Section 16-318 Police chief determination of chronic nuisance property.

(a) Before any property is determined to be a chronic nuisance property, the chief of police must notify the property owner in writing that at least two nuisance activities have occurred on or within two hundred (200) feet of the property and that the property is in danger of becoming a chronic nuisance property. The notice shall identify the property and describe the alleged nuisance activities in detail including the dates on which the alleged nuisance activities occurred. The notice shall instruct the property owner to respond to the notice by either disputing the allegations of nuisance activities or proposing a plan to abate the nuisance activities. The notice shall be served on the property owner by first class and certified mail or by personal service in the same manner as legal process is served under any Missouri statute or court rule.

(b) The chief of police shall meet with any property owner who requests a meeting to dispute an allegation of nuisance activity or to discuss a plan to abate the nuisance activities. The property owner shall be notified of the position of the chief of police on all disputed allegations of nuisance activity within thirty (30) days after the meeting.

(c) If, after a property owner has received notice under subsection (a), the chief of police determines that an additional nuisance activity has occurred on or within two hundred (200) feet of the property causing the property to become a chronic nuisance property, the chief of police shall give the property owner written notice of the determination. The notice shall identify the property and describe in detail the alleged nuisance activities that cause a property to be a chronic nuisance property. The notice shall be served on the property owner by first class and certified mail or by personal service in the same manner as legal process is served under any Missouri statute or court rule. A notice mailed by first class mail shall be presumed received three (3) days after it is mailed. The property owner shall have ten (10) days after receipt of the notice to arrange a meeting with the chief of police to dispute the determination of chronic nuisance property or persuade the chief of police to defer submitting the matter to the city manager for abatement or to the city prosecutor for prosecution.

(e) If, after the property owner has been given the opportunity to meet with the chief of police, the chief still believes that the property is a chronic nuisance property, the chief may submit a report on the matter to the city manager for abatement under section 16-319 or to the city prosecutor for prosecution under section 16-321. The chief of police may defer referring a chronic nuisance property to the city manager or the prosecutor if the property owner has presented an abatement plan satisfactory to the chief of police and has made good faith efforts to implement the plan.

(f) Copies of the notices required under subsections (a) and (c) shall be sent to any active neighborhood association and any active neighborhood watch group for the neighborhood or watch area in which the property is located.