Village of Oakwood, IL Vacant Buildings

Owners of "vacant buildings" and foreclosing mortgagees who get title to unoccupied buildings shall be required to register the same with the Village as prescribed below:

Owner's obligation to register vacant buildings. The owner of a building that the Village has determined to be a "vacant building," or the owner of a building whose appeal from the Village's determination has been denied by the Village Administrator, or the owner of a building who knows, or from all the facts and circumstances should know, that his, her, their or its building is or has become a "vacant building" within the meaning of this chapter, shall take the actions provided for in this section after either the date of Village's determination of vacancy, the denial of the owner's appeal, or the owner's awareness of facts that would cause a reasonable person to believe that the building is vacant. Notwithstanding whether the Village has initiated and made a vacant building determination and provided notice thereof to the owner, the owner or owners of a vacant building shall, in any event, register his, her, their or its property upon which there exists a vacant building within 15 days of the building becoming vacant and no advertisement for sale or rent or building construction permit, or within 15 days after assuming ownership of a vacant building and having failed to occupy the building or obtain a building construction permit, whichever is earlier.

Registration of building.

The owner of a "vacant building" that has not been occupied and left in a state of disrepair, or boarded, for more than 30 days, shall be required to pay a $200 annual nonprorated vacant building registration fee.

(1)

The form shall include, as a minimum, the name, street address, and telephone number of the owner; the case name and number of any litigation pending concerning or affecting the building, including any foreclosure proceedings and/or any bankruptcy cases; and the name, street address, and telephone number of all persons with any legal, equitable interest in the building or the premises. In addition to other information required by the Village, the registration statement shall include the name, street address and telephone number of a natural person 21 years of age or older, or a business entity registered with the Illinois Secretary of State, designated by the owner or owners as his, her, their or its authorized agent for receiving notices of code violations and for receiving process, in any court proceeding or administrative enforcement proceeding, on behalf of such owner or owners in connection with the enforcement of this chapter. This person or business entity must reside within Vermilion County, Illinois. By designating an authorized agent under the provisions of this subsection, the owner is consenting to receive all notices of code violations concerning the registered building and all process in any court proceeding or administrative enforcement proceeding brought to enforce code provisions concerning the registered building by service of the notice or process on the authorized agent.

(2)

Any owner or owners who have designated an authorized agent under the provisions of this subsection shall be deemed to consent to the continuation of the agent's designation for the purposes of this subsection until the owner or owners notify the Village of a change of authorized agent or until the owner or owners file a new annual registration statement. Any owner who does not register a vacant building under the provisions of this subsection shall further be deemed to consent to receive, by posting at the building, all notices of code violations and all process in an administrative proceeding brought to enforce code provisions concerning the building.

(3)

The form shall require:

(a)

The owner to renew the vacant building registration each year on the anniversary date of the first filing if the building has not been occupied and left in a state of disrepair, or boarded, and pay the required $200 annual fee;

(b)

The owner to file an amended registration within 15 days of any change in the information contained in the annual registration; and

(c)

A new owner to file a new registration and pay the required $200 annual fee in compliance with Subsection B.

Registration does not exonerate the owner from compliance with all applicable Village codes and ordinances, including this chapter, and from compliance with all federal, state and county laws, statutes, codes, ordinances, regulations and rules, nor does it preclude any of the actions that the Village is authorized to take pursuant to this chapter or elsewhere in this Code or pursuant to state statutes.

If the Village requests a code compliance inspection of the interior of the vacant building after the owner registers the building pursuant to the foregoing section and one has not already been performed for another reason, the owner shall consent to said interior inspection and provide access to the Village to perform said inspection at a mutually agreed date and time, or, the Village may obtain an administrative search warrant to accomplish the inspection, and will not conduct an interior inspection of the premises without obtaining such warrant, except when there is evidence of vacancy and access to the building is unsecured or there is an actual emergency or if the Village Administrator or the Chief of Police determines that there is an actual threat to health or safety based on reliable, substantiated and sufficient evidence. The code compliance inspection of the interior of all vacant buildings determines the extent of any compliance with Village property maintenance, building, zoning, health, fire, water and sewer codes, and/or to determine whether there is any unsecured access to the building (doors, windows and other points of entry); whether flammable liquids or other hazardous materials are stored on the premises or in the vacant building; whether the utilities, including water, sanitary sewer, gas and/or electricity are running or have been shut off; whether the sump pump is working; whether there is any standing water in the basement or crawl space; whether the furnace and/or hot water heater are operable if the gas has not been turned off to the vacant building; whether the roof or other exterior surface or enclosures are leaking or have been water damaged, whether there are any visible signs of mold; whether there are animals, rodents, vermin or insects present on the premises or in the building; and whether all outdoor pools and/or hot tubs are securely covered and/or drained. Said inspection shall also determine the existence of any unlawful improvements to the property and any portions of the building, including attic and basement areas, which appear to have been unlawfully occupied.

Inspection conducted. The Village shall send the inspection report to the owner within 15 days of inspection. The owner shall allow for a code compliance inspection of the interior of the vacant building and pay the $250 fee to defray the cost of said inspection. If an administrative search warrant is procured because the owner or owners failed to consent to said inspection, or to cooperate to schedule said inspection and grant access to the Village to perform said inspection within 30 days of registering said vacant building, the inspection fee shall be $500. The inspection report shall include a reasonable date by which chapter compliance shall be required, and periodic reinspections shall take place, as necessary, until chapter compliance is achieved.

Insurance required. The owner or owners shall obtain liability insurance and maintain such insurance for as long as the building is vacant, and file evidence of such insurance with the Village, in an amount not less than $250 per occurrence for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage for buildings designed primarily for use as residential units, and commercial general liability in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage for any other building, including buildings designed for manufacturing, industrial, storage or commercial use, covering any damage to any property caused by the physical condition of or in the building. Any insurance policy acquired after the building becomes vacant shall provide for written notice to the Village within 30 days of any lapse, cancellation or change in coverage. The owner or owners shall maintain the insurance required under this section in full force and effect throughout the period the building is vacant. Such insurance shall be issued by an insurer authorized to insure property in Illinois. The owner or the owner's authorized agent for service of process shall provide evidence of such insurance at the time the vacant building is registered, and proof of such current insurance with each renewal and upon the request of Village.

Village real estate transfer stamps will not be issued by the Village for the sale of such property until such interior inspection has taken place, the fee therefor has been paid (unless said inspection has been waived in writing by the Village), and all code violations have been corrected.

Vacant building plan of action. Unless waived in writing by the Village, the owner or owners, or the foreclosing mortgagee, shall submit a vacant building plan of action within 45 days of registering or 30 days of notice by the Village as required in this chapter. The Village may prescribe a form for the plan. If the owner or owners, and if applicable, the foreclosing mortgagee, fail to submit a vacant building plan of action, unless waived in writing by the Village and as provided in this subsection, the Village may determine the plan, which it may allow to be modified after conducting a code compliance inspection and follow-up inspections for code compliance. The failure of the Village to propose a vacant building plan shall not relieve any owner or owners or a foreclosing mortgagee, if any, from submitting a vacant building plan or extend the period for the owner or owners or foreclosing mortgagee to comply with this section. No plan which fails to provide for compliance with this chapter or, which will not, as determined by the Village, achieve such compliance, within 30 days, in the case of a vacant boarded building, and within one year, in the case of a vacant, unboarded, and code-compliant building, will be approved, except that the Village may approve an extension of the time during which the building will be unoccupied beyond one year to a date certain but then only based upon clear and documented evidence of good cause shown by the owner as determined by the Village. Failure to submit a vacant building plan of action or failure to comply with the approved plan shall constitute a violation of this ordinance and subjects the owner of the building to penalties as provided in this chapter and to any remedies the Village may avail itself of as provided for herein and elsewhere in this Code, as amended. The proposed plan shall contain the following, as a minimum:

(1)

Openings being securely closed from access by conventional methods used in the design of the building or by methods permitted for new similar type construction. A plan of action to repair any doors, windows, or other openings. Boarding shall be completed with materials and methods described by the Village on a case-by-case basis. The owner or owners, or the foreclosing mortgagee, when the owner or owners fail to do so, shall maintain the building in an enclosed and secure state until the building is reoccupied or made available for immediate occupancy.

(2)

For buildings and/or premises which are determined by the Village as being or containing public nuisances, as defined in this ordinance, then the vacant building/premises plan shall contain a plan of action to remedy such public nuisance(s).

(3)

A time schedule identifying a date of commencement of repair and date of completion of repair for each improperly secured opening and nuisance identified by the Village.

(4)

When the owner, owners or foreclosing mortgagee proposes to demolish the vacant building, then the owner, owners or foreclosing mortgagee shall submit a plan and time schedule for such demolition. The owner shall ensure all necessary permits and approvals are obtained prior to commencing demolition.

(5)

A plan of action to maintain the building and/or premises thereof in conformance with this chapter.

(6)

A plan of action, with a time schedule, identifying the date the building will be habitable and occupied or offered for occupancy or sale. The time schedule shall include date(s) by which all necessary permits shall be procured, date(s) of commencement and completion of all actions required to achieve habitability.

All premises upon which unoccupied or vacant buildings are located shall always be maintained in compliance with this code, as amended, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1)

Interior. All interior structures shall be maintained in a clean, safe, secure and sanitary condition. Special attention shall be made to utilities and, if applicable, sump pumps and other related devices shall be kept operational. Winterization of structures shall be completed, as necessary.

(2)

Exterior. All exterior structures and property shall be maintained and kept free of items that give the appearance that the property is abandoned, including, but not limited to, overgrown and/or dead vegetation, accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers and/or mail, past-due utility notices and/or disconnected utilities, peeling paint, missing shingles, broken windows, unlicensed automobiles, dilapidated fence, or the accumulation of junk or debris.

(3)

For vacant commercial property, exterior lighting shall be maintained according to standards established by the Village and available from the Village.

(4)

For vacant commercial property, all ground-floor windows facing street frontage, including, but not limited to, all display windows in unoccupied or vacant commercial buildings, shall be kept in a well maintained and clean condition and shall be covered on the interior side in a professionally finished manner with an opaque window covering material manufactured for that purpose and approved by the Village, or in the case of display windows, such windows shall be kept in a well maintained and clean condition, and the display area shall be enclosed with a professionally finished backdrop, floor, side walls and ceiling, all of which shall be kept in a well maintained and clean condition and shall be well lighted from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. each day unless waived by the Village in the event electricity has been shut off to the commercial building. If opaque window covering material is used, a one-foot-by-one-foot opening through which the interior space is clearly visible shall be maintained at standing eye level along one edge of one such window.

Security guard service. In the event the Village makes a written determination that the vacant building constitutes a fire hazard, is otherwise dangerous to human life or the public welfare, involves illegal or improper use, occupancy, or maintenance, under such conditions that securing the building is insufficient to prevent the actual or threatened harm, the Village shall provide notice thereof to the owner and may require the owner to provide bonded, licensed and insured security guard service at the building between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. as part of its vacant building plan.

Additional information posted. All vacant buildings must have a weatherproof eight-and-one-half-inch-by-eleven-inch sign that identifies the name, address, and telephone number of the owner, the name, address and telephone number of the owner's agent authorized to accept notice and service of process and in addition, for buildings which are the subject of a foreclosure proceeding, the name, address, and telephone number of the foreclosing mortgagee, and the name, address, telephone number of the foreclosing mortgagee's agent authorized to accept notice and service of process on behalf of the foreclosing mortgagee. The sign must be visible and legible for public viewing and facing the nearest public right-of-way.