The city engineer, the city zoning administrator, and agents or officers and employees of the city designated by them, or any of them, shall have authority to enter upon privately owned land for the purpose of performing the assigned duties and responsibilities of the zoning administrator and city engineer under this chapter and may take or cause to be made such examinations, surveys or sampling as they deem necessary.

    A.    The city may require a bond with surety and conditions to secure compliance with this chapter prior to issuing building permits, granting zoning change requests or approving subdivision plats for properties involving sinkholes. The particular amount and the conditions of the bond will be consistent with the purposes of this chapter. In the event of a breach of any condition of such bond, the city may institute an action in a court of competent jurisdiction upon such bond and prosecute the same to judgment and execution. In lieu of a performance bond, the city may accept a letter of credit or cash escrow with conditions sufficient to secure compliance with the conditions set forth in this ordinance.

    B.    The zoning administrator shall have the authority to enforce this chapter and address violations or threatened violations hereof by issuance of violation notices, cease and desist orders and by filing civil and/or criminal actions on behalf of the city in a court of competent jurisdiction. All costs, fees and expenses incurred in connection with such actions may be recovered as damages against the violator.

    C.    Following thirty (30) days after mailing notice of violation to a violator, if offending substances and/or objects have not been removed from a sinkhole and/or the entry of pollutants into said surface water through the sinkhole have not been eliminated, the city (by and through its zoning administrator) may remove or employ a contractor or contractors to remove the offending substances and/or objects and/or to take corrective and protective action the city deems necessary to minimize, and if possible eliminate, the entry of pollutants into subsurface water through the sinkhole. In case of emergency, to avoid contamination of ground water endangering health and safety of the public, only such notice as the zoning administrator determines the circumstances allow shall be required and the city may act to cure immediately. The city may bill the violator for the reasonable costs of such action. Failure of the violator to pay the bill could result in the city filing an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to collect the bill. Further, the failure of the violator to pay the bill may result in the city having a lien against the property where the violation occurred to secure payment of the bill, by the city filing a notice of lien in the office of the country recorder of the county where the property is located. Such lien may be foreclosed as in cases involving the foreclosure of real estate mortgages or mechanic’ s liens under Illinois law.

    D.    When the zoning administrator determines that a building or other structure has been constructed in violation of this chapter, the violator shall be required to remove the structure at the discretion of the city council.

    E.    When removal of vegetative cover, excavation, or fill has taken place in violation of this chapter, the violator shall be required to restore the effected land to its original contours and to restore vegetation, as far as practicable. (Ord. 1872 § 2 (part), 2000)