[HISTORY: Adopted by the County Commissioners of Kent County 4-3-1990
as Ch. 5, Art. X, of the 1989 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purpose of this chapter and unless otherwise expressly stated,
the following words, phrases and their derivatives shall have the meanings
set forth in this section; where terms are not defined under the provisions
of this chapter or under the provisions of any building, fire, safety, health,
plumbing or electrical code or ordinance enforceable in Kent County, such
terms shall have ascribed to them their ordinarily accepted meanings in the
context utilized.
Kent County, Maryland.
When used in this chapter without other qualifications, a structure
occupied exclusively for residential purpose.
An exit or a place or a means to leave a dwelling unit by continuous,
unobstructed travel.
The Health Officer for Kent County or any person appointed or authorized
by the Health Officer for Kent County to exercise, under the enforcement officer's
supervision, any or all of the responsibilities charged to the enforcement
officer by the provisions of this chapter.
Animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation,
cooking and consumption of foods, exclusive of recognized industrial by-products
from canneries and other food-processing industries and human or animal feces.
A person, firm, corporation or partnership, including a duly authorized
agent or attorney, a purchaser, devisee or fiduciary having a legal or equitable
interest in the property in question.
A natural person, his heirs, executors, administrators or assigns,
and also includes a firm, partnership or corporation, its or their successors
or assigns or the agent of any of the aforesaid.
A lot, plot or parcel of land, including the structures, dwellings
and dwelling units thereon.
A determined period of time, not to exceed one hundred twenty (120)
days.[1]
Taking away and off the premises, including the backfill of all excavations
and openings in the earth as the result of demolition.
The replacement of existing work for the purpose of its maintenance.
Made mandatory by the provision of this chapter.
All solid waste other than garbage.
Anything which is built or constructed and which is fastened, anchored
or rests upon the ground.
It is the purpose of this chapter and regulations passed pursuant thereto
to secure and protect the general public from premises conditions found to
be dangerous or detrimental to human life, limb, health, property or safety.
A.
The provisions of this chapter are remedial and shall
apply to the condition of all premises and to use, occupancy, structural condition,
removal and demolition of all structures and appurtenances connected or attached
thereto irrespective of their date of construction, alteration, repair or
installation.
Except as to emergency circumstances, this chapter shall be enforced
only after violations have first been brought to the attention of the owner
by the issuance of a warning notice and a reasonable time and full opportunity
for voluntary compliance has been afforded to the owner.
A.
A premises or structure may be found and declared by
the enforcement officer to be a public nuisance if it:
(1)
Constitutes a fire hazard.
(2)
Has inadequate egress.
(3)
Is structurally unsafe and unstable and is likely to
partially or completely collapse.
(4)
Constitutes a hazard to safety or health by reason of
unsafe equipment, disrepair, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment.
(5)
Contributes to unsanitary conditions dangerous to the
public health, including but not limited to water contamination, vermin or
rodent infestation, the accumulation of garbage, rubbish and human or animal
feces or undue exposure of persons to the elements.
B.
It shall be unlawful to refuse or neglect or otherwise
to fail to abate, by repair, improvement or removals, any condition declared
as a public nuisance.
The enforcement officer shall make such inspections as are necessary
to determine the existence of a public nuisance. He shall maintain a record
of every such inspection.
A.
The enforcement officer, or a duly appointed and authorized
representative, may enter any structure, dwelling or premises in the county
to perform any duty charged to the enforcement officer by this chapter, provided
that the enforcement officer shall give notice, in writing, of the day of
the inspection to the owner, as shown by the tax assessment records, and occupant
of the premises, which said notice shall be mailed ten (10) days in advance
of the inspection date to the last known address of both of the above.
B.
If the occupant or the owner or the owner's representative
refuses or fails to allow an entry and inspection or if a life-threatening
emergency situation exists and entry is refused, the enforcement officer shall,
prior to entry, obtain an order for such entry. The order shall be obtained
by written application signed and sworn to by the enforcement officer setting
forth the purpose of the entry and the address and location of the premises
to be entered. Upon such application, if it shall appear to any Judge of the
District Court for Kent County that there is probable cause to believe that
there is a violation of any provision of this chapter, then such Judge may
forthwith issue an order directed to the enforcement officer authorizing an
entry to such premises. The order shall state that any entry made thereunder
shall be made within thirty (30) days from the date of the issuance thereof,
and after the expiration of said thirty-day period said order shall expire.
C.
Each occupant of a premises shall give the owner thereof,
or his agent or employee, access to any part of such premises at all reasonable
times upon reasonable notice for the purpose of making repairs or taking such
action as necessary to effect compliance with the provisions of this chapter
or any lawful order issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
A.
Except as to emergency circumstances, the enforcement
officer, upon first determining that a violation of this chapter exists, shall
issue a written warning notice advising the owner of the property in violation
of the following:
(1)
The nature of the violation(s).
(2)
Repair and improvement necessary to abate the public
nuisance.
(3)
A reasonable time not to exceed one hundred twenty (120)
days to achieve voluntary compliance.
(4)
The date after which a notice to vacate and to repair
or remove will be issued if voluntary compliance is not achieved.
(5)
An explanation of the owner's rights of appeal under
the provisions of this chapter.
B.
A warning notice need not be issued when conditions constitute
an emergency and present an imminent or immediate threat of danger to human
life or limb, health, property or the public safety.
A.
The enforcement officer shall issue a written notice
to vacate and to repair or remove whenever:
B.
This notice shall require the owner to vacate the premises
within a stated time and, within sixty (60) days, either to complete specific
repairs or improvements or to remove the public nuisance or any portion thereof,
including to remove all debris and to backfill all excavations and openings
in the earth, or otherwise to comply with other applicable provisions of this
chapter. Upon evidence of a good faith effort to commence compliance with
such notice, the enforcement officer may, in his sole discretion, grant a
reasonable extension of time to complete compliance.
A.
Upon issuance of a notice to vacate and to repair or
remove, the enforcement officer shall cause to be posted, at each entrance
of the premises declared to be a public nuisance, the following notice: "These
premises are unsafe and have been declared to be a public nuisance; use or
occupancy has been prohibited by Kent County."
B.
Such notice shall remain posted until the required repairs
are made or removal is completed. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm
or corporation or their agents or other servants to remove such notice without
written permission of the enforcement officer or for any person to trespass
upon the premises except for the purpose of making the required repairs or
of removing the public nuisance.
Whenever the enforcement officer shall issue a warning notice or a notice
to vacate and to repair or remove, he shall give such notice to the owner
of record or agent and to the person in control of the premises by return
receipt requested or certified mail or by personal service through the Sheriff
of Kent County or through other legally accepted means. Service on nonresidents
and persons who cannot be found in the county shall be made by sending a copy
of such notice to the owner of record by registered or certified mail to such
owner's last known address, by publishing such notice twice in a newspaper
of general circulation in the county and by posting such notice on the property
concerned in a conspicuous manner. Effective service shall be deemed to have
been made on the last day to occur of such mailing, publication and posting.
In the event that the owner of record fails to comply with a notice
to vacate and to repair or remove within sixty (60) days of the effective
service of the notice, or in the event that the premises has been posted as
unsafe and there exists an emergency circumstance which presents an imminent
or immediate threat of danger to human life or limb, health, property or public
safety, the enforcement officer may enter the premises concerned and cause
the same to be repaired or removed and any dangerous conditions to be remedied,
as the case may be, at the expense of the owner of record.
If the owner of record fails to repay the county for expenses incurred under § 122-12 within thirty (30) days after written demand has been mailed to such owner's last known address, the enforcement officer shall notify the County Treasurer, and such expenses shall be charged to the property, shall constitute a lien thereon, shall be entered on the tax records kept by the County Treasurer and shall be collectible as are taxes in arrears under the provisions of § 152-3 of the Kent County Code.
In case any notice as provided in §§ 122-9 and 122-10 is not promptly complied with, the enforcement officer may institute an appropriate action in a court of competent jurisdiction:
A.
To restrain, correct or remove the violation;
B.
To prevent the trespass, occupation or use of the structure
in violation of, or not in compliance with, the provisions of this chapter;
C.
To order the payment of the civil penalty authorized
by this chapter; or
D.
To order such relief as shall be just or equitable to
secure and protect the general public from premises conditions found to be
dangerous or detrimental to human life, limb, health, property or safety.
Upon effective service of a notice to vacate and to repair or remove,
any person may appeal such notice within thirty (30) days of the date thereof
to any court of competent jurisdiction. Such appeal shall stay neither abatement
by the county nor the requirement to vacate the premises and to refrain from
trespassing thereupon except for the purpose of making the required repairs
or of removing the public nuisance, unless a stay shall be granted by the
court to which such appeal has been made or by the enforcement officer.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall, upon
conviction thereof, be guilty of a civil infraction, subject to a civil penalty
of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.) nor more than five hundred dollars
($500.) at the discretion of the court, with repeat offenses punishable by
a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000.). Each day that a violation continues
after due notice of the penalty has been effectively served shall be deemed
a separate offense.
