8.18.050 Determination of council or designee.
A. If the police chief determines that the owner has failed to abate the chronic nuisance or demonstrate good cause as to why the owner cannot do so, the police chief may refer the matter to the council or a hearings officer designated by the council for a hearing. The council or hearings officer shall give notice of the hearing to the owner and occupants, if different from the owner, and post notice of the hearing on the main entrance of the property. At the time set for hearing the owner and occupants may appear and be heard. The council or hearings officer shall determine de novo whether the property is chronic nuisance property, whether the nuisance has been abated and whether the owner has shown good cause or otherwise has a valid defense.
B. The city has the initial burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is chronic nuisance property. If the city is relying on an incident that occurred on property other than the property that is the subject of the chronic nuisance determination, the city shall demonstrate some causal relationship between activities occurring on the property and the incident. The activities must have contributed to, but need not be the sole or predominate cause of the incident. Evidence demonstrating a causal connection may include, but is not limited to:
1. That the owner knew or reasonably should have known that an employee, customer, invitee or other person associated with the property would engage in conduct listed in Section 3. B. 3;
2. Activities on the subject property that encouraged, engendered, promoted, contributed to or otherwise made the incident more likely to occur.
C. It shall be an affirmative defense to an action under this chapter that the owner could not, in spite of the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, control the activities on the subject property that constituted the incident or made the incident more likely to occur or otherwise remedy the situation leading to the finding that the property is chronic nuisance property. The owner has the burden of proving this defense by a preponderance of the evidence. The action shall be dismissed if the council or hearings officer determines that the owner has proven this defense.
D. If the owner can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the owner is unable to remedy the chronic nuisance within the time frames required by this chapter, the council or hearings officer may elect to grant more time and continue its final determination as the council or hearings officer determines is just. (Ord. 4784 §5, 2003).