[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village of Council of the Village
of New Haven 7-8-2014 by Ord. No. 325. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 515.
The Village of New Haven Blight Ordinance is to prevent, reduce
or eliminate blight or potential blight within the Village of New
Haven by the prevention or elimination of certain environmental causes
of blight factors which exist or which may in the future exist in
the Village of New Haven. The State of Michigan research has declared
that: "Municipalities of the state have become blighted and significant
areas in the municipalities of the state are deteriorating in a manner
which leads to severe blight, with the consequent impairment of taxable
values upon which, in large part, municipal revenues depend; that
those blighted areas are detrimental or inimical to the health, safety,
morals, and general welfare of the citizens, and to the economic welfare
of the municipality; that in order to improve and maintain the general
character of the municipality, it is necessary to rehabilitate those
blighted areas."
This chapter may be known and cited as the "Village of New Haven
Blight Ordinance #1" or "BO1." This chapter adopts items from Public
Acts 344 of 1945 as copyrighted by the 2009 Legislative Council, State
of Michigan.
This chapter is adopted in accordance with and pursuant to the
provisions of Public Acts 344 of 1945, as amended:[1]
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"An act to authorize counties, cities, villages and townships
of this state to adopt plans to prevent blight and to adopt plans
for the rehabilitation of blighted areas; to authorize assistance
in carrying out such plans by the acquisition of real property, the
improvement of such real property and the disposal of real property
in such areas; to prescribe the methods of financing the exercise
of these powers; and to declare the effect of this act."
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[1]
Editor's Note: See MCLA § 125.71 et seq.
According to PA 344, the Village of New Haven may bring about
the rehabilitation of blighted areas and the prevention, reduction,
or elimination of blight, blighting factors, or causes of blight,
and for that purpose may do any of the following:
A.Â
Acquire real property by purchase, gift, or exchange.
B.Â
Acquire under this article blighted property by condemnation.
C.Â
Lease, sell, renovate, improve, or exchange blighted property or
other real property acquired by other means in accordance with the
State Constitution of 1963 and this article.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A portion of the Village of New Haven, developed or undeveloped,
improved or unimproved, with business or residential uses, marked
by a demonstrated pattern of deterioration in physical, economic,
or social conditions, and characterized by such conditions as functional
or economic obsolescence of buildings or the area as a whole, physical
deterioration of structures, substandard building or facility conditions,
improper or inefficient division or arrangement of lots and ownerships
and streets and other open spaces, inappropriate mixed character and
uses of the structures, deterioration in the condition of public facilities
or services, or any other similar characteristics which endanger the
health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the municipality, and
which may include any buildings or improvements not in themselves
obsolescent, and any real property, residential or nonresidential,
whether improved or unimproved, the acquisition of which is considered
necessary for rehabilitation of the area. It is expressly recognized
that blight is observable at different stages of severity, and that
moderate blight unremedied creates a strong probability that severe
blight will follow. Therefore, the conditions that constitute blight
are to be broadly construed to permit a municipality to make an early
identification of problems and to take early remedial action to correct
a demonstrated pattern of deterioration and to prevent worsening of
blight conditions.
Property that meets any of the following criteria:
The property has been declared a public nuisance in accordance
with a local housing, building, plumbing, fire, or other related code
or ordinance.
The property is an attractive nuisance because of physical condition
or use.
The property is a fire hazard or is otherwise dangerous to the
safety of persons or property.
The property has had the utilities, plumbing, heating, or sewerage
disconnected, destroyed, removed, or rendered in effective for a period
of one year or more so that the property is unfit for its intended
use.
The property is tax-reverted property owned by a municipality,
by a county, or by this state. The sale, lease, or transfer of tax
reverted property by a municipality, a county, or this state shall
not result in the loss to the property of eligibility for any project
authorized under this article for the rehabilitation of a blighted
area, platting authorized under this article, or tax relief or assistance,
including financial assistance, authorized under this article or any
other act.
The property is owned or is under the control of a land bank
fast track authority under the Land Bank Fast Track Act, 2003 PA 258,
MCLA §§ 124.751 to 124.774. The sale, lease, or transfer
of the property by a land bank fast track authority shall not result
in the loss to the property of eligibility for any project authorized
under this article for the rehabilitation of a blighted area, platting
authorized under this article, or tax relief or assistance, including
financial assistance, authorized under this article or any other act.
The property is improved real property that has remained vacant
for five consecutive years and that is not maintained in accordance
with applicable local housing or property maintenance codes or ordinances.
The property has code violations posing a severe and immediate
health or safety threat and has not been substantially rehabilitated
within one year after the receipt of notice to rehabilitate from the
appropriate code enforcement agency or final determination of any
appeal, whichever is later.
The Building Inspector or inspectors designated by the Village
Board to administer this chapter.
Shall include, without limitation, lumber, brick, concrete
or cinder blocks, plumbing materials, electrical wiring or equipment,
heating ducts or equipment, shingles, mortar, concrete, or cement,
nails, screws or any other material used in constructing any structure.
Shall include, without limitation, castoff parts of machinery
or motor vehicles, broken and unusable furniture, stoves, refrigerators
or other appliances, remnants of wood, metal or any other castoff
material of any kind, whether or not the same could be put to any
reasonable use.
Shall include any automobile or motor vehicle which is not
licensed for use upon the highways of the State of Michigan, and shall
also include, whether licensed or not, any motor vehicle or automobile
which is inoperable or in an inoperative state.
State, county, city, Village, township and school taxes,
any special district taxes, and any other tax on real property, but
does not include special assessment for local benefit improvements.
Any person doing an unlawful act, or omitting to perform
a duty or suffering or permitting any condition or thing to be or
exist, which act, omission, condition or thing either:
Injures, endangers the comfort, repose, health or safety of
others;
Offends decency;
Is offensive to the senses;
Unlawfully interferes with, obstructs, or tends to obstruct
or renders dangerous for passage any public or private street, highway,
sidewalk, stream, ditch or drainage;
In any way renders other persons insecure in life or the use
of property; or
Essentially interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life
and property; or tends to depreciate the value of the properties and
others.
Shall include, without limitation, all natural persons, firms,
copartnerships, corporations, and all associations of natural persons,
incorporated or unincorporated, whether acting by themselves or by
a servant, agent or employee.
All of the undertakings authorized in Public Act 344 of 1945[1] for the rehabilitation of a blighted area.
When used with reference to land reserved for public use,
means only such uses as are for the general use and benefit of the
public as a whole, such as schools, libraries, public institutions,
administration buildings, parks, boulevards, playgrounds, streets,
alleys, or easements for sewers, public lighting, water, gas, or other
similar utilities.
Land, buildings, improvements, land under water, waterfront
property, and any and all easements, franchises and hereditaments,
corporeal or incorporeal, and every estate, interest, privilege, easement,
franchise and right therein, or appurtenant thereto, legal or equitable,
including rights-of-way, terms for years, and liens, charges, or encumbrances
by mortgage, judgment, or otherwise.
Shall include any and all forms of debris or refuse not herein
otherwise classified.
The Village of New Haven Council.
The duly elected and qualified Village President of the Village
of New Haven, or employees of the Village appointed by said Village
President to administer this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MCLA § 125.71 et seq.
A.Â
It is hereby determined that the following uses structures and activities
are causes of blight or blighting factors which, if allowed to exist,
will tend to result in blighted and undesirable conditions, and are
hereby declared unlawful.
B.Â
On and after the effective date of this chapter, no person, firm
or corporation of any kind shall maintain or permit to be maintained
any of these causes of blight or blighting factors upon property in
the Village of New Haven owned, leased, rented or occupied by such
firm or corporation:
(1)Â
The storage or accumulation of junk or junk automobiles or motor
vehicles or any part thereof except in a completely enclosed building.
(2)Â
The storage or accumulation of building materials, unless there is
in force a valid building permit issued by the Village of New Haven
for construction with such construction; or except where such building
materials are part of the stock-in-trade or business located on said
property, in which case, said materials must be stored in such a manner
as not to create a nuisance.
(3)Â
The storage or accumulation of junk, trash, rubbish or refuse of
any kind without a proper landfill permit, except domestic refuse
stored in such a manner as not to create a nuisance for a period not
to exceed 10 days.
(4)Â
The existence of any partially completed structure unless such structure
is in the course of construction in accordance with a valid or subsisting
building permit issued by the Village of New Haven.
C.Â
All persons who violate any of the provisions of this chapter, whether
as owner, occupant, lease, agent, servant, or employee, shall except
as herein otherwise provided, be equally liable as principals.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Village President, Building Inspector, Code Enforcement Officer and any other persons who are so designated by the Village President or Village Council. The owner, if possible, and the occupant of any property upon which any of the causes of blight or blighting factors set forth in § 149-6 hereof is found to exist shall be notified in writing to remove or eliminate such causes of blight or blighting factors from such property within 10 days after service of the notice upon him/her. Such notice may be served personally or by certified or registered mail with return receipt requested. Additional time may be granted by the enforcement officer where bona fide efforts to remove or eliminate such causes of blight or blighting factors are in progress. Failure to comply with such notice by the owner and/or occupant within the time allowed shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
[Amended 1-13-2015 by Ord. No. 333]
Any person, firm or corporation who violates any provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Chapter 59, Municipal Civil Infractions, of the Code of the Village of New Haven
