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V Medlin/Long/Snyder November 28, 2000 Page 3 We note that,in cases where the City must abate the nuisance itself, the City can charge the property owner the total costs of abatement, including administrative overhead. EC 6.100(1)(a). If seeking to inspect property to determine compliance with an abatement order,or to enter property to abate a nuisance, the City can offer an incentive for the owner to consent to entry by informing him or her that the City will otherwise obtain a warrant and charge the person for the necessary staff time, including attorneys fees. 5. Can the City require persons or businesses to consent to future searches of their premises as a condition of granting a permit or license? No, except in the case of closely-regulated industries' where licensure is conditioned on consent to a routine search governed by clear statutory authorization. As a fundamental principle, a government may not grant a benefit on the condition that the beneficiary surrender a constitutional right. Generally,it is unconstitutional to condition licensure on the waiver of the right to be free from unreasonable searches. The validity of a conditional waiver depends upon the facts of each particular case, and a court will look to see whether the search is reasonable in the context of the warrant exception for administrative searches of closely-regulated businesses. A license to conduct certain types of closely-regulated business may be conditioned upon consent to a routine administrative search where a statutory inspection program provides a constitutionally adequate substitute for a warrant. Oregon courts have recognized that an inspection program can substitute for a warrant when it is: 1) regularly applied; 2) carried out pursuant to a properly authorized administrative program; and 3) designed and systematically administered to control the discretion of non-supervisory officers. Nelson v.Lane County,304 Or 97(1987). When a person chooses to engage in a closely-regulated industry, and accepts a license conditioned upon consent to a warrantless intrusion, that persons waives his right with full knowledge of the restrictions on privacy. Because this is a narrow exception to the warrant requirement, we recommend that you consult with our office about the specific circumstances of a proposed search that relies on this exception. provides the probable cause for the issuance of the warrant. For example,ASWs are generally issued in drug or child pornography cases where contraband is intercepted by postal authorities,and police then obtain a warrant that states that when the contraband is delivered to the addressee,the warrant becomes effective. Hypothetically,in the context of a nuisance abatement,a court might issue a warrant on the condition that the warrant would be activated if a city official seeks to enter the property on the 11'h day after the abatement notice is posted and the owner does not consent to an inspection,or in a case where there is a protest,on the 11 Ph day after the hearings official's determination. See EC 6.085. In either case,the ten-day time for self-abatement has elapsed,and the court might find that refusal to consent to inspection under those circumstances was probable cause that there had been no compliance. 4Liquor distilleries,pawnshops,food processors,and mortuaries are various examples of of closely-regulated industries or businesses.