ths ($25.00) Dollars shall be paid if the nuisance is not abated prior to the date the City acquires jurisdiction to abate such nuisance.
(a)
Orders to abate. If objections have not been made, or after the Council has disposed of those made, the Council, by motion, may order the abatement of the nuisance by having the same removed.
(b)
Commencement of work. The work of abatement shall commence not sooner than five (5) days after the conclusion of the hearing.
The procedure provided in this article shall be cumulative and in addition to any other procedure provided in the laws of the City or by State laws for the abatement of any of the conditions described in this chapter, and abatement pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall not prejudice or affect any other action, civil or criminal, for the maintenance of any such condition.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or any other law, whenever any condition on, or use of, property causes or constitutes, or reasonably appears to cause or constitute, an imminent or immediate danger to the health or safety of the public or a significant portion thereof, any Enforcing Officer, or his authorized representative, shall have the authority to summarily and without notice abate the same. The expense of such abatement shall become a lien on the property and be collectible as provided in this chapter.
The City may use preventive chemicals for the abatement of weeds determined by the Weed Abatement Officer to be seasonal and recurrent nuisances on specified parcels of property.
In such cases, in addition to the requirements of Section 5-5-302 of this article, the notice shall state that noxious or dangerous weeds of a seasonal and recurrent nature are growing on or adjacent to the property and constitute a public nuisance, and the efficient and economical control of such nuisance requires preventive chemical control.
In the event the City is once required to abate such a nuisance, the City, before and during the next following germinating season of such weed, may use preventive chemical control of such weeds.
If such nuisance recurs on the same parcel within one calendar year, no further hearings need be held, and it shall be sufficient to mail postcard notices to abate to the owners of the property as their names and addresses appear on the current assessment roll.
The Weed Abatement Officer shall solicit bids from persons to abate the nuisances and shall keep a record of all such bids for a period of six (6) months after the confirmation of the assessments by the Council. Verbal bids may be accepted by the Weed Abatement Officer for all abatement work less than Three Hundred and no/100ths ($300.00) Dollars. Written and signed bids shall be received for abatement work in excess of Three Hundred and no/100ths ($300.00) Dollars. Bids may be submitted for the total cost of the work to be performed or on an hourly rate basis with an estimated total number of hours required for labor, equipment, materials, and a fixed or flat set up charge.
Bids may be obtained separately for each abatement job or for a fixed period of time incorporating any number of abatement jobs. The Weed Abatement Officer shall award the job to the bidder. The award need not be made by the Weed Abatement Officer on the basis of the lowest bid submitted if the lowest bidder has not adequately performed to the satisfaction of the Weed Abatement Officer on previous abatement jobs.
The Weed Abatement Officer shall determine the method of bidding for each abatement.
Whenever a fire occurs on property within the City, and the owner or other responsible person of such premises has been previously notified in accordance with the provisions of Section 5-5-302 of this article to abate, and the fire is a result of, or has been aggravated by, such public nuisance, the owner or other responsible person shall pay to the City any and all costs associated with or incurred by the City by reason of such fire. The expense of such abatement shall become a lien on the property and shall be collected as provided in this chapter.
The City Nuisance Abatement Officer is authorized to arrest a person without a warrant if he or she has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a misdemeanor in his or her presence which is a violation of any of the following Turlock Municipal Code Sections: 4-8-501, 4-8-502, 5-5-201, 5-5-202, 5-5-501, 5-5-502, 5-5-505, 5-5-506 or 5-5-507. Said sections are provisions which the Nuisance Abatement Officer has a duty to enforce.