[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Niles 1-12-2023 by L.L. No. 1-2023. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is intended to provide minimum requirements and
standards for sanitation, protection from the elements, life safety
and safety from fire and other hazards and for safe and sanitary maintenance,
including the responsibility of owners and occupants, in order to
protect the public health, safety and general welfare of the residents
of this Town insofar as they are affected by the occupancy and maintenance
of structures, equipment and exterior property. All residential and
nonresidential structures and premises within the Town of Niles, whether
improved or vacant, shall be maintained in conformity with the provisions
of this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
Uncultivated woody shrubs and immature trees.
The animal or vegetable waste resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
Herbaceous ornamental plants intended to be periodically
cut close to the ground for the establishment of a lawn or ground
covering. Grass may also be used for ground covering for the establishment
of drainage swales, flood routes or water detention or retention basins.
Any individual living or sleeping in a building or having
possession of a space within a building.
Any person who has charge, care or control of a structure
or premises which is offered for occupancy pursuant to a written or
unwritten lease agreement or pursuant to a recorded or unrecorded
agreement of contract for sale of land.
Any person or entity who, alone or jointly or severally with
others, has legal or equitable title in any form to any premises,
with or without actual possession thereof, or who shall have charge,
care or control of any dwelling or premises as owner or agent of the
owner, including but not limited to an executor, administrator, trustee,
receiver or guardian of the estate or as a mortgagee in possession.
A lot, plot or parcel of land, easement or public way, including
any structures thereon.
Combustible and noncombustible waste materials, including
but not limited to the residue from the burning of wood, coal or other
combustible materials, paper, brush, rags, cartons, boxes, lumber,
rubber, plastics, leather, tin cans, metals, glass, crockery, discarded
appliances or vehicle tires and garbage.
That which is built or constructed or a portion thereof.
Wild, useless, poisonous or noxious and generally undesirable
plants growing at random in inappropriate locations.
The provisions of this chapter shall supplement local laws,
ordinances, codes or regulations existing in the Town of Niles and
the statutes and regulations of municipal authorities having jurisdiction
applicable thereto. Where a provision of this chapter is found to
be in conflict with any other provision of a local law, ordinance,
code or regulation, the provision or requirement which is more restrictive
or establishes a higher standard shall prevail.
A.
The owner and operator of the premises shall maintain the structures
and exterior property in compliance with these requirements. A person
shall not occupy as owner-occupant, or permit another person to occupy,
a premises which is not in a sanitary and safe condition and which
does not comply with these requirements. Occupants of a dwelling unit
are responsible for keeping that part of the dwelling unit which they
occupy and control in a clean, sanitary and safe condition.
B.
Owners of the premises shall be responsible for compliance with the
provisions of this chapter and shall remain responsible therefor,
regardless of the fact that this chapter may also place certain responsibilities
on operators and occupants and regardless of any agreements between
owners and operators or occupants as to which party shall assume such
responsibility.
A.
Drainage. Surface or subsurface water shall be properly drained to
protect buildings and structures and to prevent the accumulation of
stagnant water.
B.
Grass and weeds. The owner or occupant shall maintain the premises
and immediate exterior property free from grass and weeds in excess
of 10 inches.
C.
Rubbish and garbage. All exterior property and premises shall be
free from any accumulation of rubbish or garbage. Every occupant of
a structure shall maintain all rubbish and garbage in a clean and
sanitary manner by placing such in leakproof containers provided with
close-fitting covers until removed from the premises for disposal.
D.
Motor vehicles. No more than one inoperative motor vehicle or motor
vehicle that has not been registered for a period of 90 days shall
be parked, kept or stored on the premises. Nonfunctional antique or
classic automobiles, and parts thereof, shall not be considered inoperative
motor vehicles, provided that such automobiles are kept out of the
public view.
E.
Swimming pools. Every swimming pool shall be maintained at all times
in a clean and sanitary condition and in good repair. The water shall
be chlorinated and/or the quality maintained so as to be appropriate
for human bathing and swimming. At no time shall the water contained
in swimming pools, or, if the swimming pools have been drained, shall
rainwater or water from any other source, be permitted to accumulate
or pond in the swimming pool such that the water becomes stagnant,
providing an environment to harbor mosquito larvae or other public
health hazards.
A.
All unoccupied buildings, structures and premises shall be maintained
in a clean, safe, secure and sanitary condition so as not to cause
a blighting problem or adversely affect public health or safety.
B.
Security. All exterior openings shall be boarded, locked, blocked
or otherwise protected to prevent entry by unauthorized individuals.
A.
If the owner, upon proper service of a notice, fails, neglects or
refuses to comply with said notice within 10 days after the service
of said notice, the Town Board shall authorize the work to be done
to bring the premises into compliance and pay the cost thereof out
of general Town funds to be appropriated by the Town Board for such
purposes. The Town shall be reimbursed for the cost of the work performed
or services rendered. Said costs shall include all costs related to
ascertaining the identity and location of the owner having control
of said property, service of notices and Cayuga County Clerk recording
fees required hereunder, performance of remediation work on said property
and the removal and disposal of grass, weeds, brush or rubbish. The
expenses so determined shall thereupon become and be a lien upon the
property on which said work was performed or services rendered and
shall be added to and become part of the taxes next to be assessed
and levied upon said property and shall bear interest at the same
rates as taxes and shall be collected in the same manner and at the
same time as other Town taxes.
B.
The Town Clerk shall cause a notice of intent to levy said costs
and expenses against said property, in a form approved by resolution
of the Town Board, to be recorded in the records of the Cayuga County
Clerk's office, in order that said notice shall be indexed against
the property as notice to subsequent transferees or others acquiring
any interest in said property of the intention by the Town to assess
and levy the amount of said expenses against said property. The failure
of the Town Clerk to record such notice of intent to levy shall not,
however, affect or impair the validity of any lien or assessment of
said costs and expenses against said property, the owners thereof
or any subsequent transferee or others acquiring any interest in said
property.
Where the violation or condition existing on said property is
of such a nature as to constitute an immediate threat to the public
health, safety and general welfare unless abated without delay, the
Town may either cause the violation to be abated or order the owner
to correct the violation within a period of time not to exceed three
days. Upon failure by the owner to do so, the violation or condition
may be abated pursuant to and subject to the provisions of this chapter.
A.
When the Code Enforcement Officer shall, on the basis of information
received by him or upon his own investigation, be of the opinion that
a building is or may become dangerous or unsafe to the general public;
is open at the doorways and windows, making it accessible to and an
object of attraction to persons under 18 years of age, as well as
to vagrants and other trespassers; is or may become a place of rodent
infestation; presents any other danger to the health, safety, morals
and general welfare of the public; or is unfit for the purposes for
which it may lawfully be used, he shall cause or make an inspection
thereof and make a report, in writing, to the Town Board of his findings
and recommendations in regard to its demolition and removal.
B.
The Town Board shall thereafter consider such report and, by resolution,
determine, if in its opinion the report so warrants, that such building
is unsafe and dangerous and in need of demolition and removal. The
Town Board shall order that a notice be served upon the owner. The
notice shall inform the owner that the Town Board shall hold a hearing
to allow the owner to be heard prior to issuing a final decision.
C.
In the event the Town Board decides after the hearing is completed
that the building must be demolished and removed, the owner shall
be provided to the opportunity to perform the required work no later
than 30 days following the Town Board's decision. In the event
of the refusal or neglect of the person so notified to comply with
said order of the Town Board after the hearing, the Town Board shall
provide for the securing or repair or the demolition and removal of
such building either by Town employees or by contract.
D.
All expenses incurred by the Town in connection with the proceeding
to demolish and remove the unsafe building, including the cost of
actually securing, repairing or demolishing and removing such building
and legal fees and expenses, shall be assessed against the land on
which such building is located and shall be levied and collected in
the same manner as provided in the Town Law for the levy and collection
of a special ad valorem levy.
A.
A violation of this chapter is an offense punishable by a fine of
$250 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days, or both,
for conviction of a first offense. Each week the violation continues
shall constitute a separate additional violation.
B.
The imposition of penalties for any violation of this chapter shall not excuse the violation nor permit it to continue. The application of the above penalties or prosecution for a violation of any provision of this chapter shall not prevent the enforced removal of conditions prohibited thereby. The expenses of the Town in enforcing such removal, including legal fees, may be chargeable, in addition to the criminal and civil penalties, in accordance with § 150-7 above.
Repeat or subsequent offenses occurring within the same calendar
year shall be corrected by the Town in the same manner without notice
to the owner having control of the property. After initial notification,
such owner having control of the property will be presumed to have
been given sufficient notice of violation of this chapter for the
duration of the calendar year.
