The following terms and words when used in this chapter shall
have the meaning and effect as follows:
MUNICIPAL CODE OR STATUTORY VIOLATION
Any infraction constituting a violation of the City code
or a statutory provision regarding conditions that constitute a threat
or danger to the public health, safety or welfare.
RESPONDENT
Any party or entity charged with a municipal code or statutory
violation within the City of Buffalo.
OWNER
Any person, corporation, partnership, firm, agency, association,
lessor, organization or entity in whom the ownership, dominion or
title of the property is vested.
TENANT
Any person who possesses, holds property or who has the temporary
use and occupancy of the property owned by another person.
There is hereby created an administrative tribunal to be known
as the "Bureau of Administrative Adjudication" to have jurisdiction
to hear and determine charges of municipal code violations or statutory
violations and fee disputes that constitute a threat or danger to
the public health, safety or welfare.
The head of such Bureau of Administrative Adjudication shall
be the director and chief administrative law judge and shall have
all the powers of an administrative law judge conferred by § 381
of Article 14-BB of the General Municipal Law and shall perform all
duties specified thereunder. The director shall be appointed by the
Mayor for a term of five years, subject to confirmation by the common
council.
The Bureau of Administrative Adjudication shall have the following
functions, powers and duties:
A. To accept pleas and to hear and determine charges of code or statutory
violations that constitute a threat or danger to the public health,
safety or welfare. Further, the Bureau may conduct hearings with regard
to fee disputes, including, without limitation, excessive avoidable
alarms and excessive property inspections or any other fee disputes
that the director deems appropriate.
B. To provide for penalties other than imprisonment for code or statutory
violations in accordance with a schedule of monetary fines and penalties;
provided however, that monetary penalties shall not exceed the maximum
amount allowed by City court or any other court. Further, such penalties
and fines shall become effective 45 days after the first Council meeting
at which they appear on the agenda as an item of business, during
which period the Council may either disapprove or modify them.
C. To adopt rules and regulations, not inconsistent with any applicable
provision of law, to carry out the purposes of Article 14-BB of the
General Municipal Law, including but not limited to rules and regulations
prescribing the internal procedures and organization of the bureau,
the manner and time of entering pleas, the conduct of hearings and
the amount and manner of payment of fines.
D. To issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of persons to give testimony
at hearings and to compel the production of relevant records, books,
papers and other materials.
E. To enter judgments of the Bureau.
F. To answer within a reasonable period of time all relevant and reasonable
inquires made by either a person charged with a municipal code or
statutory violation or his or her attorney concerning the notice of
violation served on that person. The Bureau must also furnish the
person charged, upon his or her request, a copy of the original notice
of violation. Failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection
within 30 days of such request, forwarded to the Bureau by certified
or registered mail, return receipt requested, shall result in an automatic
dismissal of all charges relating to that particular notice of violation
upon the request of the respondent.
G. To prepare and issue a notice of violation in blank to members of
the police department, fire department, inspections department, street
sanitation department, license office and to any other department,
division or office the director deems appropriate.
H. To have at least one administrative appeals panel consisting of three
administrative law judges that will hear appeals from a determination
made by any administrative law judge.