To adequately protect the property, safety, health, comfort
and general welfare of the inhabitants of the Village of Wolcott,
the provisions of this chapter are hereby provided for the removal
or repair of buildings in any portion of the Village of Wolcott that,
from any cause, may now or shall hereafter become dangerous or unsafe
to the public.
Upon complaint from any person, whether written or oral, that
there exists within the Village of Wolcott a building which is unsafe
or dangerous to the public, the following procedures shall be followed:
A. The Village Board shall appoint the Zoning Enforcement Officer or
any other person to inspect the premises and submit a written report
of his findings to said Village Board.
B. If such report shall find that the building or structure is not injurious
to the safety, health, comfort and general welfare of the residents
of the Village of Wolcott, no further action shall be taken. If the
report does find that the condition of the building or structure is
injurious to the safety, health, comfort and general welfare of the
residents of the Village of Wolcott, then and in that event a written
notice shall be served on the owner of said building or structure,
or, if he is deceased, to his legal representative, and to any occupant
of said building or structure, which notice shall be served by certified
mail and which notice shall contain a description of the premises,
a statement of the particulars in which the building or structure
is unsafe or dangerous and a requirement that the same be made safe
and secure or removed within a period of not less than 30 days from
and after mailing of such notice.
C. In the event of the neglect or refusal of the person served with
the notice to comply with the same, there shall be a survey of the
premises, notice of same to the owner and occupant to be served by
certified mail, such survey to be made by any one member of the Village
Board, and a practical builder, engineer or architect to be named
by the Village Board, and a practical builder, engineer or architect
appointed by the person notified as above, and in the event of the
refusal or neglect of the person so notified to appoint such surveyor,
the two surveyors named shall make the survey and report. The notice
shall state that in the event the building or other structure shall
be reported unsafe or dangerous under such survey, an application
will be made at a Special Term of the Supreme Court of the Judicial
District in which the property is located not less than five nor more
than 10 days thereafter, for an order determining the building or
other structure to be a public nuisance, and directing that it shall
be repaired and secured or taken down and removed. Such notice shall
further state that the Village Board will request the assessment of
all costs and expenses against the owner, incurred by the Village
in connection with the proceedings to remove and secure said building
or structure, including compensation for the surveyors, the cost of
actually removing said building or structure and any other expense
necessarily incurred in obtaining such order, including, but not by
way of limitation, necessary attorney's fees.