§ 8-2100. Inspection, required, notice; abatement procedure.

The enforcement officer may, either upon his/her own authority or upon a complaint of one or more residents of the City of Atlanta, cause an inspection of any building or structure in the City of Atlanta to be conducted. This section shall not be construed to require both an enforcement officer acting on his/her own authority and receiving a resident complaint to cause said inspection. If, in the event the mayor or his appointed designee should find that a condition or conditions exist which would bring such building or structure within the definition of a nuisance as set forth in section 8-2099 above, he shall cause a notice by certified mail to be sent to the owner of record of property. Said notice shall enumerate the conditions which, in the opinion of the mayor or his designee, cause the building or structure to constitute a nuisance; shall enumerate the actions which such person should take in order to abate the nuisance; and shall advise such person that any subsequent entry by non-owner or non-tenant shall subject him to the City of Atlanta's Nuisance Abatement Ordinance. In the event that there is a subsequent unauthorized entry, the owner shall again be notified by certified mail of the entry and of the action which should be taken in order to abate the nuisance. In the event that the person so notified for the second time shall have failed to take the necessary steps which, in the opinion of the mayor or his designee, constitutes the abatement of the ordinance within 14 days of the date of the second notice, he or his designee shall be authorized to take the following action to abate said nuisance:

(1)

Cause a citation to issue to any resident owner of any property, requiring the owner of the property to appear in the Municipal Court of the City of Atlanta on a day certain to answer the charges of maintaining a nuisance;

(2)

Cause the City Attorney of the City of Atlanta to proceed in any appropriate Superior Court of the State of Georgia having the proper venue to try and determine the cause, in the event the owner is a non-resident of the City of Atlanta but a resident of the State of Georgia; or

(3)

Cause the city attorney to institute the proper proceeding in any appropriate court of the State of Georgia against a non-resident of the State of Georgia in accordance with the applicable laws of the State of Georgia governing personal jurisdiction over non-residents of the state.

(Code 1977, § 8-2100; Ord. No. 2002-63, § 1, 8-26-02)