[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Ocean
Beach 8-10-28, as amended through 10-15-51. Sections 80-5 and 80-11 amended
during codification; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III. Other amendments
noted where applicable.]
There is hereby created the office of Electrical Inspector. The person
chosen to fill the office of Electrical Inspector shall be a competent electrician
of good moral character, shall have had at least four years' experience
as a journeyman in the practice of his trade, or at least two years'
training in a recognized college of electrical construction for safety to
life and property, the statutes of the State of New York relating to electrical
work, the rules and regulations issued by all state departments or bureaus
under authority of said statutes and having jurisdiction over electrical construction,
the National Electrical Code, the National Electrical Safety Code and all
other installation and safety rules and standards approved by the American
Engineering Standards Committee. The Inspector shall maintain a file of listed
inspected electrical appliance cards issued by or for Underwriters' Laboratories,
Inc.
Said Electrical Inspector shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice
and consent of the Board of Trustees and shall serve for one year. He shall
also take and subscribe an oath, which, together with the certificate of appointment,
shall be filed with the Village Clerk. He shall be removed from office for
cause only, after a full hearing, by the Board of Trustees. Without having
first obtained the written approval of the Board of Trustees, it shall be
unlawful for the Electrical Inspector to engage in the business of the installation
and maintenance of electrical wiring, electrical devices and electrical material,
either directly or indirectly, and he shall have no financial interest in
any concern engaged in such business in the Village of Ocean Beach at any
time while holding office as Electrical Inspector. Any violation of the provisions
of this section by said Inspector shall be a sufficient cause for his removal
from office.
Said Electrical Inspector shall have the right, during reasonable hours,
to enter any building or premises in the discharge of his official duties
or for the purpose of making any inspection or test of the installation of
electrical wiring, electrical devices or electrical material contained therein
or appurtenant thereto and shall have the authority to cause the turning off
of all electrical current and cut or disconnect in cases of emergency any
service, feed or transmission wires, where the same interferes with the work
of the Fire Department or for any violation or threatened violation of this
chapter.
No alterations or additions shall be made in the existing wiring of
any building, nor shall any building be wired for the placing of any electrical
lights, meters, heating devices, power plants or engines, or any apparatus
requiring the use of electrical current or generating electrical current,
nor shall any alterations be made in the wiring of any building after inspection,
without first notifying the Electrical Inspector in writing and securing a
permit therefor; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to minor
repair work, such as repairing flush and snap switches, replacing fuses, lamp
sockets and other receptacles, taping bar joints and repairing drop cords.
Application for such permit, describing such work, shall be made by the person,
firm or corporation installing the same; and the permit, when issued, shall
be to such an applicant. This section shall not apply to maintenance and repairs
on the premises of a person, firm or corporation regularly employing journeymen
electricians for that purpose.
A.
All permits shall be signed by the Village Clerk and
countersigned by the Electrical Inspector. The fee for the issuance of permits
shall be as determined by the Board of Trustees from time to time.
B.
Such fees shall be paid to the Village Clerk. No permit
shall be issued until and unless such fee is paid in advance.
Prior to the commencement of wiring of any building and the installation
of electrical current, the person, firm or corporation installing the same
and doing such work shall file with the Village Clerk an original or duplicate
original temporary permit issued by the Suburban Fire Insurance Exchange of
the New York Board of Fire Underwriters. Upon the completion of the wiring
of any building it shall be the duty of such person, firm or corporation installing
the same and doing such work to notify the Electrical Inspector, who shall
inspect the installation within a reasonable time after such notice is given
and in no case later than four days thereafter; and if it is found to be fully
in compliance with this chapter and does not constitute a hazard to life and
property, he shall issue to such person, firm or corporation for delivery
to the owner a certificate of inspection authorizing connection to the electrical
service and the turning on of the current. All wires which are to be used
hidden from view shall be inspected before concealment; and any person, firm
or corporation installing such wires shall notify the Electrical Inspector,
giving him four days within which to make the required inspection before such
wires are concealed. Upon the completion of the wiring of any building it
shall be the duty of the person, firm or corporation installing the same to
file with the Village Clerk the final certificate of approval issued by the
Suburban Fire Insurance Exchange of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters.
The Electrical Inspector shall periodically make a thorough reinspection
of the installation in buildings and premises of all electric wiring, devices
and material and all power plants and transmission lines now installed or
which may hereafter be installed within the village; and when the installation
of any wiring, devices, materials, power plants or transmission lines is found
to be in a dangerous or unsafe condition, the person, firm or corporation
owning, using or operating the same shall be notified to place the same in
a safe condition and have such work completed within a time to be specified
by the Electrical Inspector in said notice. The said Inspector is hereby empowered
to disconnect or order the discontinuance of electrical service to such wiring,
devices, material, power plant or transmission lines, so found to be defectively
installed and operated, until the same has been made safe as by him directed.
No certificate of inspection shall be issued unless the electric light,
power and heating installations, power plants or transmission lines are in
strict conformity with the provisions of this chapter, the statutes of the
State of New York and the rules and regulations issued by all the departments
and bureaus of said state having the jurisdiction thereof and unless they
are in conformity with the most approved methods of construction for safety
of life and property. The regulations, as laid down in the National Electrical
Code, the National Electrical Safety Code and all other installation and safety
regulations approved by the American Engineering Standards Committee, shall
be prima facie evidence of such approved methods.
The Electrical Inspector shall keep complete records of all permits
issued and inspections made and other official work performed under the provisions
of this chapter, and he shall be provided with the necessary clerical help
to carry out the provisions thereof.
When the Electrical Inspector condemns all or part of any electrical
installation, the owner may, within five days after receiving notice from
the Electrical Inspector, file a petition in writing for review of said action
of the Electrical Inspector with the Board of Trustees of the village, upon
receipt of which the said Board of Trustees shall at once proceed to determine
whether said electrical installation complies with this chapter and within
one week shall make a decision in accordance with its findings.
This chapter and all parts thereof shall apply to the installation in
buildings of any and all private electrical power plants, such as is commonly
known as "Delco," and electrical power plants of a like nature.
This chapter shall not be construed to relieve from or lessen the responsibility
or liability of any party owning, operating, controlling or installing any
electrical wiring, electrical devices or electrical material for damages to
person or property caused by any defect therein, nor shall the village be
held as assuming any such liability by reason of the inspection authorized
herein or certificate of inspection issued as herein provided.
