The purpose of this chapter is to promote and
preserve the health, welfare and property of residents of and owners
of property located within the Town of Clay by providing a method
for the removal or repair of buildings and structures within the limits
of the Town, that, from any cause, may now be or shall hereafter become
dangerous or unsafe to the public.
No person, firm, corporation or association
owning, possessing or controlling a building or structure in this
Town shall permit, suffer or allow said building now or hereafter
to be or become dangerous or unsafe to the public, from any cause
whatsoever.
All buildings and structures which have any
or all of the following defects shall be deemed "unsafe" or "dangerous"
within the meaning of this chapter:
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 third of
its base.
B. Those which, exclusive of the foundation, show 33%
or more of damage or deterioration of the supporting member or members
or 50% of damage or deterioration of the nonsupporting enclosing or
outside walls or covering.
C. Those which have improperly distributed loads upon
the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded, or which
have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used.
D. Those which have been damaged by fire, wind or other
causes so as to have become dangerous to life, safety, morals or the
general health and welfare of the occupants or the people of this
Town.
E. Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed,
unsafe, unsanitary, or which so utterly fail to provide the amenities
essential to decent living that they are unfit for human habitation,
or are likely to cause sickness or disease, so as to work injury to
the health, morals, safety or general welfare of those living therein.
F. Those having light, air and sanitation facilities
which are inadequate to protect the health, morals, safety or general
welfare of human beings who live or may live therein.
G. Those having inadequate facilities for egress in case
of fire or panic or those having insufficient stairways, elevators,
fire escapes or other means of communication.
H. Those which have parts thereof which are so attached
that they may fall and injure members of the public or property.
I. Those which because of their condition are unsafe,
unsanitary or dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare
of the people of this Town.
The Commissioner of Planning and Development
shall be the enforcement officer of this chapter and shall make inspections
of all unsafe buildings and structures within the Town. The Commissioner
of Planning and Development shall report to the Town Board all unsafe
buildings and structures which from time to time may be found within
the limits of the Town. When it is reported to the Town Board that
a building or structure is in an unsafe or dangerous condition, the
Town Board shall direct the Commissioner of Planning and Development
to inspect the same and to report the condition of the same and his
finding to the Town Board with all convenient speed.
The Town Board shall thereafter consider the
report of the Commissioner of Planning and Development and by resolution
determine, if in its opinion the report so warrants, that the said
building or structure is unsafe and dangerous and order its removal
or repair if the same can be safely repaired, and further order that
a notice shall be given to interested persons or corporations in the
manner as hereinafter provided.
The notice shall contain the following:
A. A description of the premises.
B. A statement of the particulars in which the building
or structure is unsafe or dangerous.
C. An order requiring the same to be made safe and secure,
or removed.
D. That the securing or removal of the said buildings
or structures shall commence within 30 days of the serving of the
notice, as hereinafter provided, and shall be completed within 60
days thereafter.
E. That in the event of neglect or refusal of the persons
and/or corporations served with the notice to comply with the same,
a survey of the premises will be made by an inspector and architect
or engineer to be named by the Town Board, and a practical builder,
engineer or architect appointed by the said persons or corporations
so notified.
F. That in the event of the refusal or neglect of the
persons or corporations so notified to appoint a surveyor, the two
surveyors named by the Town Board shall make the survey and report.
The said notice shall be served in the following
manner:
A. By personal service of a copy thereof upon the owner
or some one of the owners, executors, legal representatives, agents,
lessees or any other person having a vested or contingent interest
in the premises as shown by the last preceding completed assessment
roll of the Town, such service to be complete, and the thirty-day
time period recited in the said notice to commence upon filing of
an affidavit of personal service upon the owner with the Town Clerk;
or
B. By mailing a copy of the said notice to such owner
as aforesaid, by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed
to the last known address of the owner, and by affixing a copy of
the said notice to the premises, such service to be complete, and
the thirty-day time period recited in the said notice to commence
10 days after the filing of the return receipt and the affidavit of
posting with the Town Clerk; and
C. By personal service of a copy of said notice upon
any adult residing in or occupying said premises; or, if no such person
can be reasonably found, by posting a copy of said notice upon the
premises.
In the event of neglect or refusal of the persons
so notified to comply with said order of the Town Board, a survey
of said premises shall be made in the following manner:
A. The Town Board shall appoint an inspector and architect
or engineer and the persons so notified shall appoint a practical
builder, engineer or architect who shall make the said survey and
submit a written report thereon in regard to the unsafe or dangerous
condition of said building or structure. If the persons so notified
shall refuse or neglect to appoint a surveyor within 40 days after
service of the notice, the two surveyors appointed by the Town Board
shall proceed and report.
B. A signed copy of such report shall be posted on the
said structure.
In the event the building or other structure
shall be reported unsafe or dangerous under such survey, the Town
Board may pass a resolution directing the Supervisor to make an application
to the Supreme Court for an order determining the building or other
structure to be a public nuisance and directing that it shall be repaired
and secured or taken down and removed.
The said surveyors shall be paid reasonable
compensation for the service performed by them in making their survey
and in preparing the report thereof.
All costs and expenses incurred by the Town
in connection with the proceedings to remove or secure, including
the cost of actually removing said building or structure, shall be
assessed against the land on which said buildings or structures are
located.