As used in this local law, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
BUILDING PERMIT
A permit issued pursuant to §
98-4 of this local law. The term "building permit" shall also include a building permit which is renewed, amended or extended pursuant to any provision of this local law.
BUSINESS/OPERATING PERMIT
A permit issued pursuant to §
98-10 of this local law. The term “business/operating permit” shall also include a business/operating permit which is renewed, amended or extended pursuant to any provision of this local law.
CODES ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
The Codes Enforcement Officer appointed pursuant to §
98-3B of this local law. The Codes Enforcement Officer shall have such authority as provided for under the Code of Phoenix and in addition shall be the “Code Enforcement Officer” as provided for under the Uniform Code, Energy Code, and other related laws, regulations and codes of the State of New York.
CODE ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL
The Codes Enforcement Officer and all inspectors. Upon appointment
and delegation by the Codes Enforcement Officer, the Inspector shall
have such authority as the Codes Enforcement Officer has been granted
hereunder.
ENERGY CODE
The 2015 International Energy Conservation Code; 2013 ASHRAE
90.1; and 2016 Energy Code Supplement, effective October 3, 2016,
and as hereafter amended from time to time.
[Amended 9-6-2016 by L.L.
No. 4-2016]
FEE
Any fee or charge as stated or contemplated hereunder except for a fine or penalty and, including, without limitation, those fees described at §
98-19 and any fee schedule duly adopted by the Village of Phoenix Board of Trustees.
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Any person or entity responsible for the entire project,
from contracting with subcontractors and suppliers to scheduling and
reviewing their work; ensuring code compliance; worker and job site
safety; coordination of work schedules; and compliance with contractual
deadlines.
INSPECTOR
An inspector appointed pursuant to §
98-3D of this local law.
LOCAL LAW
This Local Law No. 1-2007. In addition, any other law, regulation,
code or similar statutory enactment or promulgated provision(s) of
state or local law governing the subject matter hereof which is incorporated
in such local law by reference or inference, even if not specifically
enumerated, shall be deemed as part of this Local Law No. 1-2007,
provided the Codes Enforcement Officer can be legally charged with
the enforcement and administration thereof.
OWNER
The owner or holder of title to any personal or real property
subject hereof.
PERMIT HOLDER
The person to whom a building permit has been issued.
PERSON
An individual, corporation, limited-liability company, partnership,
limited partnership, business trust, estate, trust, association, or
any other legal or commercial entity of any kind or description.
SUBCONTRACTOR
Any person or entity that contracts with a general contractor
or a subcontractor for the improvement of the real property and that
performs some part of the general contractor’s contract with
the owner.
UNIFORM CODE
The 2015 International Building Code; 2015 International
Residential Code; 2015 International Existing Building Code; 2015
International Fire Code; 2015 International Plumbing Code; 2015 International
Mechanical Code; 2015 International Fuel Gas Code; 2015 International
Property Maintenance Code; and 2016 Uniform Code Supplement, effective
October 3, 2016, and as hereafter amended from time to time.
[Amended 9-6-2016 by L.L.
No. 4-2016]
WORK
The action(s) or performance(s) contemplated or permitted
under a building permit or any other permit, permission or approval
issued hereunder.
The chief of any fire department providing fire-fighting
services for a property within this Village shall promptly notify
the Codes Enforcement Officer of any fire or explosion involving any
structural damage, fuel-burning appliance, chimney or gas vent.
Unsafe structures and equipment in this Village shall be identified and addressed in accordance with the provisions and procedures established by Chapter
98 of the Code of Phoenix, the Fire Code of New York State and/or the Property Maintenance
Code of New York State, as now in effect or as hereafter amended from
time to time.
Unsafe structures and equipment in this Village
shall be identified and addressed in accordance with the following
procedures and/or in accordance with the New York State Property Maintenance
Code:
A. A building or structure which is in imminent danger
to life and safety as a result of structural instability, fire, explosion
or other hazardous situation shall be made safe and secure or demolished
and removed by the owner thereof.
B. The Codes Enforcement Officer may require the occupants
of any such building or structure, or part thereof, to vacate the
premises forthwith. No person shall use or occupy such building or
structure, or part thereof, until it is made safe. Except for the
owner, no person shall enter premises which have been ordered vacated
unless authorized to perform inspections or repairs or to demolish
and remove such building or structure or part thereof.
C. In case any such building or structure, or part thereof,
shall at any time, in the judgment of the Codes Enforcement Officer,
require demolition or removal, said Codes Enforcement Officer shall
serve a notice upon the owner of said building or structure requiring
said owner to demolish or remove said building or structure or part
thereof within 30 days of the receipt of the notice either personally
served upon said owner or served upon said owner by certified mail,
return receipt requested, at the mailing address listed in the most
recent tax roll.
D. The owner of any such building or structure must make any appeal of the determination of the Codes Enforcement Officer in accordance with the provisions of Executive Law § 381, Subdivision 1f, within 30 days of receipt of the notice specified in Subsection
C.
E. If any owner of any such building or structure, within 30 days of the receipt of the notice specified in Subsection
C, shall neglect or refuse to demolish or remove, or appeal the issuance of the notice, the Superintendent of Public Works shall forthwith demolish or remove such building or structure, or part thereof, without further notice, in such manner as the Superintendent of Public Works shall deem suitable and proper and shall file a certificate of the expense thereof with the Clerk and/or Treasurer of the Village of Phoenix, who shall certify the same to the Assessor serving the Village of Phoenix, and the same shall thereupon be assessed upon said lot or parcel of land upon which such building or structure is located for collection with the next assessed taxes.
F. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, 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, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall cause the owner to be noticed in the manner provided under §
98-13C hereof such notice to provide not fewer than three days to repair and secure or demolish such building or structure, and shall, upon expiration of such notice and failure of the owner to immediately repair and secure or demolish the building or structure, cause the immediate repair or demolition of such unsafe building. For this purpose, he/she may vacate adjacent structures and protect the public by appropriate barricades or such other means as may be necessary and for this purpose may close a public or private road. The expenses of such repair or demolition shall be charged against the land on which it is located and shall be assessed, levied and collected as provided in §
98-13E of this local law.
The Codes Enforcement Officer shall, subject
to the following, review and investigate complaints which allege or
assert the existence of conditions or activities that fail to comply
with the Uniform Code, the Energy Code, the Code of Phoenix, this
local law or any other local law or regulation adopted for administration
and enforcement of the Uniform Code, the Energy Code, the Code of
Phoenix or this local law. The process for responding, review and
investigation to a complaint shall include such of the following steps
as the Codes Enforcement Officer may deem to be appropriate:
A. Performing an inspection of the conditions and/or
activities alleged to be in violation, and documenting the results
of such inspection;
B. If a violation is found to exist, providing the owner of the affected property and any other person who may be responsible for the violation with notice of the violation and opportunity to abate, correct or cure the violation, or otherwise proceeding in the manner described in §
98-18, Enforcement; penalties for offenses, of this local law;
C. If appropriate, issuing a stop-work order;
D. If a violation which was found to exist is abated
or corrected, performing an inspection to ensure that the violation
has been abated or corrected, preparing a final written report reflecting
such abatement or correction, and filing such report with the complaint.
A fee schedule applicable to the provisions hereof shall be established by resolution or resolutions duly adopted from time to time by the Village Board. The fee schedule presently in effect, as of the effective date of this local law, shall be the fee schedule applicable to the items contained therein until such time as amended in the manner aforementioned. Such fee schedule may thereafter be further amended from time to time by like resolution. The fees set forth in, or determined in accordance with, such fee schedule or amended fee schedule shall be charged and collected for the submission of applications, the issuance of building permits, amended building permits, renewed building permits, temporary or final certificates of occupancy/certificate of compliance, business/operating permits, firesafety and property maintenance inspections, and/or other actions of the Codes Enforcement Officer, inspectors or any consultants retained by the Village, including the Village Attorney and/or Engineer as described in, delegated to or as otherwise contemplated by this local law. The Village Board shall have authority to modify the fee schedule as pertains to a specific case or cases, or use or class(es) of use(s), based upon an investigation and report by the Codes Enforcement Officer as to the additional work or complexity of work above and beyond the usual and customary services performed for such fee; provided, however, that except in extraordinary circumstances requiring immediate action by the Codes Enforcement Officer, the Board of Trustees and any other interested parties shall be given not fewer than 10 days’ prior written notice containing the Codes Enforcement Officer’s investigation report and request that additional or increased fees are warranted, and that all such persons have an opportunity to be heard on the issue at the next following Village Board meeting and prior to any such determination. Notice shall be given in the manner provided for at §
98-25 hereof.
The Board of Trustees of this Village may, by
resolution, authorize the Mayor of this Village to enter into an agreement,
in the name of this Village, with other governments to carry out the
terms of this local law, provided that such agreement does not violate
any provision of the Uniform Code, the Energy Code, Part 1203 of Title
19 of the NYCRR, or any other applicable law.
This local law shall repeal in its entirety the existing Chapter
98 of the Code of Phoenix and replace the same with this Local Law No. 1 of 2007 establishing a new Chapter
98.
If any section of this local law shall be held
unconstitutional, invalid, or ineffective, in whole or in part, such
determination shall not be deemed to affect, impair, or invalidate
the remainder of this local law. Furthermore, in such event, any trier
of fact, law, arbitrator or other officer charged with enforcement
or interpretation of this local law shall, where and whenever possible,
strive to modify, and accordingly interpret and enforce such section
or provision held unconstitutional, invalid, or ineffective as a provision
or section which as modified comes closest to the intent of such unconstitutional
invalid or ineffective section or provision without being unconstitutional,
invalid or ineffective.
The intent of this Chapter
98 as enacted by this Local Law No. 2 of 2007 is to enact provisions under the amendments to the Uniform Code and Energy Code to be mandated and required by the Village of Phoenix as minimum standards, to incorporate in such amended provisions those additional provisions presently existing under Code of Phoenix, Chapter
98 and related sections which are not superseded by and which mandates higher standards that those required by the foregoing New York State enactments and to add new provisions intended to assist in the enforcement and administration of Chapter
98 as amended hereby. As such, the administration and enforcement of the Code of Phoenix, Chapter
98, as amended, other Code of Phoenix sections incorporated hereunder, and other applicable laws incorporated herein and the costs and expenses incurred in enforcement and administration of same should not, where reasonably possible, as determined by the Village Board of Trustees, be incurred by residents of the Village, but where appropriate and capable of determination, should be incurred by the person(s) owning the premises subject to the administration and/or enforcement actions, or of the actions or proceedings, administrative, legal, equitable or otherwise, including any internal administrative costs and outside or internal contracting or demolition costs incurred by the Village. Such costs and expenses shall be clearly and accurately documented as pertaining to a particular administration and enforcement matter hereunder. Accordingly, it shall be the policy of the Village to require the collection of fees and penalties and such costs incurred from the responsible persons wherever possible in advance of or prior to the performance or issuance of any permits, approvals, inspections, consents, waivers, modifications, releases from suspensions, stop-work orders, and the like. Otherwise, in the event of nonpayment, the person who is owner of the subject premises, whether having actual knowledge or not, shall together and severally with any person(s) responsible for the violation hereof, be liable for the payment of all such fees, penalties and incidental expenses not later than 15 days from written request for same for the Village pursuant to notice given in the manner required hereunder at §
98-25 at the address(es) listed on the Village tax assessment records and any building or other permit application. In the event that the person who is owner of the subject premises is notified by the Village that such violation poses a threat to the public health and safety and such person(s) fail(s) to remedy the violation with a reasonable amount of time, the Village Treasurer shall ensure that all such costs and fees expended by the Village to cure the dangerous condition(s) are placed on the person’s next following Village tax bill and shall thereafter forward all necessary documentation to the County of Onondaga if such costs or part thereof remain unpaid as part of its annual notice of unpaid taxes to the County of Onondaga. All such fees, penalties, administrative, consultants, legal, engineering, demolition, contractors, construction and internal administrative costs (including relative to such enforcement proceedings) reasonably ascertainable and documented to the subject property shall be included in such charges.
This local law shall take effect immediately
upon filing in the office of the New York State Secretary of State
in accordance with § 27 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.