[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-18-1974 by L.L. No. 2-1974 as Art. 18 of the 1974 General
Ordinances]
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
Village to provide for the proper use of land and to prevent unhealthful,
hazardous or dangerous conditions due to accumulations of brush, grass,
rubbish, weeds or other like materials. By this article, the Village
seeks to remove such dangers to health, life and property by requiring
owners of land to cut, trim or remove brush, grass, rubbish, weeds
or other like materials, and upon default to cause the same to be
done and assess the cost against the real properties on which such
brush, grass, rubbish, weeds or other materials are found.
The Board of Trustees may from time to time by resolution require notice to be served upon owners as hereinafter provided to remedy any of the conditions designated in § 115-1 which may exist upon the land, pursuant to the provisions of § 4-412, Subdivision 1, of the Village Law of the State of New York, as amended.
Any person, being the owner of real property
in the Village, shall be required to cut, trim or remove brush, grass,
rubbish, weeds or other materials upon their lands when ordered to
do so by resolution of the Board of Trustees to abate a dangerous,
unhealthful or hazardous condition.
Whenever the Board of Trustees shall adopt a
resolution requiring the owner of land within the Village to cut,
trim or remove brush, grass, rubbish, weeds or other materials upon
their lands, the Village Board of Trustees shall specify the place,
manner and time, not less than 10 days from the receipt of notice,
within which such work shall be commenced. A notice of the adoption
of such resolution shall be served upon such owner or owners by certified
mail addressed to his or their last known address.
Whenever a notice or notices referred to in § 115-4 hereof has or have been served upon the owner of the respective lots or parcels of land to cut, trim or remove brush, grass, rubbish, weeds or other materials, and such owner shall neglect or fail to comply with the requirements of such notice or notices within the time provided therein, the Board of Trustees may cause the work to be done and pay the cost thereof.
The Village shall be reimbursed for the cost of work performed or services rendered by direction of the Board of Trustees as provided in § 115-5. When the Village has effected the removal of such brush, weeds and like matter from such private property or has paid for its removal, the actual cost of such removal plus accrued interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the completion of the work, if not paid by such owner prior thereto, shall be assessed against such property, which assessment shall be included in the next succeeding annual bill for Village taxes for such property and shall become a lien thereon when such taxes become a lien.
[Added 4-16-2019 by Ord.
No. 1-2019]
Legislative intent. When residential properties in the Village
of Oyster Bay Cove fall vacant and become the subject of foreclosure
actions, they frequently become neglected and overgrown with grass,
weeds and rubbish, creating an unsightly appearance in the surrounding
residential area and detracting from the use, enjoyment and value
of surrounding properties. The Village is committed to using all legal
avenues to proactively address these adverse conditions to alleviate
the burden these vacant properties impose on neighboring residents.
This section places the financial burden on any person, business,
organization, bank or lender who commences a foreclosure action against
any vacant residential property in the Village of Oyster Bay Cove
to deposit funds with the Village after the foreclosure action is
commenced, for use in achieving prompt remediation, if or when it
shall occur. This new section is clearly in the public interest. It
will help deter violations by creating a financial disincentive against
allowing the property to lie fallow and unmaintained. It will help
to expedite remediation of overgrown grass, weeds and rubbish when
they occur. It will also help avoid substantial outlays of public
funds in accomplishing same.
A.
Except as otherwise provided by law, any person, business, organization,
bank or lender who commences a foreclosure action against a residential
property (improved with a single-family, two-family or multiple-family
residence) that has become vacant shall provide to the Village of
Oyster Bay Cove an undertaking in the form of cash, a cash bond, or
a letter of credit acceptable to the Village Attorney, in the sum
of $25,000, to secure the continued maintenance of the property free
of any violations as provided for by the Village Code, during the
entire time that vacancy shall exist, as determined by the Village.
When the foreclosure action is finally discontinued, any unused funds
shall be returned upon written request of the party which commenced
foreclosure, which request shall be made in writing to the Village
Attorney within 90 days of the action's discontinuance.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any such person, business, organization,
bank or lender to fail to properly deposit such cash, a cash bond,
or a letter of credit within 45 calendar days after the foreclosure
action is commenced.
C.
In the event that the Building Inspector determines that any property referenced in Subsection A above is being maintained in violation of this chapter, then, in addition to or in lieu of any other enforcement remedy at his/her disposal, the Village Clerk may utilize the deposited funds to pay the full and actual cost of actions necessary to eliminate the violation.
D.
In the event that any such funds are utilized as set forth above, such person, business, organization, bank or lender shall restore such funds to the full amount referenced in Subsection A above, within 15 calendar days after written demand by the Village of Oyster Bay Cove, sent by regular mail and certified mail, return receipt requested, to such person, business, organization, bank or lender at an address designated by them for service of notices, or else to their last known address. It shall be unlawful for such person, business, organization, bank or lender to fail to timely restore funds as required herein.
E.
In the event that the Building Inspector determines that any property referenced in Subsection A above is being maintained in violation of this chapter, and no cash, cash bond, or letter of credit acceptable to the Village Attorney has been provided or replenished as required by Subsection A or D above, then, in addition to or in lieu of any other enforcement remedy at its disposal, the Village may serve a written demand upon such person, business, organization, bank or lender to provide the required cash, cash bond, or letter of credit acceptable to the Village Attorney, within 10 days after the date of such written demand, subject to the following:
(2)
The written demand shall be served in any manner authorized
to obtain personal service under Article 3 of the Civil Practice Law
and Rules of the State of New York, or otherwise at applicable law;
and
(3)
In the event that no cash, cash bond, or letter of credit acceptable to the Village Attorney has been provided or replenished as required by Subsection A or D above, within 10 days after the date of such written demand, then such person, business, organization, bank or lender shall be subject to fines of up to triple the maximum amount set forth under § 1-9 of this Code, with each calendar day of failure to timely provide same constituting a separate additional offense.
F.
If any provision of this section is declared unenforceable for any
reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, such declaration shall
affect only that provision, and shall not affect the remainder of
this section, which shall remain in full force and effect.
G.
This section shall apply to all foreclosures commencing after the
effective date of this section. It is to be considered remedial legislation
and shall be liberally construed so that substantial justice is done.
[Adopted 11-15-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this article is to promote and protect the
property, property values and welfare of the residents of the Village
of Oyster Bay Cove, their guests and visitors to the Village and to
protect the property and preserve the ecology and aesthetic qualities
of the environment of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove.
B.
Intent. It is the finding of the Board of Trustees that the planting
and the growing of invasive species within the Village of Oyster Bay
Cove has been and will continue to be destructive to the natural environment,
including indigenous flora, and destructive to properties in any manner
within the Village adjoining and neighboring those properties where
invasive species have been planted and permitted to grow; that because
of these effects the planting and the growing of invasive species
threatens the safety, value and physical integrity of both public
and private property in the Village; and that therefore, in order
to protect and preserve the ecology, environment and property values,
the Village declares it necessary to regulate and/or prohibit the
planting and growing of running bamboo and English ivy within the
Village.
A.
INVASIVE SPECIES
INVASIVE SPECIES PROPERTY OWNER
Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
A property owner in the Village who has invasive species
on his property.
The planting of any invasive species shall be prohibited within
the Village of Oyster Bay Cove upon the effective date of this article.
Any person who plants, or causes to be planted, any invasive species
within the Village shall be deemed to be in violation of this article,
and shall be subject to such penalties as are set forth hereunder.
A.
Any invasive species which has been planted or otherwise permitted
to grow in any property within the Village of Oyster Bay Cove prior
to the effective date of this article may remain on such property
subject to compliance with this article. Each invasive species property
owner shall be responsible to ensure that the invasive species planted
or growing on his property prior to the effective date of this article
does not grow, encroach or grow upon any adjoining or neighboring
properties, including public property and rights-of-way held by the
Village, and shall be required to take such measures as are necessary
to prevent such invasive species from invading or growing onto adjoining
or neighboring properties.
B.
No invasive species property owner within the Village of Oyster Bay
Cove shall cause, suffer, or allow invasive species to be planted,
to be maintained, to grow, to spread or to otherwise be permitted
to exist outside of any property line, or within any street, sidewalk,
or public right-of-way.
A.
In the event that any invasive species growing on an invasive species
property owner's property invades or grows onto property that
is owned or held on behalf of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove, the
Village shall notify the invasive species property owner that the
invasive species has invaded such property and that the invasive species
property owner is responsible for the removal of such invasive species.
This notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested,
and regular mail to the latest address of the invasive species property
owner on file with the Village Clerk's records.
B.
In the event that the invasive species property owner does not remove said invasive species from the Village property within 30 days from the date the Village first deposited the notice as provided in § 115-11A above, then the Village, at its discretion, may remove or arrange for the removal of such invasive species from the Village property, and the invasive species property owner shall be liable and responsible to the Village for the Village's costs of removing the invasive species. Such costs may be assessed against the property of the invasive species property owner. In the event that the costs remain unpaid more than thirty (30) days after demand for payment has been made by the Village, such costs may be assessed upon and collected with the next tax levy of the Village.
Replanting shall be prohibited, unless otherwise permitted and
approved by the Board of Trustees. Any invasive species either planted
or caused to be planted or existing on a property prior to the effective
date of this article may not be replanted or replaced in kind once
such invasive species is or has become, for any reason, dead, destroyed,
uprooted or otherwise removed.
A.
Any property owner convicted of an offense shall be guilty of a violation
as defined in the Penal Law.
B.
A violation of two or more sections of this article, or provisions
within a section, shall be separate and distinct offenses for which
a fine may be levied.
C.
Each and every week a violation exists or continues shall constitute
a separate and distinct violation, conviction for which shall be an
additional offense.
D.
Each violation of this article shall be punishable by a fine not
to exceed $350.
E.
Any violation of this article may be enjoined pursuant to law.
F.
The remedies provided for herein shall be cumulative and shall be
in addition to any other remedies provided by law, including injunctive
relief.
In the event that any portion or portions of this article shall
be determined to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the remainder
of the article and its provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
