[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Hammondsport 7-8-1977 by L.L. No. 2-1997.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to promote and
preserve the health, safety and welfare of the public and residents
and/or owners of property located within this village by providing
a method for the removal or repair of buildings that, from any cause,
may now be or shall hereafter become dangerous or unsafe to the public
and residents and/or owners of property within the village. Unsafe
buildings serve as an attractive nuisance for young children who may
be injured therein; may be a point of congregation by vagrants and
transients; may attract rodent or insects; and may also attract illegal
drug activity. The powers conferred upon the village by this chapter
shall be in addition to all other powers conferred upon the village
in relation to the same subject by state law.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
- BUILDING
- Any building, structure or portion thereof used by residential, business or industry.
- BUILDING INSPECTOR
- The Building Inspector and/or Code Enforcement Officer of the village or such other person appointed by the Board of Trustees to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
- UNSAFE BUILDING
- Includes all buildings which have any or all of the following defects:
- A. Those whose interior walls or exterior bearing walls or other vertical structural members list, lean or buckle to such an extent as to weaken the structural support they provide.
- B. Those which, exclusive of the foundation, show 33% or more of damage to or deterioration of the supporting member or members or 50% of damage to or deterioration of the nonsupporting, enclosing or outside walls or covering.
- C. Those which have improperly distributed loads upon the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded or which have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used.
- D. Those which have been damaged by fire, wind or other causes so as to have become dangerous to life, safety or the general health and welfare of the occupants or the people of this village.
- E. Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe or 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 to those living therein or adjacent thereto.
- F. Those having light, air and sanitation facilities which are inadequate to protect the health, safety or general welfare of human beings who live or may live therein, with particular reference to the requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code as a determinant.
- G. Those having inadequate facilities for egress in case of fire or panic or those having insufficient stairways, elevators, fire escapes or other means of communication, again referencing the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code as a determinant.
- H. Those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall and injure members of the public or property.
- I. Those which consist of debris, rubble or parts of buildings left on the ground after demolition, reconstruction, fire or other casualty.
- J. Those which, because of their condition, are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to the health, safety or general welfare of the people of this village.
No person, firm, corporation or association
owning, possessing or controlling a building in this village shall
permit, suffer or allow said building now or hereafter to be or become
unsafe to the public and/or residents from any cause whatsoever.
The Building Inspector shall make inspections
of all unsafe buildings within the village and report to the Board
of Trustees all unsafe buildings which from time to time may be found
within the limits of the village.
A.
The Board of Trustees shall consider the report of
the Building Inspector and if in its opinion the report so warrants
shall determine that the building is unsafe and order its demolition
or repair, if the same can be safely repaired, and further order that
a notice shall be given to the owner as follows:
B.
The notice shall contain the following:
(1)
A description of the premises.
(2)
A statement of the particulars in which the building
is unsafe.
(3)
An order requiring the building to be repaired or
demolished.
(4)
That the repairing or demolition of the building shall
commence within 30 days of the serving of the notice, as hereinafter
provided, and shall be completed within 60 days thereafter.
(5)
A date, time and place for a hearing before the Board
of Trustees in relation to such unsafe building, which hearing shall
be scheduled not less than five business days from the date of service
of the notice.
(6)
A statement that in the event of neglect or refusal
to comply with the order to repair or demolish the building, the Board
of Trustees is authorized to provide for its repair or demolition,
to assess all expenses thereof against the land on which it is located
and to institute a special proceeding to collect the costs of demolition,
including legal expenses.
Said notice shall be served in the following
manner:
A.
By personal service of a copy thereof upon the owner
or some one of the owners, executors, legal representative, agents,
lessees or any other person having a vested or contingent interest
in the premises as shown by the last preceding completed assessment
roll of the village or of the County Clerk, such service to be complete
and the thirty-day time period recited in said notice to commence
upon service; or
B.
By mailing a copy of said notice to such owner as
aforesaid by registered mail, return receipt requested, addressed
to the last known address of the owner and by affixing a copy of said
notice to the premises, such service to be completed and the thirty-day
time period recited in said notice to commence 10 days after the filing
of the return receipt.
C.
A copy of the notice shall also be filed in the office
of the County Clerk of the county within which such building is located,
which notice shall be filed by such Clerk in the same manner as a
notice of pendency pursuant to Article 65 of the Civil Practice Law
and Rules and shall have the same effect as a notice of pendency as
therein provided, except as otherwise hereinafter provided. A notice
so filed shall be effective for a period of one year from the date
of filing; provided, however, that it may be vacated upon the order
of a judge or upon the consent of the Village Attorney.
A.
The hearing shall be conducted before the Board of
Trustees. The Building Inspector shall present his or her report to
the Board of Trustees, in writing. The owner or his or her representative,
if present, shall call such witnesses as he or she deems necessary.
The Board of Trustees shall make written findings of fact from the
testimony offered as to whether or not the building in question is
an unsafe building.
B.
If such owner shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply
and shall fail to appear at said hearing, then the Board of Trustees
shall direct the repair or demolition of the building forthwith.
C.
If such owner shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply
and after appearing at said hearing the Board of Trustees finds that
the building is a public nuisance and directs its repair or demolition,
the owner shall repair or demolish said building within the time prescribed
by the Board of Trustees.
D.
If the owner fails or neglects to repair
or demolish said building as directed by the Board of Trustees following
the hearing, then the Board of Trustees shall direct the repair or
demolition of the same forthwith.
In the event of neglect or refusal of the persons
so notified to comply with said order of the Board of Trustees, the
Board of Trustees shall provide for the demolition and removal of
such building either by village employees or by contract. Except in
an emergency, any contract in excess of $20,000 shall be awarded by
competitive bidding.
A.
In case there shall be, in the opinion of the Building
Inspector, actual and immediate danger of the falling of a building
so as to endanger public safety, life or property or actual or immediate
menace to health or public welfare as a result of the conditions present
in or about a building, he or she shall cause the necessary work to
be done to render such a building temporarily safe, whether the procedure
prescribed in this chapter for unsafe buildings has been instituted
or not.
B.
When emergency work is to be performed under this
section, the Building Inspector shall cause the owner thereof to be
served personally or by registered mail, return receipt requested,
and if served by registered mail shall post on the premises a notice
to comply containing a description of the premises, a statement of
the facts in which the building is unsafe or dangerous and orders
and directions to correct the conditions which constitute an emergency
within a specified period not to exceed three days from actual or
constructive receipt of the notice.
C.
In the event that the emergency does not permit any
delay in correction, the notice shall state the village has corrected
the emergency condition.
D.
In both cases, the notice shall state that the corrective
costs of the emergency will be assessed against the owner pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter.
In addition to the remedies provided by this
chapter, the Board of Trustees may request the Village Attorney to
make an application to the Supreme Court for an order determining
the building to be a public nuisance and directing that it shall be
repaired and secured or demolished.
A.
All costs and expenses incurred by the village in
connection with the administratively and/or judicially substantiated
proceedings to remove or secure, including the cost of actually removing
said building, should be assessed against the land on which said building
is located.
B.
The village may commence special proceedings pursuant
to § 78-b of the General Municipal Law to collect the costs
of demolition, including reasonable and necessary legal expenses.
If any part of this chapter is deemed to be
found to be unenforceable, illegal or unconstitutional or otherwise
void, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the
remainder of this chapter or the application thereof to other persons
and circumstances.
