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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 Ordinance No. 001• • • ORDINANCE NO . _l_ SERIES OF 2006 /2007 BY AUTHORITY COUNCn.Bn.LNO. 51 INTRODUCEDBYCOUNCn. MEMBER OAKLEY AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE l '>, CHAPTER 3, OF THE ENGLEWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE 2000, PERTAINING TO GRAFFlTI . WHEREAS , the City Council of the City of Englewood, Colorado wishes to streamline the abatement process by reducing times that are impossible and impracticable concerning graffiti; and . WHEREAS , the Englewood City Council finds that graffiti has a detrimental affec t not only to the owner of the property but to the community; and WHEREAS, the abatement of graffiti will help the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Englewood; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAll''.":D BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CIT'' "l F ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, AS FOLLOWS : ~l. The City Council of the City of Englewood hereby approves amending Title 15, Chapter 3, of the Englewood Municipal Code 2000, to read as follows : 15 -3: ADMINISTRATIVE ABATEMENT OF NUISANCES l!l-3-1: The City Manager's Power to Abate a Nuisance in Case of an Emergency. The City Manager is hereby authorized to immediately abate or ,,njoin any nui sance existing in the Cily without following the procedures of this Chapter in the case of an emergency," ·,,,ther or not such nuisance is specifically rcc~gnimi by this Title. 15-3-2: Administrative Abatement Procedure In Non-Emergency Situations. If, after inspecting the property on which a nuisance is r:ported, the enforcement persoMel who are charged or designated by the City Manager with investigating nuisances declare the existence of a nuisance, the follo\ling procedures shall be followed . A. Photographs and/or videotapes and.le, written reports and findings shall be generated . B. The responsible party or parties shall be detem .ined . -1- 11 b I C. 1J!ilhift lh1 linl •• 111 Pl dlye eflh• di11e -, efa Roi-a ■ tihe Code Enforcement Officer(•) shall have the discretion to infonnally abate the nuisance by speaking with the responsible party, In the event that the infonnal proceedinp fail to abate the nuisance within the seven (7) days or Jhw 13) days io the GIIC pf mffiti the Code Enforcement Officer may, at his/her discretion, issue a summons and complaint to the responsible party or shall issue a notice punuant to E.M.C. 15-3-2(D). D. If the nuisance bas not been abated by the infonnal process or a summons and complaint has not been issued at the conclusion of the seven (7) days~ days jg the GAK pf mffiti set forth in E.M .C. 1 S-3-2(C), a written notice in essentially the form set forth in E.M .C. 15-3-3 of this Chapter shall be served upon the responsible paity by personal service or by leaving a copy of the notice at the usual place of residence or business of such owner, responsible party shown by the records contained in the County Clerk and Recorder's Office or in the co •mty tax Assessors Office, or by mailing a copy of the wrinen notice to such ,'CSponsible party at such place or address by United States Mail, certified return receipt. If service of such written notice is w1able to be perfected by any methods described above, the enforcement personnel shall cause a copy of the notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City, once a week for two consecutive weeks, or by posting the notice on the property. E. The notice shall state clearly and concisely the findings of the enforcement personnel with respect to the existence of the nuisance, and the section of the City ordirlBOce{s) that have been violated. F. The notice shall also state that unless the responsible party shall cause the abatement of the nuisance pursuant to the notice and this Code, the City may abate the nuisance at the expense of the responsible party or may issue a criminal summons and complaint or bo:h. 15-3-3: Nodcc Form , The following notice shall be used by all departments empowered with the abatement of any and all nuisances of this Title . NOTICE Notice is hereby given that there exists upon this property the follo,ving condition(s) or violation(s) which give rise to a nuisai,ce punuant to the following section(s) of the Englewood Municipal Code : You have fourteen (14) days or three 13) daYf jg the cye ofmffitj in which to abate the above described nuisanr,e(s). In the event that you do not abate the ouisance(s) within the fourteen (14) days orthree 13) days jg the c13e of mffigj the t::ity of Englewood may, at -2- • • • • • its option, abate the nuisance at your expense, or in the alternati ve issue a summons and complaint or both, directing that you appear in the Municipal Coun for the City of Englewood, to answer to the charges as set fonh above . In the event that you do not believe that there exists upon this propeny the nuisancc(s) as set fonh upon this notice, you have the right to appeal this notice and to request an administnllive hearing by making a written demand to the City for a heanng within seven (7) days of the posting or receipt of this notice or three (3) davs in tbs case of Graffiti · Such written demand shall be made to the Clerk of the Englewood Municipal Coun, on the form provided by said Clerk . IS-3-4: Responsible Porty Abatement. Within founeen (14) days or three m dav.i.i,J!he case of graffiti after the date of posting or the date of maili11g of the notice and orders . , abate the nuisance, the res pons ible pany of the affected propeny shall remove and abate such nuisance . IS-3-S: Admlnlstr-ative Appeal Procedures. The re sponsible pany who has been served with a notice pursuant to this Chapter may, \\'i thin seven (7) calendar days after receipt of the notice or tbrss (3) days in the case of IWliliJ,i, make a writ!en demand to the City for an administrative hearing on the question of wh ether a nuisa nce in fact exists on the subject propeny . A. The responsible pany mu st tile a written demand with the Clerk of the Englewood Municipal Coun on a fonn provid ed for such a hearing by the Clerk . B. An administrative hearing shall be held within seven (7) calendar davs following receipt by the City of the written demand and at least two (2) days I v,ice of the hearing shall be given to the person who made the written demand for the hearing. C. The administrative hearing shall be conducted by a Hearing Officer who shall be designated by the City Manager. The sole issue before the Hearing Officer shall be whether the condition(s) described in the notic e constitutes a nui sance . If the Hearing Officer finds that a nuisance exists , the Hearing Officer shall confinn the order that the nuisance be abated. If the Hearing Officer finds that no nuisance exists, the Hearing Officer has the •t1•.hority to vacate the notict . D. Failure of the responsible pany to request a hearing within th< •• 'Oft (7l ealoeda, 96Y6 stated tjme period. or failure 10 appear for ,he scheduled hearing , shall be deemed a waiver of the right 10 such hearing. E. The Hearing Officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal manner and shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. Such hearing shall bo tape-recorded . The responsible pany, if any, of the subject propeny shall be given the opponunity to present evidence during the course of the hearing. In addition, members of the public and the City enforcement pcrsoMel who originally determined that a nuisance existed on the subject proi,erty , shall also be given an opponunity to present evidence . -3- F. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall prepare a written decision that day. A copy of such dec ision shall be provided to the pcnon requesting the hearing and the enforceruent pcnoMel. G. The decision of the Hearing Officer is final. H. An appeal of the Hearing Officer's order, by either the responsible pany or the City, shall be made to a coun of competent jurisdiction. If the Hearing Officer confinns the abatement order, the date for abatement set fonh in the notice and ~rder shall apply wtless a stay is ordered by the coun, to which an appeal is made . 15-3-6: City Abatement Options . In the event that the nuisance is not abated within the founeen (14) days gr three {3\ days in the case pf graffiti set forth in the notice and if no appeal of the notice has been filed by the responsible pany with the City, the City may either abate the nuisan.ce at the expense of the responsible pany , or in the alternative elect to issue a criminal summons and comrlaint directing the responsible pany to appear in the Municipal Coun to answer to the alleged violation(s) of the City ordinance which gave rise to the nuisance or both . 15-3-7: Abatement Costs . In all cases where the City shall incur any expense for abating or removing any nuisance found upon any propeny, lot or premises, all expenses of such abatement plus an administrati on cost of twenty-fi ve percent (25%) may be charged against the real propert y and its owner. A.. Notice of costs. If the City incurs costs taking abatement action required by this Section, a statement shall be prepared for the entire cost pl us the twenty-five percent (25%) admini$trative costs , and shall be mailed by Cenified Mail , Return Receipt Requested, to the propeny owner with instructions that said costs for abatement shall be paid in full within tJ, :ny (30) days of said mailing date . The statement shall also inform the prop, .ty owner that failure to pay the costs for abatement within thiny (30) days sh.:. ce•ult in an additional penalty and an assessment being made against the propeny, lot or premises upon which the nu.isance existed or from which the nuisance emanated which shall constitute a lien to the benefit of the City pursuant to the provisions of this Title. B. Assessmer., of Costs . If the full amount of the cost statement regarding nuisance abatement is not paid within tbiny (30) days of the statement mailing date, the City Martager or bis designee shall assess the entire amount of the statement plus an additional twenty-five percent (25%) penalty against the specified real propeny. Aller assessment by the City Martager or his designee, a copy shall be sent to owner of record of the assessed propeny . The assessment shall contain a legal description of the propeny , the expenses and costs incurred the date that the abatement action occurred, and a notice that the City claima a lien for the stipulated amount. The City Manager or bis designee llhall cenify such assessment to the County Treuurer who shall collect such auessment in the same manner as ad valorem taxes are collected . -4- • • • • • • C. Lien Assessment. From the date of the assessing statement, all assessments shall constitute a perpetual lien apinst the specified real propeny and shall have priority over all liens exceptina aeneral tax liens and prior special assessments. No delays , mistalces, errors or irreaularities in any act or proceeding authorized herein shall prejudice or invalidate any final assessment; but the same may be remedied by the City Manager or his designee, as the case may require, upon application made by the property owner or other interes1ed ptrsan. When so remedied, the same shall take effect as of the date of the original assessment. D. Other Remedies. Any unpaid charge plus the costs and assessments not resulting from action by the Englewood Municipal Court shall cons1itute a debt due the City. The City Attorney shall, at the direction of the City Council , institule civil suit in the name of the City to recover such charges, costs and assessments . These remedies shall be cumulative with all other remedies , including prosecution in Municipal Court for each violation of this Chapter pursuant to the provisions and penalties established by E.M.C . 1- 4-1. ~-Safety Clauses. The City Council hereby finds, de1ermines, and declares thst this Ord inance is promulgated under the general police power oflhe City of Englewood, that it is promulga1ed for the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and that this Ordinance is necessary for the preservation of health and safety and for the protection of public convenience and welfare. The City Council further determines that the Ordinance bears a rational relation to the proper legislative object sought to be obtained . ~ Sevcrabjljty If any clause, senlence, paragraph, or part of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall for any reason be adjudged by a court of r,ompetent jurisdiction invalid, such judgment shall not affect , impair or invalidate the remainder of this Ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances. ~ lnconsjsicnt Ordjnances. All other Ordinances or portions thereof inconsistent or conflicting with this Ordinance or any portion hereof are hereby repealed to the extent of such inco nsistency or conflict ~ Effect of renal or modjficatjon. The repeal or modification of any provision of the Code of the City of Englewood by this Ordinance shall not release, extinguish, alter, modify, or change in whole or in part any penalty, forfeiture, or liability, either civil or criminal, which shall have been incurred under such provision, and each provision shall be treated and held as still remaining in force for the purposes of sustaining any and all proper actions, suits, proceedings, and prosecutions for the enforcement of the penalty, forfeiture, or liability, as well as for the purpose of sustaining any . .llgrnent, decree, or order which can or may be rendered, entered, or made in such actions, suits , proceedinl'S, or prosecutions . -5- ~ l'.maln:. The Penalty Provision of Section 1-4-1 EMC shall apply to each and every violation of this Ordinance. Introduced, read in full, and passed on first reading on the 18th day of December, 2006 . Published as a Bill for an Ordinance on the 22nd day ofDecember, 2006 . Read by title and passed on final reading on the 8th day of Janunry, 2007. Published by title as Ordinauce No . L Series of 2006/2007, on the 12th da) of January, 2007 . I, Loucrishia A. Ellis, City Clerk of the City of Englewood, Colorado , hereby cenify that the above and foregoing is a true copy of the Ordinance s ed on final reading and published by title as Ordinance No . _J_, Series of2006/2 -6- • • •