HomeMy WebLinkAboutORDINANCES-2007-052-O-07Effective date: October 23, 2007 10/8/2007
9/7/2007
5/3/2007
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AN ORDINANCE
Amending Section 9-5-4 of the Evanston City Code,
"Nuisance Premises"
WHEREAS, 65 ILCS 5/11-5-3 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes
authorizes municipalities to prevent intoxication, fighting, dog fights, and all other
disorderly conduct; and
WHEREAS, the City, as a home rule municipality, is authorized by
Article VII, Section 6 of the 1970 Illinois Constitution to enact ordinances
pertaining to the public health, welfare, and safety of its residents; and
WHEREAS, ordinances designed to curb the effect of disruptive
behaviors on persons in their homes, businesses and on the public way pertain
to the public health, welfare, and safety of Evanston residents; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has found that certain offenses
committed on private property, in particular, felonies and misdemeanors, and
those violations of the City Code relating to alcoholic liquor, illegal drugs, drug
paraphernalia, animal fighting, gambling, resisting lawful actions of the police,
noise, curfew, weapons, property maintenance, overcrowding, are extremely
disturbing and disruptive to the public health, welfare, and safety; and
WHEREAS, conditions relating to the maintenance and upkeep of
property, including, but not limited to, garbage accumulation, graffiti,
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overcrowding, abandoned vehicles, overgrown weeds, further contribute to
neighborhood nuisance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has found that the aforementioned
behaviors and offenses are inimical to the enjoyment of life on neighboring
premises and threaten the stability of neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has found that the aforementioned
offenses contribute to an enhanced sense of fear, intimidation, and disorder by
persons on neighboring premises; and
WHEREAS, said offenses are nuisances and constitute threats to
both persons and the peaceful enjoyment of property; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has found that the public interest is
served by requiring owners of nuisance premises to adhere to a plan of
correction designed to reduce or prevent future unlawful activity; and
WHEREAS, in view of the foregoing, the City Council deemed it in
the public interest, as a means of promoting the peaceful co -existence of
neighborhood residents, and for the protection of the public health, welfare, and
safety, to enact Section 9-5-4, "Nuisance Premises," of the Evanston City Code,
1979, as amended ("City Code"), by passing Ordinance 111-0-02; and
WHEREAS, since its inception, certain sections of the Nuisance
Premises Ordinance have proven susceptible to various interpretations; and
WHEREAS, certain interpretations of the Nuisance Premises
Ordinance have lead to fewer successful prosecutions of the Ordinance; and
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10 WHEREAS, even when prosecutions pursuant to the Nuisance
Premises Ordinance have been successful, the fines associated therewith
frequently have failed to provide an insufficient deterrent to repeat violations,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF EVANSTON, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS:
SECTION 1: That Section 9-5-4, "Nuisance Premises," of the City
Code be and hereby is further amended to read as follows:
9-5-4: NUISANCE PREMISES:
(A) Definitions:
ENCOURAGES OR PERMITS: Acquiesces, by failure to prevent or expressly
consent to an act.
NUISANCE PREMISES: Any premises, as defined herein, used for any offense,
as defined below, is hereby declared a public nuisance; provided however that
no public nuisance or violation of this Section shall be deemed to exist unless:
1. the offense for which the premises is used is punishable by
imprisonment for one (1) year or more or the premises is used for
two (2) or more such offenses within any six (6)- month period; or
2. in any six (6) month period, the premises is the site of two (2) or
more offenses which are misdemeanors under state or federal law
or a violation of the Evanston City Code, as amended, including,
but not limited to, the following provisions:
a. Subsection 3-5-3(A)1 of this code, liquor license required.
b. Section 3-5-11, "Sales To Minors, Certain Persons
Restricted," of this code.
C. Section 3-5-13, "Responsibility Of Parents And Others For
Alcohol Consumption By Minors, " of this code.
d. Section 3-5-14, (liquor) "Age Restrictions; Identification
Cards," of this code.
e. Title 8, chapter 16, "Marijuana," of this code.
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f. Title 8, chapter 17, "Drug Paraphernalia Control," of this
code.
g.
Section 9-4-3-2, "Limitation On Number Of Dogs," of this
title.
h.
Section 9-4-14, "Cruelty To Animals," of this title (includes
animal fighting).
L
Section 9-4-17, "Dangerous Dogs," of this title.
j.
Section 9-5-3, "Disorderly Conduct", of this chapter.
k.
Section 9-5-6, "Disturb The Peace," of this chapter.
I.
Section 9-5-8-1, "Gambling House, Establishments," of this
chapter.
M.
Section 9-5-8-4, "Gambling Acts," of this chapter.
n.
Subsection 9-5-10(C)1 of this chapter, alcoholic beverages,
consumption/possession public property (sidewalks and
parkways).
o.
Section 9-5-20-1, "Obedience To Police In Public Places," of
this chapter.
P.
Section 9-5-20-4, "Resisting Or Interfering With Police," of
this chapter.
q.
Section 9-5-23, "Noises Prohibited," of this chapter.
r.
Subsection 9-6-1 of this title, curfew.
S.
Chapter 8, "Weapons," of this title.
t.
720 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/11-14, prostitution.
U.
2003 international fire code, section 107.6 and 202,
overcrowding.
V.
2003 international property maintenance code.
W.
Title 6, the Zoning Ordinance.
PREMISES: Any
parcel of property or part thereof and the building or structure, if
any, which is situated on the property, and any portion of the public way that
abuts the parcel
of property when it is used in conjunction with the abutting
property for the commission of illegal activity.
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REASONABLY BELIEVES: "Reasonably believes" or "reasonable belief' means
that the person concerned, acting as a reasonable person, believes that the
described facts exist.
(B) Maintaining Nuisance Premises Prohibited:
1. Any person who owns, manages, or controls a premises and who
encourages or permits an illegal activity described in Subsection
(A) to occur or continue on said premises shall be guilty of
maintaining a nuisance premises.
2. Any person who owns, manages, or controls any premises and who
fails to implement, within the thirty (30)- day period following the
notice required in Subsection (D) of this Section, or within any other
period agreed upon by the person and the City, reasonable and
warranted abatement measures identified in the notice issued
pursuant to Subsection (D), or such measures agreed to by the
person and the City subsequent to the issuance of said notice, or
other abatement measures which successfully abate the public
nuisance on the premises, shall be liable for maintaining a nuisance
premises. No person shall be found in violation of this Subsection
(B)(2) unless the City proves, in a court of competent jurisdiction or
in the City's Division of Administrative Hearings, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the abatement measures were
reasonable and warranted, and that he/she knowingly failed to
implement them.
3. Each day that a violation of this section continues shall be
considered a separate and distinct offense.
(C) Order of Abatement: Whenever the City Manager or his/her designee
reasonably believes that any premises constitutes a public nuisance as
described in this Section, he/she may bring an action to abate the
nuisance in a court of competent jurisdiction or in the City's Division of
Administrative Hearings. The presiding authority shall issue an order of
abatement upon a finding of liability pursuant to this Section. The order of
abatement shall require the respondent to take measures reasonably
calculated to prevent the recurrence of the illegal activity. In ordering these
measures, the presiding authority shall consider the magnitude of the
harm caused by the nuisance, the value of the property, and the extent to
which the respondent has failed to take effective measures to abate the
nuisance. Those measures may include, but are not limited to, making
improvements to real estate and installing lighting to enhance security, the
• hiring of licensed and insured security personnel, the hiring of a receiver,
the initiation and execution of eviction proceedings against tenants
engaged in illegal activity, or, at the request of the City Manager or his/her
designee, the assignment or forfeiture to the City of all of the respondent's
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rights, title and interest in the real estate. Assignment or forfeiture of the
respondent's rights, title and interest in the real estate shall be considered
as an abatement measure only when the respondent has failed to abate a
nuisance following an order issued pursuant to this paragraph, or has
failed to abate a nuisance within thirty (30) days of a notice issued
pursuant to Subsection (D) of this Section, and: (i) a forcible felony as
defined in Section 2-8 of the Criminal Code (720 ILCS 5/2-8), as
amended, is committed on the premises, or (ii) two or more violations of
the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Cannabis Control Act occur
on the premises on separate days within a one year period. The order of
abatement may also authorize the issuance of ex parte administrative
search warrants reasonably calculated to determine whether the nuisance
has been abated or whether the order of the court or hearing officer has
been obeyed. Any order of abatement issued by an Administrative
Hearing Officer pursuant to this ordinance is subject to enforcement
pursuant to Section 11-1-17 of the City Code. Actions brought pursuant to
this Section may also be accompanied by the recording of a lis pendens
notice against the property.
(D) Notice of Violation: Whenever the City Manager or his/her designee
reasonably believes that any premises constitutes a public nuisance as
described in this Section and that the person who owns or controls the
premises does not have actual or constructive knowledge of the illegal
activity occurring thereon, he/she shall give written notice to the person
who owns or controls the premises. Such notice shall include, but not be
limited to, stating that a public nuisance exists and identifying reasonable
abatement measures that must be taken within thirty (30) days of the
notice. The notice shall be in writing and may be served in person or sent
by certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice shall provide the
recipient a reasonable opportunity to meet with a representative of the City
to discuss the allegations in the notice and the need for abatement
measures. Failure to respond to the notice or implement the abatement
measures requested therein or those subsequently agreed to by the
recipient and the City within the thirty (30)-day period following the notice,
or within any period subsequently agreed upon by said parties, comprises
a violation of Subsection (13)(2) of this Section. The notice shall not be a
prerequisite to the issuance of a citation for violation of subsection (B)1, of
this Section.
(E) Penalties:
Upon a finding of liability pursuant to this ordinance, in a court of competent
jurisdiction or in the City's Division of Administrative Hearings, by a
preponderance of the evidence, the respondent shall be fined: •
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1. Not less than three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) and not more than
six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) for any offense on the premises
defined as a Class X felony by the Criminal Code of 1961, 720
ILCS 5, as amended (hereinafter, "Criminal Code");
2. Not less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) and
not more than three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) for any offense
on the premises defined as a Class 1 felony by the Criminal Code;
3. Not less than seven hundred dollars ($700.00) and not more than
one thousand four hundred dollars ($1,400.00) for any offense on
the premises defined as a Class 2 felony by the Criminal Code;
4. not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) and not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for any offense on the premises
defined as a Class 3 felony by the Criminal Code;
5. Not less than three hundred dollars ($300.00) and not more than
one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for any offense on the premises
defined as a Class 4 felony by the Criminal Code; and
6. Not less than two hundred dollars ($200.00) and not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for all offenses on the premises not
otherwise specified.
(F) Evictions:
No person evicted due to a notice of violation or nuisance abatement order
issued or agreed to, pursuant to the terms of this ordinance, shall be eligible to
receive City -funded relocation assistance.
(G) Disposition of Property:
Any property assigned or forfeited to the City pursuant to this Section may be
disposed of as authorized by the City Council.
(H) Severability:
If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or
applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid
provisions or applications thereof.
SECTION 2: That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict
0 herewith are hereby repealed.
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SECTION 3: That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect
from and after its passage, approval, and publication in the manner
provided by law.
Introduced:2007 Approved:
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Adopted: 6LC�� �� ` , 2007 2007
t_o , sine H.=orbd Mayor
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Attest: Appr ved as to form:
Mary P�M 'rr , C ty Clerk Corporation Counsel
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