§ 26-55. Blight.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any party in possession of, or a party in interest with respect to, property, either or both, to store or accumulate or allow to be stored or accumulated on any real property, improved or vacant, in the city, any abandoned, decayed, or deteriorating buildings, mobile homes, stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, plumbing fixtures, building materials, other appliances not heretofore described herein, glass, rubbish, trash or garbage or similar items which would create a place for vermin and insects to grow, breed, and abide. It shall also be unlawful for any party in possession of, or a party in interest with respect to, property, either or both, to park, store, leave or permit the parking, storing or leaving of any inoperable or junked motor vehicle or other motorized vehicle of any kind, as defined below, upon any private property within any residential or commercial zoning district for a period of time in excess of 14 days except as provided herein. It shall be the duty and responsibility of every party in possession of property and party in interest with respect to property to keep the property clean and free of such items described herein and to remove all such items from the real property, upon notice from the director of community improvement or his designee.

Inoperable motor vehicle means any motor vehicle, as defined herein, which is incapable of being moved under its own power without additional work or repairs being completed to the motor vehicle, or without any additional components being added to or placed upon said motor vehicle.

Junked motor vehicle is any motor vehicle, as defined herein, which does not have lawfully affixed thereto both an unexpired license plate and a current license decal, or the condition of such motor vehicle is in a state of disrepair, wrecked, dismantled, abandoned, discarded, deteriorating or partially dismantled. The absence of a current car tag, decal and valid insurance as required by state law from any vehicle shall be presumptive evidence that such vehicle is a junked motor vehicle.

(b)

This section establishes procedures for abating inoperable or junked motor vehicles.

(1)

The presence of an inoperable or junked motor vehicle, or parts thereof, on private property is hereby declared a public nuisance which may be abated in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2)

Those motor vehicles which are exempted from the provisions of this article are as follows:

a.

Any motor vehicle or parts thereof which are located on the premises of licensed automobile dealers or licensed automobile repair shops;

b.

Any motor vehicle or parts thereof which are located on the premises of any licensed junkyard operated in compliance with state and local laws relating to licensing, regulating and zoning of such junkyards;

c.

Any motor vehicle enclosed within a building on private property which is not a hazard to public health;

d.

Any motor vehicle in operable condition specifically adapted or designed for operation on drag strips or raceways; and

e.

Any motor vehicle in the process of being restored to an operable condition provided they are:

1.

Limited to no more than one in number on private property in a residential zoning district;

2.

Located in the rear yard and behind the house of the owner of such vehicle; and

3.

Not visible from any street or road.

(c)

The director of community improvement or his designee is hereby designated as the public officer to exercise the powers described by this section.

(d)

In the event of a violation of this section, the party in possession or party in interest shall be given notice to abate such nuisance described in subsection (a) of this section within 15 days. Such notice shall be served by mailing a copy of the notice by certified mail or registered mail, by personally serving a copy of the notice, or service by any other reliable carrier. Said notice shall contain a description of the location of the property upon which the nuisance exists and a description of the violation. If after a diligent search, the responsible party cannot be located, then the notice may be posted on the property and at such other public places in the city as the building and code manager, or his designee, may determine. If the nuisance is an inoperable or junked motor vehicle, as defined above, the notice shall also set forth that, upon failure to remove, properly store, house, or otherwise dispose of such vehicle, it will be removed by the city, sold or disposed of by the city and any proceeds arising from the sale thereof will be applied first to payment of expenses incurred in connection with the removal and sale of such vehicle and the remaining balance, if any, paid to the owner thereof.

(e)

Upon violation of any provision of this section, the director of community improvement, or his designee, shall be authorized, after notice is given as provided in subsection (d) and the failure of party in possession or party in interest to abate said nuisance within 15 days of notice being given, to petition the municipal court to declare the existence of such nuisance and to order its abatement. Notice of the hearing and a copy of the petition shall be served on the party in possession or party in interest by mailing a copy of the notice and petition by certified mail or registered mail or by personally serving a copy of the notice and petition. If the nuisance, as adjudged by the municipal court, is not abated as ordered by the municipal court, the municipal court is authorized to issue a written order to allow the city to enter upon private property and to seize and remove any property, or inoperable or junked vehicle declared to be a nuisance from the property in question. The municipal court is also authorized to order that any inoperable or junked vehicle be sold as provided in this section. The cost to the city for abatement shall be charged to parties adjudged responsible by the municipal court for such nuisance abatement. If the owner of the real property affected has been adjudged responsible for nuisance abatement, and the charges remain unpaid for a period of 30 days after payment is due, the city manager or his designee, shall cause an execution to be issued against the owner of the property for those charges. The execution shall be a lien on the property, and when recorded in the general execution docket of the county in which the property is located, shall be a lien on all property of the defendant in execution from the date of the recording.

If the municipal court authorizes the sale of the seized inoperable or junked vehicle, the advertisement shall be published one a week for three consecutive weeks in the newspaper in which official city notices are published and shall describe and identify the vehicle to be sold, the fact that it was impounded by the city as an inoperable or junked motor vehicle and will be sold at the place where stored to the highest bidder for cash on a date certain more than ten days after the publication of the last notice unless the vehicle shall have been claimed by the owner and all costs incurred in connection with the removal, storage and advertisement thereof are paid prior thereto. Should the sale for any reason be declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the city's liability shall be limited to the return of the purchase price.

(f)

Garden flowers and vegetables, cultivated agricultural crops, ornamental shrubbery and trees shall not be considered to be a violation of this section.

(g)

Any party in possession of property and/or party in interest may appeal the notice of abatement within 15 days of receipt of notice or posting, whichever is applicable, by filing written notice of appeal to the city clerk within 15 days of the receipt of the notice or the posting of notice, whichever applies, and shall state the grounds for such appeal. At such hearing, the city clerk shall give the building and code manager and the party in possession or party in interest the opportunity to present evidence and argument concerning the appeal. After considering the evidence and argument, the city clerk shall render a decision. The decision of the city clerk shall be the final decision of the city. Any party dissatisfied with the decision of the city clerk may appeal said decision to the superior court of the county, within 30 days of the decision by the city clerk.

(h)

Upon failure of the party in possession of property and/or the party in interest to with respect to property appeal the notice of abatement in accordance with the terms of this section, or after the final determination of any appeal of the notice of abatement and upon the failure of the responsible party to comply, the city, through its agents, employees and designees, shall be authorized to enter upon the property and to abate the nuisance, and a record shall be kept of the cost of abating such nuisance. Such cost shall be billed to the owner of said property and upon the owner's nonpayment of such costs for a period of 30 days after the billing thereof, it shall be the duty of the city clerk to issue an execution for such costs of the abatement in the form authorized by law, against said owner, which execution shall be delivered over to the city manager or his designee to be executed by such legal officer for the purpose of satisfying the amount of the same and such additional legal costs as may accrue on the same.

(i)

The city may enforce the collection of any amount due on such lien for removal or demolition of dwellings, buildings or structures in the following manner:

(1)

The owner or parties at interest shall be allowed to satisfy the amount due on such lien by paying to the city, within 30 days after the perfection of said lien, a sum of money equal to 25 percent of the total amount due and by further paying to the city the remaining balance due on such lien, together with interest at the rate of seven percent per annum, in three equal annual payments, each of which shall become due and payable on the anniversary date of the initial payment made as hereinabove prescribed;

(2)

Should the property upon which such lien is perfected be sold, transferred, or conveyed by the owner or parties at interest at any time prior to the termination of the said three-year period, then the entire balance due on such lien shall be due and payable to the city; and

(3)

Should the amount due on such lien, or any portion thereof, be unpaid after the passage of said three-year period, or upon the occurrence of the contingency provided for in subsection (h)(2) of this section, the city may enforce the collection of any amount due on such lien for alteration, repair, removal, or demolition of dwellings, buildings, or structures in the same manner as provided in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-358 and other applicable state statutes. This procedure shall be subject to the right of redemption by any person having any right, title, or interest in or lien upon said property, all as provided by O.C.G.A. § 48-4-40 et seq.

As used in this subsection, the term "party in interest" means persons in possession of said property and all individuals, associations, and corporations who have interest of record in the city where the property is located in a dwelling, building, or structure, or cover real property including executors, administrators, guardians and trustees.

(j)

Penalty for violation. Any person violating the provisions of this section or failing to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof, shall, upon conviction in the municipal court, be punished in accordance with section 1-9. Any such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of this section is committed and continued.

(Code 1977, § 15-31; Ord. No. 90-24, § 3, 8-21-1990; Ord. No. 00-23, 9-5-2000; Ord. No. 07-09, § 1, 7-17-2007; Ord. No. 09-05, § 1, 9-15-2009; Ord. No 14-22, § 1, 10-7-2014; Ord. No. O17-24 , 11-7-2017)

Editor's note

See O.C.G.A. § 9-10-12(a), which states that whenever "any law, statute, Code section, ordinance, rule or regulation of this state … provides that a notice shall be given by 'registered mail,' the notice may be given by 'certified mail.'"