The provisions of this chapter shall be administered
by the Bethany Beach Building Inspector and enforced by him or her
and other Town officials, including the police. The Building Inspector
will be provided with the assistance of such other persons as the
Town Council may direct. His or her duties shall include inspecting
premises and construction thereon.
[Amended 9-15-1989 by Ord. No. 228]
Certificates of occupancy shall be issued in
accordance with the following provisions:
A. Certificate of occupancy required. A certificate of
occupancy issued by the Town Manager and Building Inspector is required
in advance of occupancy or use of:
(1) A building hereafter erected.
(2) A building hereafter structurally altered.
(3) A change of type of occupancy or use of any building.
B. Issuance of certificate of occupancy. The Town Manager
and Building Inspector shall sign and issue a certificate of occupancy
if the proposed use of a building, as stated on the building permit
and signed by the owner or his or her appointed agent, is found to
conform to all provisions of this chapter and other Town ordinances
and if the building, as finally constructed, complies with the application,
including the sketch or plan submitted with the building permit application.
It shall be the duty of the Building Inspector
to keep a record of all building permits and certificates of occupancy
issued, with a notation of all special conditions involved. The Building
Inspector shall file and safely keep copies of all applications, including
sketches and plans submitted, and the same shall form a part of the
records of Bethany Beach.
[Amended 1-19-1980 by Ord. No. 91; 12-14-1990 by Ord. No.
254; 9-18-1992 by Ord. No. 279; 2-17-2006 by Ord. No. 407]
For any violation of the provisions of this chapter, the owner, general agent or contractor of a building or premises where such violations have been committed or shall exist and the lessee or tenant of an entire building or entire premises where such violations have been committed or shall exist and the owner, general agent, contractor, lessee or tenant of any part of a building or premises in which such violation has been committed or shall exist and the general agent, architect, builder, contractor or any other person who commits, takes part in or assists in any such violation or maintains any building or premises in which such violation shall exist, upon conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter and shall, upon conviction thereof, pay such fines as set out in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
I, Penalties; provided, however, that penalties assessed for any violation of §
425-43,
425-57,
425-64 or
425-73 will not be imposed until 30 days after written notification of such violation is issued or until January 2, 1992, whichever is the later date. Each day any violation or any provision of this chapter occurs or continues to exist shall constitute a separate violation and shall be subject to a separate penalty as above provided.
[Added 1-19-1980 by Ord. No. 91]
Any building or portion thereof or party or foundation wall hereafter erected or placed upon any lot or premises within the Town in violation of the provisions of this chapter is hereby declared a common nuisance and shall be abated in the manner provided by §
425-99 of this chapter or as may otherwise be provided by state law.
[Added 8-19-1988 by Ord. No. 204]
At any time it appears to the Building Inspector
or Town Manager that any construction is being undertaken in violation
of any provision of this zoning chapter, either may issue a stop-work
order or revoke the building permit under which such work is being
performed; provided, however, that prior to issuance of any stop-work
order or revocation of any building permit under this section, the
Town Building Inspector or Town Manager shall provide the contractor
or builder on site with written notice of the alleged zoning chapter
violation, which notice shall state specifically the nature of the
violation with reference to pertinent sections of the zoning chapter
and specify a place and time (not less than 24 hours and not more
than 72 hours from the delivery of such notice) where the Building
Inspector or Town Manager will sit to hear the builder/contractor
and/or owner on the issue of whether or not the construction is in
violation of the zoning chapter. The Building Inspector or Town Manager
shall promptly attempt to provide the owner of record of such lands
with actual notice by telephone, FAX, email, etc. and shall immediately
send a copy of such written notice to the owner of record at his or
her address as shown on the Town public records; but failure of the
record owner to receive such notice shall not void the hearing so
long as the contractor or builder on site received actual notice.
At the hearing, the contractor/builder and/or owner may appear with
or without counsel to be heard on the issue of whether or not construction
is in violation of the zoning chapter. A recording of the hearing
shall be made and retained at the Town office for 90 days. If the
person conducting the hearing concludes at the end thereof that construction
is proceeding in violation of the zoning chapter, he or she shall
issue a stop-work order or revoke the building permit, as appropriate.
In such event, no building permit shall be reissued and no stop-work
order shall be lifted until the violation has been corrected.
In case any building or structure is erected,
constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted or maintained
or any building, structure or land is used in violation of this chapter
or of any ordinance or other regulation made under authority conferred
thereby, the appropriate municipal authority, in addition to other
remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent
or abate such violation.