Village of Brockport, NY Article II Unsafe Buildings

§ 36-16 Removal or repair of unsafe buildings.

A. The purpose of this article is to promote, protect and preserve the safety, health, welfare and property of residents and owners of property within the Village of Brockport by providing an ordinance for the removal or repair of unsafe buildings therein that, from any cause, may now be or shall hereafter become dangerous, unsafe or a public nuisance or fire hazard.

B. Unsafe buildings; repair or demolition and removal. The owner of any building or structure, with owner as defined in § 36-9 of this chapter, shall at all times maintain and keep the same in good repair and in a healthy, safe, secure and usable condition. If a building or structure, or any portion thereof, is in such state of disrepair as to constitute an unsafe building, as defined in Subsection C below, it shall be repaired and made safe, healthy, secure and usable by the owner thereof or otherwise be demolished and removed.

C. Unsafe buildings; definition. An unsafe building is any structure or edifice or portion thereof where:

(1) The walls are in poor structural condition, the floors are overloaded or there are other major structural defects, including significant exterior deterioration; or

(2) There is a lack of safeguards against fire or the structure is so poorly maintained as to constitute a fire hazard; or

(3) It is open and/or unsecured at the doorways, windows or walls, permitting unauthorized access and entry; or

(4) It is or may become a place of rodent infestation; or

(5) There is debris, rubble or parts of buildings or structures left after demolition, reconstruction, fire or other casualty or occurrence; or

(6) There are substantial and significant violations of the Uniform Code or any other state or local codes, which violations constitute a danger to the health, safety and general welfare of the public; or

(7) There presents any other danger to the health, safety and general welfare of the public.

§ 36-17 Investigation and report.

When in the opinion of the Code Enforcement Officer a building or structure is determined to be dangerous or unsafe to the health, safety and general welfare of the public and an unsafe building, pursuant to this article, the Code Enforcement Officer shall make a formal inspection thereof and report his findings and recommendations in writing to the Village Board with regard to the repair or demolition and removal of said building or structure.

§ 36-18 Order to repair or demolish and remove; hearing to be scheduled.

The Village Board shall thereupon consider said written report from the Code Enforcement Officer, and if it finds that said building or structure is dangerous and unsafe to the public, it shall, by resolution, order the repair of said building or structure if it can be safely repaired and, if not, then its demolition and removal, and shall further order that a hearing be held before the Village Board at a time and place therein specified and on at least 10 days' notice to the owner of said building or structure and owner of the land upon which said building or structure is situated, with owner as defined in § 36-9 of this chapter, as well any tenant or occupant of said building or structure or of the land upon which it is situated, or any other identified persons having an interest therein to determine whether said order to repair or remove shall be affirmed or modified or vacated, and in the event of affirmance or modification, to assess all costs and expenses incurred by the Village of Brockport in connection with the repair or removal of such building or structure, pursuant to § 36-23 below, against the land upon which it is situated.

§ 36-19 Contents of notice to repair or demolish; alternative repair or demolition by Village.

A. Contents of notice to repair or demolish to include as follows:

(1) The name of the owner of the building or structure and, if different, the name of the owner of the land upon which said building or structure is situated, as appears from the tax and/or deed records;

(2) A brief description of the subject premises and its location;

(3) A description of the building or structure and a statement identifying the defects that make it an unsafe building;

(4) An order requiring the building or structure to be made safe and secure or be demolished and removed; and

(5) The time and place of the hearing to be held before the Village Board, at which hearing the owner, occupant or other interested person may contest the order and findings of the Village Board.

B. The securing or removal of said unsafe building or structure should commence within a specified number of days of the service of the notice to repair or demolish and shall be completed within a specified number of days thereafter.

C. In the event that the owner, occupant or other interested person fails to contest such order and fails to comply with the same, the Village Board will order the repair or the demolition and removal of such unsafe building or structure by the Village, and the Village will assess all costs and expenses incurred in such repair or demolition and removal against the land upon which such building or structure is located.

D. If an unsafe building under this article is made safe and secure by the boarding up thereof, the material used shall be approved in advance and, further, shall be painted as near as practicable the same color as the building.

§ 36-20 Service and filing of notice to repair or demolish.

A. A copy of said notice to repair or demolish shall be personally served upon the owner, as defined in § 36-9 of this chapter, or upon one of the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees or other person or entity having a vested or contingent interest in the premises as shown from the tax and/or deed records or from the records of the Monroe County Clerk's office.

B. If no such person can be reasonably found for personal service, then a copy of said notice to repair or demolish shall be mailed to such person by registered mail addressed to his/her last known address and by personally serving a copy of said notice to repair or demolish upon person(s), if any, occupying said premises, and by also securely and visibly posting a copy of said notice to repair or demolish upon said building.

C. A copy of said notice to repair or demolish shall be filed in the Monroe County Clerk's office, which shall be filed in the same manner as a notice of pendency pursuant to Article 65 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) and shall have the same effect as a notice of pendency as therein provided. A notice to repair or demolish which is so filed shall be effective for a period of one year from the date of filing, subject to being vacated upon order of a judge or justice of a court of record or upon the written consent of the Village Attorney of the Village of Brockport. Upon the presentation and filing of a certified copy of such order or such consent, the Monroe County Clerk's office shall mark such notice to repair or demolish and any record or docket thereof as cancelled of record.

§ 36-21 Hearing.

The Village Board shall conduct the public hearing at the time and place specified in the notice to repair or demolish. It may adjourn the hearing from time to time until all interested parties are heard and until the hearing is completed. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Village Board shall determine by resolution to revoke the order to repair or remove, modify said order to repair or remove, or continue and affirm said order to repair or remove, and in the event of modification or affirmance, direct the owner or other interested person(s) to complete the necessary work within the time specified in the order to repair or remove or such other time as shall be determined by the Village Board.

§ 36-22 Failure to comply.

In the event of the refusal, failure or neglect of the owner or other interested person(s) so notified to comply with said order to repair or remove within the specified time, and after the public hearing, the Village Board shall order that such building be made safe and secure or demolished and removed, either by employees of the Village or by independent contractors. The Village reserves the right to proceed with competitive bidding for an award of a contract for repair or demolition after its determination of the potential cost and taking into consideration whether emergency action is required.

§ 36-23 Assessment of costs and expenses.

All costs and expenses incurred by the Village in connection with the proceedings set forth in this article, including the actual costs for making safe and securing or demolishing and removing the unsafe building, and also including any attorneys' fees incurred for the enforcement of this article, shall be assessed against the land on which the unsafe building was or is located and shall be included in the tax levy and collected against said parcel of land, or alternatively may be collected in the same manner as provided in General Municipal Law § 78-b.

§ 36-24 Emergency situations.

Where it reasonably appears that there is a clear and imminent danger to the life, safety or health of any person or property unless an unsafe building is immediately repaired and secured or demolished and removed, the Village Board may by resolution authorize the Code Enforcement Officer to cause the repair or demolition of such unsafe building immediately, with the assessment of all attendant costs and expenses pursuant to § 36-23 of this chapter.

§ 36-25 Application for court order.

The Village Board, in it discretion, may elect to apply to the Supreme Court of the State of New York for an order directing that an unsafe building be repaired and secured or demolished and removed.