The purpose of this article is to provide basic and uniform property and maintenance standards governing the condition of all properties within the Incorporated Village of East Rockaway, including residential units. The Board of Trustees finds that properly kept and maintained properties are essential to the health and safety of the Village, including but not limited to the aesthetics of the Village and the surrounding community. Poorly kept and maintained properties can adversely affect the value of nearby properties. Moreover, certain conditions, as set forth in this chapter as nuisances, endanger the safety of persons and the security of private property. The Board of Trustees also finds that if not kept or properly maintained, the exterior of the building or structure may constitute a blighting factor on adjoining property. This chapter shall be in addition to and not in lieu of the standards and obligations set forth in Chapter
226, Article
II, of the Village Code for maintenance of commercial units.
The following conditions are hereby declared to be nuisances,
and the maintenance of such nuisances is hereby prohibited within
the Incorporated Village of East Rockaway. It shall be unlawful for
any owner of real property within the Village or the agent of such
owner and/or any person, firm or corporation lawfully occupying any
real property within the Village to permit:
A. Whatever is dangerous to human life and health.
B. Uncut grass, weeds, brush or any portion of said growth to obtain
a height in excess of 10 inches.
C. Rubbish or rubble to accumulate thereon.
D. Boats or motor vehicles or portions thereof to be parked or stored
for unreasonable periods of time or to be parked or stored if unregistered,
abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, junked or substantially damaged and
not intended to be used or in no condition for legal use upon the
public highway or waterways.
E. Whatever building or structural part or cellar thereof is overcrowded
or not provided with adequate means of egress or is not sufficiently
supported, ventilated, sewered, drained or cleaned.
F. Whatever renders soil, air, water or food impure or unwholesome.
G. Slaughterhouses, privies, hog pens, kennels, accumulations of dung
or manure, carcasses, swill, brine, pigeon coops, urine of animals
or any stinking, obnoxious, offensive, foul or filthy liquids or other
matters or conditions, including, but not limited to, the harboring
of domestic animals causing unsanitary conditions.
H. Discarded material of any kind or rubbish or refuse that is maintained
beyond normally scheduled garbage removal.
I. Accumulations of brush, tree stumps or other vegetative waste or
rubble or construction waste that is maintained beyond normally scheduled
garbage removal.
J. Ponds or pools of stagnant water.
K. Pits, holes, excavations, uncovered wells or other declivities of
land which are unsightly or are liable to cause injuries to persons
falling therein or therefrom.
L. Barbed-wire or razor-wire or electrified fences or such fences as
are otherwise forbidden by the provisions of the Code of the Incorporated
Village of East Rockaway.
M. Accumulations of junk, old metals or machinery, rags or newspapers.
N. Except as otherwise provided in this Code, on private property located
within any residence district of the Village, the maintenance of any
container actually accommodating or designed to accommodate more than
one cubic yard of rubbish, refuse or discarded material of any kind
or the maintenance, within any residence district on private property,
of any bulk or closed storage containers for any period of time whatsoever.
For the purposes of this chapter, a "bulk storage container" is defined
as a standard Dumpster Gallon E-Z Pack front-end-loading-type container
or an equal container for garbage and other waste materials that can
be hauled directly to the point of disposal or emptied into a large
compactor-type truck for disposal.
The Board of Trustees shall adopt a resolution requiring the
owner and/or person in control of any property found not to be in
conformance with the provisions of this chapter to comply with those
provisions. A copy of the notice of adoption of said resolution shall
be served upon such owner and/or person in control of said property
by ordinary mail, specifying the manner and time within which to comply,
that is, within seven days from the date of postmark of the notice.
Upon failure to comply with the requirements of such notice,
the Board of Trustees shall authorize the work to be done and pay
the cost thereof out of general funds appropriated by the Board of
Trustees for such purpose. In case of such failure to comply, the
owner and/or person in control of the property whereon the violation
occurs deemed to consent to the right of entry by the Village officials
for the sole purpose of inspecting and correcting such violation.
The Village shall be reimbursed for the cost of the work performed
or the services rendered, as hereinabove provided, by assessment against
the lots or parcels of land where such work was performed or services
were rendered for so much of the actual or complete cost as incurred
upon and from each lot or lots by the assessment of all such cost
of such removal, including legal fees against the real property affected.
[Amended 5-13-2013 by L.L. No. 8-2013]
A. Any person committing an offense against any provision of this article
shall, upon conviction thereof, be judged a disorderly person and
shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500. Each and every day
during which such violation shall exist shall constitute a separate
offense, punishable as such.
B. The imposition of any penalty for any offense committed against the provisions of §§
226-2 through
226-6 of this article shall not affect the power of the Board of Trustees to require the abatement of the nuisances enumerated herein within such time as the Board of Trustees shall fix, nor shall it prevent, in the event of neglect or refusal by any person to comply with any or all of the provisions of such an order to correct a violation of §§
226-2 through
226-5 of this article, entry by the Board of Trustees or its designees upon the premises affected by such nuisances, the removal of such nuisances by the Village or its agents and the assessment of all costs of such removal, including legal fees, against the real property affected.
C. In addition, this article may be enforced by civil action, including
an injunction, in a court of competent jurisdiction.
D. The Village also shall recover all fines and penalties imposed under
this article, together with costs, interest and attorneys fees, by
assessment against the lots or parcels at which the violation occurred.
This chapter shall not affect in any way the standards of the responsibilities of the owners and/or persons under the Property Maintenance Code set forth in Chapter
226, Article
II, of the Code of the Incorporated Village of East Rockaway. This chapter shall be in addition to, not in lieu of, Chapter
226, Article
II, of the Code.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this
chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
be invalid, the judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
remainder of this chapter, but shall be confined in its operation
to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this chapter
that shall be directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment
shall have been rendered.
This article shall take effect immediately upon being filed
in the office of the Secretary of State.