The Chief Inspector is hereby designated to serve as the public
officer hereunder, and all inspections, regulations, enforcement,
and hearings on violations of the provisions of this code, unless
expressly stated to the contrary, shall be under his direction and
supervision. He may appoint or designate such other public officials
or employees of the City to perform duties as may be necessary for
the enforcement of this code, including the making of inspections
and holding of hearings.
[Amended 12-30-1976 by Ord. No. 2226; 4-19-2005 by Ord. No. 05-03; 7-17-2007 by Ord. No. 07-17]
A.
All premises subject to this code shall be subject to inspection
from time to time by the public officer or inspector designated by
him.
B.
Except with respect to an emergency, as provided in Subsection C below, no inspection shall be made unless the inspecting officer shall first have obtained a search warrant therefor or shall have obtained the verbal and where possible written consent of the occupant of the premises, or the owner/agent of the owner of the premises, under the authority of their lease for the dwelling unit, to a search without a search warrant and, with respect to inspection of residential premises, shall have complied with the following guidelines for residential code inspections:
(1)
Residential inspections shall be conducted during normal business
hours; 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on nonholiday weekdays except as follows:
Residential inspections outside of the hours specified above may be
made only under emergency circumstances, such as when City police,
fire, code enforcement or medical emergency personnel, during the
normal course of responding to an emergency at a dwelling or other
event in the course of their duty, witness life hazard violations
of the Property Maintenance Code and alert the Chief Code Enforcement
Official of such suspected life hazard violations. Under such emergency
circumstances, the Chief Code Officer shall arrange an inspection
within 24 hours of notification.
(2)
Except as provided in Subsection B(5)(a), no residential code enforcement inspection shall be conducted without first providing notice to a resident(s) of their rights regarding whether or not to permit an inspection. The City inspection official shall provide such notice orally and in writing, and where the subject of an inspection has limited English proficiency or the level of English proficiency is unknown, such notice, to the extent practical, shall be provided in the subject's language as well as in English.
(3)
The following documentation and record keeping procedures shall be
required with respect to all inspections: Records shall be maintained
including current inspection reports and notices of violation as well
as recommendations for corrective action where applicable.
(4)
The Chief Inspector shall make available training and/or reference
materials to the Code Enforcement Officer(s) which shall delineate
the procedures such officer(s) must following in taking complaints,
investigating complaints and conducting inspections.
(5)
These procedures do not affect:
(a)
The City of Englewood's ability to conduct an inspection
if it has obtained a court-issued warrant to search the premises;
or
(b)
The authority of the City of Englewood's police to enter
a residence when responding to a potential violation of zoning, land
use, property maintenance or other laws.
(c)
An inspection of a property wherein the inspecting officer is
viewing the property from publicly owned property or from adjacent
private property where the inspecting officer has legal access through
the permission of the property owner or occupant.
C.
An inspection may be made without a search warrant and without consent
of the occupant or the owner/agent of the premises if the inspecting
officer reasonably believes that there exists an emergency which demands
immediate access to the premises. The word "emergency" as used herein
shall be deemed to mean an event, occurrence, or condition which constitutes
an imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the occupants
of the premises or of other person, or an imminent threat of serious
damage to property.
D.
An inspection fee in an amount set forth in Subsection E below shall be charged to the owners or operators of any buildings or premises subject to this code for an inspection whenever such inspection:
(1)
Is made upon a reasonable belief that an event, occurrence, or condition
exists in violation of this code which is an immediate threat to the
health, welfare or safety of the occupant of the premises or of other
persons, or an imminent threat of serious damage to property; and
(2)
Is made after normal business hours or on weekends or holidays; and
(3)
Reveals that such an event, occurrence or condition does exist and
is the responsibility of the owner or operator.
Inspectors shall be supplied with official identification cards
and shall exhibit same when entering any premises subject to this
code. Inspectors shall conduct themselves so as to avoid or minimize
embarrassment or inconvenience to occupants.
A.
Penalties. Any owner, operator or occupant of any premises, or any other person, who shall refuse to permit an inspection of premises pursuant to § 317-64, or who shall otherwise interfere with or impede an inspection of premises subject to this code, shall be in violation of this code and shall be subject to the penalties described herein for such violation.
B.
Search warrant. The procedure for obtaining a search warrant in accordance with § 317-64 shall be as follows:
(1)
The
public officer or his designee, upon affidavit setting forth the conditions
and circumstances that provide a reasonable basis for believing that
a violation of this code exists on the premises, shall apply to the
Municipal Judge of the City for a search warrant.
(2)
If
the municipal judge is satisfied as to the matter set forth in the
affidavit, he shall authorize the issuance of a search warrant permitting
access to and inspection of that part of the premises upon which the
alleged violation exists.
[Amended 2-1-1972 by Ord. No. 1925]
A.
Notice. Except as provided in Subsection K below, where a violation of this code or the regulations hereunder is found to exist, a written notice from the public office shall be served on the person or persons responsible for the correction thereof and the mortgagee, in the manner described in Subsection C(2) below.
B.
Contents of notice. The notice shall specify the violation 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 shall state that the notice shall become an order of the public officer 10 days after service unless a hearing is requested pursuant to Subsection D below.
C.
Service of notice.
(1)
Notice shall be served personally or by prepaid telegram or by certified
or registered mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the last
known address of the person to be served. With respect to an occupant,
notice shall be posted upon the door of his dwelling unit or rooming
unit. Where the owner does not reside on the premises then, unless
the owner or operator shall have provided the public officer with
a different address, the last known address shall be the address of
the owner as shown in the office of the Receiver of Taxes. If the
last known address cannot be ascertained, the notice shall be posted
on the outside front entrance of the building. Service upon an owner,
operator or occupant may also be obtained by service of notice upon
a member of the family of the owner, operator or occupant living at
the same address. Where service is by mail, service shall be deemed
to have been made as of the day following the day of mailing for notices
to addresses within the City, and as of the fourth day after the day
of mailing for notices to addresses outside the City. Where the day
of service would fall upon a Sunday or other day when mail is not
ordinarily delivered, then the day of service shall be the next regular
delivery day.
(2)
Notwithstanding any other provisions herein contained, where premises are subject to registration pursuant to § 325-20 of Chapter 325, Rental Property, and have been so registered, notice served upon the agent designated therein shall constitute service upon the owner, operator and lessor of the premises, jointly and severally. Where such registration is required, but the owner, operator or lessor has failed to comply with such registration requirement, or if the premises have been registered but the agent designated therein cannot be found at the address given in the registration, the owner, operator or lessor affected thereby may be served by posting notice upon the premises in a conspicuous place.
(3)
The public officer shall serve a copy of the aforementioned notice
upon the mortgagee by certified or registered mail, return receipt
requested, within five business days after the issuance of the original
notice, said notice to include the name of the owner, the street address,
and lot and block of the building, and the nature of the violation.
D.
Notice to become an order unless hearing requested. Ten days after
the date of service of a notice, the notice shall constitute a final
order unless, within such period, any person affected thereby shall
file with the public officer, either by mail or in person, a written
request for a hearing thereon. Such request shall set forth briefly
the grounds or reasons on which the request for a hearing is based
and the factual matters contained in the notice of violation which
are to be disputed at the hearing. The public officer, upon receipt
of the request, shall, within 30 days therefrom and upon five days'
notice to the party aggrieved, set a date for such hearing.
E.
Subpoenas. In connection with any such hearing the public officer
shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses and parties
in interest by issuance and service of subpoena, to require by subpoena
the production of books, records or other documents which may be pertinent
to matters to be determined by him, and to enforce any such subpoena
or secure any order for the enforcement of any such subpoena as provided
by law.
F.
Determination. The public officer shall make his determination within
10 days from the completion of the hearing and shall issue an order
either incorporating the determinations and directions contained in
the notice, modifying the same or withdrawing the notice.
G.
Extension of time. The public officer may extend the time for correction
or abatement of a violation 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 for completion may be extended
for a period not to exceed 90 days beyond the expiration date of the
original notice.
H.
Summary abatement in emergency; notice and hearing not required.
Where the violation or condition existing on the premises is of such
a nature as to constitute an immediate and serious threat to the health,
safety, or welfare of the occupants of the premises or of other persons,
or an immediate threat of serious damage to property unless abated
without delay, the public officer may either abate the violation or
condition immediately or order the owner, operator or occupant to
correct the violation or condition immediately or within a period
of time not to exceed three days, and upon failure to do so, the public
officer shall abate the condition immediately thereafter; provided,
however that, where time permits and if so requested, the public officer
shall hold a public hearing which may, in the discretion of the public
officer, be held either before or after the condition has been abated.
I.
Cost of abatement to be lien against premises. Where the abatement
of any violation or the correction of a defect in the premises, or
the taking of any other required action to bring the premises into
compliance with the requirements of this code, any City ordinance,
or state law applicable thereto, requires expending City monies therefor,
and after undertaking the procedures necessary to secure compliance,
including notices served upon the owners, operators, lessors, or agents,
as the case may be, and hearings and orders of the public officer
with reference thereto, the Chief Inspector with the approval of the
City Manager may take action and approve the spending of City monies
to abate properties to secure compliance. The City Manager shall notify
the City Council within 15 days of such abatement, and the cost of
the abatement shall become a lien against said premises collectible
as provided by law. The Receiver of Taxes of the City shall be responsible
for the collection thereof.
[Amended 8-4-2009 by Ord. No. 09-16]
J.
Referral of violation. Any violation of any ordinance other than
this code which is discovered by a housing inspector shall be reported
to the public officer who shall refer the alleged violation to the
official or agency responsible for the enforcement of such other ordinance.
K.
Where notice and hearing not required prior to court proceedings.
(2)
No notice shall be required for the enforcement of § 317-12A(4) hereof, relating to the removal of accumulated snow or ice from paths, walks, driveways, parking lots and parking areas used by pedestrians and automobiles, where such snow or ice has remained uncleared after eight hours of daylight following the termination of the snowfall.
(3)
Where a notice of violation has been served and either i) the notice
became an order because no hearing thereon was requested, or ii) a
hearing was held and an order was thereafter entered finding that
a violation did exist (whether or not the violation that existed was
abated prior to the entry of an order or prior to the time that a
notice became an order) and if thereafter, within one year from the
date of such order, there shall be a second violation by the same
owner, operator or occupant of the same provision of this code on
the same premises, the offender may be prosecuted for the second violation
by the filing of a complaint in the Municipal Court without the public
officer first giving notice and opportunity for a hearing.
(4)
Where the public officer has on two different occasions found violations
by the same owner, operator or occupant on the same premises and each
has led to an order finding a violation, either by reason of the failure
to request a hearing thereon, or following a hearing thereon (and
regardless of whether either violation was abated prior to the entry
of such order), then upon discovering a subsequent violation by the
same owner, operator, or occupant on the same premises within the
space of one year, whether involving the same sections or any other
sections of this code, the offender may be prosecuted by the filing
of a complaint in the Municipal Court without first providing notice
and opportunity for a hearing.
(5)
Whenever the public officer determines that a violation has occurred
of this Code, except with respect to an owner-occupied single-family
residence, which requires immediate action, by reason of the severity
thereof or the substantial threat to the public's health, safety,
or welfare, the offender may be prosecuted by the filing of a complaint
in the Municipal Court without first providing notice and opportunity
for a hearing.
[Added 19-19-2000 by Ord. No. 00-19]
