§ 31-1.1. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms are defined in this section:

"Abatement" means any action the town may take on public or private property and any adjacent property as may be necessary to remove or alleviate a nuisance, including but not limited to demolition, removal, repair, boarding and securing or replacement of property.

"Administrative civil penalties" means any penalty imposed by an administrative hearing officer for a violation of any provision of this Code or any other public nuisance, in accordance to the maximum amount specified in Government Code section 36901, exclusive of administrative costs, interest and restitution for compliance re-inspections.

"Administrative costs" means any costs incurred by the town in connection with a matter before an administrative hearing officer, including but not limited to, the costs for the administrative hearing officer's services, costs of investigation, staffing costs incurred in preparation for the hearing and for the hearing itself, costs for all re-inspections necessary to enforce a notice and compliance order, and the costs of actual abatement if undertaken by the town.

"Administrative hearing officer" means any person appointed by the town manager to preside over administrative enforcement hearings. In the event that the hearing involves the application or interpretation of the town's building code, the administrative hearing officer shall possess the qualifications required by section 105.1 of the Uniform Building Code (1994 ed.).

"Administrative order" means an order issued by an administrative hearing officer after a hearing requiring a responsible person and/or record property owner to correct code violations, abate a public nuisance, pay administrative civil penalties and administrative costs or take any other action as authorized or required by this Code, and authorizing the town to abate the code violation or public nuisance if the responsible person and/or record property owner fails to do so.

"Arresting officer" means any peace officer and/or code enforcement officer.

"Code enforcement assessment lien" means a lien to collect outstanding administrative civil penalties and administrative costs imposed as part of an administrative enforcement proceeding with respect to a code violation or other public nuisance.

"Code enforcement officer" or "enforcement officer" means any town employee authorized by the town manager to enforce all provisions of this Code or any other ordinance. The code enforcement officer may issue infractions, misdemeanors, administrative citations, and notice and compliance orders as specified in chapter 31 of this Code.

"Legal interest" means any interest that is represented by a document such as a deed of trust, quitclaim deed, mortgage, judgment lien, tax or assessment lien, mechanic's lien or other similar instrument which is recorded with the county recorder.

"Notice and code enforcement lien" means a document or form, approved by the town manager, which is recorded with respect to a code enforcement assessment lien.

"Notice and compliance order" means a document used in code violation and other public nuisance proceedings which provides notice of the code violations or other public nuisances and orders a responsible person and/or record property owner to take certain steps to correct the violations.

"Notice of satisfaction" means a document or form, approved by the town manager which indicates that all outstanding administrative civil penalties and administrative costs have either been paid in full, or that the town has negotiated an agreed amount, or that a subsequent administrative or judicial decision has resolved the outstanding debt.

Public nuisance. A "public nuisance" exists where the town determines that any condition caused, maintained or permitted to exist which: (a) violates any provision of this Code; (b) constitutes a threat to the public's health, safety and welfare; (c) significantly obstructs, injures or interferes with the reasonable or free use of property in a neighborhood, community or to any considerable number of persons; or (d) constitutes an unlawful obstruction or encroachment on any public property, including but not limited to any public street, highway, right-of-way or other easement, open space area, park or building. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a "public nuisance" shall not include any condition on town-owned land where such land is unimproved and reserved for open space/recreational uses.

"Responsible person" means a person who a code enforcement officer determines is responsible for causing or maintaining a violation of the code and/or other public nuisance. The term "responsible person" includes but is not limited to a record property owner, tenant, person with legal interest in real property or person in possession of real property.

(Ord. No. 439 N.S., § 9 (part))