[Adopted 8-15-1989 by L.L. No. 9-1989]
The Town Board of the Town of Cortlandt recognizes
the applicability of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and
Building Code ("Building Code") to the Town of Cortlandt in accordance
with the provisions of § 381 of the Executive Law, effective
January 1, 1984. All references to the former New York State Building
Construction Code (P.L. 1951, c. 800) contained elsewhere in the ordinances,
rules and regulations of the Town of Cortlandt shall, from and after
the effective date hereof, be deemed to refer to the New York State
Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, or so much thereof as shall
pertain within the Town of Cortlandt.
No board, agency, officer or employee of the
Town shall issue, grant or approve a permit, license, certificate
or other authorization, including special permits and variances by
the Board of Appeals, for any construction, reconstruction, alteration,
enlargement or moving of any building or for any use of any land or
building that would not be in compliance with the provisions of the
Building Code. Any such permit, license, certificate or other authorization
issued, granted or approved in violation of the provisions of the
Building Code shall be null and void and of no effect, without the
necessity of any proceedings for revocation or nullification thereof,
and such permit, license, certificate or other authorization shall
be unlawful, and no action shall be taken by any board, agency, officer
or employee of the Town purporting to validate any such violation.
[Added 10-8-2002 by L.L. No. 9-2002;
amended 4-11-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006]
A. No official of the Town of Cortlandt shall issue any
building permit for the construction of any residence with respect
to major subdivisions hereafter filed in the office of the Clerk of
the County of Westchester, Division of Land Records, unless the following
schedule is adhered to:
[Amended 8-15-2006 by L.L. No. 5-2006]
Installation of
Improvement
|
Percentage of
Building Permits
|
---|
Rough grading, placement of fill, and compaction
|
33 1/3%
|
Base asphalt course, catch basins, drainage
pipes, water lines, and appurtenances
|
66 2/3%
|
All other drainage facilities; all other public
facilities
|
All but last 3 or 10% of total permits, whichever
is greater
|
Final asphalt course, curbs
|
100%
|
B. Exclusions. In calculating the aforementioned percentages,
those lots which have frontage on existing public highways shall not
be considered part of the subdivision for the purposes of the application
of this section. A project can be divided into phases either by the
Planning Board or by a plan approved by the Director of Technical
Services, and the above percentages apply within those phases.
The Building Inspector shall be appointed by
the Town Board, who shall prescribe his qualifications and fix his
compensation. It shall be his duty to enforce the provisions of the
Building Code as directed by the Director of Code Enforcement. The
Building Inspector and his duly authorized assistants shall have the
right to enter any building or enter upon any land during the daytime
in the course of their duties. Files of all applications for building
permits and plans submitted therewith and for certificates of occupancy
issued by the Director of Code Enforcement, which files and records
shall be maintained under the supervision of the Director of Code
Enforcement and shall be open to public inspection.
[Amended 8-11-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020]
Records shall be kept in the Office of Code
Enforcement of every identifiable complaint of a violation of any
of the provisions of the Building Code and the actions taken consequent
to each such complaint, which records shall be public records. The
Director of Code Enforcement shall report to the Town Board periodically,
at intervals of not greater than three months, summarizing for the
period since his last previous report all permits and certificates
of occupancy issued by the Department and all complaints of violation
and the action taken by him. A copy of each such report shall be filed
with the Planning Board at the same time that it is filed with the
Town Board.
[Amended 8-17-1993 by L.L. No. 2-1993]
A. Any person or corporation, whether as owner, lessee,
principal, agent, employee or otherwise, who or which violates any
of the provisions of this article or permits any such violation or
fails to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who erects,
constructs, reconstructs, alters, enlarges, converts, moves or uses
any building or uses any land in violation of any detailed statement
or plans submitted by him and approved under the provisions of this
article shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or up to 15 days
in jail. In lieu of any of the above penalties, the Department of
Code Enforcement may elect to impose a civil penalty for the violation
of any part of this article. The civil penalty sought shall not be
less than $250 nor greater than $3,000 for each violation of this
article. An action to recover a civil penalty may be commenced in
any court of competent jurisdiction in the name of the Town of Cortlandt
by the Director of Code Enforcement.
B. In case any building or structure is erected, constructed,
reconstructed, altered, converted or maintained or any building, structure
or land is used in violation of this article, the proper local authorities
of the Town, in addition to other remedies, may institute an appropriate
action or proceedings to prevent such unlawful erection, construction,
reconstruction, alteration, conversion, maintenance or use, to restrain,
correct or abate such violation, to prevent the occupancy of said
building, structure or land or to prevent any illegal act or conduct,
business or use in or about such building, structure or land.
C. Upon its becoming aware of any violation of the provisions
of this article, the Department of Code Enforcement shall serve notice
of such violation on the person or corporation committing or permitting
the same, and if such violation has not ceased within such reasonable
time as may be specified it shall institute such action as may be
necessary to terminate the violation. Furthermore, a stop-work order
may be posted and served by the Department of Code Enforcement directing
that all work cease on a particular site until compliance has been
had. Anyone who fails to obey or deliberately removes a stop-work
order from where it is posted shall be guilty of a separate and distinct
violation of this article.
[Adopted 4-20-2010 by L.L. No. 10-2010]
When a property in the Town is purchased or sold, normally a
departmental search is requested from the Department of Code Enforcement.
That search often reveals that there may be an outstanding building
permit that had been issued, with respect to the particular property,
prior to 1980. Due to the age of these permits, it is often quite
difficult to reconstruct whether or not the improvement was even made
or, if made, whether an inspection was actually done and no certificate
of occupancy issued for some reason. It is the desire of the Town
Board to allow administrative flexibility with respect to closing
out these permits, since they are more than 30 years old and in all
events unlikely to be of issue. It is with this intent in mind that
the Board adopts this article.
Any building permit on the records of the Town that was issued
with respect to any property in the Town prior to 1980 may be given
an administrative certificate of closeout by the Director of Code
Enforcement should it be determined that there are no records to indicate
whether the construction was ever conducted or, if built, whether
any future inspections were done. A certificate of closeout issued
by this Department does not indicate that inspections were made. However,
it does indicate that this building permit is not a violation of record
and that the property is not subject to any enforcement because of
this open permit.
The Director of Technical Services is hereby authorized to promulgate
a written procedure to be followed by the Department with respect
to investigating when a certificate of closeout can be issued by this
Department. Said rules shall be posted in the Department and filed
with the Town Clerk within 30 days following the adoption of this
article.
Nothing in this article shall mandate that the Director of Technical
Services issue any certificate or approval where any life-safety situation
currently exists on the property at the time that a request for a
departmental search is being made.