(a)        If a county adopts and implements a plan for the management of abandoned manufactured homes pursuant to this Part, the county shall notify the responsible party and the owner of the property on whose land the abandoned manufactured home is located for each identified abandoned manufactured home in the county that the abandoned manufactured home must be properly disposed of by the responsible party within 90 days. The notice shall be in writing and shall be served on the person as provided by Rule 4(j) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1 The notice shall disclose the basis for the action and advise that a hearing will be held before a designated public officer at a place within the county in which the manufactured home is located not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days after the serving of the notice; that the responsible party shall be given the right to file an answer to the order and to appear in person, or otherwise, and give testimony at the place and time fixed in the notice; and that the rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not be controlling in hearings before the public officer.

(b)        If, after notice and hearing, the public officer determines that the manufactured home under consideration is abandoned, the officer shall state in writing the officer’s findings of fact in support of that determination, and the county shall order the responsible party to dispose of the abandoned manufactured home within 90 days of the expiration of this period. If the responsible party fails to comply with this order, the county shall take any action it deems reasonably necessary to dispose of the abandoned manufactured home, including entering the property where the abandoned manufactured home is located and arranging to have the abandoned manufactured home deconstructed and disposed of in a manner consistent with the plan developed under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-309.113(a). If the responsible party is not the owner of the property on which the abandoned manufactured home is located, the county may order the property owner to permit entry onto the owner’s property by an appropriate party to permit the removal and proper disposal of the abandoned manufactured home.

(c)        When a county removes, deconstructs, and disposes of an abandoned manufactured home pursuant to this section, whether directly or through a party that contracted with the county, the responsible party shall be liable for the actual costs incurred by the county, directly or indirectly, for its abatement activities and its administrative and legal expenses incurred, less the amount of grants for reimbursement received by the county under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-309.115 for the disposal activities for that manufactured home. The county may initiate a civil action to recover these unpaid costs from the responsible party. Nonpayment of any portion of the actual costs incurred by the county shall result in the imposition of a lien on any real property in the county owned by the responsible party.

(d)       This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1)        A retail business premises where manufactured homes are sold.

(2)        A solid waste disposal facility where no more than 10 manufactured homes are stored at one time if all of the manufactured homes received for storage are deconstructed or removed from the facility within one year after receipt.

(e)        This section does not change the existing authority of a county or a municipality to enforce any existing laws or of any person to abate a nuisance. ?(2008-136, s. 1.)