§ 26-80. Additional remedies for abatement.

(a)

Abatement remedies. The abatement remedies afforded by this article are not exclusive and are supplemental to other remedies available for enforcing codes and ordinances, including the code enforcement board procedure of article II, chapter 11 of this Code, the code enforcement citation program of article III, chapter 11 of this Code and section 1-9 of this Code. However, only liens collectable under section 26-79 shall be special assessment liens.

(b)

Code enforcement citation procedure. Whenever the county zoning director or code enforcement officer is notified by the county sheriff's office of the existence of graffiti on any property, such zoning director or code enforcement officer may issue a citation to the property owner in the manner provided by and consistent with the procedures set forth in article III, chapter 11, of this Code. Failure to abate graffiti nuisance property shall be classified as a Class III fine with a civil penalty of two hundred dollars ($200.00).

(c)

Mitigation of fines. In the event a remedy other than this chapter 26 is chosen to abate graffiti nuisance property, it shall be an affirmative defense preventing any fine from issuing if the owner proves at a hearing that, at the subject location, he or she has been victimized by graffiti three (3) or more times within the calendar year of the violation and had removed or effectively obscured the graffiti within fifteen (15) days of its appearance. This mitigation provision applies only to fines and shall not prevent the county from taking corrective action.

(Ord. No. 98-05, § 3, 2-17-98)