A.
Upon the determination by the enforcing officer that
a property is not in compliance with this chapter, the officer shall give
notice to the property owner that the property owner has five days to bring
the property into compliance with the chapter if such abatement is determined
by the enforcing officer to be possible.
B.
Notice to the property owner of noncompliance and for
abatement shall be in writing and shall comply with the requirements of notice
under this section.
C.
Notice requirements.
(1)
The enforcing officer shall give written notice in accordance
with this section to the occupier of the premises on which a nuisance arises
or exists. Should the occupier of such premises be a person, firm, corporation
or entity other than the owner, then said notice shall be given to both the
owner and occupier. Should the premises be unoccupied and the owner cannot
be found, notice shall be posted on the property where the nuisance exists.
(2)
Notice shall contain the following:
(a)
A brief description of the property containing the nuisance;
(b)
The nature of the nuisance for which action is required
and the action required to abate such nuisance;
(c)
A statement requiring abatement of said nuisance within
the time specified in the notice, but in no event more than five days;
(d)
Notification to the property owner that failure to abate
within the five days will allow the enforcing officer to undertake the work
of bringing the property into compliance and assess the property owner for
the cost of the work, including, but not limited to, the cost of all material
and labor and any applicable penalties. Notice must also be given that such
amount will result in a lien being placed against the affected property, which
shall be collected in the same manner as the Town taxes on such real property;
(e)
Certification of the enforcing officer attesting to the
truth of the matters set forth.
(3)
Such notice shall be deemed to be properly served if
a copy thereof is:
(a)
Hand-delivered to the person to be notified;
(b)
Left at the usual residence or place of business of the
person to be notified with the person or his agent;
(c)
Deposited in the United States Post Office, postage prepaid,
addressed to the owner at his/her last known address as recorded in the real
estate assessment records of the Town of Princess Anne and by posting a copy
of the notice in a conspicuous place on the property; or, as a last resort.
(d)
Posted in a conspicuous place on the property in the
presence of a witness and photographed by authorized personnel.
(4)
Any individual so served with notice may request a hearing
before the Town Manager. Any such hearing request shall be made, in writing,
to the Town Manager within the five-day time period and shall state, with
particularity, any explanation for the nuisance or any defenses intended to
be raised. Such hearing shall be held within 10 days after the request is
received. Until the hearing is completed, the enforcing officer may not undertake
to do the work of bringing the property into compliance or assess such charges
against the property owners.
If the property owner fails to bring the property into compliance within the five-day period as set forth in § 115-11 after the notice is issued, the enforcing officer may, after the five-day period:
The costs of any work performed by the enforcing officer to bring a
property into compliance with this chapter, along with any reasonable administrative
costs, shall become a lien on that real property and shall be considered and
collected in the same way as annual property taxes unless paid in full by
the property owner within 30 days after the same is billed by the Town Treasurer.
Said lien shall draw interest from and after such 30 days at the same rate
that applies to real estate taxes.
