§ 46-21. Declaration of chronic nuisance property; action plan.

(a)

Declaration of chronic nuisance property . If a pattern of nuisance activity exists upon real property, the village may declare the property to be a chronic nuisance. The village shall notify the property owner in accordance with subsection 46-27(a). The declaration of chronic nuisance property shall contain at least the following information:

(1)

A reference to this division;

(2)

The address and parcel control number of the property;

(3)

The dates that the nuisance activities occurred at the property;

(4)

A description of the nuisance activities;

(5)

A statement that the property owner is required to (a) provide the village with a written action plan outlining the specific measures that the property owner will take to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities on the property or (b) request a hearing before the special magistrate as set forth in section 46-23 to challenge the declaration. A statement that the action plan or the request for hearing must be provided to the village's assigned contact, (the "contact"), as set forth in the declaration, no later than fifteen days from the date of the declaration of chronic nuisance property. The village's contact may include a representative from code enforcement, the village attorney's office or other designee;

(6)

A statement that if the property owner fails to timely request a hearing, the property owner shall be deemed to have waived the right to contest the declaration of chronic nuisance property;

(7)

A statement that failure to provide the village with a written action plan may result in the entry of a chronic nuisance service order by the special magistrate;

(8)

A statement that the costs of any chronic nuisance services provided by the village to a property that has been declared to be a chronic nuisance may be levied against the property as a non-ad valorem assessment superior to all other private rights, interests, liens, encumbrances, titles and claims upon the property and equal in rank and dignity with a lien for ad valorem taxes; and

(9)

A statement that unpaid assessments may be certified to the tax collector for collection pursuant to the uniform method provided in F.S. § 197.3632.

(b)

Development of action plan . The property owner shall provide the village's contact with a written action plan outlining the specific measures that the owner will take to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities at the property. The property owner shall provide the action plan to the village's contact no later than 15 days from the date of the declaration of chronic nuisance property. Failure to provide the village's contact with a timely action plan shall be a violation of this article.

(c)

Adequacy and implementation of action plan . If the village determines that the action plan is adequate to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities on the property, the village shall notify the property owner by first class mail. The village shall establish a reasonable time period not exceeding 45 days from the date that the action plan is determined to be adequate to implement the action plan. The village may extend the time period beyond the 45 days if additional time is necessary to implement the action plan. Failure to implement the action plan within the time period established by the village shall be a violation of this article. If the property owner implements the action plan within the time period established by the village, the declaration of chronic nuisance will be closed and no further action shall be required, except that the village may require the property owner to revise the action plan in the event that a nuisance activity re-occurs within 12 months of the date of the declaration, and the special magistrate shall be deemed to have continuing jurisdiction over the property.

(d)

Revision of inadequate action plan . If the village determines that the action plan is not adequate to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities on the property, the village may require the property owner to revise the action plan. The property owner shall provide the revised action plan to the village no later than ten days from the date that the action plan is determined to be inadequate. Failure to revise the action plan or not provide the village with a timely revised action plan shall be a violation of this article. The provision of an inadequate action plan on two consecutive occasions shall be a violation of this article and may result in a chronic nuisance service order against the property.

(e)

Factors determining adequacy of action plan . The type of abatement action shall depend on the type of criminal activity occurring at the property. Types of abatement action to be considered in determining the adequacy of an action plan may include, but shall not be limited to:

(1)

Commencement of an eviction action pursuant to F.S. ch. 83, to remove those individuals engaged in the nuisance activity from the property;

(2)

Implementation of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) measures;

(3)

Frequency of site visits and inspections at various times of both day and night;

(4)

Hiring of property management;

(5)

Hiring of private security;

(6)

Installation of security cameras with recording capabilities;

(7)

Use of written lease agreement;

(8)

Criminal background checks for prospective tenants and lease renewals;

(9)

Posting of "no trespassing" signs at the property;

(10)

Written documentation of all efforts to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities on the property;

(11)

Any other action that the village determines is reasonably sufficient to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities on the property.

(Ord. No. 2015-20, § 2, 5-14-2015)