§ 54-187. Notice of violation.

(a)

Annual published notice. Annually, the County Manager, or his designee(s) will publish, or cause to be published, a public Notice, in substantially the following form, which details the abatement procedures for violations described in this Ordinance. This Notice will be published in a newspaper of general circulation for a minimum of four Sundays beginning with the first Sunday in January of each year, and on every other Sunday thereafter.

A PUBLIC NOTICE FROM THE CODE ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA

NOTICE ABOUT WEEDS OR GRASSES OVER 18 INCHES IN HEIGHT-ORDINANCE
2005-_____

The Collier County Litter, Weed and Exotics Control Ordinance requires that all owners of developed and undeveloped lots shall control all excessive growth of grasses or weeds over 18 inches by mowing. All lots with such vegetation over 18 inches in height will be identified by a Code Enforcement Investigator and a Notice of Violation and Order to Correct may, at the County's option, be mailed to the property owner(s) or posted on the lot. If posted, a copy of this notice will also be posted at the Collier County Courthouse at 3301 Tamiami Trail E., Naples FL 34112 or the Immokalee Courthouse at 106 1st Street S. Immokalee FL, 34142, as applicable.

A posted notice may, at the option of the County, be used in lieu of mailing individual letters to property owners. After ten (10) days from the date of posting or mailing, if no action is taken, the County will abate the violation by contracting for the lot to be mowed by a mowing contractor. A bill will then be sent to the lot's owner of record for the mowing fees plus an administrative fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00). Additional charges can be assessed for oversized lots or extremely overgrown lots. Repeat violators may be subject to additional fees or charges, or after three violations may be included in a mandatory lot mowing program instituted by the County.

The owner must remit payment for the amounts billed within twenty (20) days from the mailing of the County's invoice. If the invoiced bill is not paid within this twenty-day period a Determination Order assessing a lien will be imposed by the Special Magistrate. If certified and recorded, this Order may constitute a lien on ALL of the violator's real and personal property in Collier County. This lien may be paid without further costs, within twenty (20) days from the date of determination by the Special Magistrate for Collier County. If the lien remains unpaid after one (1) year from the date of the recording of the lien, Collier County may bring suit to foreclose the lien as set for in Chapter 173, Florida Statutes.

All property owners are requested to make arrangements for the proper maintenance of their land as the practice of sending mailed Notices of Violation to owners, in particular absentee owners, will be at the option of the County. The cooperation of all affected property owners will assist in reducing the large number of complaints about such nuisances received each year by the Code Enforcement Department. Compliance with this requirement will also help to control vermin and improve the appearance of the affected areas of the unincorporated County.

Any questions regarding these procedures can be addressed to the Code Enforcement Department. Phone number [phone]; located at 2800 North Horseshoe Drive, Naples, FL 34104.

(1)

Annual publication of this Notice is intended to provide continuing constructive notice to all affected property owners in Collier County of the procedures for abatement of the specified violations, and of the consequences of failing to timely abate cited violations.

(2)

Failure of the county to timely, or fully, publish the Annual Notice will not be a grounds for challenging any enforcement action brought under this article.

(b)

Whenever the County Manager or his designee determines that a public nuisance exists as described in this Ordinance, he will cause one or more of the following forms of notice of violation to be provided to the record owner or owners of said property informing the owner(s) of said property of the existence of the nuisance and the corresponding violations(s). The form and manner of the notice provided will be determined by the Director of Code Enforcement and will depend on the number of violations issued to a particular property owner(s), the number of and frequency of any prior violations at the property owned by the violator(s), the timeliness of any prior abatement(s) of similar violation(s), the existence of other code violations, and of any previously satisfied, foreclosed, or outstanding code enforcement liens. As a general rule, certified mail, return receipt requested, should be provided to all first time violators as set forth in the corresponding procedures below. Posted notices are generally considered appropriate for repeat violations at the same location or for the same violator(s) especially when there is a pattern of certified mail sent to property owners who are not Collier County residents being returned unclaimed or being refused.

(1)

A Notice of Violation may be served on a violator, i.e., the record owner(s) of the cited property, either by:

a.

Certified mail, return receipt requested, notifying the record owner(s) of the cited violations via a Notice in substantially the following form:

_____

Code Enforcement Department
Notice of Violation and Order to Correct

To:	Date:
	Ordinance
	Violation/Case No.
Property:
Folio #:

 

Dear Property Owner:

According to the official records of this County, you are the owner of the above-described property. As such, you are hereby notified that the Code Enforcement Director, on _______[date]_______ determined that a public nuisance exists on your property pursuant to County Ordinance No. 2005-___, (as amended) caused by: _______[describe violation]_______.

You are further notified that you shall abate this nuisance within ten (10) days of the date of this notice by _______[describe how to abate]_______. Failing this action on your part, the Board of County Commissioners will cause the nuisance to be abated. YOUR FAILURE TO ABATE THE NUISANCE MAY RESULT IN THE RECORDING OF A LIEN AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY. The lien shall include the direct cost plus an administrative fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00) and will be levied as an assessment against all of the property you own.

IN THE EVENT YOU RECEIVE THREE NOTICES OF VIOLATION DURING YOUR OWNERSHIP OF THE REFERENCED PROPERTY, EVEN THOUGH YOU ABATE EACH VIOLATION, YOU MAY BE CHARGED A PENALTY OF FIFTY DOLLARS AND AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.

You may contest this determination of the existence of a public nuisance by applying in writing, for a hearing before the Special Magistrate within fifteen (15) days from the date of this notice of violation.

Or:

b.

by posting a notice in a substantially the following form in a clearly visible location on the cited property, and at the Collier County Courthouse, or Immokalee Courthouse. The posted notices must be in substantially the following form:

POSTED
Collier County Code Enforcement Department

Notice of Violation of Section of Ordinance 2005-___, (as amended) and Order to Correct

To: [Owner(s) of Record]	Date Posted:
	Violation/Case No.
Property [Insert address where violation occurred]:
Folio #:

 

As the official record owner(s) of the above-described property, you are hereby notified that a public nuisance exists on this property as of [insert date] in the form of: _______[describe violation]_______ on the subject property.

You are further notified that you must immediately abate this nuisance within ten (10) days of the date of posting of this Notice by causing the above-described property to be: _______[mowed/exotics removed, or otherwise describe how to abate]_______. If the violation is not abated within the time required, the County may act to cause the nuisance to be abated. FAILURE TO ABATE THIS NUISANCE MAY RESULT IN THE RECORDING OF A LIEN AGAINST THE LAND ON WHICH THE VIOLATION EXISTS AND UPON ANY OTHER REAL OR PERSONAL PROPERTY YOU OWN IN COLLIER COUNTY. Such liens may include the County's costs to abate the violation plus an administrative fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00), all of which may be levied as an assessment against your property(s).

You may contest this Notice of Violation and determination of the existence of a public nuisance by applying in writing, for a hearing before the Special Magistrate within fifteen (15) days from the date of posting this Notice of Violation.

(2)

If the same violator(s) receives three or more Notices of Violation of this article during their ownership of any property in Collier County, even though the violations may have been timely abated, a penalty of fifty ($50.00) dollars will be charged for each notice received thereafter. An administrative fee of one hundred ($100.00) dollars will also be assessed for each invoice processed for the payment of said penalty. In addition, all cited property(s), may at the discretion of the County Manager or his designee, become subject to the county's mandatory lot mowing program provisions in this Ordinance.

(3)

If the property owner or his agent has not abated the identified nuisance as described in said notice within ten (10) days from the date of the Notice of Violation, the County will abate the condition and shall, through its employees, servants, agents, or contractors, be authorized to enter upon the property and take such steps as are reasonably required to abate the nuisance. However, the County Manager, in his discretion may extend the time allowed for taking corrective action up to 180 days for natural disasters as determined by the State or Federal government.

(Ord. No. 2005-44, § 13; Ord. No. 09-08, § 13)