In order to prevent blight and the spread thereof, it is hereby
declared that all residential and nonresidential structures, including
accessory structures, whether occupied or vacant, shall be maintained
in conformity with the standards set out in this article. This will
ensure that none of these structures or properties will adversely
affect their neighborhood or the larger community. It is found and
declared that, by reason of lack of maintenance and progressive deterioration,
blighting conditions may develop that may necessitate in time the
expenditure of large amounts of public funds to correct and eliminate
the same. By reason of the regulations and restrictions, the growth
of blight may be prevented, the neighborhood and property values may
be maintained, the desirability and amenities of residential and nonresidential
uses and neighborhoods may be enhanced, and the public health, safety
and welfare of the Village will be protected and fostered.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A building, structure, dwelling unit or lot that is vacant
for a period in excess of 30 consecutive days.
Something that impairs or destroys; an impaired condition;
to cause to deteriorate, ruin.
A structure wholly or partially enclosed within exterior
walls or within exterior or party walls and a roof affording shelter
to persons, animals or property.
An open and unoccupied space on a lot which is enclosed on
at least three sides by walls of a building.
Garbage, litter, automotive parts, leaves, twigs, branches,
logs, stumps, yard clippings and any other solid waste.
The face or front of a building.
A building, structure, dwelling unit or lot that is vacant
for a period in excess of 30 consecutive days as a result of a foreclosure
action.
The presence of insects, rodents, vermin or other pests.
Any vehicle, including a trailer, which is without a currently
valid license plate or plates and which is dismantled, partly dismantled,
inoperative or in an abandoned condition.
A plot, tract, premises or parcel of land without buildings
or structures located thereon.
Any record owner, mortgagee, vendee in possession, assignee
of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, administrator, lessee, agent
or other person having control, directly or indirectly, of property
or a building, structure or area.
A natural person, corporation, partnership, limited liability
company, unincorporated association, or any other business organization
of two or more persons.
Any person who is authorized by the owner to repair, maintain,
oversee, sell, or lease property or otherwise act on behalf of the
owner of property.
Land, buildings and other permanent attachments to the land.
An assembly of materials forming a construction framed of
component structural parts, which exists for occupancy or use.
Any person who uses or occupies property, other than the
owner, and who occupies the same pursuant to a written or oral lease
agreement or otherwise with the consent and permission of the owner
thereof.
Any building or part thereof which remains unoccupied for
a period of more than one year, with either doors, windows or other
openings broken, removed, boarded or sealed up.
The space within a building used by a business or commercial
establishment where the business has ceased or suspended operations.
Such building or store space shall be deemed vacant even if fixtures,
furniture, equipment or other property remains in the space.
A building containing one or more dwelling units in which
no occupant(s) has(have) resided for 30 or more consecutive days.
Vacancy of some of the dwelling units within a two-family or multiple-dwelling
building shall not be considered to be a vacant residential building.
The Village of Woodbury.
An open space on the same lot which contains a building and
is located between the building line and the lot line which the particular
building line faces.
No person shall deposit, blow, sweep, rake or
otherwise cause debris to be put onto or into Village streets, sidewalks,
drainage ditches, gutters, culverts or on any portion of the Village's
ten-foot right-of-way. A violation of this section can be enforced
by the Code Enforcement Officer or any member of the Town of Woodbury
Police Department.
A.
Open areas; parking spaces.
(1)
Surface and subsurface water shall be appropriately drained to protect
buildings and structures and to prevent the development of stagnant
ponds. Gutters, culverts, catch basins, drain inlets, stormwater sewers
or other satisfactory drainage systems shall be utilized where necessary.
No roof, surface or sanitary drainage shall create a structural safety
or health hazard by reason of construction, maintenance or manner
of discharge.
(2)
Fences or other accessory structures shall be maintained in a safe
and nondeteriorated condition. All fences and planting areas installed
on the premises shall be maintained by the person responsible for
the property, which shall include the owner and property manager.
Such maintenance shall include but not be limited to painting, as
needed, the maintenance and cutting of lawns and the replacement and/or
repair of fences which may be in disrepair.
(3)
All planting areas and landscaping on the premises shall be maintained
so that lawns, hedges, bushes, and trees shall be kept neat and free
from becoming overgrown and unsightly where exposed to public view
and where the same may constitute a blighting factor, and shall be
maintained by the person responsible for the property, which shall
include the owner and property manager. Such maintenance shall include
but not be limited to the replacement of trees and shrubs which may
die and/or otherwise be destroyed, the maintenance and cutting of
lawns.
(4)
The planting strip fronting the property shall be maintained in a
safe condition, neat, mowed, as necessary, and free of litter, poison
ivy, ragweed and any other noxious plant.
(5)
Steps, walks, driveways, parking spaces and similar paved areas shall be maintained so as to afford safe passage under normal use and weather conditions. Any holes or other hazards that may exist shall be filled, and necessary repairs or replacement shall be made. Moreover, sidewalks, curbs, aprons, ramps and driveway approaches shall be constructed in accordance with the specifications set forth in Chapter 269, Article V, of the Village Code. All off-street parking facilities shall be swept as often as necessary in the determination of the Code Enforcement Officer.
(6)
Yards, courts and vacant lots shall be kept clean and free of physical
hazards, rodent harborage and infestation and debris. They shall be
maintained in a manner that will prevent dust or other particles from
being blown about the neighborhood. Open wells, cesspools or cisterns
shall be securely closed or barricaded from access to the public.
(7)
A junked vehicle may not be parked, stored or left in the open so
as to be visible from any street or neighboring properties.
(8)
Restaurants and other eating facilities shall have garbage containers
sufficient in number for all of their solid waste and shall maintain
them in satisfactory condition.
(9)
No shopping baskets, carts or wagons shall be left unattended or
standing, and such baskets, carts or wagons shall be collected as
often as necessary and removed to the interior of the building or
buildings from which they were taken by the person responsible for
said building or buildings.
(10)
All signs exposed to public view shall be maintained in good
repair. Excessively weathered or faded signs shall be removed or put
into good repair. Any nonoperative or broken electrical or other sign
shall be repaired or removed.
(11)
All unused tires shall be removed from all yards and lots and
shall be properly disposed.
B.
Buildings and structures.
(1)
All exterior exposed surfaces not inherently resistant to deterioration
shall be repaired, coated, treated or sealed to protect them from
deterioration or weathering. Said surfaces, having once been coated
with any finish, such as paint, varnish, lacquer, etc., must be maintained.
(2)
Every exterior wall, roof and porch or appurtenance thereto shall
be maintained in a manner so as to prevent collapse of the same or
injury to the occupants of the building or to the public. Floors,
walls, ceilings, stairs, furnishings and fixtures of buildings shall
be maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary condition.
(3)
The foundation walls of every building shall be maintained in good
repair and shall be structurally sound.
(4)
Exterior walls, roofs and all openings, doors and windows, including
glass, chimneys and other parts of a building, shall be so maintained
as to keep water from entering the building. Materials which have
been damaged or show evidence of dry rot or other deterioration shall
be repaired or replaced and refinished in a workmanlike manner. Exterior
walls, roofs and other parts of the building shall be free from loose
and unsecured objects and material and improperly secured objects
and materials. Such objects or materials shall be removed or replaced.
(5)
The owner of a vacated building shall take such steps and perform
such acts as may be required of him from time to time by the Code
Enforcement Officer to ensure that the building and its adjoining
yards remain safe and secure and do not present a hazard to adjoining
property or the public. All openings shall be provided with painted
exterior-grade plywood closures, securely fastened.
(6)
Buildings and structures shall be maintained in such condition so
that they shall not become an unoccupied hazard as defined in this
chapter. All graffiti or defacing shall be removed and the surface
finish restored within a five-day period.
(7)
Any building or structure, including, but not limited to, residential
dwellings, commercial tenant space and stores, that is vacant and
abandoned, or is deemed by the Building Inspector or Code Enforcement
Officer to be dangerous or likely to attract trespassers or squatters,
shall be boarded up, at least to the second-floor level, and the responsible
person for such structure shall conform to this article such structure
and all of its adjoining yards, courts or open spaces.
(8)
Buildings and structures shall be maintained free of insect, vermin
and rodent harborage and infestation.
(9)
All signs, awnings and lighting systems shall be maintained in a
completely operable, clean, sightly, nondeteriorated and safe condition.
(10)
All decorative pools and similar devices shall be maintained
free of litter and operated as intended. Should the maintenance costs
of such devices prove unacceptable, the device shall be converted
to landscaped planting beds or removed.
(11)
All in-ground swimming pools on vacant and/or abandoned property
shall be completely emptied of water. All above-ground swimming pools
on vacant and/or abandoned property shall be emptied of water to the
extent that does not cause the pool to collapse.
(12)
Fuel-burning, heat-producing equipment shall be installed or
maintained so that the emission or discharge into the atmosphere of
smoke, dust particles, odors or other products of combustion will
not create a nuisance or be detrimental to the health, comfort, safety
or property of any person. Where a NYSDEC burning permit is required,
a copy shall be filed with the Building Department.
(13)
Chimneys, flues and their supports shall be installed and maintained
so as to be structurally safe, durable, smoke-tight, noncombustible
and capable of withstanding the action of flue gases without softening,
cracking, corroding or spalling.
(14)
Air-conditioning units which are over any public opening shall
have condensation piped away from the entranceway of the same.
(15)
Electrical fixtures, devices, wiring and systems shall be maintained
in safe working condition so as not to be a potential source of ignition
of combustible material or an electric hazard or shock and shall be
properly connected to a reasonable, adequate source of electrical
power.
(16)
If a sign is removed from the exterior of a building or structure,
the area that was covered by the removed sign and now left exposed,
even if a new sign is installed, shall be cleaned and maintained so
that the exterior of the building or structure shall have a uniform
color and texture.
C.
Vacant commercial space or store.
(1)
Whenever a building or store is vacant for a period in excess of
30 days, which period of days need not be successive, the property
owner, lessee, occupant and other responsible persons shall place
a covering in the storefront to block public view of the interior
of the premises. The covering shall be flame retardant or meet with
the Code Enforcement Officer's approval regarding fire safety.
The covering shall not consist of any substance sprayed onto storefront
windows but shall consist of plain, earth-tone, venetian or similar
blinds, drapes, curtains or shades.
(2)
All show windows and glazed doors shall be periodically washed and
maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.
(3)
All cracked or broken show windows and glazed doors shall be repaired
or replaced as necessary.
(4)
All debris shall be removed from a vacant building or store. Such
premises shall be maintained broom clean at all times.
(5)
All storefronts shall be kept in good repair, painted where required,
and shall not be permitted to become a safety hazard or nuisance.
In the event that repairs to a storefront become necessary, such repairs
shall be made so as to repair permanently the damaged area or areas.
Any cornice visible above a storefront shall be kept painted and otherwise
in good condition and in good repair.
(6)
If windows are removed, they shall be replaced with a permanent building
material which is in harmony with the rest of the building. Plywood
may be used only in an emergency and for a period not to exceed 45
days.
(7)
The owner of a vacant building shall take such steps and perform
such acts as may be required from time to time to ensure that the
building and any adjoining yard remain safe and secure and do not
present a hazard to the adjoining property or to the public. Owners
shall be responsible for maintaining the building and any accessory
structures such that they do not become an unoccupied hazard. The
building and each floor area shall maintain at least one means of
access which complies with the New York State Fire Prevention and
Building Code.
(8)
The Building Inspector shall be authorized to conduct an inspection
every six months of any vacant building and vacant store.
(9)
The owner of any residential building or commercial space/store that
is vacant for more than 30 consecutive days shall notify the Building
Department or the Village Clerk of the name, address, phone number
and emergency contact phone number of the owner and/or the property
manager of the property.
D.
Vehicle parking. The parking of motor vehicles shall not be permitted
across or within pedestrian sidewalks or walkways.
E.
Dumpsters. All dumpsters shall be enclosed with fencing and shrubs
and other screening as approved by the Code Enforcement Officer.
F.
Unoccupied hazards. Unoccupied hazards shall be subject to condemnation
in accordance with the laws of the State of New York and this Village.
G.
Vacant structures and their adjoining yards. Vacant structures and
their adjoining yards shall be maintained in compliance with all provisions
of this chapter.
