§ 11-53A-23 — Notice to Require Owner to Abate Nuisance or to Request Hearing

Alabama § 11-53A-23

• Jurisdiction: Alabama
• Title 11: Counties and Municipal Corporations
• Ch. 53A: Demolition of Unsafe Structures
• Art. 2: Demolition of Unsafe Structures in Certain Class 4 Municipalities

Text

(a) The notice shall require the owner to abate the nuisance within the time stated in the notice or to request a hearing before the administrative officer designated by the mayor or council to determine whether there has been a violation. The notice shall apprise the owner of the facts of the alleged nuisance and shall name the particular date, time, and place for the hearing, if requested. The notice shall contain the names of all owners and lienholders of the property, a legal description of the property, and the nature of the proceeding.
(b) The notice shall be sent to the person shown by the records of the county tax collector to have been the last person assessed for payment of ad valorem tax on the property where the nuisance is situated. It shall be the responsibility of the person to promptly advise the appropriate city official of any change of ownership or interest in the property. The appropriate city official shall cause a copy of each building nuisance notice to be recorded in the office of the judge of probate.
(c) The notice shall require the owner to complete abatement of the nuisance within 120 days from the date of the notice, provided the appropriate city official may stipulate additional time, but in no case more than a total of 150 days.
(d) The notice may also require the immediate vacation of a building or structure and prohibit its occupation until the required repairs and improvements have been completed, inspected, and approved by the appropriate city official. In these cases, the official shall post at each entrance to the building or structure a sign stating “THIS STRUCTURE IS UNSAFE. ITS USE OR OCCUPANCY HAS BEEN PROHIBITED BY THE CITY OF ________”, or words of similar import, and shall be signed and dated. The sign shall remain until the required repairs and improvements have been made or the structure has been demolished and removed. The sign shall not be removed without permission of the official whose name is affixed thereon. No person shall enter the structure except for the purpose of making the required repairs or demolishing the structure.
(e) A hearing before the administrative official may be requested within five days of the date of the notice of the appropriate city official. The appropriate city official shall notify the owner by personal service or by first-class mail of the determination of the administrative official. If the administrative official determines that a nuisance exists, the owner shall comply with the initial order to abate issued by the appropriate city official, with any modifications as may be made by the administrative official.

Legislative History

(Acts 1993, No. 93-307, p. 456, §4.)