The purpose of this article is to help protect the health, safety,
and welfare of the citizens of the City of New Buffalo by preventing
blight, protecting property values and neighborhood integrity, avoiding
the creation and maintenance of nuisances and ensuring the safe and
sanitary maintenance of dwellings, commercial and industrial buildings.
It is recognized that blight lowers property values, leads to deteriorating
conditions, undermines the quality of life, affects the public health,
safety and general welfare and also results in human injury and criminal
activities. It is also determined that vacant and unoccupied structures
demand an inordinate amount of City administrative and ordinance enforcement
resources.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this article, except when
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
DANGEROUS BUILDING
Any building or structure which has any of the defects or conditions set forth in Section
12-51 of this Code.
OCCUPANT
Any person living or sleeping in a building or structure;
having possession of a space within a building or structure.
OCCUPIED
A building or structure or portion thereof that has an occupant.
REGULARLY OCCUPIED
A building or structure or portion thereof that is lawfully
utilized or lawfully occupied for the purpose for which it is lawfully
intended and designed and which, if its intended purpose is residential,
normally has at least one person lawfully living or sleeping in it
daily and which, if its intended purpose is not residential, normally
has persons lawfully in it and utilizing it on a basis consistent
with its lawful nonresidential purpose. Persons solely in the building
or structure for the purpose of maintenance, repair, or cleaning of
the building or structure do not make the building or structure "regularly
occupied."
VACANT
A building or structure in which no person or persons actually
lawfully reside or live in any part of the building as the legal or
equitable owner or tenant-occupant, on a permanent, nontransient basis,
or currently conduct a lawfully licensed business, or lawfully use
the structure for storage purposes. Such storage use must be a legally
allowed principal use of the zoning district where the structure is
located and the use must be in compliance with all appropriate provisions
of the City ordinances, building and fire codes pertaining to the
storage use. A building is a vacant building if it is not regularly
occupied for a period greater than 90 days.
Evidence of vacancy shall include any condition that on its
own, or combined with other conditions present, would lead a reasonable
person to believe that the property is vacant. Such conditions include,
but are not limited to: overgrown and/or dead vegetation; accumulation
of newspapers, circulars, flyers and/or mail; past-due utility notices
and/or disconnected utilities; accumulation of trash, junk and/or
debris; boarded-up windows; abandoned vehicles, auto parts or materials;
continually drawn window coverings such as curtains, blinds and/or
shutters; the absence of furnishings and/or personal items consistent
with habitation or occupancy; statements by neighbors, passersby,
delivery agents, utility agents, City employees, or other similarly
situated persons that the property is vacant property.
All vacant buildings shall be secured and maintained as set forth in Section
12-57 of this chapter.
If all or part of the fees required by this article are not
paid or are overdue, the City may recover such sums by:
A. Filing suit against the owner for entry of civil money judgment or
any other means available by law. The City shall be entitled to all
actual attorney fees and costs incurred in obtaining a warrant or
to obtain a judgment against an owner for any overdue or unpaid fee
associated with this article.
B. Any other means available by law, including, but not limited to,
such fees being included in any fines and costs assessed by the court
for the infraction.
An enforcement action, inspection, or other activity taken by
the City under this article in the execution of its duties is not
a warranty or guarantee that there are no defects in the dwelling
or structure, nor does the City assume any responsibility or liability
for the property or its owner or any third party. The enforcement
action, inspection, or other activity taken by the City is made for
the benefit of the City only; the City shall not be held responsible
to any party based upon their reliance on any enforcement action,
inspection, or other activity taken by the City.
Any person who shall violate a section of this article shall be responsible for a municipal civil infraction as provided in Section
1-6 of this Code. Additionally, it is declared a public nuisance for any owner to cause, permit, or maintain any property condition contrary to the provisions of this article.