What is a Summary Abatement?
“Summary abatement” is the term the City uses to describe what is done when the City removes (or abates) the conditions that are considered a nuisance and violate City codes after the owner has failed to do so.
Summary abatements are used for:
- Trash, garbage, or other waste removal if the owner does not address the issue when ordered
- Cutting tall grass or weeds if the owner fails to do so
- Boarding vacant buildings that have broken windows, open doors, or holes, if the owner has failed to secure the building
- Broken sewer lines, which may happen during rodent or pest extermination
- Other property nuisances, such as hazards, hazardous wastes, graffiti, noxious substances, firewood, stagnant water, lack of snow and ice clearing, etc.
The City's action may be prompt after allowing the owner a reasonable time to remove the nuisance. The cost of a summary abatement is charged to the property owner as a special assessment.
Substantial Abatement
Substantial abatements are used for:
- Demolition of vacant buildings, if the owner fails to rehabilitate or demolish the building within a reasonable time, and
- Major clean-up of garbage or other nuisance more than $3,000.
Assessments
An assessment is the City's mechanism to recover costs for performing improvements on such things as sidewalks, alleys, or street lighting. It also is used in nuisance violations when the City has to pay a contractor to do the work when the property owner has not.
To find out about any assessments attached to your property use the City of Saint Paul’s Assessment Lookup tool. You may search by property address or by Property ID number. Find the Assessment Lookup portal here.
Cost and Billing
The City's costs include the direct cost of the nuisance abatement as well as costs related to notice, legal, and administration. Therefore, the cost assessed for a City cleanup is significantly higher than an owner's cost to do the same work.
Unless paid when due, an assessment appears as a charge added to the registered owner's property tax bill. It is usually due with the next year's property taxes. Substantial Abatement, which is a large assessment for such things as the demolition of a vacant building, may be spread over a longer time by Council action. For information on City property taxes or current assessments, call 651-266-8858.
Appeals
Property owners may appeal a correction notice sent by Property Code or Fire Safety inspectors. The owner may appeal if he or she does not agree with an order:
- Code violation orders may be appealed to the Legislative Hearing Officer, who can support or reverse an inspector's order, subject to City Council review.
- Summary abatement orders and assessments can be appealed to the Legislative Hearing Officer, subject to City Council review.
- Zoning violation orders can be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals; their decisions can be appealed to the City Council.