Council gets nuisance lessons

Staff

Published Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Members of the Andalusia City Council got a lesson Tuesday night in the abatement process used to deal with nuisances such as weeds, junk and unsafe buildings.

Mayor Earl Johnson explained that there is not a more strict area of the law in which the city deals than the abatement process for addressing nuisances.

“Just because a citizen doesn’t like the paint or how they keep the yard next door, it doesn’t constitute a situation for us,” Johnson said.

The first step is taken when a complaint is filed, building inspector Micah Blair explained.

Once a complaint is filed, the code enforcement officer checks to make sure the complaint is valid, then determines the legal owner of the property, opens a file on the complaint, and makes a courtesy visit or sends a courtesy letter notifying the owner that a nuisance has been reported.

If no work has begun in 30 days, a certified letter is sent to the owner. The next step depends upon the property owner, Blair explained. The owner can begin the necessary work or contact the city and request that the city make corrections. In that case, the costs will be billed to the owner or assessed tot he property tax. If the property is vacant and unsafe, the owner must sign a notarized agreement giving the city the authority to demolish the structure.

If the property owner takes no action, the council must declare the property a public nuisance before the process can proceed, he said. In that case, the property owner is again notified by certified mail and signs can be placed on the property declaring it a public nuisance.

Blair said in the case of a weed nuisance, the property owner has 14 days to address the problem. An owner has less than 30 days to remedy unsafe conditions, and the public health department can charge property owners with a misdemeanor if they fail to address sanitation problems.

In the calendar year 2008, Blair said, there have been 290 abatement files opened and 234 have been completed.

Just last week, the city tore down a home on Stewart Street that burned a number of years ago. Blair explained that the abatement process was delayed first by an arson investigation, then by foreclosure followed by a tax sale.

At present, there are 40 open files, including 15 in District 1; four in District 2; 13 in District 3; one in District 4; and seven in District 5, he said.

Johnson pledged the council’s support in the process of cleaning up nuisance areas.

In other business, the council:

• Recognized officers Steve McGowin, Roger Cender and Cody Warren for their roles in rescuing a woman from a fire last month.