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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 1568ORDINANCE NO.1568 BEING AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 1490, CITY CODE OF 2005 RELATING TO REPEAT NUISANCE CALL SERVICE FEE Chapter 8 of the Columbia Heights City Code will be amended to include the following: ARTICLE VIII: REPEAT NUISANCE CALL SERVICE FEE Section 8.801 Purpose 8.802 Scope and application 8.803 Definitions 8.804 Repeat nuisance service call fee 8.805 Notice 8.806 Right to appeal 8.807 Legal remedies nonexclusive 8.808 Applicability of repeat nuisance service call fee 8.809 Recovery of fee § 8.801 PURPOSE. The purpose of this section is to protect the public safety, health and welfare and to prevent and abate repeat service response calls by the City to the same property or location for nuisance service calls, as defined herein, which prevent police or public safety services to other residents of the City. It is the intent of the City by the adoption of this Section to impose and collect service call fees from the owner or occupant, or both, of property to which City officials must repeatedly respond for any repeat nuisance event or activity that generates extraordinary costs to the City. The repeat nuisance service call fee is intended to cover that cost over and above the cost of providing normal law or code enforcement services and police protection city- wide. § 8.802 SCOPE AND APPLICATION. This Section applies to all owners and occupants of private property which is the subject or location of the repeat nuisance service call by the City. This Section applies to any repeat nuisance service calls made by a City of Columbia Heights peace officer, part-time peace officer, community service officer, animal control and/or code enforcement officers. § 8.803 DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Section, the term "nuisance misconduct" means any activity, conduct, or condition occurring upon private property within the City that unreasonably annoys, injures, or endangers the safety, health, morals, comfort or repose of any member of the public; or will, or tend to, alarm, anger or disturb others or provoke breach of the peace, to which the City is required to respond, including, but not limited to the following: (A) Any activity, conduct, or condition deemed as a public nuisance under any provision of the City Code; (B) Any activity, conduct, or condition in violation of Minnesota State Statute 609.33; (C) Any conduct, activity or condition constituting a violation of any Minnesota state law prohibiting or regulating prostitution, gambling, controlled substances, use of firearms; and/or (D) Any conduct, activity, or condition constituting disorderly conduct under Chapter 609 of Minnesota Statutes. § 8.804 REPEAT NUISANCE SERVICE CALL FEE. (A) The City may impose a repeat nuisance service call fee upon the owner and/or occupant of a private property if the City has rendered services or responded to the property on three or more occasions within a period of 365 days in response to or for the abatement of nuisance conduct. (B) The repeat nuisance service call fee will be set forth in a resolution approved by the City Council. An additional amount may be imposed to reflect the salaries of police officers, community service officers, animal control and/or code enforcement officers while responding to or remaining at the nuisance event, the pro rata cost of equipment, the cost of repairing city equipment and property damaged as a result of the nuisance call, and the cost of any medical treatment of injured officers. (C) A repeat nuisance service call fee imposed under this Section will be deemed delinquent if it is not paid within 30 days after the City mails the billing statement for the fee. The City will add a ten percent late penalty to a delinquent payment. § 8.805 NOTICE. (A) No repeat nuisance service call fee may be imposed against an owner or occupant of property without first providing the owner or occupant with written notice of the two previous nuisance service calls which are the basis for the fee. The written notice must: (1) Identify the nuisance conduct that previously occurred on the property, and the dates of the previous nuisance conduct; and 2 (2) State that the owner or occupant may be subject to a nuisance call service fee if a third nuisance service call is rendered to the property for any further nuisance conduct; and (3) State that the City has the right to seek other legal remedies or actions for abatement of the nuisance or compliance with the law; and (4) Be served personally; by U.S. Mail upon the owner or occupant at the last known. address; or by posting the subject property. § 8.806 RIGHT TO APPEAL. (A) When the City mails the billing statement for the repeat nuisance service call fee, the City will inform the owner or occupant of their right to request a hearing. (B) The owner or occupant upon whom the fee is imposed must request a hearing within ten (10) business days of the mailing of the billing statement, excluding the day the statement is mailed. The request for a hearing must be in writing and delivered to the City Clerk. The hearing will occur within thirty (30) days of the date of the request. If the owner or occupant fails to request a hearing within the time and in the manner required under this Section, the right to a hearing is waived. (C) The hearing will be conducted by the City Council in an informal manner. The Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure and Rules of Evidence will not be strictly applied. After considering all evidence submitted, the City Council will make written Findings of Fact and Conclusions regarding the nuisance conduct and the imposition of the repeat nuisance service fee. The City Council will serve the Findings of Fact and Conclusions upon the owner or occupant by U.S. Mail within ten (10) days of the hearing. (D) If the owner or occupant fails to appear at the scheduled hearing date, the right to a hearing is waived. (E) Upon waiver of the right to a hearing under subdivision (2) or (4) or upon. service of the City Council's Findings of Fact and Conclusions that the repeat nuisance call service fee is warranted, the owner or occupant must pay the fee imposed within ten (10) days. § 8.807 LEGAL REMEDIES NONEXCLUSIVE. Nothing in this Section will be construed to limit the City's other available legal remedies, including criminal, civil, injunctive or others, for any violation of the law. § 8.808 APPLICABIILTY OF REPEAT NUISANCE SERVICE CALL FEE. The City may not impose a repeat nuisance service call fee against an owner or occupant for a police response relating to emergency assistance, including, but not limited to, domestic spousal and child abuse. 3 § 8.809 RECOVERY OF FEE. (A) If a repeat nuisance service call fee remains unpaid thirty (30) days after the billing statement is sent by the City, it shall constitute: (1) a lien on the real property where the violation occurred; or (2) a personal obligation of the owner or occupant in all other situations. (B) A lien may be assessed against the property and collected in the same manner as taxes. (C) A personal obligation may be collected by appropriate legal means. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after 30 days after its passage. First Reading: August 10, 2009 Second Reading: August 24, 2009 Date of Passage: August 24, 2009 Offered by: Kelzenberg Seconded by; Williams Roll Call: Ayes: Peterson, Williams, Nawrocki, Diehm, Kelzenberg f~ ~ Mayor Gary Peterson Attest: atricia Muscovitz, CMC City Clerk '~ 4