Nuisance Code for the City Of Union
At the December 5, 2016, meeting the Union City Commission passed legislation updating the existing nuisance ordinance, which defines and codifies nuisances for the City of Union; as well as an additional ordinance creating a companion Code Enforcement Board.
Similar to most municipalities, this ordinance address several, common-sense issues regarding property maintenance, public health and safety for City residents. These Ordinances are a great tool to combat blight, maintain property values, eliminate public health and safety hazards, and correct any issues affecting residents in the city.
The City of Union Nuisance Ordinances are enforced only through a “complaint-driven” process.
A Citizen can file a formal complaint with the city regarding a perceived violation of the ordinance(s). At that time, City staff will investigate the complaint(s). After a thorough investigation, if the property owner is deemed in violation of nuisance code, staff will make every attempt to work with the violator to correct the issue before proceeding further.
However, if an issue cannot be corrected through mediation, a public hearing will be held before the City Code Enforcement Board. The City Code Enforcement Board then has ability to issue legal order of corrective action and prescribe a course to be taken to correct the issue. All parties involved in the issue may attend this hearing.
These ordinances will correct vacant property/abandoned homes, dilapidated or damaged houses, unsightly yard waste, junk or abandoned vehicles, high grass, and a variety of other issues which drive down property value and create public nuisances for all city residents. The benefit for residents is a better and more beautiful City of Union.
Prior to the adoption of this ordinance, enforcement of this ordinance went through the public court system, which was a lengthy and expensive procedure. This ordinance and companion board will streamline this process and keep the enforcement under city jurisdiction. The benefit for involved parties will be a more streamlined mechanism to resolve complaints.
As part of the ordinance, the City of Union now has a higher priority given to the collection of city-levied liens against properties under Kentucky statue. This will allow the city to more easily recoup the cost of any preventative or corrective measures that must be incurred by the city to solve violation issues.
The City of Union now joins the majority of other cities in Northern Kentucky, including the cities of Florence and Walton, with a defined and public set of nuisance codes and an official code enforcement board. The city is now in the process of forming the Code Enforcement Board, and the membership of that board will be made available on the City website at cityofunionky.org when it is available.
For information regarding the Nuisance ordinances, contact Melissa Hinkle, Communications Coordinator, The City of Union, 859-384-1511 or [email protected]
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