Sec. 672.01. - Statement of Legislative Intent; Declaration of Public Nuisance.

In addition to the burden placed on the City's limited police and fire and rescue resources, public nuisance properties present health, safety and quality of life concerns and exist when the persons responsible for such properties fail to take corrective actions to abate nuisance activities or a nuisance condition. Public nuisance properties have a significant adverse effect on the quality of life, safety and health of the neighborhoods where they are located. Public nuisance properties are a financial and operational burden on the City by generating repeated calls for service to the properties. Public nuisance properties adversely affect the value of adjacent properties. The Public Nuisance Abatement Board is created to address and reduce nuisance activities and/or nuisance conditions that disrupt quality of life and repeatedly occur or exist at properties. Pursuant to the City's police powers, public nuisance properties are hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance and are subject to enforcement and abatement as described herein. The nuisance abatement process hereinafter set forth may be used by the City in conjunction with any and all legal actions available to the City. It is the City's intent: 1. To identify public nuisance activities and public nuisance conditions. 2. To hold accountable those persons responsible for such nuisance activities and/or conditions on the property. 3. To assist victims of crime and penalize those who commit crimes or those who permit conditions to exist that give rise to crime or excessive calls for service to the Sheriff and JFRD. 4. To establish rules, procedures, and penalties to address property owners that have public nuisance issues and fail to take corrective measures. 5. To work in partnership with the owners to address the negative results caused by public nuisance activities and/or conditions and to improve the vitality of neighborhoods by addressing excessive calls for service to the Sheriff and JFRD. 6. To encourage owners and operators to cooperate by classifying calls for service made by the owners or operators which demonstrate their good-faith commitment to abate nuisance activities and/or conditions on their property such that the self-reported actions will not be included as nuisance activity responses. 7. To establish a means for the City to abate public nuisance properties in the event the owner is unwilling or unable to correct such conditions in a timely manner. 8. To establish the cost of City response and enforcement services to the property owners identified as owning public nuisance properties and enable the City to recoup such costs. (Ord. 2021-83-E , § 2)