City of North Tonawanda, NY Chapter 24 Building Inspector

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of North Tonawanda 1-15-1962. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Building Code — See Ch. 23.

Building permits — See Ch. 25.

Fire prevention — See Ch. 41.

Unsafe structures — See Ch. 94.

Zoning — See Ch. 103.

§ 24-1 Appointment; qualified candidates.

The Common Council shall appoint the Building Inspector. Such appointee shall be selected from a list of duly qualified candidates, as certified to the Common Council by the Civil Service Commission as having satisfactorily passed a competitive Civil Service examination.

§ 24-2 Removal from office.

The Building Inspector shall hold office during good behavior. He may be removed by the appointing body only for cause. In any action or proceeding for the removal of the Building Inspector from office, the provisions of § 1-21 of Title III of the Charter of the City of North Tonawanda, New York, shall apply.

§ 24-3 Additional title.

The Building Inspector shall be the executive officer of the Board of Appeals and of the City Planning Commission, and as such executive officer, he shall attend all meetings of such Board and Commission.

§ 24-4 Duties; appearance tickets.

[Amended 6-3-1986]

A. The Building Inspector is charged with the duty and obligation of supervising and enforcing the provisions of the Multiple Residence Law of the State of New York, the Building Code of the State of New York as adopted by the City of North Tonawanda, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of North Tonawanda, the Building Permits Ordinance of the City of North Tonawanda and all other laws, ordinances and regulations pertaining to the construction, alteration remodeling, repair and demolition of buildings and structures within the City of North Tonawanda not under the supervision and enforcement authority of any other officer of the City of North Tonawanda or other state or municipal officer.

B. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, or the City of North Tonawanda City Charter, or past practice, the Building Inspector shall also be charged with the following duties and obligations:

(1) The Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer are hereby charged and designated as the primary investigatory officers for complaints under the Nuisance Ordinance and shall also be responsible for sending out the initial notices requiring abatement of nuisances as per the Nuisance Chapter of this Code, Chapter 62.

(2) The Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer arc hereby designated as the primary investigatory officers and enforcement officers of any complaints of violations and/or violations of the Grading Ordinance, Chapter 48 of this Code. The Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer shall be responsible for enforcing compliance with said chapter.

(3) The Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer are hereby designated and charged with the duty and obligation of supervising the enforcement of the Property Maintenance Code of the State of New York, with regard to investigation of complaints of violations hereunder, and with regard to bringing enforcement proceedings to enforce the provisions of the same. Once court proceedings for enforcement have commenced, inspections will be required to verify that the code violations have been abated. These inspections will be performed by the Building Inspector or Code Enforcement Officer and will be subject to the fee schedule set forth in § 24-4D, Fees for inspections.

[Amended 4-6-2010]

(4) The Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer are hereby charged and designated as the primary investigatory officers for complaints under the Weed Ordinance[1] and shall also be responsible for sending out the initial notices pursuant to said ordinance and for follow-up inspections.

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 100, Weeds.

C. Appearance tickets.

[Added 7-21-2004]

(1) Definition. An "appearance ticket" is a written notice issued and subscribed to by the Supervising Building Inspector or any Code Enforcement Officer directing a designated person to appear in a designated local criminal court at a designated date and time in connection with his alleged commission of a designated offense. A notice conforming to such definition constitutes an appearance ticket regardless of whether it is referred to in some other provision of law as a summons or by any other name or title.

(2) Authorization. The Supervising Building Inspector and any Code Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized to issue and serve an appearance ticket with respect to violations of the City Code of the City of North Tonawanda.

[Amended 5-16-2017]

(3) Service. An appearance ticket shall be served personally by the Supervising Building Inspector or any Code Enforcement Officer on the person designated as the person alleged to have committed such an offense.

D. Fees for inspections. Any defendant in court proceedings charged with a violation(s) of the Property Maintenance Code of the State of New York shall be subject to inspection of the premises to determine compliance with said Code. Upon Common Council resolution, fees for the inspections will be as follows: The first and second inspection shall carry a maximum fee of $250. In the event the violations continue beyond the second inspection, any subsequent inspection for compliance will be charged a fee of $500. If the fees are not paid within 30 days of the inspection, the City Assessor shall assess this amount upon the real property on which such violations have occurred, and this total amount shall constitute a lien and charge on the real property on which it is levied until paid or otherwise satisfied or discharged, and shall be collected by the City Treasurer in the manner provided by law for the collection of taxes or delinquent taxes. None of the aforementioned fees shall be assessed without Common Council authorization by resolution.

[Added 4-6-2010]