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Property Maintenance FAQs |
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How do I make a complaint?
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Complaints can be made by calling the complaint
hotline at 630-762-2770 or through our website's
online form.
Please include detailed location of complaint,
type of complaint and location on property.
Complaints made after hours or on weekends will
be responded to the next business day.
Open burning complaints during normal business
hours should be called into 630-444-3040. For
burning complaints outside of normal business
hours please contact the Kane County Sheriff’s
non-emergency number at 630-232-8400.
*Please note:
Agencies who respond to complaints of open
burning are responsible for a variety of
issues. Agency response will be prioritized
according to protocol established by each
agency.
If you are reporting a fire that is a life
threatening or is a fire safety issue, CALL 911.
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What agencies respond to
property maintenance complaints?
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Response to property maintenance complaints is a
collaborative effort by the Kane County Building
Department, Health Department and Animal
Control. Complaints are assigned to departments
based on the type of complaint and the location
of the complaint. All departments utilize one
complaint tracking system, allowing staff from
each department to receive, enter inspection
information and update the public on the status
of complaints.
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I called in a complaint
last week and nothing has changed. What is the
county doing?
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The general procedure for responding to property
maintenance complaints is:
• Once a complaint is received it is
issued a complaint number and assigned to an
inspector.
• The inspector will conduct
an inspection of the property to verify the
violation.
• If the inspector finds violations, a
complaint notice with a date for compliance
(generally 5 -30 days depending on violation)
will be sent to property owner.
• The inspector will conduct a follow up
inspection after the date set in the violation
notice
to determine if the property has come
into compliance.
• If the violation is not corrected, the
inspector can send notice to the property owner
that they must attend an Administrative
Adjudication hearing.
In every case, the County tries to work with the
individual to achieve compliance.
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What is Administrative
Adjudication?
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Administrative Adjudication is a process in
which the property owner is required to attend a
hearing in front of the county administrative
adjudication officer. The officer is a licensed
attorney hired by the county to oversee these
hearings. The hearings are held the second
Thursday of each month. At the hearing, the
county is presents evidence of the violation to
the hearing officer and the complainant also
presents their case to the hearing officer.
Based on the testimony and evidence the hearing
officer can do any/all of the following:
continue the case to the next month to allow
further time for the violation to be corrected,
assess fines and costs or close the complaint.
Violations can be referred to the court system
if compliance is not achieved thru the
administrative adjudication process.
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Does the county have an
abatement/cleanup program?
(Mowing grass, property clean up done by the
county and the property owner is billed.)
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No. It is the responsibility of each property
owner to correct any violation found on their
property.
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The house next door is
vacant and may be in foreclosure. What can the
county do to ensure the house is maintained?
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The property maintenance ordinance requires:
That the owner of record for any residential
dwelling that has become vacant, shall within
thirty (30) days after the dwelling becomes
vacant, file a registration statement for each
such dwelling with the community development
department on forms provided by the community
development department for such purposes. The
registration shall remain valid for one year
from the date of registration. The owner shall
be required to annually renew the registration
as long as the dwelling remains vacant and shall
pay an annual registration fee of fifty dollars
($50.00) for each registered dwelling. The
property owner must also designate a local
person/company that is responsible for
maintaining the property.
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Why are you investigating
complaints on my property and not the
neighboring properties around me?
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The property maintenance program is a complaint
driven program. Only properties that have had
complaints made against them are investigated.
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