Town of Chatham, NY Chapter 127 Buildings, Unsafe

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Chatham 4-11-1985 by L.L. No. 2-1985. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Code Enforcement Officer — See Ch. 130.

§ 127-1 Title.

The title of this chapter shall be known as the "Unsafe Building Demolition Law."

§ 127-2 Code Enforcement Officer.

The Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of Chatham will be charged with the responsibility of carrying out the obligations and duties set forth in this chapter.

§ 127-3 Procedures.

A. No person, firm, corporation or association, who or which is the owner of a building or structure in the Town of Chatham, shall cause, suffer, allow or permit said building to become dangerous or unsafe to the public or to any person or property.

B. The Code Enforcement Officer of the Town of Chatham shall have the right to inspect buildings and structures within the town to determine whether they are or may become dangerous or unsafe to the public or to any person or property.

C. If, as the result of any such inspection, the Code Enforcement Officer of the town shall determine that any building or structure is or may become dangerous or unsafe to the public or to any person or property, he shall prepare a notice to be served on the owner, or some one of the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees, or any other person having a vested or contingent interest in same, either personally or by registered mail, addressed to the last known address, if any, of the owner or some one of the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees, or other person having a vested or contingent interest in same, as shown by the records of the Collector of Taxes and/or the records of the Columbia County Clerk, containing a description of the premises, a statement of the particulars in which the building or structure is unsafe or dangerous and an order requiring same to be made safe and secure or removed, and if such service be made by registered mail, a copy of such notice shall be posted on the premises; said notice shall further require the person served with the same to commence and complete the repair or removal of the unsafe building or structure within a specified period of time.

D. Said notice shall further provide for a hearing to be held before the Town Board at a time and place to be specified, at which hearing the owner or persons having an interest in the property or structure will have an opportunity to appear and respond to the notice to repair or remove.

E. A copy of said notice may be filed by the Code Enforcement Officer of the town in the office of the Columbia County Clerk and, when so filed, shall have the same effect as a notice of pendency filed pursuant to the provisions of Article 65 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules of the State of New York.

§ 127-4 Repairs made by town; costs and expenses.

A. In the event that the owner fails to repair or remove the building or structure within the time specified in the foregoing notice, the town shall have the power to and may immediately proceed to repair and remove the same and to assess all costs and expense with regard thereto, including the cost and expense necessary with regard to any legal proceedings, and including also the cost of actually removing the building or structure, against the land on which said buildings or structures are located.

B. If the owner shall fail to pay said costs and expenses within 10 days after being notified of the same by mail, the Town Clerk shall file, prior to the time for completing the levy of annual town taxes, a certificate of said cost and expense with a statement as to the property upon which the same were incurred, with the Town Board, which shall in the preparation of the next annual tax levy of general town taxes, levy said amounts upon such property, and the same shall be levied, collected and enforced in the same manner, by the same proceedings at the same time, with the same penalties, and having the same lien upon the property assessed as the general town tax and as a part thereof.

§ 127-5 Emergency provisions.

In cases of emergency, where the above proceedings would result in delay and resulting injury to life or property, the Supervisor of the town shall have the power to direct the Code Enforcement Officer to proceed at once to take such action as is needed to ensure the safety of affected persons and property.