Monday, March 05, 2012
 
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Draft of changes to city ordinances as presented by John Lebegue

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[March 05, 2012]  This week the Lincoln City Council is expected to vote on whether or not to proceed with making changes to city ordinances regarding abandoned buildings. The changes would take place in the Nuisance, Abatement of Nuisance, Defined Terms and Abatement of Dangerous Buildings sections of the city code.

The city building and safety officer, John Lebegue, is asking for changes as follows:

(Copy)

7-2-1. Enumeration of Nuisances

Amend Section 7-2-1 by adding: (P) Any building or structure which is unsafe, dilapidated, vacant, abandoned, boarded-1.1p or damaged by fire to the extent as not to provide shelter. It is the policy of the City of Lincoln, that the boarding of a building or structure is a temporary solution to prevent unauthorized entry into a vacant building. A vacant building may not remain boarded longer than six (6) months unless an extension of that time is part of a plan approved by the Building and Safety Official. The term abandoned building as used in this Article includes any building or structure, whether completed or not, which has not been occupied for a continuous period of a year and fails to comply with all applicable building, housing, electrical, fire, and plumbing codes.

Amend Section 7-2-1 by adding: (Q) Any building or structure determined under any law or ordinance to be unfit for human habitation whether by unsanitary conditions or from which the required plumbing, heating and lighting facilities have been removed, or from which utilities, i.e. water, gas, electric, have been disconnected, destroyed, removed or rendered ineffective.

Amend Section 7-2-1 by adding: (R) Any condition or use of premises or building exteriors which is detrimental to the property of others or which causes or tends to cause substantial diminution in the value of other property in the neighborhood in which such premises are located. The City further finds that vacant and abandoned buildings are unsightly, unsafe and create a hazard for the neighborhood and citizens and have a negative effect on the community.

Amend Section 7-2-1, (L), (2) Refuse by adding the following new language: to include furniture, mattress and box spring, inoperable household appliances, discarded automobile and mechanical parts, cans, containers or building materials, such as lumber, windows, doors, cement blocks, bricks, broken concrete, piping and wiring.

Amend Section 7-2-1, (L) by adding #5: Furniture located outside that is not designed or modified to withstand the elements and outdoor use.

Section 7-2-4. Abatement of Nuisance

Amend Section 7-2-4 by adding: (D) Abatement of Nuisance through Circuit Court Proceedings: If such person, after being served with notice as provided in the foregoing subsection, shall not within the time specified in the notice abate such nuisance, the City shall employ one or more of the following Circuit Court remedies:

1.) Prosecute any person violating this article to obtain a conviction and assessment of a penalty.

2.) Obtain a court order directing the defendant or defendants to abate the nuisance under such conditions and circumstances as the court may direct.

3.) Commence proceedings in court seeking a personal judgment from the owner of such property where the nuisance was abated or removed at the expense of the City.

Section 4-9-1. Defined Term (Dangerous Buildings)

Amend Section 4-9-1 by adding:

(E) Any building or structure in a state of dilapidation or decay, vacant, abandoned, boarded for a period of time in excess of six (6) months and damaged by fire to the extent as not to provide shelter.

(F) Any building or structure determined under any law or ordinance to be unfit for human habitation whether by unsanitary conditions or from which the required plumbing, heating and lighting facilities have been removed, or from which utilities, i.e. water, gas, electric, have been disconnected, destroyed, removed or rendered ineffective.

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Section 4-9-2. Abatement of Dangerous Buildings: Amend Section 4-9-2 by adding the following language:

Administrative fee for owning and maintaining a dangerous building:

a.) Any person who owns a structure deemed a dangerous building under this code and who fails to bring the structure into compliance with this code within one year of the order to abate shall be assessed a fee of $500.00.

b.) If the same property in paragraph (a) is not in compliance with this code within 18 months of the order to abate, the owner shall be fined an additional $750.00 for the second year and $2,000.00 for each additional year thereafter in which that structure is not in compliance with this code.

c.) If the same structure in paragraph (a) is not in compliance with this code within 2 years of the order to abate, the owner shall be fined as additional $2,000.00 for the second year and $2,000.00 for each additional year thereafter in which that structure is not in compliance with this code.

d.) Any person who already owns a structure deemed a dangerous building under this code and who has a second structure deemed a dangerous building shall be assessed an additional $2,000.00 for each year the second structure remains on the dangerous building list. The fine shall be $2,000.00 per year even if the first structure is taken off the dangerous building list.

e.) Any person who owns 2 structures deemed dangerous buildings under this code and who has a third or more structures deemed dangerous buildings shall be assessed a fine of$5,000.00 per structure for every year they remain on the dangerous building list list. The fine shall be $5,000.00 per structure per year even if the first and second structures are removed from the dangerous building list.

The administrative fees authorized by this section shall be a lien on any real estate owned by such person. In addition to filing a lien upon such real estate, the City shall have authority to collect such fee by filing a personal collection action against the owner in court.

[Text from John Lebegue, building and safety office, city of Lincoln]

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