A. Deemed Abandoned: A tower or transmission equipment shall be deemed abandoned if, for reasons within the reasonable control of the owner, it remains unused or unoperated for a period of twelve (12) consecutive months, unless a shorter abandonment period is provided in the applicable lease, in which event, the abandonment period specified in the applicable lease shall govern, and such abandonment shall be as determined by the city council. All or any portion of a personal wireless service facility deemed abandoned or unused under this subsection shall be removed according to the decommissioning and restoration plan described in this section.
B. Removal And Hearing: All abandoned or unused portions of a personal wireless service facility shall be removed within six (6) months of the board's determination that such facilities are abandoned, unless a time extension is approved by the city council. Before the board makes a finding or issues an order for removal of the facility resulting from its abandonment, the applicant and the owner shall be given an opportunity for a predeprivation hearing in the manner described below:
1. When the city believes all or any part of a facility has been abandoned, the city manager shall cause a notice of facility abandonment to be sent via first class mail to the owner of the facility. The notice of facility abandonment shall state the name and address of the owner, the name and address of the property owner, a summary of the grounds for the city's determination and describe the opportunity for a hearing.
2. Failure to request a hearing within twenty one (21) days from the date of the notice will result in the city council making its determination solely on the basis of evidence presented by the city staff.
3. A person may challenge the validity of the notice of facility abandonment by requesting a hearing and appearing in person to submit evidence which would disprove abandonment, or the term for which the facility has not been used or operated is less than twelve (12) months. Upon a request for a hearing, the city manager shall schedule the hearing for a regular or special city council meeting.
4. All parties shall be given a reasonable opportunity to present testimony and evidence at the hearing. A request for a continuance of the hearing date must be made in person before the city council and may be granted upon a showing of good cause. The formal rules of evidence will not apply at the hearing.
C. Notice: Written notice of the board's determination of abandonment shall be sent via regular mail, and via certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of the personal wireless service facilities and the owner of the property, as determined by reference to the records of the chief county assessment officer.
D. Decommissioning And Restoration Plan: Prior to receiving a building permit and/or conditional use permit for the construction of a personal wireless service facility, the owner and/or operator must include a decommissioning and restoration plan with the application to ensure such facility and all related equipment is properly decommissioned. The owner of the facility and the underlying property owner(s) shall be jointly liable for the removal of all equipment associated with the facility at the expiration of the conditional use permit, if any, the end of the useful life of the facility, or when the facility is abandoned as herein described. The decommissioning and restoration plan shall contain:
1. Provisions for removal of the facility and all related equipment, including those below the soil surface.
2. Provisions for the restoration of the property and improvements upon completion of the decommissioning of the facility and all related equipment.
3. An estimated cost of decommissioning certified by an authorized agent of the applicant and the financial resources to be used to accomplish decommissioning.
4. A right of entry onto the site granted to the city, pursuant to reasonable notice to effect or complete decommissioning and/or restoration.
E. Nuisance: Any facility which remains erected more than six (6) months after the expiration of the conditional use permit, if any, the end of the useful life of the facility, or the facility is determined to be abandoned shall be deemed a nuisance.
F. Lien On Costs Of Enforcement Or Removal:
1. If the city incurs any costs to abate the nuisance caused by the owner and petitioner's failure to perform the applicant's decommissioning and restoration plan in a timely manner, that cost is a lien upon that underlying parcel. If, for any one parcel, the city engaged in any enforcement activity or performed plan activities on more than one occasion during the course of one year, then the city may combine any or all of the costs of each of those activities into a single lien.
2. To perfect a lien under this section, the city must, within one year after the cost is incurred, file notice of lien in the office of the Coles County recorder. The notice must consist of a sworn statement setting out:
a. A description of the underlying parcel that sufficiently identifies the parcel;
b. The amount of the enforcement or removal cost; and
c. The date or dates when the enforcement or removal cost was incurred by the city.
3. The removal cost is not a lien on the underlying parcel unless a notice is personally served on, or sent by certified mail, to the applicant and the person to whom the tax bill for the general taxes on the property for the taxable year was sent, not less than ten (10) days preceding the removal activities. The notice must: a) state the substance of this section; b) identify the underlying parcel, by common description; and c) describe the city's proposed activity.
4. A lien under this section may be enforced by proceedings to foreclose as in case of mortgages. An action to foreclose a lien under this section must be commenced within two (2) years after the date of filing notice of lien. Failure to file a foreclosure action does not, in any way, affect the validity of the lien against the underlying parcel.
5. Upon payment of the lien cost by the applicant or owner of the underlying parcel after notice of lien has been filed, the city shall release the lien, and the release may be filed of record by the owner at his or her sole expense as in the case of filing notice of lien. (Ord. 15-O-16, 5-5-2015)