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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1224 Ord (Amending Chapter 22, Article IV, Section 22-113 of the City Code of the City of Stillwater regarding Collection of Waste Disposal Fees) City of Stillwater Washington County, Minnesota ORDINANCE NO. 1224 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND RENUMBERING CHAPTER 10, ARTICLE II, SECTION 10-94 TO CHAPTER 10, ARTICLE III, SECTION 10-150 OF THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF STILLWATER REGARDING ABATEMENTS OF PUBLIC NUISANCE The City Council of the City of Stillwater does ordain: SECTION 1 RENUMBERED AND AMENDMENT. Section 10-94 of the Stillwater City Code, is hereby renumbered to Article III Section 10-150 of the Stillwater Code, and amended as follows: ARTICLE III. ABATEMENT Sec. 10-150 Abatement Procedure. (a) Emergency abatement. Whenever the City is made aware of the existence of a public nuisance, the City will cause to be inspected the property on which it is alleged that such a public nuisance exists. Should the Enforcement Officer determine that a public nuisance exists and that the public health, safety or welfare may be in immediate danger, then emergency abatement procedures will be implemented and the City may cause the nuisance to be removed or abated. When emergency abatement is authorized, notice to the owner, agent or occupant of the property is not required. Following emergency abatement, the City will post a notice on the property describing the action taken to abate the nuisance. (b) Notice when emergency abatement is not required. If, after inspecting the property, the Enforcement Officer declares the existence of a public nuisance but the nature of the nuisance is not such as to require emergency abatement of the nuisance, the Enforcement Officer will serve a notice on the owner or responsible party, by regular mail, or by personal service, ordering the owner or responsible party to remove the public nuisance. The notice will contain the following information: (1) Description of the property upon which the nuisance is situated; (2) The nature of the nuisance to be abated; (3) State that in the event the owner or responsible party does not comply with the notice, the necessary work may be performed by the City; (4) State that if the owner or responsible party does not pay for the expense, the cost of the work will be assessed against the property; and (5) A compliance deadline. The notice will require that the public nuisance must be removed within 48 hours after the date of receipt of the notice unless another compliance deadline is stated. If the owner of the property or responsible party cannot be found, the notice will be posted on the property for a period of 48 hours, after which period the City may perform any necessary work. Notice by regular mail and notice by posting may be done simultaneously. (c) Disclosure of responsible party. Upon the request of the Enforcement Officer, an owner or responsible party shall disclose the name of any other owner or responsible party known including the person for whom he or she is acting, from whom he or she is leasing the property, to whom he or she is leasing the property, or with whom he or she has any conveyancing contract. (d) Access for inspection. An owner or responsible party shall, upon the request of the Enforcement Officer, provide the officer with access to all interior portions of any occupied or unoccupied building in order to permit the officer to make a complete inspection. The Enforcement Officer is authorized to enter in or upon any property or structure for the purpose of enforcing and ensuring compliance with the provisions of this section. (e) Abatement by City. If the public nuisance has not been removed or resolved by the compliance deadline, the City has the authority to enter upon the property and abate the public nuisance. In abating the nuisance, the City may go to whatever extent necessary to complete the abatement of the public nuisance, including obtaining a court order. The City may call upon any of the City departments or divisions for whatever assistance is deemed necessary or may by private contract cause the abatement of the public nuisance. If any material derived from the abatement is salvageable, and no notice of appeal is received by the City pursuant to this section, the City may sell the salvaged material at private or public sale with the proceeds from the sale going to the City's community development. (f) Abatement invoice. If the City performs the work pursuant to this section, the City will maintain a record showing the cost of the work attributable to each separate lot and parcel, including administrative costs. Abatement costs shall include, but are not limited to, the cost of the abatement, the cost of investigation, such as title searches, inspection and testing, the cost of notification, filing costs and administrative costs, including an overhead charge of up to 25 percent for administrative costs. (g) Appeals. An owner or responsible party may appeal a compliance letter for an abatement action by following the procedures set forth in Chapter 2, Article VI, Division 2. Any personal property of value or salvageable property coming into possession of the City during the course of the abatement pursuant to this section will be stored by the City pending the outcome of the appeal. (h)Assessments. If an owner or responsible party fails to pay the total cost listed on the abatement invoice provided by the City under this section, the City may assess the abatement costs against the property pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 429.101 Subd. 1(3), as may be amended from time to time. SECTION 2 SAVING. In all other ways, the Stillwater City Code shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 3 SUMMARY PUBLICATION. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 412.191, in the case of a lengthy ordinance, a summary may be published. While a copy of the entire 2 ordinance is available, without cost, at the office of the City Clerk, the following summary is approved by the City Council and shall be published in lieu of publishing the entire ordinance: The text amendment and renumbering adopted by the Stillwater City Council on November 19, 2024 modifies and renumbers the City Ordinance to clarify that all abatements performed by the City may be specially assessed against the property pursuant to Minnesota State Statutes Section 429.101. SECTION 4 EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall be effective after its passage and publication according to law. Adopted by the City Council of the City of Stillwater this 19th day of November, 2024. CITY OF I LW R Ted Kozlowski, Mayor ATTTEEST:: c Beth Wolf, City CI 3