In this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
shown in this section:
ASSEMBLY AREA
An area in any building, or in any portion of a building,
that is primarily used or intended to be used for gathering 50 or
more persons for uses including, but not limited to, amusement, athletic,
entertainment, social, or other recreational functions; patriotic,
political, civic, educational, or religious functions; food or drink
consumption; awaiting transportation; or similar purposes.
BUILDING PERMIT
A building permit, construction permit, demolition permit,
or other permit that authorizes the performance of work. The term
"building permit" shall also include a building permit which is renewed,
amended, or extended pursuant to any provision of this chapter.
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
A document issued by the Town of Marcellus stating that work
was done in compliance with approved construction documents and the
codes.
CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY
A document issued by the Town of Marcellus certifying that
the building or structure, or portion thereof, complies with the approved
construction documents that have been submitted to, and approved by,
the Town of Marcellus and indicating that the building or structure,
or portion thereof, is in a condition suitable for occupancy.
CODES
The Uniform Code and Energy Code.
ENERGY CODE
The New York State Energy Conservation Construction Code
adopted pursuant to Article 11 of the Energy Law.
FCNYS
The 2020 Fire Code of New York State as currently incorporated
by reference in 19 NYCRR Part 1225.
FIRE SAFETY AND PROPERTY MAINTENANCE INSPECTION
An inspection performed to determine compliance with the
applicable provisions of 19 NYCRR Part 1225 and the publications incorporated
therein by reference and the applicable provisions of 19 NYCRR Part
1226 and the publications incorporated therein by reference.
HAZARDOUS PRODUCTION MATERIALS
A solid, liquid, or gas associated with semiconductor manufacturing
that has a degree-of-hazard rating in health, flammability, or instability
of Class 3 or 4, as ranked by NFPA 704 (Standard Systems for Identification
of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response), and which is
used directly in research, laboratory, or production processes which
have, as their end product, materials that are not hazardous.
MOBILE FOOD PREPARATION VEHICLES
Vehicles that contain cooking equipment that produces smoke
or grease-laden vapors for the purpose of preparing and serving food
to the public. Vehicles intended for private recreation shall not
be considered mobile food preparation vehicles.
OPERATING PERMIT
A permit issued pursuant to §
90-9 of this chapter. The term "operating permit" shall also include an operating permit which is renewed, amended, or extended pursuant to any provision of this chapter.
PERMIT HOLDER
The person to whom a building permit has been issued.
PERSON
Includes an individual, corporation, limited-liability company,
partnership, limited partnership, business trust, estate, trust, association,
or any other legal or commercial entity of any kind or description.
PMCNYS
The 2020 Property Maintenance Code of New York State as currently
incorporated by reference in 19 NYCRR Part 1226.
RCNYS
The 2020 Residential Code of New York State as currently
incorporated by reference in 19 NYCRR Part 1220.
REPAIR
The reconstruction, replacement, or renewal of any part of
an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance or to correct
damage.
STRUCTURE
A building or structure or part thereof.
SUGARHOUSE
A building used, in whole or in part, for the collection,
storage, or processing of maple sap into maple syrup and/or maple
sugar.
TOWN
The Town of Marcellus.
UNIFORM CODE
The New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code,
Subchapter A of Chapter XXXIII of Title 19 of the NYCRR, adopted pursuant
to Article 18 of the Executive Law.
UNSAFE OR DANGEROUS STRUCTURE
A structure where:
A.
The walls are in poor structural condition, the floors are overloaded
or there are other major structural defects;
B.
There is a lack of safeguards against fire or the structure
is so poorly maintained as to presently constitute a fire hazard;
C.
Entry by unauthorized persons to an unoccupied structure is
unobstructed;
D.
There are substantial violations constituting an endangerment
of health, safety and public welfare; or
E.
There exist other conditions whereby the health, safety or welfare
of the public or of the occupants of the structure is endangered.
The chief of any fire department providing firefighting services
for a property within this Town shall promptly notify the Code Enforcement
Officer of any fire or explosion involving any structural damage,
fuel-burning appliance, chimney, or gas vent.
Unsafe buildings, structures, and equipment and conditions of
imminent danger in this Town shall be identified and addressed in
accordance with the following procedures:
A. Repair or removal required. The owner of a building or structure,
or part thereof, shall at all times maintain and keep the same in
good repair and in safe, secure, usable condition. A building or structure,
or a part thereof, that may be or shall at any time become in disrepair,
unsafe, insecure, or unusable, or which constitutes a health hazard
or is an unsafe or dangerous structure, shall, unless placed into
good repair and made safe, secure and usable, be removed by the owner.
B. Inspection; report; notice.
(1) Upon the receipt of a written complaint that a structure is not being
maintained and kept in good repair in a safe, secure or usable condition,
or that the same is unsafe or dangerous to the health, safety or welfare
of the public or of occupants of the structure, the Code Enforcement
Officer shall make or cause to be made an inspection.
(2) A report of that inspection shall be reduced to writing and maintained
at the office of the Code Enforcement Officer.
(3) If it is determined that said structure does not comply with the
provisions herein, the Town's Attorney shall serve or cause to
be served a notice upon the owner, lessees, and all other persons
having an interest in such property or structure, in the following
manner:
(a)
By delivering the notice within the state to the person to be
served.
(b)
Upon any domestic or foreign corporation, to an officer, director,
managing or general agent, or cashier or assistant cashier, or to
any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service.
(c)
Where service cannot be made personally upon a person by due
diligence, by mailing the notice to the person to be served at his
last known residence and by affixing the notice to the door of his
place of business, dwelling house or usual place of abode within the
state, or delivering the notice within the state to a person of suitable
age and discretion at the place of business, dwelling house, or usual
place of abode of the person to be served, and proof of such service
shall be filed with the Clerk of Onondaga County, and service is completed
10 days thereafter.
C. Contents of notice. A notice shall contain a description of the premises, a statement of the particulars in which the structure is unsafe or dangerous, and orders and directions as more particularly set forth in Subsection
C(1),
(2) and
(3) below:
(1) Order. In addition to the description of the premises and the statement
of the particulars in which the structure is unsafe or dangerous,
the notice shall contain an order of the Code Enforcement Officer
requiring the structure to be repaired or removed, indicating a specific
time within which the owner shall commence the repair or removal of
such structure and the time within which the repair or removal shall
be completed.
(a)
When the Code Enforcement Officer determines that no emergency
exists, no repairs or removal shall be required until the hearing
has been held as prescribed herein.
(b)
The notice shall inform the owners and other interested parties
of the time and place of a hearing to be conducted to review the Code
Enforcement Officer's determination of unsafe or dangerous structure.
(c)
The interested parties may be represented by counsel, offer
evidence, and call witnesses on their behalf at the hearing.
(d)
A twenty-day notice shall be given of the date of the hearing
to the owner and other interested parties. The hearing shall be scheduled,
held, and hearing findings issued and served upon the owner and other
interested persons in the same manner as prescribed for the service
of the notice.
(2) Performance by town. The notice of unsafe or dangerous structure
shall further state that the Town will cause the repair or removal
of the structure in the event the owner fails or refuses to repair
or remove the same within the time provided, unless the hearing findings
prescribe some other time limitation or revoke the order contained
in the notice of unsafe or dangerous structure.
(3) Assessment of costs. The notice shall state that assessment of all
costs and expenses incurred by the Town in connection with the proceedings
under this chapter to repair or remove such structure, including but
not limited to the cost of ascertaining the identity of the owner
and other interested parties, service of process, and of actually
repairing or removing the structure, shall be made on the land on
which such structure is located.
D. Filing notice. A copy of the notice of unsafe or dangerous structure
shall be filed in the office of the County Clerk of Onondaga County,
which notice shall be filed by such Clerk in the same manner as a
notice of pendency pursuant to Article 65 of the Civil Practice Law
and Rules and shall have the same effect as a notice of pendency as
therein provided, except as otherwise hereinafter provided in this
section. A notice so filed shall be effective for a period of one
year from the date of filing; provided, however, that it may be vacated
upon the order of a judge or justice of a court of record or upon
the consent of the Town's Attorney. The Clerk of Onondaga County
shall mark such notice and any record or docket thereof as canceled
of record upon the presentation and filing of such consent or of a
certified copy of such order.
E. Emergencies. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing the Code Enforcement Officer from proceeding pursuant to Subsection
H hereof in case of conditions which in his opinion constitute an emergency.
F. Hearing. The hearing which is conducted to review the determination
of unsafe or dangerous structure made by the Code Enforcement Officer
shall be conducted by a hearing officer appointed by the Town Board.
The owner and other interested parties may be represented by counsel.
The owner or other interested parties or their counsel may cross-examine
the witnesses for the Code Enforcement Officer, present evidence and
call witnesses in their behalf. The rules of evidence prevailing in
a court of record shall not be controlling in hearings held pursuant
to this section.
G. Compliance with notice and orders.
(1) No person having been served with a notice to repair or remove an
unsafe or dangerous structure shall fail, within the time limitations
set forth in the notice of unsafe or dangerous structure, to comply
with the requirements thereof unless the hearing findings prescribe
some other time limitation or revoke the order contained in said notice.
If the hearing findings direct some other repair or removal action
or time limitation within which to commence or complete the work originally
ordered in the notice of unsafe or dangerous structure, the owner
shall comply with the directions of the hearing findings within the
time prescribed therein.
(2) If such structure shall be used for a purpose requiring a license,
the licensing authority may revoke said license in case of failure
to comply with the notice served, as herein provided.
(3) In the event that an owner served with a notice to repair or remove
a structure fails to comply with the notice and fails to comply with
an order issued after a hearing, as provided herein, for a reasonable
time after the hearing is held, then the Code Enforcement Officer
may cause said structure to be repaired or removed as required by
the order issued after the hearing. If the Code Enforcement Officer
causes such repair or removal of a building, then all costs and expenses
incurred by the Town regarding the proceedings required, the cost
of ascertaining the owner and other interested parties, service of
process fees and the cost of actual repair and removal of said structure
shall be assessed against the land on which the structure is located.
H. Performance of emergency work. In case there shall be, in the opinion
of the Code Enforcement Officer, actual and immediate danger of the
falling of a structure, so as to endanger the public safety, life
or property, or actual and immediate menace to health or public welfare
as a result of conditions present in or about a structure, they shall
cause the necessary work to be done to render said structure temporarily
safe, whether the procedure prescribed in this chapter for unsafe
or dangerous structures has been instituted or not. When emergency
work is to be performed under this section, the Code Enforcement Officer
shall send the owner, by registered or certified mail, and shall post
on the premises, a notice to comply, containing a description of the
premises, a statement of the particulars in which the structure is
unsafe or dangerous, and orders and directions to correct said conditions
which constitute an emergency within a specified period not to exceed
three days from receipt of the notice. In the event the emergency
does not permit any delay in correction, the notice shall state that
the Town has corrected the emergency condition. In both cases, the
notice shall state that the corrective costs of the emergency will
be assessed against the owner. Emergency work performed under this
section shall be assessed against the land on which the structure
is located.
I. Vacating structures. When a structure is in unsafe or dangerous condition
so that life or public safety is endangered thereby, the Code Enforcement
Officer may order and require the tenants or occupants to vacate the
same forthwith. The Code Enforcement Officer may, when necessary for
public safety, temporarily close structures and places adjacent to
such structures and prohibit the same from being used.
J. Laborers and materials. For the purposes of this chapter, the Code
Enforcement Officer shall employ such laborers and procure such materials
as may be necessary to perform said work as speedily as possible.
K. Records. A record of inspection reports, notices and orders and hearing
findings relative to unsafe or dangerous structures, and of all pertinent
action taken in connection therewith, shall be kept on file in the
office of the Code Enforcement Officer.
The Code Enforcement Officer 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 chapter,
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 Code Enforcement Officer 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 section §
90-16, Enforcement; penalties for offenses, of this chapter;
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.
A fee schedule shall be established by resolution of the Town
Board of this Town. Such fee schedule may thereafter be amended from
time to time by like resolution. The fees set forth in, or determined
in accordance with, such fee schedule or amended fee schedule shall
be charged and collected for the submission of applications, the issuance
of building permits, amended building permits, renewed building permits,
certificates of occupancy, certificates of compliance, temporary certificates,
operating permits, fire safety and property maintenance inspections,
and other actions of the Code Enforcement Officer described in or
contemplated by this chapter.
The Town Board of this Town may, by resolution, authorize the
Supervisor of this Town to enter into an agreement, in the name of
this Town, with other governments to carry out the terms of this chapter,
provided that such agreement does not violate any provision of the
Uniform Code, the Energy Code, Part 1203 of Title 19 of the NYCRR,
or any other applicable law.