7.972 Burden of Proof, Defenses, Mitigation of Civil Penalty.
(1) The City shall have the initial burden of proof to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is a chronic nuisance property.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to an action against a chronic nuisance property that the person in charge at all material times could not, in the exercise of reasonable care or diligence, determine that the property had become chronic nuisance property, or could not, in spite of the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, control the conduct leading to the determination that the property is a chronic nuisance property.
(3) In establishing the amount of any civil penalty requested, the Court may consider any of the following factors and shall cite those found applicable:
(a) The actions taken by the person in charge to mitigate or correct the nuisance activities at the property;
(b) The financial condition of the person in charge;
(c) Whether the problem at the property was repeated or continuous;
(d) The magnitude or gravity of the problem;
(e) The cooperativeness of the person in charge with the city;
(f) The cost incurred by the city for investigating and correcting or attempting to correct the nuisance activities;
(g) Any other factor deemed by the court to be relevant.