[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Chenango 4-20-1992. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town Board of the Town of Chenango believes
that it should provide, by ordinance, for the repair or destruction
of buildings in the Town which are dangerous or unsafe to the public,
in order to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the
inhabitants of the Town. It therefore hereby enacts this chapter,
pursuant to § 130, Subdivision 16, of the Town Law, to provide
for the removal or repair of buildings that from any cause may now
be or shall hereafter become dangerous or unsafe to the public.
At any time the Town Board, by resolution, may
direct an appropriate Town employee or hire a competent person to
inspect any structure in the Town and report to the Town Board whether
the structure is dangerous or unsafe to the public. The words "dangerous
or unsafe to the public" shall be broadly construed for the maximum
protection of the inhabitants of the Town.
A.
If the person directed or employed as set forth in § 26-2 reports that the structure is unsafe or dangerous to the public, the Town Board shall cause a notice to be served on the owner or some one of the owner's executors, legal representative, agents, lessees or any other person having a vested or contingent interest in the same, either personally or by registered mail, addressed to the last known address, if any, of the owner or some one of the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees or other person having a vested or contingent interest in the same, as shown by the records of the Receiver of Taxes and/or in the office of the County Clerk or County Register, containing a description of the premises, a statement of the particulars in which the building or structure in unsafe or dangerous and an order outlining the manner in which it is to be made safe and secure or demolished and removed; a statement that the securing or removal of the building is to commence within 30 days of the service or mailing of the notice and shall be completed within 60 days thereafter, unless for good cause shown such time shall be extended; a date, time and place for a hearing before the Town Board in relation to such dangerous or unsafe building, which hearing shall be scheduled not less than five business days from the date of the service of the notice; and a statement that, in the event of neglect or refusal to comply with the order to secure or demolish and remove the building, the Town Board is authorized to provide forced demolition and removal, to assess all expenses thereof against the land on which it is located and to institute a special proceeding to collect the costs of demolition, including legal expenses.
B.
A copy of such notice shall be filed in the office
of the County Clerk of the County of Broome, which notice shall be
filed by such Clerk in the same manner as a notice of pendency pursuant
to Article 65 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules and shall have the
same effect as a notice of pendency as therein provided, except as
otherwise hereinafter provided in this subsection. A notice so filed
shall be effective for a period of one year from the date of filing;
provided, however, that it may be vacated upon the order of a judge
or justice of a court of record or upon the consent of the Town Attorney.
The Clerk of the county where such notice is filed shall mark such
notice and any record or docket thereof as canceled of record upon
the presentation of filing of such consent or the certified copy of
such order.
C.
The hearing set forth in the notice shall be held
at a regular meeting of the Town Board, at which time the person served
with the notice may present proof and/or witnesses in opposition to
the claim that the buildings are unsafe or dangerous, and if after
such hearing the Town Board still concludes that the buildings are
unsafe and dangerous and such owner fails or refuses to comply with
the order of the Town Board after said hearing, the Town Board shall
provide for the demolition or repair of the offending building or
buildings by contract, and all costs and expenses incurred by the
Town in connection with the proceeding to remove or secure, including
the cost of actually removing the structure or structures, shall be
assessed against the land upon which said structure or structures
are located. Except in an emergency as hereinafter provided, any contract
for the repair, demolition and removal of a building in excess of
$10,000 shall be provided through competitive bidding.
Emergency cases where it reasonably appears
that there is present clear and imminent danger to the life, safety
or health of any person or property unless an unsafe building is immediately
repaired or secured or demolished, the Town Board may, by resolution,
authorize the Building Inspector to immediately cause the repair or
demolition of such unsafe building. The expense of such repair or
demolition shall be charged against the land on which it is located
and shall be assessed, levied and collected as hereinafter provided.
[Amended 5-5-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
A.
All expenses incurred by the Town in connection with the proceeding
to repair, secure, demolish or remove the unsafe building, including
the cost of actually removing such building, 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 Article 15 of the Town
Law for the levy and collection of a special ad valorem levy.
B.
In addition to the penalties hereinabove provided, all expenses shall
include all expenses and costs incurred by the Town for attorneys'
fees, engineering fees, consultant fees and/or court or litigation
costs to enforce the provisions of this chapter and shall be an expense
and obligation of the owner of the property, including its individual
officers, managers, partners, members, and shareholders, and, alternatively
or in conjunction herewith, shall be assessed and levied upon the
real property as a lien and charge until paid or otherwise satisfied
or discharged and shall be collected otherwise by the institution
of a special proceeding to collect the costs hereinabove.
A.
General regulations.
(1)
The buildings shall be completely demolished down
to a level 18 inches below the adjacent sidewalk grade. All combustible
materials, such as wood, paper, roofing materials and other materials
not expressly permitted for backfill shall be removed from the site.
(2)
All debris and scrap and all excess masonry, rubble
and concrete shall be removed to a site and disposed of in a lawful
manner by the contractor.
(3)
The combustion of any material will not be permitted
on the site.
(4)
Any buried tanks are to be excavated and removed from
the site. The excavation shall be backfilled with approved fill dirt.
Any tanks which may have contained gasoline or oil or other flammable
materials shall not be cut up or burned on the site but must be removed
intact.
B.
Basement fill.
(1)
Only approved fill dirt shall be used in backfilling.
The last 18 inches of backfill shall be made with run-of-bank gravel
approved by the Building Inspector. The fill dirt and the run-of-bank
gravel backfill shall be placed in eight-inch layers and thoroughly
compacted by mechanical tampers. The entire backfill and compaction
shall be done to the satisfaction of the Building Department.
(2)
The backfill must be guaranteed for a period of one
year from the date of acceptance by the Building Department against
settlement greater than six inches in 20 feet measured continuously
in any direction. Any settlement greater than this shall be corrected
by adding run-of-bank gravel and compacted as above to bring the level
back to grade.
C.
Adjoining structures and property.
(1)
Care shall be taken to protect any adjoining building
or properties from any damage which may be caused by the work of this
contractor. Should any damage result from his operations, the contractor,
at his expense, shall make all necessary repairs.
(2)
Access to the adjoining properties shall not be hindered
in any way by the operation of this contractor.
D.
Utilities. The contractor shall ascertain in advance
the size and location of all service connections to the utility mains,
such as water, sanitary and storm sewers, gas lines, electric service,
telephone service and any other similar service. He shall contact
the various utilities and arrange to have these services disconnected.
The contractor shall contact the Water Department to arrange for the
disconnection of the water service at the main; which work shall be
done by the Water Department. The contractor shall reimburse the Water
Department for the work of each disconnection. Sewer laterals shall
be plugged at the property line using cast-iron plugs leaded in for
cast-iron pipelines and tile plugs grouted in for tile lines. Arrangements
shall be made with the gas company, the electric company and the telephone
company for the disconnection of their services in a safe manner at
the property line. Backfill shall not be started until the plugging
of these lines has been accepted by the Building Department. The contractor
shall obtain from the various utility companies a written statement
that their services have been disconnected.
E.
Safety.
(1)
Safe and sanitary conditions shall prevail where demolition
and wrecking operations are being carried on. Work shall be done in
such manner that hazard from fire, possibility of injury, danger to
health and conditions which may constitute a public nuisance will
be minimized in conformity with generally accepted standards. All
work of this project, including demolition, must be done in a safe
manner and in accordance with all codes, both Town and state, applying
to this type of work.
(2)
Access to utilities and public facilities, including
but not limited to fire hydrants, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes,
streetlights, manholes and catch basins shall be kept unobstructed
during demolition. No blasting will be allowed nor may debris be burned
on the site.
F.
Laying dust. During the demolition contract, the site
shall be sprinkled or dampened with water to lay the dust. The contractor
must protect against water seeping into the adjoining buildings. If
necessary, he must pump excess water from the site.
G.
Replacement of sidewalks and curbs. If the sidewalks
and curbs are damaged by the work of the contractor, he shall be responsible
for the replacement thereof. Sidewalks must conform to the specifications
of the Town and receive approval of the Building Department prior
to installation. Curbs shall be replaced by using materials of the
same type as the original curb.
H.
Maintenance of traffic. The contractor shall make
suitable provisions for maintaining traffic (both pedestrian and vehicular)
on all adjacent walks and streets to the satisfaction of the Building
Department.
I.
Reconditioning of salvageable material. Where the
contractor is permitted to salvage for his own benefit, he shall not
take the time to recondition or reconstitute the salvageable materials
on the job site. All materials shall be removed from the job site
as soon as practically possible, or, if stored adjacent to demolished
buildings, no time will be allowed to reconstitute such materials;
neither shall any such reconstruction take place while removing such
material from the buildings themselves.
J.
Removal of tanks.
(1)
The contractor shall pump all tanks dry of their contents
prior to the demolition of buildings and structure.
(2)
The contractor shall locate, excavate and dispose
of all tanks and connected piping in a safe and workmanlike manner
according to the regulations of the Fire Department.
(3)
The contractor will not be permitted to use a cutting
torch on tanks which were used for the storage of flammable liquids
unless permission, in writing, is granted by the Fire Department.
K.
Hazardous conditions. When the demolition of a structure
results in a hazardous condition because former below-grade construction
is removed as required under this chapter, the contractor shall erect
or cause to be erected, a fence barricade sufficient to protect the
public from such hazardous conditions.
In any case where a building is repaired and
secured or taken down and removed pursuant to proceedings had under
this chapter (where such work is being done by the owner of the property
or by some third party at the direction of the owner or of the Town),
the site of such work shall be left in a safe condition. There shall
be removed from such site any and all broken glass, rubble, metal
and any accumulation of combustible material. Furthermore, all open
excavations shall be filled and/or graded in such a manner so that
they are not actually or substantially hazardous to the health or
safety of others.
Should any section or provision of this chapter
be or be held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality
shall not affect the validity of the chapter as a whole or any part
thereof other than said invalid or unconstitutional part.
This chapter shall take effect immediately subject
to provisions of the Town Law as to posting and publication.
