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; amended 12-18-1997 by L.L. No. 8-1997]
Each violation of the State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building
Code, as amended from time to time, in those premises governed by
this chapter, shall constitute a separate violation of this chapter.
[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.
