A. 
The enforcement officer or his duly authorized representative is hereby authorized, upon showing proper identification, to enter, examine and survey, at any reasonable time, all dwellings, dwelling units, rooming houses, rooming units and premises located within the City.
B. 
The occupant of every dwelling, dwelling unit and rooming unit or the person in charge thereof shall give the enforcement officer or his representative free access to such units and premises at all reasonable times for the purposes of such inspection, examination and survey.
C. 
The enforcement officer is hereby authorized to make and adopt, upon approval of the Common Council, such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the clarification and proper enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. Such rules and regulations shall not be in conflict with the provisions of this chapter. A certified copy of such rules and regulations shall be filed with the City Clerk and shall have the same force and effect as the provisions of this chapter, and the penalty for violation thereof shall be the same as for violation of the provisions of this chapter.
[Added 2-19-1969]
A. 
A Director of Buildings shall be appointed by the Mayor to serve at the pleasure of the Mayor. It shall be the duty of the Director of Buildings to conduct a hearing or hearings when the enforcement officer has served a notice to repair or demolish any building or structure alleged to be in unsafe or dangerous condition or alleged to endanger the health, safety or welfare of the public. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be served, together with the notice to repair or demolish. It shall be the duty of the Director of Buildings to hear the owner and all other persons having an interest in such property or structure and further to hear the enforcement officer and such other persons as may have pertinent information regarding the condition of said property or structure.
B. 
Upon failure of the owner to repair or remove the property or structure as directed by the enforcement officer and upon presentation of such proof as may be deemed sufficient to establish that the building or structure is unsafe or dangerous or endangers the health, safety or welfare of the public, the Director of Buildings shall direct the removal of such building or structure by the City, and the Director of Buildings shall order such other measures, including safeguarding and/or boarding up of the building or structure, as may be necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.
[Amended 2-19-1969]
A. 
Whenever the enforcement officer finds that there has been a violation of this chapter or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, he shall give notice to the person or persons responsible, a copy of which said notice shall be concurrently filed with the City Clerk. Such notice shall:
(1) 
Be in writing.
(2) 
Include a description of the real estate sufficient for identification.
(3) 
Include a statement of the reason or reasons why the notice is being issued.
(4) 
Set a reasonable time for the performance of any act it requires.
(5) 
Be served upon the owner or his agent or upon the occupant, as the case may require. Such service is to be in person or by registered letter with return receipt requested or in any other manner authorized or required by law.
B. 
With respect to violations wherein the enforcement officer feels any structure or building is unsafe or dangerous or endangers the health or welfare of the public, such notice shall:
(1) 
Be in writing.
(2) 
Include a description of the property or structure sufficient for identification.
(3) 
Include a statement of the reason why the notice is being issued and a statement of the particulars in which the building or structure is unsafe or dangerous.
(4) 
Include an order of the enforcement officer requiring the alleged defective, unsafe or dangerous conditions to be repaired or the dwelling to be removed.
(5) 
Set a time within which the owner so served shall commence the repair or removal of such building or structure and a time within which such repair or removal shall be completed.
(6) 
Give notice of the time and place of the hearing before the Director of Buildings.
(7) 
Be served upon the owner and all other persons having an interest in such property or structure, either personally or by registered mail addressed to his last known address as shown by the records of the officer or agency of the City charged with the assessment of the real property therein or collection of real-property taxes thereon, and/or in the office of the County Clerk, and if such service be made by registered mail, by the posting of a copy of such notice on the premises.
(8) 
Be filed in the office of the County Clerk of the county within which such building or structure 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 herein provided in this subsection. 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 Justice of a court of record or upon the consent of the City Attorney. The Clerk of the county where such notice is filed shall mark such notice and any record or docket thereof as canceled of record upon the presentation and filing of such consent or of a certified copy of such order.
A. 
When, upon reexamination after the expiration of the time for compliance, the enforcement officer finds that the violation has not been corrected, then he is authorized to cause such dwelling to be repaired, altered or improved or to be vacated or closed.
B. 
Whenever the enforcement officer finds that any dwelling constitutes a serious hazard to the health or safety of the occupants or to the public because it is dilapidated, unsanitary, vermin-infested or lacking in the facilities required by this code, he shall designate such dwelling unfit for human habitation and shall cause to be posted on the main entrance of any dwelling so closed a placard with the following words: "This building for human habitation is prohibited and unlawful." If the owner fails to comply with an order to remove or demolish the dwelling, the Director of Buildings may cause such dwelling to be removed or demolished after a hearing conducted in accordance with this article.
[Amended 2-19-1969]
C. 
The amount of the cost of such repairs, alterations or improvements or vacating and closing or removal or demolition, when done by the enforcement officer pursuant to an order of the Director of Buildings, shall be a municipal lien against the real property upon which such cost was incurred. If the dwelling is removed or demolished by the enforcement officer pursuant to an order of the Director of Buildings, he shall sell the materials of such dwelling at a public sale as provided by law and shall credit the proceeds of such sale, after the deductions of the expense thereof, against the cost of the removal or demolition, and any balance remaining shall be deposited in the City Court of the City of Glens Falls by the enforcement officer, shall be secured in such a manner as may be directed by such Court and shall be disbursed by such Court to the persons found to be entitled thereto by final order or decree of such Court; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to impair or limit in any way the power of the municipality to define and declare nuisances and to cause their removal or abatement of summary proceedings or otherwise.
[Amended 2-19-1969]
D. 
Complaints or orders issued by the enforcement officer pursuant to this chapter shall be served upon persons either personally or by registered mail, but if the whereabouts of such persons is unknown and the same cannot be ascertained by the enforcement officer in the exercise of reasonable diligence and the enforcement officer shall make an affidavit to that effect, then the serving of such complaint or order upon such persons may be made by publishing the same once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official newspaper of the City of Glens Falls. A copy of such complaint or order shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises affected by the complaint or order. A copy of such complaint or order shall be duly recorded or lodged for record with the City Clerk of the City of Glens Falls.
A. 
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter or any provision of any rule or regulation adopted by the enforcement officer pursuant to authority granted to him by this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of no less than $150 and no more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
[Amended 9-27-1983; 12-18-1997 by L.L. No. 8-1997; 6-12-2007 by L.L. No. 5-2007]
B. 
Each 30 days that such violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
C. 
Any person who has previously been convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter or any provision of any rule or regulation adopted by the enforcement officer pursuant to authority granted to him by this chapter who is convicted of a second violation of the aforementioned, shall be punished by the assessment of attorney's fees in an amount that accurately reflects the cost of said second prosecution, and shall also be punished by a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $2,000, or imprisonment of not more than one year or both.
[Added 6-12-2007 by L.L. No. 5-2007]
D. 
Any person who has been previously convicted of two or more violations of any provision of this chapter or any provision of any rule or regulation adopted by the enforcement officer pursuant to authority granted to him by this chapter who is convicted of an additional violation of the aforementioned, shall be punished by the assessment of attorney's fees in an amount that accurately reflects the cost of said additional prosecution, and shall also be punished by a fine of no less than $600 and no more than $2,000, or imprisonment of not more than one year or both.
[Added 6-12-2007 by L.L. No. 5-2007]
[Added 9-27-1983]
Violation of the terms of this chapter shall be enforceable in the City Court of the City of Glens Falls, which shall have original jurisdiction over such violations.
Whenever a provision of this chapter is found to be in conflict with a provision of a building, zoning, sanitary or other ordinance or the Charter of this City or with county or state regulations applicable to this City, the provision which establishes the higher standard for the promotion and protection of the health and safety of the people shall prevail.
A. 
From time to time, on its own motion or on petition, the Common Council may, after a public hearing, amend, supplement or repeal the provisions of this chapter or of the rules and regulations adopted by the enforcement officer pursuant to this chapter.
B. 
All proposed amendments to this chapter shall be submitted to the City Planning Board for a advisory report thereon. Such report shall be submitted to the Common Council within 45 days from the date of submission to the Planning Board.