Sec. 19-6. Maintenance of premises; duty of owner.

(a) Duty to maintain free from health and safety endangering substances and nuisances. It shall be the duty of the owners of real property in the county to maintain such property at all times free from any accumulation of solid waste, trash, garbage, refuse, litter or other substances which might endanger the health or safety of other residents of the county or otherwise constitute a nuisance.

(b) Duty to cut grass, weeds, etc., on undeveloped property. It shall be the duty of the owners of vacant developed or undeveloped real property in the county to provide for the cutting of grass, weeds and other foreign growth on such property or any part thereof as often as may be necessary to prevent breeding and harboring places for insects, reptiles or rodents, and other hazards that endanger or may endanger the public health, safety or welfare.

(c) Duty to cut grass on occupied real property. It shall be the duty of the owners of occupied residential real property, unless it is being actively farmed, in the county to cut any grass or lawn area of less than one-half (½) acre on such property or any part thereof when growth on such grass or lawn area exceeds twelve inches (12") in height.

(d) Authority of administrator to investigate and cause work to be done. The county administrator may investigate conditions existing on any real property in the county at any time and, upon a determination that the owner of such property stands in violation of his duty as provided in this section, written notice shall be provided to the owner and to the person primarily responsible if different from the owner of such property stating the facts which constitute a violation of paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) above and directing the owner to take such action as may be necessary to rectify such conditions within fifteen (15) days of the date of the notice and, if the owner shall fail to comply with the terms of the notice, then the county administrator shall cause to be done such work as may be necessary to abate the offending condition by agents or employees of the county.

(e) Billing and collection of expenses. All expenses resulting from the correction of a violation by the agents or employees of the county shall be billed to the owner and shall, unless paid in full within fifteen (15) days, be certified by the county administrator to the county treasurer who shall collect such amount as taxes and levies are collected; and all charges not so collected shall constitute a lien against such property.

(f) When notice deemed served. Any notice required by this section shall be conclusively deemed to have been served when mailed by certified or registered mail to the current owner at the address shown on the land records of the commissioner of the revenue of the county.