§ 54-403. Declaration of chronic nuisance property; action plan.

(a)

Declaration of chronic nuisance property. If a pattern of nuisance activity exists upon real property, the city may declare the property to be a chronic nuisance. The city shall notify the property owner by certified mail, return receipt required and by first class mail to the address listed on the ad valorem tax roll. Notice shall be posted at the property where the nuisance activities occurred. The declaration of chronic nuisance property shall contain at least the following information:

(1)

A reference to chapter 54, article XIII (the "City of West Palm Beach Chronic Nuisance Property Code");

(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 provide the city 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. A statement that the action plan must be provided to the city no later than 15 days from the date of the declaration of chronic nuisance property;

(6)

A statement that failure to provide the city with a timely written action plan will result in a violation of this article and the entry of a chronic nuisance service order by the special magistrate;

(7)

A statement that the costs of any chronic nuisance services provided by the city 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

(8)

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 city 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 city no later than 15 days from the date of the declaration of chronic nuisance property. Failure to provide the city with a timely action plan shall be a violation of this article.

(c)

Adequacy and implementation of action plan. If the city determines that the action plan is adequate to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities on the property, the city shall notify the property owner by first class mail. The city 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 city may extend the time period beyond 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 city shall be a violation of this article. If the property owner implements the action plan within the time period established by the city, the declaration of chronic nuisance will be closed and no further action shall be required, except that the city may require the property owner to revise the action plan in the event that a nuisance activity re-occurs.

(d)

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

(e)

Factors determining adequacy of action plan. Factors to be considered in determining the adequacy of an action plan may include, but shall not be limited to:

(1)

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

(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;

(7)

Use of a written lease agreement;

(8)

Criminal background checks for prospective tenants and lease renewals;

(9)

Posting of "no trespassing" signs at the property and execution of a "no trespass affidavit" authorizing the police department to act as an agent of the property owner to enforce trespass statutes on the property;

(10)

Regular requests for offense and incident reports relating to the property that are available through the records custodian of the police department records division;

(11)

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

(12)

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

(Ord. No. 4350-11, § 2, 9-6-2011)