§ 6:395. Civil penalties.(City)

(a)

Environmental specialists and building inspectors, upon evidence establishing more probably than not the identity of the person who has dumped and/or collected or the property owner who has allowed the dumping and/or the collection of garbage or trash, as defined in section 6:375, or building/construction materials, litter, refuse, rubbish, appliances, junk vehicles, limbs, trees or other discarded materials or debris, which create a nuisance as prohibited by section 6:387, shall send notice personally or by certified mail that the person shall begin to make efforts to clean up such nuisance within ten (10) days of receipt of the letter or service, and steadily and without delay continue such cleanup efforts under the monitoring of the environmental or inspection division of the department of public works. Ownership of the property shall be determined by the last address of record in the most recent parish assessment roll. If no effort is made to begin cleanup within the specified time period and the certified letter has been received or the party has been served, or if the certified letter is refused, suit allowing injunctive relief shall be filed requiring cleanup and authorizing fines of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) a day in which no efforts are made toward cleanup without an excuse acceptable to the environmental or inspection division. If the certified letter is not received due to reasons other than refusal, or if service is not achieved after due and diligent efforts have been made, then an attorney at law shall be appointed to represent the party as curator. Additionally, where the property owner is a minor or an interdict, a curator shall be appointed.

(b)

Where immediate action is required to avoid a threat to public health the department of public works shall have the authority to enter upon the property and cause the necessary work to be done to effect compliance with the provisions of this part after twenty-four (24) hours notice has been served upon the owner of the property or his agent, or upon the occupant of the property, if any, or upon the curator, if any. The city-parish shall have a lien and privilege on the property and any improvements thereon for the cost of remedying the violation. The privilege and lien shall be preserved and enforced only after the owner has failed to reimburse the city-parish within thirty (30) days after notification by the city-parish to pay the costs incurred. The thirty (30) days shall run from the date of mailing of the notification. In order to preserve the lien and privilege it shall be the duty of the mayor-president to prepare and sign a sworn statement of facts, giving the description of the property and an approximation of the cost of the remedial measures implemented. This statement shall be filed and recorded in the mortgage office of the parish in which the property is located and the city-parish shall be entitled to recover the amount of this expense, together with all costs of court and legal interest from the date of recordation of the lien, by ordinary process in the district court having jurisdiction of the property. Additionally, where it is necessary for the city-parish to appoint an attorney as curator as hereinabove provided, the attorney shall be paid a scheduled fee to be taxed as costs.

(c)

Where a person is constructing or renovating a single-family residence, the provisions of section 8A:105.A shall supersede the provisions of this part to the extent that said provisions conflict with the provisions of this part. Specifically, the accumulation of trash, debris and/or construction materials at the construction or renovation site shall not be deemed to be a violation of the provisions of this part, to the extent that such is allowed by the provisions of Section 8A:105.A.

(Ord. No. 9483, § 1, 9-23-92; Ord. No. 10834, § 2, 3-12-97)