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IL <br />Bob Noble <br />Bob Helling <br />Bob Emmons <br />Jeff Hale <br />November 27; 1984 <br />Page Three <br />Note the changes to section 6.085 allow the City Council <br />to designate someone to hear any objection protesting the <br />determination that a nuisance exists. This will allow the <br />council to use a hearings officer to conduct a hearing and <br />review the written record and the recommendation of the hearings <br />officer. The City Council, however, must finally determine <br />if the nuisance in fact exists and if it does, adopt a resolution <br />(a) requiring its abatement and (b) in the event the property <br />owner fails to abate the nuisance, allowing the City Manager, <br />without further action of the Council, to cause the nuisance <br />to be abated. After the nuisance is abated, the costs of the <br />abatement are reported to the Council and it adopts another <br />resolution under section 6.100 creating the lien against the <br />property. <br />We added to subsection 6.090(2) clear authorization for <br />the City to act through contractors and allow them to enter <br />upon the property to do the abatement. <br />The revisions to section 6.100 clarify the procedure by <br />which liens are created when abatement is required. The changes <br />further establish that a lien maybe created upon property which <br />abuts a nuisance when the owner of the abutting property fails <br />to abate the nuisance that exists in the public way. <br />The change to section 6.105 clarifies the person charged <br />with the duty to abate the nuisance as defined in the revisions <br />to section 6.005. <br />Section 6.110 is the section of the code which the staff <br />would use when summarily abating a nuisance which constitutes <br />an imminent danger to human life, health or property. This <br />would allow the City to do the work and then notify the person <br />responsible that (s)he must pay for the work or have its cost <br />become a lien on her /his property. When using this section <br />of the code, it must be unmistakably clear that the nuisance <br />does imminently endanger human life, health or property. <br />Administrative procedures should be established to make sure <br />the facts support the action to be taken by the staff. We <br />recommend the crew's supervisor be called to inspect the <br />condition and contact our office to discuss the facts before <br />proceeding if there is the least bit of doubt. <br />In the event the City does the work and then it is <br />determined that the nuisance should not have been summarily <br />abated, the City will bear the cost of the abatement. It will <br />not be able to charge the person responsible or create a lien <br />upon the appropriate property. <br />