8.28.030 Personal injury and property damage hazards—City staff member designated—Report—Complaints—Notice to correct—Appeals—Correction costs.
A. City Staff Member Designated to Handle Complaints. The superintendent of public works, or other staff member designated by the City Manager shall receive and investigate complaints or reports of personal injury or property damage hazards as set forth in this Section.
B. Reports by Superintendent of Public Works. It shall be the duty of the superintendent of public works to report to the City Manager the existence of any conditions of which he is made aware, which constitute a personal injury or property damage hazard on any property within the City.
C. Complaints by Citizens. Any resident or property owner may complain in writing to the City Manager of the existence of any alleged personal injury or property damage hazard from uncontrolled growth of trees, stumps, and/or shrubbery on property within the City. Promptly upon the receipt of such complaint the City Manager shall refer it to the superintendent of public works for a report whether in his or her opinion the conditions complained of constitute such a hazard. In the event the superintendent of public works does not or is unable to determine that a personal injury or property damage hazard exists on the property, the complainant shall be given the opportunity to deposit with the City such funds as shall hereafter be fixed by City Council resolution to defray the cost for the City to engage the services of a certified arborist for an opinion on the existence of any alleged hazard and a recommendation for correction thereof. Upon deposit of such funds, the superintendent of public works shall retain a certified arborist to render such a report.
D. Notice to Correct.
1. Immediate Danger from Hazard. For any case in which the superintendent of public works reports to the City Manager that there is an imminent and immediate danger of personal injury or property damage as a result of an alleged hazard’s continued existence, the City Manager shall:
a. Send written notice, by ordinary mail or personal delivery, to the last owner of record of the property upon which the hazard is claimed to exist, ordering immediate correction of the hazard; or
b. Cause the hazard to be corrected, if it exists on public property or by summary abatement proceedings if the record property owner cannot be contacted or fails to immediately correct the hazard.
2. No Immediate Danger from Hazard; Appeal. In all other cases, the City Manager shall:
a. Cause the hazard to be corrected, if it exists on public property; or
b. Send written notice, by ordinary mail or personal delivery, to the last owner of record of the property upon which the hazard is claimed to exist, ordering correction of the hazard within thirty days, and advising that the property owner shall have the right to file a written appeal to the City Council within seven days of the date of the notice. Any such appeal will be set for hearing at the next available meeting of the City Council, at which time the property owner may present evidence showing why he or she should not be required to correct the alleged hazard. If the City Council determines that the existence of a hazard has been established, such hazard shall be declared to be a public nuisance and the City Council shall order the property owner to correct the hazardous condition within thirty days.
E. Costs of Correction. All work required to correct any personal injury or property damage hazard, including without limitation any associated cleanup work, shall be performed at the cost of the party owning the property on which the hazardous trees, stumps, and/or shrubbery grow. If any owner of private property fails to correct a hazard on his or her property within thirty days after the expiration of time for appeal from a notice to correct or after an appeal has been finally decided adverse to the property owner, the City Council may request that the City Manager or City attorney take all appropriate action to correct the hazard at the property owner’s expense. The remedies provided in this Section shall be in addition to any other remedies available to the City under applicable law. (Ord. 98-8 § 1, 1998.)