It is unlawful for any owner or agent to keep or maintain any building or structure or part of a building or structure which is a dangerous building as defined in Section
12-51.
All buildings or structures which have any of the following
defects shall be deemed dangerous buildings:
A. Those whose interior walls or other vertical structural members list,
lean or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line passing through
the center of gravity falls outside of the middle one-third of its
base;
B. Those which show damage or deterioration of the support members or
damage or deterioration of the nonsupporting enclosing or outside
walls or covering;
C. Those which have been damaged by fire, wind or other causes so as
to become dangerous to the occupants thereof or to the people of the
City;
D. Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary
or which so fail to provide the amenities essential to decent living
that they are unfit for human habitation or are likely to cause sickness
or diseases so as to work injury to the health, morals, safety or
general welfare of those living therein or are vermin or rat infested;
E. Those not having adequate light, air, heating, water, and sanitation
facilities adequate to protect the health, morals, safety or general
welfare of human beings who live or may live therein;
F. Those having inadequate facilities for egress in case of fire or
panic or having insufficient stairways, fire escapes or other means
of access;
G. Those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may
fall and injure persons or property;
H. Those which because of inadequate electric wiring or heating facilities
or because of storage of flammable materials or for any other reason
constitute a fire hazard;
I. Those which because of any other causes similar to the above are
unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general
welfare of the people of this City;
J. Those which are vacant and are not kept securely locked, windows
kept glazed or neatly boarded up and otherwise protected to prevent
entrance thereof by unauthorized persons;
K. Those which are partially completed, unless such structure is in
the course of construction in accordance with a valid and subsisting
building permit issued by the City, and unless such construction is
completed within a reasonable time;
L. Those which have become an attractive nuisance to children who might
play in the building or structure to their danger, or have become
a harbor for vagrants or criminal persons, or which enable persons
to resort to the building or structure for committing a nuisance or
an unlawful act.
If, at the expiration of any time limit in the order provided for in Section
12-53C, the owner has not complied with the requirements thereof, the City Manager or designee shall carry out the requirements of the order. The cost of such abatement shall be charged against the premises and the owner thereof in accordance with the provisions of Chapter
11 of the City Charter.
The City Manager or designee may abate any dangerous structure if the public safety requires immediate action without preliminary order of the hearing officer. Thereafter, the cost of abating such nuisance shall be charged against the premises and the owner thereof in accordance with the provisions of Chapter
11 of the City Charter.
Any person affected by any order which has been issued in connection
with the enforcement of any provision of this article, or of any rule
or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, shall have the right to request
and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the City Council;
provided that such person shall file, in the office of the City Clerk,
a written petition requesting such hearing and containing a statement
of the grounds therefor within 20 days after the day the order was
served. At the hearing, the person affected shall be given the opportunity
to show cause why the order should not be enforced. The City Council
shall either approve, disapprove, or modify the order. If the City
Council approves or modifies the order, it shall take all necessary
action to enforce the order. If the order is approved or modified,
the owner, agent, or person in charge shall comply with the order
within 60 days after the date of the hearing. For an order of demolition,
if the City Council determines that the building or structure has
been substantially destroyed by fire, wind, flood, deterioration,
neglect, abandonment, vandalism, or other cause, and the cost of repair
of the building or structure will be greater than the state equalized
value of the building or structure, the owner, agent, or person in
charge shall comply with the order of demolition within 21 days after
the date of the hearing. If the estimated cost of repair exceeds the
state equalized value of the building or structure to be repaired,
a rebuttable presumption that the building or structure requires immediate
demolition exists.