Nicholas H. Manley, Esq.

*1 As the attorney for the City of Southaven (“City”) and on behalf of the City, I request guidance regarding notice for condemned properties under Mississippi Code 21-19-11.

*1 Pursuant to Mississippi Code 21-19-11, the City is in the process of addressing certain structures and homes which are a “menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community.” As part of providing the notice required by Mississippi Code 21-19-11, two (2) weeks before the hearing, the City mails notice to the address of the offending property and to the address where notice of the ad valorem tax is received. In addition, the City also posts notice for at least two (2) weeks before the date of a hearing on the property or parcel of land alleged to be in need of cleaning and at City Hall.

*1 Currently, there are certain properties, which are “burned out” and constitute abandoned or dilapidated homes. In these instances, as noted above, the City provides notice by mailing and posting on the property as required by Mississippi Code 21-19-11; however, due to the fact that a couple of the properties are abandoned and/or vacant, the notices sent by the City to the property address and address for ad valorem tax are sent back to the City as undeliverable. While the City has attempted to locate alternate addresses and the owners of the property, in some instances, it is not able to locate anything. I am not able to locate any requirements for notice for condemned properties outside of the mailing and posting as set forth in Mississippi Code 21-19-11. Assuming the City mails the notice to the property address and place of the ad valorem tax property notice, along with posting notice on the property, may the City continue with the condemnation process, including the removing the abandoned and dilapidated structures, even with the notice sent by mail is undeliverable?

*1 In responding to this request, if you should need any additional information or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you in advance for your usual prompt and courteous assistance.

*2 1) To determine whether property or parcel of land located within a municipality is in such a state of uncleanliness as to be a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community, a governing authority of any municipality shall conduct a hearing, on its own motion, or upon the receipt of a petition signed by a majority of the residents residing within four hundred (400) feet of any property or parcel of land alleged to be in need of the cleaning. Notice shall be provided to the property owner by:

*2 (a) United States mail two (2) weeks before the date of the hearing mailed to the address of the subject property and to the address where the ad valorem tax notice for such property is sent by the office charged with collecting ad valorem tax; and

*2 (b) Posting notice for at least two (2) weeks before the date of a hearing on the property or parcel of land alleged to be in need of cleaning and at city hall or another place in the municipality where such notices are posted.

*2 Any notice required by this section shall include language that informs the property owner that an adjudication at the hearing that the property or parcel of land is in need of cleaning will authorize the municipality to reenter the property or parcel of land for a period of one (1) year after final adjudication without any further hearing if notice is posted on the property or parcel of land and at city hall or another place in the municipality where such notices are generally posted at least seven (7) days before the property or parcel of land is reentered for cleaning. A copy of the required notice mailed and posted as required by this section shall be recorded in the minutes of the governing authority in conjunction with the hearing required by this section.

*2 If, at such hearing, the governing authority shall adjudicate the property or parcel of land in its then condition to be a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community, the governing authority, if the owner does not do so himself, shall proceed to clean the land, by the use of municipal employees or by contract, by cutting grass and weeds; filling cisterns; removing rubbish, abandoned or dilapidated fences, outside toilets, abandoned or dilapidated buildings, slabs, personal property, which removal of personal property shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 21-39-21, and other debris; and draining cesspools and standing water therefrom. The governing authority may by resolution adjudicate the actual cost of cleaning the property and may also impose a penalty not to exceed One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) or fifty percent (50%) of the actual cost, whichever is more. The cost and any penalty may become a civil debt against the property owner, and/or, at the option of the governing authority, an assessment against the property. The “cost assessed against the property” means either the cost to the municipality of using its own employees to do the work or the cost to the municipality of any contract executed by the municipality to have the work done, and administrative costs and legal costs of the municipality. For subsequent cleaning within the one-year period after the date of the hearing at which the property or parcel of land was adjudicated in need of cleaning, upon seven (7) days' notice posted both on the property or parcel of land adjudicated in need of cleaning and at city hall or another place in the municipality where such notices are generally posted, and consistent with the municipality's adjudication as authorized in this subsection (1), a municipality may reenter the property or parcel of land to maintain cleanliness without further notice or hearing no more than six (6) times in any twelve-month period with respect to removing abandoned or dilapidated buildings, slabs, dilapidated fences and outside toilets, and no more than twelve (12) times in any twenty-four-month period with respect to cutting grass and weeds and removing rubbish, personal property and other debris on the land, and the expense of cleaning of the property, except as otherwise provided in this section for removal of hazardous substances, shall not exceed an aggregate amount of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) per year, or the fair market value of the property subsequent to cleaning, whichever is more. The aggregate cost of removing hazardous substances will be the actual cost of such removal to the municipality and shall not be subject to the Twenty Thousand Dollar ($20,000.00) limitation provided in this subsection. The governing authority may assess the same penalty for each time the property or land is cleaned as otherwise provided in this section. The penalty provided herein shall not be assessed against the State of Mississippi upon request for reimbursement under Section 29-1-145, nor shall a municipality clean a parcel owned by the State of Mississippi without first giving notice.