[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Town Council
of the Town of Oakland at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Livability — See Ch. 175.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
All buildings or structures that may have the following defects
shall be deemed dangerous buildings:
Those that have been damaged by fire, wind or
other causes or have deteriorated so as to have become dangerous to
life, safety or the general health and welfare of the occupants or
the public at large;
Those that have become or are so dilapidated,
decayed, unsafe, unsanitary or which so utterly fail to provide the
amenities essential to decent living that they are unfit for human
habitation or are likely to cause sickness or disease, so as to work
injury to the health, safety or general welfare of those living therein;
Those buildings, or parts thereof, which are
so deteriorated that they may fail and injure members of the public
or their property;
Those buildings which because of their condition
are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to the health, safety or general
welfare of the people in the Town, including abandoned buildings which
are deemed to be fire hazards or attractive nuisances dangerous to
children. For purposes of this chapter, an "attractive nuisance" is
any building that is dangerous to young children because of their
inability to appreciate the peril and may reasonably be expected to
attract them to the premises.
All dangerous buildings are hereby declared
to be public nuisances and shall be repaired, vacated or demolished
as herein provided.
A.
The owner of any dangerous building may not fail to
comply with any notice or order to repair, vacate or demolish such
building given by any person authorized by this chapter to give such
notice or order. Each day such failure to comply continues beyond
the date fixed for compliance shall be deemed a separate offense.
B.
The occupant or lessee in possession may not fail
to comply with any notice to vacate and/or fail to repair the building
in accordance with any notice given as provided for in this chapter.
Each day such failure to comply continues beyond the date fixed for
compliance shall be deemed a separate offense.
C.
A person may not remove from any property or building
any notice provided for herein.
In cases where it reasonably appears to the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, of Oakland that there is immediate and imminent danger to the life or safety of any person unless a dangerous building is immediately repaired, vacated or demolished, the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, shall record the facts thereof in writing and cause the immediate repair, vacation or demolition of such dangerous building to the extent necessary to abate the danger. The costs of such repair, vacation or demolition of such dangerous building shall be assessable against the owner thereof and collected in the same manner as any other Town tax or assessment. The Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, shall make every effort to give prior notice of such action to persons and/or organizations listed as being entitled to notice in § 103-5 hereof. In the event that, in the judgment of the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, the circumstances of the danger are so extreme as to make giving prior notice impractical, the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, shall give the notice required by this chapter to persons entitled to notice under § 103-5 hereof subsequent to any action taken under this section.
All notices or orders provided for herein shall
be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner,
occupant, mortgagee of record among the land records of Garrett County,
Maryland, lessee and all other persons having an interest in the property,
as shown by the property tax or assessment records of the Town to
be the last known address of each, and a copy of such notice or order
shall be sent also by regular mail and shall be posted in a conspicuous
place on the dangerous building to which it relates. Where no address
is available for any person entitled to notice under this section,
or where the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, are aware that
a notice sent to an interested person to such address will not reach
that person, the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, shall, in
addition to attempting all other forms of service outlined herein,
including posting of the building, publish the notice in a newspaper
with general circulation within the Town in two consecutive issues,
not less than one week prior to any hearing as required by this chapter,
or taking any action permitted by this chapter. Such mailing and posting
shall be deemed adequate service.
The Code Enforcement Officer or his authorized
designee shall:
A.
Make or cause to be made an initial visual survey
of the exterior of all buildings within the Town for the purpose of
determining if it is apparent from such survey that any condition
exists which renders any such place a dangerous building as defined
herein. Thereafter, the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, if
it deems necessary, shall semiannually survey all buildings within
the Town for the same purpose;
B.
Inspect any building about which complaints are made
by any person to the effect that a building is a dangerous building;
C.
Investigate fully any building about which there is reason to believe, as a result of the survey and any inspections required to be done under Subsections A and B of this section, that said building is a dangerous building as defined herein. In the event the Code Enforcement Officer or his authorized designee concludes as a result of such investigation that any building located within the Town is, in fact, a dangerous building, the Code Enforcement Officer or his authorized designee shall report the same to the Town Clerk, in writing, and submit along with said report all documentation thereof.
D.
In addition to the other notices required by this
chapter, cause the Code Enforcement Officer to place a notice on all
dangerous buildings reading as follows:
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"This building has been found to be a dangerous
building by the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, of Oakland.
This notice is to remain on this building until the said building
is repaired, vacated or demolished in accordance with the notice and
any order which has been given the occupant, owner and all other persons
having an interest in the said property, as shown by the property
tax or assessment records of the Town. It is unlawful to remove this
notice until there has been full compliance with any such notice or
order."
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E.
The Code Enforcement Officer and/or his authorized
designee shall have the right, pursuant to his duties as prescribed
hereunder, to enter upon any real property or leasehold within the
Town of Oakland for purposes of inspecting said property to determine
if a dangerous building, as defined herein, exists thereon. In the
event any building on said property is vacant, he shall have the right
to enter said building by any means reasonably necessary and to inspect
the same with or without an appropriate expert.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall issue an
order commanding the occupants, owners and all other persons having
an interest in the property, to repair, vacate or demolish any building
found to be a dangerous building, and shall provide notice and a copy
of the same to said persons.
A.
The order shall be accompanied by a notice, either
as part of the body of the order or attached to it, that the following
time periods pertain:
(1)
In the case of an order to vacate the building, the
occupant or occupants shall be given no less than 30 days and no more
than 90 days, depending upon the seriousness of the conditions from
which the order resulted, to vacate the building, except in an emergency
where there is an imminent danger to the life, health or safety of
any person, in which event the length of time to vacate the building
shall be shortened to any time period which is necessary to protect
the life, health or safety of any person;
(2)
In the case of an order to repair the building, the repairs shall commence within 30 days of the date of the order, and said repairs shall bring the building within full compliance with the order within 120 days of the date of the order, except where the Code Enforcement Officer, or designee, has elected to proceed under § 103-4 of this chapter; and
(3)
In the case of an order to demolish the building,
the demolition shall commence within 30 days of the date of the order
and during the demolition the building shall be cordoned off by an
appropriate fence or barrier sufficient to keep members of the public
away from the dangerous building, and the building shall be completely
demolished, the site cleared and any foundation or other excavated
areas shall be filled in so as not to represent a danger to the members
of the public within no more than 120 days of the date of the order.
B.
In an appropriate case, the Code Enforcement Officer,
or designee, may, upon petition filed with the Town Clerk by an owner
or occupant of the property, or other person having an interest therein,
within five days of the receipt of any order issued hereunder, extend
the time for compliance therewith as may be reasonable under the circumstances,
but only in the event that steps have been taken or will be taken,
to the satisfaction of the Council, to abate any hazard or danger
to the life, health or safety of the occupants of the building and/or
members of the public.
C.
If the occupants, owners and/or all other persons
having an interest in the property fail to comply with an order provided
for in this section within the time specified therein, the Code Enforcement
Officer, or designee, shall cause such building or structure to be
repaired, vacated or demolished as the facts may warrant, and in accordance
with the order, under the standards hereinafter provided, and shall
cause the full cost of such repair, vacation or demolition to be charged
against the land on which the building existed as a municipal lien
and cause such cost to be added to the tax due as an assessment against
the building and/or the land upon which the building stands or did
stand, and such tax and assessment shall attach to the land and be
collectible as any other tax and/or assessment. In addition thereto,
the Town shall have the option of proceeding to recover the said costs
in a suit at law against the owner or other interested person.
The following standards shall be followed in
substance by the Code Enforcement Officer, or its authorized designee
in ordering repair, vacation or demolition of any dangerous building:
A.
If the dangerous building is in such condition as
to make it dangerous to the health, safety or general welfare of its
occupants, it shall be ordered vacated;
B.
If the dangerous building can reasonably be repaired
so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this
chapter, it shall be ordered repaired; if not so repaired, it may
be demolished; and
C.
In any case where, in the judgment of the Code Enforcement
Officer, or designee, a dangerous building cannot be repaired so that
it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this chapter,
it shall be demolished.
It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to comply with any order promulgated under this chapter, and the failure to do so shall be a municipal infraction, subject to Chapter 40, Municipal Infractions.
