Sec. 26. (a) A sign that is in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter is a public nuisance.

(b) If the department determines that a public nuisance exists, the department shall give notice under subsection (c) to:

(1) the owner of the property on which the public nuisance is located; and

(2) the owner of the public nuisance, if the owner of the public nuisance can be determined by reasonable inquiry.

(c) The department shall give notice of the determination under IC 4-21.5-3-6. The notice must include the following information:

(1) The name and address of the owner of the property or the owner of the sign.

(2) A description of the sign, including its location, that has been determined to be a public nuisance under this section.

(3) That the sign has been determined to be a public nuisance and the reasons for the determination.

(4) That the person receiving the notice has thirty (30) days after the date on which the notice was sent to:

(A) remove the sign from the property on which the sign is located; or

(B) file a petition for review under IC 4-21.5.

(5) That if after thirty (30) days the sign has not been removed or a petition for review has not been filed, the department will remove the sign or cause the sign to be removed.

(6) That if the department removes the sign or causes the sign to be removed, the person receiving notice will be charged the cost of the removal of the sign, including all administrative costs, and a lien will be imposed on the property under subsection (e).

(7) Any other information the department determines to be necessary.

(d) To qualify for judicial review under IC 4-21.5-5 of a final agency action taken under this section, the person filing the petition for review must post a bond of five thousand dollars ($5,000) with the clerk of the court in which the petition for review is filed. If the court determines that the request for review was:

(1) frivolous;

(2) in bad faith; or

(3) taken for the primary purpose of delaying the removal of a sign that is in violation of this chapter;

the bond shall be forfeited to the state highway fund.

(e) If after:

(1) thirty (30) days following the date on which the notice was sent under subsection (c):

(A) a petition for review of the determination has not been filed; and

(B) the sign that is determined to be a public nuisance has not been removed; or

(2) a petition for review has been filed, a final determination that the sign is a public nuisance has been made, and the sign that is determined to be a public nuisance has not been removed;

the department shall enter the property and remove the public nuisance or cause the public nuisance to be removed. The department shall bill the owner of the property on which a sign that is determined to be a public nuisance is located for the cost of the removal. If the bill remains unpaid for at least thirty (30) days following the date on which the bill was issued, the department shall file the bill with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the property is located. The clerk shall immediately enter the bill on the judgment docket against the owner of the property as a lien against the property. The lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as other judgment liens, without relief from valuation or appraisement laws or right of redemption. Each owner of the property on which a sign that is determined to be a public nuisance is located is jointly and severally liable for the costs of the removal of the sign under this subsection.

(f) A lease or other contract for the display of a sign that is determined to be a public nuisance under this section is against public policy and may not be enforced. An owner from whom the costs of removing a sign that is determined to be a public nuisance are collected under subsection (e) is entitled to contribution from any other owners of the property.

As added by P.L.112-1993, SEC.2.