[Amended 5-9-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-O-07]
A.
The owner and occupant of any improved or unimproved lot or parcel
of land jointly shall be responsible for the removal of any nuisance
arising from the accumulation of garbage, junk, trash or refuse or
the presence of stagnant water, waste or any combustible material.
B.
The occupant and owner of any property jointly shall at all times
be responsible for the sanitary condition of such property occupied
or owned by him. It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit
or allow refuse to be placed or deposited on his property unless it
is placed in containers in preparation for final disposal. It shall
also be unlawful for any person to create a junkyard or salvage operation
in any residentially zoned district.
C.
Notice
of abatement shall require that the owner and/or occupant remove or
otherwise abate a nuisance or unsanitary condition that is in violation
of this section within seven calendar days from the date of notice.
[Added 5-23-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-O-08]
D.
Service
of the notice shall be by personal service or certified and regular
mail to the last known address of the person in whose name the property
is assessed for tax purposes and the tenant or occupant.
[Added 5-23-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-O-08]
E.
If the
property owner, tenant and/or occupant fails within seven calendar
days of date of notice to remove or otherwise abate the nuisance or
unsanitary condition specified in the notice, the City shall abate
the violation by use of City employees and equipment or by contract
with private contractors.
[Added 5-23-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-O-08]
F.
A violation of this section is a municipal infraction. A property owner and/or tenant or occupant who fails to abate a violation of this section shall be fined in accordance with the provisions in Article XI, Enforcement, of this chapter and shall be assessed all costs incurred by the City associated with the abatement of the violation and the City's administrative costs. All costs shall be a lien on the owner's land and shall be collected and enforced in the same manner as City real property taxes.
[Added 5-23-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-O-08; amended 3-25-2019 by Ord. No. 19-O-03]
[Added 3-8-1993 by Ord. No. 409-93]
No person shall dispose of, dump or place for collection any trash, garbage or refuse, whether or not otherwise placed in acceptable bags or containers pursuant to this chapter, on the property of another without the permission of such property owner, and any such disposing, dumping or placing for collection without the permission of such property owner shall constitute a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties set forth in § 250-31, Violations and penalties.
All excess land-clearing debris generated during the preparation
of lots or parcels of land for the erection of structures or road
building shall be removed from such property by the prime builder,
contractor, developer or owner within the time specified by the Director
of Public Works. In those areas where this material cannot be disposed
of by open burning, all residual waste generated shall be transported
to and disposed of in designated rubble fills. On-site disposal of
tree stumps only shall be permitted on lots or parcels of land prepared
for the erection of structures by the prime builder, contractor or
developer in areas located on the lot or parcel designated as open
space and where permanent stockpiles are to be used when the following
minimum criteria for stockpiles are met:
B.
The stockpile has been placed in a location approved by the Department
of Public Works.
C.
Stumps shall be buried beneath the stockpile a minimum of three feet
below the soil surface.
D.
Slopes shall be no steeper than four feet horizontal to one foot
vertical.
E.
Stumps shall not exceed 15 feet in height.
F.
Stockpiles shall be permanently stabilized with a low-maintenance
ground cover.
G.
Stockpiles shall be landscaped to blend into existing natural surroundings.
On stockpiles higher than six feet tall, plantings of pine and deciduous
trees, each not less than three feet high when planted, will be provided
per a landscaping plan approved by the Director of Public Works. In
no instance shall any excess land-clearing debris, including tree
stumps, be disposed of in an area where it would constitute a menace
to any water source or supply or septic reserve or drainage area.
[Amended 9-12-2005 by Ord. No. 677-05; 8-27-2012 by Ord. No.
12-O-06]
A.
The purpose of this section is to:
B.
UNSAFE BUILDING
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
A condition which poses such immediate harm or threat of
harm to an occupant or to the public that other legal remedies cannot
be expected to bring about the alleviation or removal of the condition
to prevent the serious harm or injury to the occupants or to the public
health, safety, and welfare.
C.
The City requires the securing, repair, removal, or demolition of
a building that is:
(1)
Damaged by fire, wind or flood, dilapidated, unsafe or abandoned,
or unfit for human habitation and is thereby a hazard to the public
health, safety, and welfare;
(2)
Regardless of its structural condition, it is unsecured from unauthorized
entry to the extent that it could be entered or used by vagrants or
other uninvited persons as a place of shelter or could be entered
or used by children; or
D.
The Director of Public Works shall establish regulations that:
(1)
Establish minimum standards for the continued use and occupancy of
buildings in a condition described herein;
(2)
Provide for notice to an owner, lien holder, or mortgagee that schedules
a public hearing to determine whether a building is unsafe and whether
it can be repaired and that the owner, lien holder, or mortgagee will
be required to submit at the hearing proof of the scope of any work
that is required to comply with this section and the time it will
take to reasonably perform the work; and
(3)
Establish procedures for notifying occupants of the property, if
any, and giving them the appropriate information about the contents
of the notice that the property is an unsafe building and thus not
safe for occupancy.
E.
If a building is found by the Director of Public Works to be in violation
of standards set out herein, the City may issue a notice that the
building be vacated, secured, repaired, removed, or demolished by
the owner within a reasonable time as provided in the notice. The
notice issued by the City may specify a reasonable time as provided
by this section for the building to be secured, repaired, removed,
or demolished by the owner. Within 10 days after the date that the
notice is issued, the City shall:
(1)
File a copy of the notice in the office of the City Clerk and post
it in the lobby of the first floor of the City office building in
a conspicuous place; and
(3)
The City shall make a diligent effort to discover each mortgagee
and lien holder having an interest in the building or in the property
on which the building is located. The City shall use its best efforts
to determine the identity and address of any owner, lien holder, or
mortgagee of the building and provide the same information as that
due an owner. The City, if it is able to obtain the information, shall
deliver in person or send by certified mail with return receipt requested,
to each identified mortgagee and lien holder a notice containing:
(a)
A copy of the City's notice;
(b)
A reasonable identification, which is not required to be a legal
description, of the location of the building and the property on which
it is located;
(c)
A description of the violation of the City's standards present
at the building;
(d)
A statement that the City may secure, remove, or demolish the
building if the action set forth in the notice is not taken within
a reasonable time; and
(e)
A copy of this section of the Code.
F.
In the event the owner fails to vacate, secure, repair, remove, or
demolish the building within the time as provided in the notice, the
Director of Public Works shall schedule a public hearing before a
committee consisting of the City Manager, the Chief of Police and
the Director of Planning and Community Development, hereinafter the
Unsafe Building Committee (the "Committee"). The Committee shall give
notice of the place, date and time of the public hearing and statement
of the violation of the City Code to the owner and each identified
mortgagee and lien holder. It shall publish the same notice for two
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. The publishing
of the notice is binding on subsequent grantees, lien holders, or
other transferees of an interest in the property who acquire such
interest after the publishing of the notice, and constitutes notice
of the hearing on any subsequent recipient of any interest in the
property who acquires such interest after the filing of the notice.
G.
In conducting a hearing authorized under this section, the Committee, after a presentation by the Director of Public Works as to the condition of the building, shall determine whether the building is one that meets the standards described in Subsection C. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Committee may determine if the building is an unsafe building and if it is necessary issue a written order to require the owner, lien holder, or mortgagee of the building to:
(1)
Secure the building from unauthorized entry; or
(2)
Repair, remove, or demolish the building, unless the owner or lien
holder establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably
be performed within 30 days.
(3)
The owner, lien holder, or mortgagee has the burden of proof to demonstrate
to the Committee the scope of any work that may be required to make
the building safe and/or habitable and the time it will take to reasonably
perform the work to do so.
H.
Notwithstanding the above, the Committee may not allow the owner,
lien holder, or mortgagee more than 90 days from the date of the hearing
to repair, remove, or demolish the building or fully perform all work
required to comply with the order unless the owner, lien holder, or
mortgagee:
I.
If the Committee allows the owner, lien holder, or mortgagee more
than 90 days to complete any part of the work required to repair,
remove, or demolish the building, the Committee shall require the
owner, lien holder, or mortgagee to regularly submit to the Director
of Public Works progress reports to the City to demonstrate compliance
with the time schedules established for commencement and performance
of the work. The Committee may require the owner, lien holder, or
mortgagee to appear before the hearing official or the hearing official's
designee to demonstrate compliance with the time schedules. If the
owner, lien holder, or mortgagee owns property, including structures
or improvements on property, within the municipal boundaries that
exceeds $50,000 in total value, in its then current condition, the
City may require the owner, lien holder, or mortgagee to post a cash
or surety bond in an amount adequate to cover the cost of repairing,
removing, or demolishing a building under this subsection. In lieu
of a bond, the City may require the owner, lien holder, or mortgagee
to provide a letter of credit from a financial institution or a guaranty
from a third party approved by the City. The bond must be posted,
or the letter of credit or third-party guaranty provided, not later
than the 30th day after the date the Committee issues the order.
J.
If the building is not secured, repaired, removed, or demolished within the allotted time and as ordered, the City may, by the application of its police power to curb or abate nuisances, secure, remove, or demolish the building at its own expense. This subsection does not limit the ability of a city to collect on a bond or other financial guaranty that may be required by Subsection I.
K.
If a city incurs expenses under Subsection I, the City may assess its expenses by the creation of a lien against the property on which the building was located as provided by the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended. The possibility of a lien is extinguished if the property owner or another person having an interest in the legal title to the property reimburses the City for the expenses. If the expenses remain unpaid for more than 60 days from the date of the notice of the assessment of the expenses, the owner will be billed by the City for the amount of the unpaid expenses along with a administrative fee of 10%. If the expenses remain unpaid for more than the above sixty-day period, the City Treasurer's office shall forward the amount due to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Harford County to be recorded as a lien against the property. The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice of the lien is recorded and indexed in the Circuit Court for Harford County, Maryland. The notice must contain the name and address of the owner if that information can be determined with a reasonable effort, a legal description of the real property on which the building was located, the amount of expenses incurred by the City, and the balance due.
L.
The City satisfies the requirements of this section to use its best
efforts, or to make a reasonable effort to determine the identity
and address of an owner, a lien holder, or a mortgagee if the City
searches the following records:
M.
After the City mails a notice to a property owner, lien holder, mortgagee,
or registered agent and the United States Postal Service returns the
notice as "refused" or "unclaimed," the validity of the notice is
not affected, and the notice is considered delivered.
N.
Any owner, lien holder, or mortgagee of record of property jointly or severally aggrieved by an order of a City issued under § 250-11 may file in Circuit Court for Harford County a petition of appeal as provided for in Title 7 of the Maryland Rules, Annotated Code of Maryland. The petition must be filed by an owner, lien holder, or mortgagee within 30 calendar days after the date that a copy of the notice of a final decision of the City is personally delivered to them, mailed to them by first class mail with certified return receipt requested, or delivered to them by the United States Postal Service express mail.
O.
If the decision of the City is affirmed or not substantially reversed
but only modified, the Circuit Court of Harford County shall allow
to the City reasonable attorneys' fees and other costs and expenses
incurred by it and shall enter a judgment for those items, which may
be entered against the parties that took the appeal.
