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into the record to assure that the order would survive an appeal to circuit court. The County Attorney's Office would be responsible for drafting the, ordinance and staffing the Board. PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES A Drug Nuisance Abatement Board with the power to shut down business for up to one year effectively transfers some of the responsibility for combatting drug dealing to private property owners. Repeated convictions for drug sales at the same location are evidence of a public nuisance. The owner can take steps to abate the nuisance when notified of its existence. Those having a property interest have a duty to use whatever legal means is available to see that the property is not used for unlawful purposes. If a property is shut down or if a business is shut down, the Drug Nuisance Abatement Board could retain jurisdiction to lift the order if the owner presented a showing of adequate security measures in place for a reopening. COST ISSUE Besides the staff time from a number of agencies necessary to bring a case to the point where an order of nuisance abatement can be entered, there will be additional real costs. Properties which are under a nuisance abatement order should be posted as such, with citation to the statute and a notice that any persons on the premises will be considered to be trespassing since the business is closed. The signs have a cost and vandalism is always a possibility, but at that point, if people continue to deal drugs from the premises, they may be arrested for trespassing which would give probable cause for a search which might disclose the possession of illegal drugs. The State Attorney's Office feels that this would be a step forward in combatting the drug dealing problem. PRACTICAL ISSUES The Code Enforcement Board presently has a very heavy schedule. At its January meeting over 22 cases were on the agenda. The meeting ran from 1:30 to after 5:00 with no breaks. The additional responsibility to sit as a Drug Nuisance Abatement Board may entail some delay in hearing cases simply because of already lengthy agendas. RECOMMENDATION Authorize the County Attorney's Office to draft an ordinance establishing the Code Enforcement Board as a Drug Nuisance Abatement Board, which ordinance implements the recommendations of the Committee report as set out above. Commissioner Scurlock did not feel the Board should vote on this item today. He had a number of concerns, the first being that the vehicle we would use would be the Code Enforcement Board which is already overtaxed. Secondly, he believed there is a philosophical question in regard to putting the burden on a business or property owner. People dealing in drugs are not FEB 21 196d 27 Roos 1 b rgE187