H.F. 2120 Section 1. Section 657.1, subsection 1, Code 2009, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. Whatever is injurious to health, indecent, or 3 unreasonably offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to 4 the free use of property, so as essentially to interfere 5 unreasonably with the comfortable enjoyment of life or 6 property, is a nuisance, and a civil action by ordinary 7 proceedings petition for abatement may be brought pursuant to 8 section 657A.2A to enjoin and abate the nuisance and to recover 9 damages sustained on account of the nuisance. 10 Sec. 2. Section 657.2, Code 2009, is amended by adding the 11 following new subsection: 12 NEW SUBSECTION . 6A. a. Real property related to multiple 13 arrests, where the facts and circumstances that lead to each 14 arrest are wholly unrelated and occurred or partially occurred 15 on or within the real property but where the arrest itself need 16 not have actually occurred on or within the real property. 17 b. As used in this subsection: 18 (1) “Arrest” means an arrest related to a nuisance 19 established by local ordinance. 20 (2) “Multiple arrests” means any of the following: 21 (a) Two or more arrests occurring within a twelve-month 22 period related to a single-family home, multiple dwelling-unit 23 building, or a vacant structure or building. 24 (b) Two or more arrests occurring within a twelve-month 25 period related to the grounds of any real property comprising 26 a single-family home, multiple dwelling-unit building, or a 27 vacant structure or building. 28 (c) One or more arrests occurring within a twelve-month 29 period related to a single-family home, multiple dwelling-unit 30 building, or a vacant structure or building, and one or more 31 arrests occurring within a twelve-month period related to the 32 real property comprising the single-family home, multiple 33 dwelling complex of buildings, or a vacant structure or 34 building. 35 -1- LSB 5036YH (13) 83 jm/rj 1/ 5

H.F. 2120 (3) “Multiple dwelling-unit building” means a single 1 building containing two or more housing units. 2 (4) “Multiple dwelling complex of buildings” means two or 3 more buildings together containing two or more housing units 4 owned or leased by the same entity. 5 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 657.2A Petition. 6 1. A petition for abatement of a nuisance listed under 7 section 657.2 may be filed in the district court of the county 8 in which the property is located, by the city in which the 9 property is located, by the county if the property is located 10 outside the limits of a city, by a neighboring landowner, or 11 by a duly organized nonprofit corporation located in the city 12 or county in which the property in question is located and 13 which has community betterment as one of its corporate goals. 14 Service on the owner shall be by personal service or if service 15 cannot be made, it may be made by posting the notice in a 16 conspicuous place on the property and by publication. 17 2. If a petition filed pursuant to this chapter alleges that 18 a property is a nuisance or contains a nuisance, the city, the 19 county if the property is located outside the limits of a city, 20 a neighboring landowner, or a nonprofit corporation may apply 21 for an injunction requiring the owner of the property to abate 22 the nuisance. The court shall conduct a hearing no earlier 23 than twenty days after written notice of the application for 24 an injunction and of the date and time of the hearing is served 25 upon the owner of the property. Notice of the hearing shall be 26 served in the manner provided in subsection 1. 27 3. If the court finds at the hearing that the property is 28 a nuisance, the court shall issue an injunction requiring the 29 owner to abate the nuisance, or another order that the court 30 considers necessary or appropriate to abate the nuisance. 31 4. In a proceeding under this chapter, if the court makes 32 the finding described in subsection 3 and that the owner 33 of the property has been afforded reasonable opportunity 34 to abate the nuisance but has refused or failed to do so, 35 -2- LSB 5036YH (13) 83 jm/rj 2/ 5

H.F. 2120 the court may proceed under sections 657.3 through 657.7, 1 or as an alternative remedy the court may proceed with the 2 receivership provisions under sections 657A.3 through 657A.10 3 and cause notice of the findings to be served upon the owner, 4 each mortgagee or other lienholder of record, and other known 5 interested persons, and shall order the persons served to 6 show cause why a receiver should not be appointed to perform 7 work and to furnish material that reasonably may be required 8 to abate the nuisance. For purposes of proceeding under the 9 receivership provisions under sections 657A.3 through 657A.10, 10 a “nuisance” under this section shall be considered a “public 11 nuisance” under sections 657A.3 through 657A.10. The notice 12 shall be served in the manner provided in subsection 1. 13 5. In a proceeding under this chapter, if the court 14 determines the property is not a nuisance the court shall 15 dismiss the petition and may require the petitioner to pay the 16 owner’s reasonable attorney fees actually incurred. 17 Sec. 4. Section 657A.1, subsection 7, Code 2009, is amended 18 to read as follows: 19 7. “Public nuisance” means a building that is a menace to 20 the public health, welfare, or safety, or that is structurally 21 unsafe, unsanitary, or not provided with adequate safe egress, 22 or that constitutes a fire hazard, or is otherwise dangerous to 23 human life, or that in relation to the existing use constitutes 24 a hazard to the public health, welfare, or safety by reason 25 of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, or 26 abandonment. “Public nuisance” also means a nuisance under 27 section 657.2. 28 EXPLANATION 29 This bill specifies a legal process to abate certain 30 nuisances. 31 The bill creates a nuisance for multiple arrests that occur 32 on the same property. 33 The bill defines “arrest” to mean an arrest related to a 34 nuisance established by a local ordinance. 35 -3- LSB 5036YH (13) 83 jm/rj 3/ 5

H.F. 2120 The bill defines “multiple arrests” within a twelve-month 1 period to include the following: two or more arrests related 2 to a single-family home, multiple dwelling-unit building, or a 3 vacant structure or building; two or more arrests related to 4 the real property comprising a single-family home, multiple 5 dwelling-unit building, or a vacant structure or building; or 6 one or more arrests related to a single-family home, multiple 7 dwelling-unit building, or a vacant structure or building, 8 and one or more arrests on the real property comprising a 9 single-family home, multiple dwelling complex of buildings, or 10 a vacant structure or building. 11 The bill also defines a “multiple dwelling-unit building” to 12 mean a single building containing two or more housing units. 13 The bill defines a “multiple dwelling complex of buildings” 14 to mean two or more buildings together containing two or more 15 housing units owned or leased by the same entity. 16 In order for real property to be established as a nuisance, 17 the facts and circumstances that lead to an arrest must 18 occur or partially occur on the real property subject to 19 the provisions of the bill but it is not necessary for the 20 arrest to actually occur on such property. The facts and 21 circumstances for each arrest must also be wholly unrelated. 22 The bill establishes a legal process to abate a nuisance for 23 all nuisances listed in Code section 657.2 including nuisances 24 related to multiple arrests on a property. Under the bill, 25 a petition for abatement of a nuisance may be filed by a 26 city, county, a neighboring landowner, or by a duly organized 27 nonprofit corporation located in the city or county where the 28 property containing the nuisance is located and which has 29 community betterment as one of its goals. 30 Under the bill, if the petition for abatement contains 31 an application for an injunction requiring the owner of the 32 property to abate the nuisance, the court shall conduct a 33 hearing on the application for an injunction no earlier than 20 34 days after notice of the application is served upon the owner 35 -4- LSB 5036YH (13) 83 jm/rj 4/ 5

H.F. 2120 of the property. 1 If the court finds the property is a nuisance, the bill 2 requires the court to issue an injunction requiring the owner 3 to abate the nuisance, or allows the court to consider other 4 orders necessary to abate the nuisance. 5 Under the bill, if the court finds a property is a nuisance 6 and the owner of the property has had a reasonable time to 7 abate the nuisance but has failed to abate the nuisance, two 8 remedies are available to the court. 9 First, the court may proceed with the remedies available 10 to the court that exist in Code sections 657.3 through 657.7, 11 including prosecuting the owner for committing an aggravated 12 misdemeanor. 13 Second, as an alternative remedy, the court may proceed 14 under the receivership provisions in Code sections 657A.3 15 through 657A.10. Under the receivership provisions, the 16 court shall notify all interested parties in the property and 17 order the parties to show cause why a receiver should not be 18 appointed to perform the work or provide the materials to abate 19 the nuisance. If a receiver is appointed, the receiver may 20 take possession and control of the property, incur costs to 21 abate the nuisance, and be reimbursed for the costs to abate 22 the nuisance. 23 If the court determines the property is not a nuisance under 24 the bill, the petitioner may be required to pay the attorney 25 fees incurred by the owner defending the property. 26 -5- LSB 5036YH (13) 83 jm/rj 5/ 5