[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Ravena 6-15-2004 by L.L. No. 1-2004.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Ch.
51, Buildings, Unsafe, adopted 7-10-1979 by L.L. No. 1-1979.
A.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote and preserve the health,
safety and welfare of the public and residents and/or owners of property
located within the Village of Ravena by providing a method for the
removal or repair of buildings that, from any cause, may now be or
shall hereafter become dangerous or unsafe to the public and residents
and/or owners of property within the Village of Ravena. Unsafe buildings
serve as an attractive nuisance for young children, who may be injured
therein; may be a point of congregation by vagrants and transients;
may attract rodent or insects; and may also attract illegal drug activity.
B.
The powers conferred upon the Village of Ravena by this chapter shall
be in addition to all other powers conferred upon the Village of Ravena
in relation to the same subject by state law.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any building, structure or portion thereof used by residential,
business or industry.
The Building Inspector of the Village of Ravena or such other
person appointed by the Village Board to enforce the provisions of
this chapter.
Includes all buildings which have any or all of the following
defects:
Those whose interior walls or exterior bearing walls or other
vertical structural members list, lean or buckle to such an extent
as to weaken the structural support they provide;
Those which, exclusive of the foundation, show 33% or more of
damage to or deterioration of the supporting member or members or
50% of damage to or deterioration of the nonsupporting, enclosing
or outside walls or covering;
Those which have improperly distributed loads upon the floors
or roofs or in which the same are overloaded or which have insufficient
strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used;
Those which have been damaged by fire, wind or other causes
so as to have become dangerous to life, safety or the general health
and welfare of the occupants or the people of this Village of Ravena;
Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe
or unsanitary or which so utterly fail to provide the amenities essential
to decent living that they are unfit for human habitation or are likely
to cause sickness or disease to those living therein or adjacent thereto;
Those having light, air and sanitation facilities which are
inadequate to protect the health, safety or general welfare of human
beings who live or may live therein, with particular reference to
the requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and
Building Code as a determinant;
Those having inadequate facilities for egress in case of fire
or panic or those having insufficient stairways, elevators, fire escapes
or other means of communication, again referencing the New York State
Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code as a determinant;
Those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they
may fall and injure members of the public or property;
Those which consist of debris, rubble or parts of buildings
left on the ground after demolition, reconstruction fire or other
casualty;
Those which, because of their condition, are unsafe, unsanitary
or dangerous to the health, safety or general welfare of the people
of the Village of Ravena.
No person, firm, corporation or association owning, possessing
or controlling a building in this Village shall permit, suffer or
allow said building now or hereafter to be or become unsafe to the
public and/or residents from any cause whatsoever.
The Building Inspector shall make inspections of all unsafe
buildings within the Village of Ravena and report to the Village Board
all unsafe buildings which from time to time may be found within the
limits of the Village of Ravena.
A.
The Village Board shall consider the report of the Building Inspector
and, if in its opinion the report so warrants, shall determine that
the building is unsafe and order its demolition or repair, if the
same can be safely repaired, and further order that a notice shall
be given to the owner as follows.
B.
The notice shall contain the following:
(1)
A description of the premises;
(2)
A statement of the particulars in which the building is unsafe;
(3)
An order requiring the building to be repaired or demolished;
(4)
That the repairing or demolition of the building shall commence within
30 days of the serving of the notice, as hereinafter provided, and
shall be completed within 60 days thereafter;
(5)
A date, time and place for a hearing before the Village Board in
relation to such unsafe building, which hearing shall be scheduled
not less than five business days from the day of service of the notice;
(6)
A statement that in the event of neglect or refusal to comply with
the order to repair or demolish the building, the Village Board is
authorized to provide for its repair or demolition, to assess all
expenses thereof against the land on which it is located and to institute
a special proceeding to collect the costs of demolition, including
legal expenses.
A.
Said notice shall be served in the following manner:
(1)
By personal service of a copy thereof upon the owner or some one
of the owners, executors, legal representative, agents, lessees or
any other person having a vested or contingent interest in the premises
as shown by the last preceding completed assessment roll of the Village
of Ravena, or of the County Clerk, such service to be complete and
the thirty-day time period recited in said notice to commence upon
service; or
(2)
By mailing a copy of said notice to such owner as aforesaid by registered
mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the last known address
of the owner and by affixing a copy of said notice to the premises,
such service to be complete and the thirty-day time period recited
in said notice to commence 10 days after the filing of the return
receipt.
B.
A copy of the notice shall also be filed in the office of the County
Clerk of the county within which such building is located, which notice
shall be filed by such Clerk in the same manner as a notice of pendency
pursuant to Article 65 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, and shall
have the same effect as a notice of pendency as therein provided,
except as otherwise hereinafter provided. A notice so filed shall
be effective for a period of one year from the date of filing; provided,
however, that it may be vacated upon the order of a judge or upon
the consent of the Village Attorney.
A.
The hearing shall be conducted before the Village Board. The Building
Inspector shall present his or her report to the Village Board in
writing. The owner or his or her representative, if present, shall
call such witnesses as he or she deems necessary. The Village Board
shall make written findings of fact from the testimony offered as
to whether or not the building in question is an unsafe building.
B.
If such owner shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply and, after
said hearing, the Village Board finds that the building is a public
nuisance and directs its repair or demolition, the owner shall repair
or demolish said building within the time prescribed by the Village
Board.
C.
If the owner fails or neglects to repair or demolish said building
as directed by the Village Board following the hearing, then the Village
Board shall direct the repair or demolition of same forthwith.
In the event of neglect or refusal of the persons so notified
to comply with said order of the Village Board, the Village Board
shall provide for the demolition and removal of such building either
by Village employees or by contract. Except in an emergency, any contract
in excess of $20,000 shall be awarded by competitive bidding.
A.
In case there shall be, in the opinion of the Building Inspector,
actual and immediate danger of the falling of a building so as to
endanger public safety, life or property or actual or immediate menace
to health or public welfare as a result of the conditions present
in or about a building, he or she shall cause the necessary work to
be done to render such a building temporarily safe, whether the procedure
prescribed in this chapter for unsafe buildings has been instituted
or not.
B.
When emergency work is to be performed under this section, the Building
Inspector shall cause the owner thereof to be served personally or
by registered mail, return receipt requested, and, if served by registered
mail, shall post on the premises a notice to comply containing a description
of the premises, a statement of the facts in which the building is
unsafe or dangerous and orders and directions to correct the conditions
which constitute an emergency within a specified period, not to exceed
three days from actual or constructive receipt of the notice.
C.
In the event that the emergency does not permit any delay in correction,
the notice shall state that the Village has corrected the emergency
condition.
D.
In both cases, the notice shall state that the corrective costs of
the emergency will be assessed against the owner pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter.
In addition to the remedies provided by this chapter, the Village
Board may request the Village Attorney to make an application to the
Supreme Court for an order determining the building to be a public
nuisance and directing that it shall be repaired and secured or demolished.
A.
All costs and expenses incurred by the Village of Ravena in connection
with the administratively and/or judicially substantiated proceedings
to remove or secure, including the cost of actually removing said
building, shall be assessed against the land on which said building
is located.
B.
The Village of Ravena may commence a special proceeding pursuant
to § 78-b of the General Municipal Law to collect the costs
of demolition, including reasonable and necessary legal expenses.
If any part of this chapter is deemed or found to be unenforceable,
illegal, unconstitutional, or otherwise void, such judgment shall
not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of the chapter
or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances.
