2006-975CITY OF HOPKINS
Hennepin County, Minnesota
ORDINANCE 2006-975
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 615,820 AND 355 OF THE HOPKINS
CITY CODE
The City Council of the City of Hopkins does hereby ordain:
Section 1. The Hopkins City Code Section 615.01 Subd. 16 is hereby amended to read as
follows and the subsequent subdivisions are renumbered:
Subd. 16. Refuse material. Refuse material shall mean refuse not placed in
the refuse cart bulk refuse items that do not fit into the refuse cart, yard waste ba sg that
do not have yard waste stickers on them and brush piles placed at desi ng ated pickup
location without appropriate arrangements made for collection.
Section 2. The Hopkins City Code Section 615.02 Subd. 1 is hereby amended to read as
follows:
Subd. 1. Refuse, refuse material, noxious substances, hazardous wastes.
Refuse, noxious substances, or hazardous wastes laying, pooled, accumulated, piled, left,
deposited, buried, or discharged upon, in, being discharged or flowing from any property,
structure, or vehicle; except for:
Section 3. The Hopkins City Code Section 615.10 is hereby amended to read as follows:
615.10. Abatement Procedure. Unless the nuisance is as described in Sections
615.11 or 615.12, the City may abate the nuisance by the procedure described below.
Subd. 1. Order. The Enforcement Officer shall serve a written order upon
the owner. The written order shall also be served upon any responsible party known to
the Officer and may be served upon any party known to have caused the nuisance. The
written order shall contain the following:
a) a description of the real estate sufficient for identification;
b) a description and the location of the nuisance and the remedial action required
to abate the nuisance;
c) the abatement deadline, to be determined by the Enforcement Officer allowing
a reasonable time for the performance of any act required;
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ed) a statement that if the remedial action is not taken "^"' /] rgli l7 A(y~ ~i~r r~
,~„~,~;^ ~,°nr;r~rt ~'°a tt~;+~, +~,° r--~;+~-r ~~within the time specified, the City will
abate the nuisance and charge all costs incurred therein against the real estate
as a special assessment to be collected in the same manner as property taxes.
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Subd. ~2. Abatement. If the remedial action is not taken „^r ~~ ~~~~°n' ~'°''
~T'~in-t~-t-spec'-mod, the City may abate the nuisance.
Subd. 3. Notice of Abatement. Following. abatement as set forth in Section
615 10, as soon as the costs incurred are known to the Enforcement Officer, he/she shall
serve written notice upon the owner. The notice shall contain:
a) a description of the nuisance
b) the action taken by the City,
c) the amount and basis of the abatement costs,
d) a notice of intent to assess the costs incurred in abating_the nuisance
e) a statement that the owner maX request, by writing to the City Clerlc within ten (10)
working days of the date of the notice, a hearing_before an administrative hearing
officer appointed by the City Council to determine the validity and amount of the
proposed assessment,
f) a statement that the owner must file written objections to the assessment along_with
the request for the administrative hearing,
g) a statement that the owner may appeal the assessment to district court within thirty
(30) da s~ after the adoption of the assessment by the City Council at an annual
meeting, and
h) a statement informing the owner of the provisions of Minnesota Statutes Sections
43 5.193 to 43 5.195 and of the existence of any deferment procedure.
Subd. 4. Administrative Hearing. The city council will periodically approve a list
of lawyers, from which the city clerk will randomly select a hearing officer to hear and
determine a matter for which a hearin is requested. The responsible party or owner will
have the right to request no later than five days before the date of the hearing that the
assi neg_d hearing officer be removed from the case. One request for each case will be
granted automatically by the city. clerk. A subsequent request must be directed to the
assigned hearingofficer who will decide whether he or she cannot fairly and objectively
review the case. The city clerk may remove a hearing officer only by requesting that the
assigned heari ~ officer find that he or she cannot fairly and objectively review the case.
If such a finding is made, the officer shall remove himself or herself from the case, and
the city clerk will assign another hearing officer. The hearing officer is not a 'udL icial
officer but is a public officer as defined by Minn. Stat. ~ 609.415. The hearingofficer
must not be a city employee. The city manager must establish a procedure for evaluating
the competency of the hearing officers, including comments from affected owners and
city staff. These reports must be provided to the city council.
Subd. 5. Upon the hearing officer's own initiative or upon written request of an
interested party demonstrating the need, the officer max issue a subpoena for the
attendance of a witness or the production of books, papers, records or other documents
that are material to the matter being heard. The part~requesting_ the subpoena is
responsible for serving the subpoena in the manner provided for civil actions and for
haying the fees and expenses of a witness. A person served with a subpoena may file an
objection with the hearing_officer and a copy of the objection shall be given to the City
Clerk and the accused no later than the time specified in the subpoena for compliance.
The hearing officer may cancel or modify the subpoena if it is unreasonable or
oppressive. A person -who, without just cause, fails or refuses to attend and testify or to
produce the required documents in obedience to a subpoena is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Alternatively, the party requesting the subpoena may seek an order from district court
directing compliance.
Subd. 6. The hearing shall be scheduled to occur within 45 days of receiving a
request for a hearing. Notice of the hearing must be served on the owner at least 14 dam
in advance, unless a shorter time is accepted by all parties. Service of the Notice will be
by first class mail and will be complete upon mailing. At the hearing, the owner will have
the opportunity to present testimony and question any witnesses, but strict rules of
evidence will not apply. The hearing officer must tape record the hearing and receive
testimony and exhibits. The officer must receive and give weight to evidence, including
hearsay evidence that possesses probative value commonly accepted by reasonable and
prudent people in the conduct of their affairs.
Subd. 7. The hearing_officer has the authority to determine that a valid nuisance
abatement occurred, to allow the City to collect full reimbursement of abatement costs or
to reduce the amount due the City either unconditionall~or upon compliance with
appropriate conditions. The hearing officer's decision and supporting reasons must be in
writing_ When determining validity and/or cost of abating~a nuisance condition, the
hearing_officer may consider any or all of the following factors:
a) the duration of the nuisance;
b) the frequency or reoccurrence of the nuisance;
c) the seriousness of the nuisance;
d) the good faith effort by the owner to comply
e) the economic impact on the owner;
f) the impact of the nuisance condition upon the community; and
g) any other factors appropriate to a just result.
_Subd. 8. The failure to attend the hearing constitutes a waiver of the owner's
rights to an administrative hearing_ A hearing officer may waive this result upon .good
cause shown. Examples of "good cause" are: death or incapacitating illness of the
owner; a court order requiring the owner to appear for another hearing at the same time;
and lack of proper service of the notice of abatement or notice of the hearing. "Good
cause" does not include: forgetfulness and intentional delay.
Subd. 9. The decision of the hearing officer will be mailed promptly to the
appellant following_the hearing. It will include the hearing officer's decision, the amount
due and statement Subd~g) of this section. The decision of the hearing officer is final
without any further right of administrative appeal and shall stand as the hearing for said
assessment. An owner who disagrees with the hearing_ officer's decision may obtain
judicial review of the decision of the hearing_ officer byproceeding under a writ of
certiorari in district court.
Subd. 10. Assessment of abatement costs. Except as otherwise modified by subd.
5. of this section the service charges imposed under subd. 3 . of this section shall be
assessed against the owner's property and shall be payable in a single installment, or by
ua to ten equal installments as the council may provide.
Section 4. The Hopkins City Code Section 615.11 is hereby amended to read as follows:
615.11. Substantial abatement procedure. When the Enforcement Officer determines
that a nuisance exists on a property and the cost of abatement of the nuisance is estimated
to exceed tie ten thousand dollars or the abatement involves demolition of a building
other than a structure accessory to a residential building or the abatement substantially
diminishes the value of the property and except in the case of an emergency as provided
for in Section 615.12, the City shall abate the nuisance by the procedure described below.
A good faith estimate of the abatement costs, not the actual cost calculated after the
abatement is completed, shall be the basis which determines whether this abatement
procedure shall be used.
Section 5. The Hoplcins City Code Section 820.03 is hereby amended to read as follows:
820.03. Walks And Weeds. The owner or occupant of property adjacent to a
public sidewalk, carriage walk, or driveway apron, shall maintain such areas in a clean
and safe condition for pedestrians at all times and shall not allow snow, ice, dirt or
rubbish to remain thereon longer than 12 hours after its deposit. c,,;a ^.,,r°r ^r ^^~,~,~,~~*
Section 6. The Hoplcins City Code Section 355.05 Subd. 3 is hereby amended to read as
follows:
Subd. 3. The city council must adopt by resolution a schedule of fi-~scivil
penalties for offenses initiated by administration citation. The city council may adopt a
schedule of fees to be paid to administrative hearing officers.
Section 7. The Hoplcins City Code Section 355.07 is hereby amended to read as follows:
355.07. Administrative Citation. Subdivision 1. A person authorized to enforce
provisions of the city code may issue an administrative citation upon belief that a code
violation has occurred. The citation must be issued in person or by mail to the person
responsible for the violation or attached to the motor vehicle in the case of a vehicular
offense. The citation must state the date, time, and nature of the offense, the name of the
issuing officer, the amount of the scheduled f~civil penalty, and the manner for paying
the civil penalty or appealing the citation.
Subd. 2. The person responsible for the violation must either pay the scheduled
civil penalty or request a hearing within fourteen days after issuance. Payment of the
fx~civil penalty constitutes admission of the violation. A late payment fee of 10 percent
of the scheduled fx~civil ep na1tX amount may be imposed under section 355.09.
Section 8. The Hoplcins City Code Section 355.09 Subd. 4 is hereby amended to read as
follows:
Subd. 4. The hearing officer has the authority to determine that a violation
occurred, to dismiss a citation, to impose the scheduled civil ep naltX, and to reduce,
stay, or waive a scheduled f~necivil penalty either unconditionally or upon compliance
with appropriate conditions. The hearing officer's decision and supporting reasons must
be in writing. When imposing a penalty for a violation, the hearing officer may consider
any or all of the following factors:
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a) the duration of the violation;
b) the frequency or reoccurrence of the violation;
c) the seriousness of the violation;
d) the history of the violation;
e) the violator's conduct after issuance of the notice of hearing;
f) the good faith effort by the violator to comply;
g) the economic impact of the penalty on the violator;
h) the impact of the violation upon the community; and
i) any other factors appropriate to a just result.
The hearing officer may exercise discretion to impose a f~civil penalty for more than
one day of a continuing violation, but only upon a finding that (1) the violation caused a
serious threat of harm to the public health, safety, or welfare or that (2) the accused
intentionally and unreasonably refused to comply with the code requirement.
Section 9. The Hopkins City Code Section 355.11 Subd. 4-5 is hereby amended to read
as follows:
Subd. 4. A late payment fee of 10 percent of the civil penalty may be assessed
for each 30-day period, or part thereof, that the civil ep naltX remains unpaid after the
due date.
Subd. 5. Failure to pay a f~civil penalty is grounds for suspending or revolting a
license related to the violation.
Section 10. The Hopkins City Code Section 355.13 b) is hereby amended to read as
follows:
b) failure to pay a civil~enalty imposed by a hearing officer within 30 days after
it was imposed, or such other time as may be established by the hearing officer.
Section 1 1. The Hopltins City Code Section 355.15 is hereby deleted:
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Section 12. The effective date of this ordinance shall be the date of publication.
First Reading: October 17, 2006
Second Reading: November 7, 2006
Date of Publication: November 16, 2006
Date Ordinance Talces Effect: November 16, 2006
e axwell, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
'ty Attorney gnature
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Date
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