A.
The
city council finds and declares that emergencies sometimes arise within
the city, whereby buildings become damaged and thereafter become accessible
to unauthorized entry. Such unauthorized entry often results in further
damage to the building, loss of its contents, or injury to the public.
Failure to reach the owners of such damaged buildings through ordinary
and reasonable means often occasions the use of public employees to
temporarily protect such buildings or other property until the owner
is located, resulting in an excessive and costly use of public resources,
the cost of which is generally and unfairly borne by all tax-paying
citizens.
B.
In
order to protect and conserve needed resources, the city council finds
and declares the need to provide for the temporary boarding up of
such buildings during emergencies until such time as the owner is
located and responds to the emergency at hand.
C.
The
city council further finds and declares the need to provide for the
repayment to the city by the owner for the actual costs incurred by
the city in authorizing such temporary boarding up.
(Prior code § 14-20)
means any temporary fencing, repair or modification to a
building made for the purpose of preventing any post-emergency incident
(as defined in this section) until the owner can be located and has
a reasonable time to respond to the emergency.
means and includes commercial businesses, residences or any
other structures used to house or store personal property of any kind
and which are routinely locked to prevent unauthorized entry.
means any temporary condition resulting in damage to a building,
including a natural or man-made disaster, an accident, or any crime
against property.
means and includes any police, fire or other city employee
authorized to respond to or investigate any emergency.
means and includes any tenant, lessee, assignee, occupant,
operator or other person having any property interest in the building
damaged in an emergency.
means and includes any unauthorized entry, theft, damage
or injury occurring on the premises of a building after an emergency
has arisen at such building and before an owner or other responsible
party is located and has a reasonable time to respond to the emergency.
(Prior code § 14-21)
Whenever any emergency exists which has resulted in damage to
any building, its contents or any adjacent structure, and there exists,
in the opinion of any local official, a reasonable possibility of
a post-emergency incident, said official is authorized to provide
for the temporary boarding up of said building provided:
A.
There
is no contact with owner after reasonable efforts have been made to
contact the owner of the building; and
B.
In
the opinion of the local official only such boarding up is done as
may be reasonably necessary to temporarily protect the building from
a post-emergency incident.
(Prior code § 14-22)
The local official shall select a person or entity to perform
such boarding up in the following order of priority:
A.
The
person or entity having an existing contract with the city to perform
the type of temporary services needed;
B.
Any person or entity authorized or designated by the entity in subsection A of this section to respond in their absence and perform the type of temporary services needed;
C.
Any
person or entity who, in the opinion of the local official, is qualified
and available to perform the type of temporary services needed.
(Prior code § 14-23)
The local official exercising the authority pursuant to Section 15.24.030 shall be deemed conclusively to have used reasonable efforts provided that the official has attempted to contact the owner of the building utilizing any emergency information that may have been provided to the city by said owner.
(Prior code § 14-24)
The actual cost incurred by the city for the temporary boarding
up of any building pursuant to this title shall be recoverable against
the owner.
(Prior code § 14-25)
Nothing in this chapter is intended, nor shall it be deemed,
to create any mandatory duty on the part of any local official to
temporarily board up any building or to assume responsibility for
damage to any building or loss of any of its contents during or subsequent
to any emergency.
(Prior code § 14-26)
