[Adopted 7-2-2019 by Ord. No. 2-2019]
The City Engineer may request and shall receive, so far as may
be necessary in the discharge of his duties, the assistance and cooperation
of the Police, Fire and Health Departments and all other municipal
officials exercising any jurisdiction over the construction, use or
occupancy of buildings or the installation of equipment therein.
No official or employee of the Building Department, while acting
pursuant to the provisions of this article, shall be personally liable
for any damage that may occur to persons or property as the result
of any act required or permitted in the discharge of his official
duties, provided that such acts are performed in good faith and without
gross negligence.
Any person, firm, corporation, association or partnership who
fails to apply for a building permit, as required by and in accordance
with this article, and who proceeds to commence the erection, construction,
structural change, enlargement, alteration, removal, relocation, improvement,
demolition, conversion or change in the nature or the intensity of
the occupancy of any building or structure or any portion thereof,
or installs a solid-fuel-burning heating apparatus, chimney or flue
in any dwelling unit, or who causes the same to be done, shall be
required to file the applications and plans and pay the fees as provided
in this article and, in addition, shall be required to pay a late
inspection fee, the amount of which is to be set by resolution from
time to time by the Common Council of the City of Oneonta.
The City Engineer is authorized to inspect or cause to be inspected
any building or structure, or portion thereof, during and after completion
of any work for which a building permit was issued in order to be
assured that all plans as approved are complied with. Any officer
or employee of the Code Enforcement Office, upon the showing of proper
credentials and in the discharge of his duties, may enter upon any
building, structure or premises at any reasonable hour, and no person
shall interfere with or prevent such entry.
A. Work to remain accessible and exposed. Work shall remain accessible and exposed until inspected and accepted by the Code Enforcement Officer or by an inspector authorized by the Code Enforcement Officer. The permit holder shall notify the Code Enforcement Officer when any element of work described in Subsection
B of this section is ready for inspection; said notification shall be requested at least 48 hours in advance by the owner or his agents.
B. Elements of work to be inspected. The following elements of the construction
process shall be inspected, where applicable:
(1) Work site prior to the issuance of a building permit;
(3) Preparation for concrete slab;
(5) Building systems, including underground and rough-in;
(6) Fire-resistant construction;
(7) Fire-resistant penetrations;
(8) Solid-fuel-burning heating appliances, chimneys, flues or gas vents;
(9) Energy Code compliance; and
(10)
A final inspection after all work authorized by the building
permit has been completed.
C. Inspection results. After inspection, the work or a portion thereof
shall be noted as satisfactory as completed, or the permit holder
shall be notified as to where the work fails to comply with the Uniform
Code or the Energy Code. Work not in compliance with any applicable
provision of the Uniform Code or the Energy Code shall remain exposed
until such work shall have been brought into compliance with all applicable
provisions of the Uniform Code and the Energy Code, reinspected, and
found satisfactory as completed.
Any person allegedly aggrieved as a result of an action or failure
to act by the City Engineer or the City Code Enforcement Officer in
regard to a building permit shall have recourse to the Board of Public
Service.
The City Engineer shall review and investigate complaints which
allege or assert the existence of conditions or activities that fail
to comply with the Uniform Code, the Energy Code, this article, or
any other local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted for administration
and enforcement of the Uniform Code or the Energy Code. The process
for responding to a complaint shall include such of the following
steps as the City Engineer may deem to be appropriate:
A. Performing an inspection of the conditions and/or activities alleged
to be in violation, and documenting the results of such inspection;
B. If a violation is found to exist, providing the owner of the affected
property and any other person who may be responsible for the violation
with notice of the violation and opportunity to abate, correct or
cure the violation, or otherwise proceeding in the manner described
in this article;
C. If appropriate, issuing a stop-work order;
D. If a violation which was found to exist is abated or corrected, performing
an inspection to ensure that the violation has been abated or corrected,
preparing a final written report reflecting such abatement or correction,
and filing such report with the complaint.
Costs incurred by the City in repairing, vacating or demolishing unsafe or dangerous buildings or structures shall be collected and enforced pursuant to Subsection
E of §
92-5 of Chapter
92, entitled "Buildings, Unsafe," of this Code.
If any section of this article shall be held unconstitutional,
invalid, or ineffective, in whole or in part, such determination shall
not be deemed to affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this
article.