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.Neighborhood Nuisance Handbook Page 6 of 1 7 ABANDONED BillLDINGS - UNFINISHED CONSTRUCTION Buildings with an unfinished exterior shell may qualify as vacant buildings, nuisance or dangerous structures if no work has been done on them for at least 180 days. If no work has been undertaken in that time span, the building permit expires. An owner may apply for one extension of a building permit under state law. To find out whether a building permit has expired, contact LIEP. If you are unsure about the rate of progress in completing a building or home improvement project affecting the exterior of a building, contact your District Councilor LIEP (266-9090) (see VACANT BillLDINGS). ADULT ENTERTAINMENT, ADULT USES Adult uses include adult bookstores, adult motion picture theatres, adult mini-motion picture theatres, adult massage parlors, adult steam room/bathhouse facilities, adult rap/conversation parlors, adult health/sport clubs, adult cabarets, and other premises, enterprises, businesses or places open to some or all members of the public. There should be an emphasis on the presentation, display, depiction or description of "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas" which are capable of being seen by members of the public. Adult establishments may presently be permitted to be located in B-3, B-4 and B-5 zoning districts, provided certain conditions are met. For instance, in a B-3 zone the use must be located at least 2,640 radial feet form any other adult use, at least 400 radial feet from a residential zone and cannot be in a building used for residential purposes. Adult establishments may also permitted to be located in 1-1 and 1-2 zoning districts with restrictions on the number of establishments and distance to other establishments. Questions about the location of adult entertainment establishments should be referred to LIEP (266- 9090). Problems which may occur at adult establishments, such as the sale of materials or access by minors should be referred to the Police Department (291-1111) or LIEP for investigation. If an adult establishment should have problems including prostitution, gambling, or operating a disorderly house, it may be a public nuisance (see PUBLIC NUISANCE). ASSESSMENT An assessment is the City's means to recover costs for taking care of a non-nuisance things such as sidewalks improvements, or street lighting, and nuisances which should have been removed by the property owner. Most violations of City ordinances are misdemeanors or petty misdemeanors and convicted violators are subject to criminal penalties (fines or even a short jail sentence). However, there are several types of nuisance violations for which the City may clean up or remove the nuisance and charge the costs for doing so to the property owner (see SUMMARY ABATEMENT). For information on City property taxes or current assessments call (266-8858). The City's costs include not only the direct cost of the nuisance abatement, but also notice, legal, and administrative costs. Therefore, the cost assessed for a City cleanup is significantly higher than the owner's cost to do the same cleanup. Unless paid immediately an assessment appears as a charge added to the registered owner's property tax bill, and is usually paid with the next year's property taxes. Large assessments, such as for demolition of a vacant building, may be spread over a longer time period by Council action. http://www.stpaul.gov /councillhandbook.html 07/06/1999