[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Morrisville as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-9-1983 by L.L. No. 2-1983; amended in its entirety 8-8-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006]
To rent any property or part of it as a residence
or dwelling, the owner must first obtain a certificate of compliance
issued by the Code Enforcement Officer of the Village of Morrisville.
This will include the submission of a list of the proposed number
of tenants, which must be updated as tenancies change or are terminated,
and a diagram showing the exterior and interior dimensions of the
building that is acceptable to the Village Code Enforcement Officer.
The application for a certificate of compliance and associated diagrams
shall be submitted to the Village Code Enforcement Officer, along
with an application fee, the amount of which shall be determined from
time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
A.
In determining the number of people allowed to reside
in any building, all people living in that building, including the
proposed tenants, are to be counted. There must be 150 square feet
of living space for the first person and 100 square feet for each
and every other person residing in the building. Bathrooms, kitchens
and hallways are not included. There will only be allowed six people
per bathroom; this includes all residents of the building. Bathrooms
must consist of a sink and water closet as minimum necessities. There
will be only one residential structure permitted per lot.
B.
The construction and/or modification of all driveways and parking spaces for all rental properties shall be subject to prior site plan approval by the Planning Board and the provisions of Chapter 180 of this Code. Each parking space must have direct access to the street by a driveway. Vehicles will not be permitted to park or drive on lawns or other areas outside of designed driveways or parking spaces. No vehicles may be parked between the front line of the building and the street, nor shall any vehicle be parked within 10 feet of any property line. No more than 20% of the surface area of any lot utilized as rental property in an R-1 or R-2 Zoning District may be covered by driveways and/or parking spaces. All driveways and parking lots on rental properties adjoining nonrental properties in R-1 and R-2 Zoning Districts shall be suitably screened by a fence and/or vegetation not less than four feet in height as determined by the Planning Board as part of the site plan review process.
C.
All dwellings and dwelling units shall be connected
to the Village sewer system. Septic systems are not permitted.
D.
All garbage, litter, discarded furniture, etc., shall be stored and disposed of in accordance with Chapter 135, Property Maintenance. Garbage and trash regulations shall be strictly enforced.
E.
Smoke detectors shall be installed in all rental properties
in accordance with the requirements of the New York State Fire Prevention
Code.
F.
All areas of the lot not covered by permitted structures,
driveways and/or parking spaces shall be planted to grass or other
appropriate vegetation or landscaping, which shall be regularly and
properly maintained.
All owners (as determined by the most recent
tax roll) of properties subject to inspection under this article shall
be responsible for the payment of an inspection fee for each required
inspection. The amount of such inspection fee(s) shall be determined
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.[1] All such fees shall be invoiced and collected in the manner provided in § 91-10E of this Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: Current fees are on file in
the Village Clerk's office.
Enforcement of this article shall be the responsibility
of the Code Enforcement Officer, who shall have the authority to issue
appearance tickets to enforce this article.
No owner shall allow any person to occupy a
rental dwelling or dwelling unit unless it complies with the provisions
of this article. All rental property shall be subject to inspection
at any time as determined by the Code Enforcement Officer. Any refusal
to allow an inspection by the Code Enforcement Officer shall constitute
a violation of this article, and shall be grounds for the immediate
revocation of any certificate of occupancy for the premises to which
such access was denied.
Failure to comply with any provision of this
article, or any violation notice issued with respect to this article,
shall constitute an offense. A person convicted of an offense shall
be punished by a fine not to exceed $250 or imprisonment not to exceed
15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each and every day
a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense for which the
aforesaid penalties may be cumulatively imposed. The ultimate responsibility
for compliance with the provisions of this article and payment of
any penalties for offenses committed with respect to this article
shall lie with the property owner as listed on the deed or the most
recent real property tax assessment roll. Any unpaid fee or fine will
be assessed and levied against the property in the same manner as
Village taxes.
[Adopted 3-10-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A dwelling unit or structure used for temporary or transient
occupancy purposes by two or more individuals not constituting a family
or functional family unit who share kitchen and/or bathroom, and/or
other common facilities and pay rent and/or other expenses by the
room, or based on a share of total expenses of the dwelling unit.
The term includes boardinghouses, private dormitories, fraternity
and/or sorority houses, and other similar types of group residential
quarters. The term does not include a motel or hotel, or a duly permitted
bed-and-breakfast.
A.
No person, firm or entity shall operate or manage a rooming house
in the Village of Morrisville, nor shall any owner permit the operation
of a rooming house on premises owned by him, her or it, without a
duly issued license to operate a rooming house from the Village of
Morrisville. All new and existing rooming houses shall be required
to obtain a license annually from the Village Code Enforcement Officer.
B.
Licenses issued for rooming houses shall be valid for one year, from
August 1 to July 31. A complete application for a license or license
renewal shall be submitted to the Code Enforcement Officer not less
than two months prior to the date the license, or renewal license,
as applicable, is to be effective. Applications not submitted in time
to be effective as of the first day of August shall be effective as
of the date of issuance and shall expire on the next succeeding 31st
day of July. The applicant shall schedule with the Enforcement Officer
the necessary inspection of the dwelling unit(s) not less than 20
days prior to the desired license effective date. All applications
for a license shall include the following information:
(1)
Current and accurate site plan of the premises, showing all property
lines, building lines, driveways, sidewalks, parking areas, garbage
and recycling storage areas (specifying whether dumpster or cans),
and any outbuildings;
(2)
Floor plans for each building floor level containing rentable space,
which specifically depict all room sizes and locations, common areas,
exits and other facilities;
(3)
The names, home and business addresses, all phone numbers (including
home, business and cell) and e-mail addresses of all property owners
and all persons who will participate in the management of the establishment;
(4)
The number of residents to be authorized to reside on the premises,
including the number assigned to each bedroom shown on the building
floor plans;
(5)
The number of all automobiles, trucks and other vehicles that belong
to the residents and will be parked regularly on the premises, including
for each such vehicle, the make, model and year of the vehicle, license
plate number; the name and permanent address of each vehicle's
local operator and its titled owner;
(6)
Such other information as the Code Enforcement Officer may reasonably
require for the premises in question.
C.
All applications for a license to operate a rooming house shall be
signed by the owner of the premises and the operator of the rooming
house, certifying the truth and accuracy of the information contained
in the application, and shall be accompanied by any applicable application
fee which the Board of Trustees may institute from time to time by
resolution.
D.
Upon such timely application and inspection, the Enforcement Officer
will issue or renew, as applicable, the license upon a finding of
full and proper compliance with all provisions of this chapter and
all other applicable laws and standards.
A.
Any proposed or existing rooming house that is not in compliance
with the requirements of this article, or any other applicable laws
or standards, shall not be granted a license to operate, and, in the
event a license has been issued, such license shall be subject to
revocation, as hereafter provided, and the owner(s) and operator(s)
of the rooming house shall be subject to such other penalties and/or
remedies as may be applicable. The existence of any of the following
conditions and circumstances shall be deemed violations that constitute
grounds for denial or revocation of a rooming house license:
(1)
Indications of improper maintenance or operation of the property
in keeping with the character of the neighborhood, and/or failure
to maintain and keep the premises in a healthy, safe and sanitary
condition, which may include, but is not necessarily limited to:
(a)
Exposed garbage or litter on the premises;
(b)
Failure to maintain the buildings and grounds in a neat and
orderly fashion, including painting and maintenance of exterior surfaces
and windows and maintaining and trimming of grass and other vegetation;
(c)
Parking of vehicles on or about the premises in undesignated
and/or unapproved parking areas;
(d)
The occurrence of parties or other gatherings of individuals
upon the premises wherein the number of persons gathered upon the
premises is more than twice the number of authorized residents of
the premises.
(2)
Two or more arrests or two or more instances where a police officer
or agency was called to the premises, regardless of whether any arrests
were made or appearance tickets were issued, within the previous 12
months.
(3)
Evidence of improper operation may also include the occurrence of
any acts, incidents or events that constitute violations of any provision
of the Village Code and/or the New York State Penal Law upon the premises.
The occurrence of three or more arrests or issuances of appearance
tickets, citations or violation notices for charges of violation of
any provision of the Village Code or of the New York State Penal Law
upon the premises within a twelve-month period shall be prima facie
evidence of improper operation, and shall constitute grounds for denial
and/or revocation of the license application or license renewal, as
applicable.
B.
Upon determining the existence of one or more offending conditions
relative to the premises, the Code Enforcement Officer shall deny
the application for a rooming house license and, with respect to previously
licensed rooming houses, at that time may take any action authorized
by law, including, but not necessarily limited to, the following:
C.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall also be authorized to issue an
appearance ticket to any owner or operator of a rooming house operating
without a valid license.
All group residences shall be subject to, and be in conformance
with, the following supplemental regulations:
A.
No exterior alterations shall be made to any existing dwelling to be used as a rooming house other than those mandated by any other codes or regulations to assure safety and sanitation. All alterations of the premises, e.g., driveways, parking areas, landscaping, shall be compatible with the neighborhood and appropriately screened from adjoining properties as determined by the Planning Board upon site plan approval as required by § 143-2;
B.
All new construction applicable to a rooming house shall be compatible
with the scale, character and architectural design of existing neighborhood
dwellings and shall comply with all regulations applicable to the
district, as determined by the Planning Board upon an application
for site plan approval;
C.
The number of residents in a rooming house shall be consistent with
the number of bedrooms and other living accommodations available in
the structure. There shall be a minimum of 70 square feet of bedroom
area with code-compliant emergency escape and rescue openings for
each resident;
E.
All exterior site lighting associated with a rooming house shall
be designed and installed in such manner as to avoid any light spillover
at the property line between the rooming house and adjoining properties.
All exterior lighting fixtures shall include glare-reduction devices
and must include designation of the fixtures as International Dark-Sky
Association (IDA) approved and as Illumination Engineering Society
of North America (IESNA) "full cutoff" fixtures;
A license to operate a rooming house may be revoked by the Board of Trustees upon noncompliance with any of the conditions set forth above in § 143-9 if such noncompliance has not been corrected within 10 days of prior written notice given to the property owner and rooming house operator, and after a hearing has been held by the Board of Trustees wherein the owner and/or operator can be heard by the Board of Trustees with respect to the noncompliance. Notice of said hearing, setting forth the date, time and location of the hearing, shall have been published in the Village's official newspaper at least five days prior to the hearing and mailed to the owner(s) and/or operator(s) listed on the application for license no less than 10 days prior to the hearing.
