14.560 Public Nuisance Properties.

(1) Findings. The Common Council finds that certain premises within the City require and receive a disproportionate amount of police and Division of Life Safety and Neighborhood services, which places an undue and inappropriate burden on the taxpayers of the City. The ordinance codified in this section is enacted to encourage property owners to recognize their responsibility to ensure that activities occurring on their premises conform to the law and do not unduly burden the City’s police and Division of Life Safety Services and to provide a mechanism for the City to take action against property owners who fail to ensure their premises do not require a disproportionate devotion of City resources. The Common Council therefore allows the Chief of Police and the Deputy Fire Chief or their designees, as provided in this section, to charge the owners of such premises the costs associated with abating the violations at premises at which nuisance activities chronically occur and to issue citations for violations of this section.

(2) Definitions. The following terms shall be defined as follows:

Chief means the Chief of Police, or his or her designee.

Chronic nuisance landlord means any owner of a residential unit(s) available for lease or rent within the City that has had three premises or 10 percent of their available premises for lease or rent, whichever is less, designated as a chronic nuisance premises within a 12-month period.

Chronic nuisance property means any premises where three or more nuisance activities resulting in enforcement action have occurred during a 12-month period, or any premises where three or more enforcement actions were generated from 10 percent or more of a premises’ available rental units during a 12-month period.

Committee means the City Nuisance Committee which shall include a representative from the Police Department, Division of Life Safety and Neighborhood Services, Community Development, Public Infrastructure, and the City Attorney’s Office.

Enforcement action means arrest, the issuance of a written or verbal warning, or the issuance of a citation.

Nuisance activity means any of the following activities, behaviors or conduct occurring on a premises:

1. An act of harassment, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 947.013.

2. Disorderly conduct, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 947.01.

3. Battery, substantial battery, or aggravated battery, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 940.19.

4. Lewd and lascivious behavior, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 944.20.

5. Prostitution offenses, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 944.30 or 944.34.

6. Littering, as defined in MMC 14.190.

7. Theft, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 943.20.

8. Receiving stolen property, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 943.34.

9. Arson, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 943.02.

10. Possession, manufacture, or delivery of a controlled substance or related offenses, as defined in Wis. Stat. Ch. 961.

11. Gambling, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 945.02.

12. Animal violations, as defined in MMC 11.220, 14.020 or 14.030.

13. Trespass to land, as defined in Wis. Stat. §§ 943.13 and 943.14.

14. Weapons violations, as defined in MMC 14.330.

15. Noise violations, as defined in MMC 14.140 and 14.150.

16. Violation of curfew for minors, as defined in MMC 14.430.

17. Loitering, as defined in MMC 14.420.

18. Truancy, as defined in MMC 14.380 and 14.390.

19. Alcohol violations, as defined in Chapter 11 MMC and Wis. Stat. § 125.07.

20. Obstructing or resisting an officer, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 946.41.

21. Misuse of emergency telephone numbers, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 941.35.

22. Any act of being party to a crime, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 939.05, to any of the activities in subsections (1) through (21) of this definition.

23. Any conspiracy to commit, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 939.31, or attempt to commit, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 939.32, any of the activities in subsections (1) through (21) of this definition.

24. The execution of arrest or search warrants at a particular location.

25. Violations of the City’s Housing and Zoning Codes, as found in Chapters 15 and 16 MMC, where the Police Department or Division of Life Safety and Neighborhood Services responds.

26. Violations of the City’s Fire Code, as found in Chapter 6 MMC, where the Police Department or Division of Life Safety and Neighborhood Services responds.

27. Violations of the City’s Sign Code, as found in Chapter 31 MMC, where the Police Department or Division of Life Safety and Neighborhood Services responds.

Owner means a person or business who has legal title or possession, charge, care or control of premises, including as executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian of the estate of a person or property.

Premises means an individual building, dwelling, or dwelling unit, and associated common areas or vacant land.

(3) Nuisance Prohibited. No person shall erect, contrive, cause, continue, maintain, or permit to exist any nuisance within the City.

(4) Notice and Notice Procedure.

(a) Notice and Designation of Chronic Nuisance Properties. Whenever the Committee determines that a premises meets the definition of a chronic nuisance property, the Committee may direct the Chief to notify the premises owner in writing that the premises constitutes a chronic nuisance. In calculating the requisite nuisance activities, the Committee may count separate qualifying nuisance incidents resulting in enforcement action occurring on the same day (as long as they are distinct in time) or different days, but shall never count nuisance activities that were reported by the owner of the premises.

1. Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 66.0627(7), Police Department responses related to domestic abuse, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 813.12(1)(am), sexual assault as described under Wis. Stat. §§ 940.225, 948.02, and 948.025, or stalking, as described in Wis. Stat. § 940.32, shall not be used in calculating the nuisance activities to constitute a chronic nuisance.

2. The notice shall contain the street address or legal description sufficient to identify the premises, a description of the nuisance activities that have occurred at the premises, a statement indicating that the cost of future enforcement may be assessed as a special charge against the premises, and a notice as to the appeal rights of the owner. The notice shall be delivered as set forth in subsection (3)(c) of this section.

(b) Notice and Designation of Chronic Nuisance Landlord. Whenever the Committee finds that an owner meets the definition of a chronic nuisance landlord, the Committee may direct the Chief to notify the owner in writing that the owner is declared a chronic nuisance landlord. The notice shall contain the street addresses or legal descriptions sufficient to identify the premises forming the basis for the designation, and the other notice requirements set forth in this subsection (3). The notice shall further provide a statement that the owner shall, within 10 days of receipt of the notice, provide the Committee, in writing, a course of action that will be taken to abate the nuisance activities. The owner shall also be notified that failure to abate the nuisance activities shall result in the owner’s designation of chronic nuisance landlord being posted on the City’s website and in the Herald Times Reporter.

(c) Notice Procedure. Notice shall be deemed to be properly delivered if sent either by first class mail to the premises owner’s last known address or if delivered in person to the premises owner. If the premises owner cannot be located, the notice shall be deemed to be properly delivered if a copy of it is left at the premises owner’s usual place of abode in the presence of some competent member of the family at least 14 years of age or a competent adult currently residing there and who shall be informed of the contents of the notice. If a current address cannot be located, it shall be deemed sufficient if a copy of the notice is sent by first class mail to the last known address of the owner as identified by the records of the City Assessor or Manitowoc County Register of Deeds. If this address is returned, the Police Department may use any lawful resources available to locate the property owner.

(d) Abatement Plan. Any owner receiving such notice as set forth above shall meet with a Committee representative within 10 business days of receipt of such notice. The parties shall review the problems occurring at the property. Within 10 days of this meeting, a Committee representative, owner and property tenant shall meet, discuss and mutually prepare an abatement plan to address and eliminate the nuisance activity on the property. If the tenant is unable or unwilling to meet on such plan, a Committee representative and the property owner shall nonetheless meet to discuss such abatement plan. The Chief shall provide a written copy of the plan to the tenant. The plan shall also specify a name, address, and telephone number of a person living within 60 miles of the property who can be contacted in the event of further police, fire, or inspection contact. Failure to cooperate with the Committee in drafting a nuisance abatement plan or failure to abide by the terms of a nuisance abatement plan shall be deemed a violation of this section.

(e) Additional Nuisance Activity. Whenever the Committee determines that additional nuisance activity has occurred at a premises for which notice has been issued as set forth above, that this nuisance activity has occurred not less than 15 days after notice has been issued, and that reasonable efforts have not been made to abate the nuisance activity, the Committee may direct the Chief to calculate the cost of police response and enforcement for this and any subsequent nuisance activities and cause such charges and administrative costs to be assessed and collected as a special charge.

(5) Appeal. Appeal of the determination of the Committee that the property is a chronic nuisance property may be submitted to the Common Council within 10 days of notice. Wis. Stat. Ch. 68 shall not apply to such an appeal.

(6) First Offense. Any person who shall violate any provision of this section or any regulation, rule, or order made hereunder shall forfeit not less than $500.00 nor more than $2,000.

(7) Subsequent Offenses. Any person who shall violate any provision of this section or any regulation, rule, or order made hereunder within 24 months after committing a previous violation of this section shall forfeit not less than $1,000.

[Ord. 21-983 § 1, 2021; Ord. 18-042 § 2, 2018; Ord. 17-1218 § 4, 2018; Ord. 17-063 § 1, 2017; Ord. 15-334 § 1, 2015; Ord. 09-183 §§ 1 – 4, 2009. Prior code § 14.321]