The Construction Official shall be responsible for all inspections, regulations and enforcement, and all hearings on violations of the provisions of this chapter, unless expressly stated to the contrary, shall be under his direction and supervision.
All buildings and premises subject to this chapter are subject to inspections by the Building Subcode Official of the Township for purposes of complying with the provisions of this chapter. Such inspections shall be made between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. unless one of the following conditions exists:
A.
The premises are not available during the foregoing hours for inspections.
B.
There is reason to believe that violations are occurring on the premises which can only be detected by inspections during other than the prescribed hours or which require immediate inspection after being reported.
C.
There is reason to believe that a violation exists of a character which is an immediate threat to health or safety requiring inspection and abatement without delay.
The Construction Official or his designee shall request consent of the owner, occupant or any other person in charge of a structure prior to entry. If any owner, occupant or person in charge of a structure subject to the provisions of this chapter refuses, impedes, inhibits, interferes with, restricts or obstructs entry, the Construction Official may seek a warrant as per § 520-19.
In addition to the provisions of entry refusal, the Construction Official may, upon affidavit, apply to the Judge of the Township of Nutley for a search warrant setting forth factually the actual conditions and circumstances which provide a reasonable basis for believing that a violation of this chapter exists on the premises. If the Judge is satisfied as to the matters set forth in said affidavit, he shall authorize the issuance of a search warrant permitting access to and inspection of that part of the premises where the violation exists. A warrant for access may be issued by the Judge upon affidavit of the Construction Official establishing grounds therefor.
Where a violation of this chapter or the regulations hereunder is found to exist, a written notice from the Construction Official shall be served on the person or persons responsible for the correction thereof.
The notice shall specify the violation or violations committed, what must be done to correct same, a reasonable period of time not to exceed 30 days to correct or abate the violation, the right of the person served to request a hearing and that the notice shall become an order of the Construction Official in 10 business days after service unless a hearing is requested.
Notice may be served personally or by certified mail, addressed to the last known address of the person to be served. Where it is ascertained that the owner does not reside on the premises, the last known address shall be the address of the owner as shown in the office of the Tax Collector. If the last known address cannot be ascertained, the notice may be posted on the outside front entrance of the building. The Construction Official shall file and provide notice to any owner, operator or occupant of any violation at any address other than the last known address provided hereunder if such other address is filed with the Construction Official personally or by certified mail addressed to the Code Enforcement Officer. Service upon an owner, operator or occupant may be also attained by service of any notice upon a member of the family of the owner, operator or occupant. Date of service of the notice shall be determined where service is by mail as of the day following the return of the certified receipt.
Within 10 business days of the date of service of a notice, the notice shall constitute a final order unless any person affected by the notice requests a hearing thereon and serves a written request within the ten-day period in person or by mail to the Construction Official. Such request for a hearing shall set forth briefly the grounds or reasons on which the request is based and the factual matters contained in the notice of violation which are to be disputed at the hearing. The Construction Official, upon receipt of the request, shall, within 30 days therefrom and upon five days' notice to the party aggrieved, set the matter down for hearing before the Construction Board of Appeals. The application shall be accompanied by a fee in the sum of $25 for residential properties and $50 for nonresidential properties.
A.
The Construction Official shall make available to the Board the full record of the application, including a detailed explanation of the reasons for the notice of violation.
B.
All hearings shall be open to the public. The appellant, his representatives or legal counsel and the Construction Official shall be granted an opportunity to address the Board.
C.
When five members are not present to consider a specific appeal, either the appellant or Construction Official shall, upon request, be entitled to a postponement of the hearing. In such cases, proceedings shall not be stayed more than 120 days. If there is no such request, any decision made by the Board members present shall be binding. No meeting shall be conducted unless there are at least three members of the Board present.
D.
The Board shall hear the appeal, render a decision thereon and file its decision with a statement of the reasons therefor with the Construction Official not later than 10 business days following the appeal.
E.
Such decision may affirm, reverse or modify the decision of the Construction Official or remand the matter to the Construction Official for further action.
F.
Decisions of the Board shall be by a concurring vote of three members. Failure to secure three concurring votes shall be deemed an affirmation of the decision of the Construction Official.
G.
The Construction Official shall take immediate action in accord with the decision of the Board, unless otherwise stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction.
H.
Any party, including the Construction Official, may within 30 days appeal from the decision of the Board to a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Construction Official may extend the time for correction or abatement of the violations for an additional period of time, not to exceed 30 days, except where major capital improvements or renovations are involved, in which instance the time completion may be extended for a period not to exceed 90 days beyond the expiration date of the original notice.
Where the violation or condition existing on the premises is of such a nature as to constitute an immediate threat to health or safety unless abated without delay, the Construction Official may either abate the violation or condition immediately or order the owner, operator or occupant to correct the violation or condition within a period of time not to exceed three days. Upon failure to do so, the Construction Official shall abate the condition immediately thereafter.
Where abatement of any nuisance as defined herein, correction of a defect in the premises or rendering the premises in compliance with the requirements of any municipal ordinance or state law applicable thereto requires expending Township moneys therefor, the Construction Official shall present a report of work proposed to be done to accomplish the foregoing to the Board of Commissioners, with an estimate of the cost thereof and with a summary of the proceedings undertaken by the Construction Board of Appeals to secure compliance, including notices served upon the owner, operators, lessors or agents, as the case may be, and reports of hearings and orders of the Construction Official with reference thereto. The Board of Commissioners may thereupon by resolution authorize the abatement of the nuisance, correction of the defect or work necessary to place the premises in proper condition and in compliance with ordinances of the Township and laws of the state. The Construction Official may thereafter proceed to have the work performed in accord with said resolution at Township expense not to exceed the amount specified in the resolution and shall, upon completion thereof, submit a report of the moneys expended and costs to the Board of Commissioners. After review of the same, the Board of Commissioners may approve said premises and costs, whereupon the same shall become a lien against said premises collectible as provided by law. A copy of the resolution approving said expenses and costs shall be certified by the Board of Commissioners and filed with the Tax Collector of the Township, who shall be responsible for the collection thereof.