For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
BUILDING INSPECTOR
The Building Inspector of the Town of New Castle or his authorized
representative.
STOREFRONT
Any space on the ground floor of a building or structure
located in the B-R, B-RP or B-D Zoning Districts that may be leased,
subleased or otherwise occupied for a commercial use and that has
a window which allows an unobstructed public view of such premises
from any immediately adjacent street, sidewalk, walkway or right-of-way.
TOWN BOARD
The Town Board of the Town of New Castle.
VACANT STOREFRONT
A storefront shall be deemed vacant if no individual, organization
or business entity currently occupies and uses such space to conduct
a nonresidential use.
Upon registration, the owner shall display a sign in the storefront window, in a location clearly visible from the street, sidewalk, walkway, parking lot or right-of-way, containing the name and contact information of the managing agent responsible for the maintenance of the property. The sign shall be of a size and placed in such a location so as to be legible from the nearest public street, sidewalk, walkway, parking lot or sidewalk, whichever is nearer, but shall be no smaller than eight inches by 10 inches. The sign shall remain posted until the storefront is legally occupied. All signs posted pursuant to this section must comply with the regulations set forth in §
60-410.
A vacant storefront shall be exempt from the payment of registration
and renewal fees if, in the sole reasonable discretion of the Building
Inspector, the property is the subject of any one or more of the following:
A. A valid open building permit or building permit application being
pursued with diligence;
B. A pending land use application, including site plan, subdivision
or special permit, which application is being pursued with diligence;
C. Utilization of the building by the Town of New Castle on a temporary
basis; or
D. A valid written lease of at least one year.
Any person who fails to comply with any provision of this chapter
or fails to comply with any notice, order or directive of the Building
Inspector or his/her representative after expiration of the time for
compliance established in accordance with this chapter shall, upon
conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $250 for such violation.
In the event of any failure to so comply, each month that such violation
continues shall constitute a separate offense, and the penalties prescribed
herein shall be applicable to each such separate offense.
The Town of New Castle shall establish a public online searchable
vacant storefront registry. Such registry shall include all vacant
storefronts registered with the Town of New Castle. The vacant storefront
registry shall be available on the Town of New Castle website and
at the Town of New Castle offices.