[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Woodstock 3-19-1985 by L.L. No. 1-1985. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall provide the basic method
for administration and enforcement of the New York State Building
and Fire Code (Code) in the Town of Woodstock, New York, and shall
establish powers, duties and responsibilities in connection therewith.
The Town of Woodstock Fire Inspector and Building
Inspector are hereby designated the Code Enforcement Officers (CEO)
within the Town of Woodstock, New York.
The CEO shall keep official records of all inspection
reports, recommendations, complaints and violation orders.
No officer or employee of the Building Department
shall engage in any activity inconsistent with his/her duties or with
the interests of the Building Department, nor shall he/she, during
the term of this employment, be engaged directly or indirectly in
any building business, in the furnishing of labor, materials or appliances
for the construction, alteration or maintenance of a building or the
preparation of plans or specifications thereof within the Town of
Woodstock, excepting only that this provision shall not prohibit any
employee from such activities in connection with the construction
of a building or structure owned by him/her and not constructed for
sale.
A.
Except as otherwise specifically provided by law,
ordinance or regulation, or except as herein otherwise provided, the
Building Inspector shall administer and enforce all of the provisions
of laws, ordinances and regulations applicable to the construction,
alteration, repair, removal and demolition of buildings and structures,
and the installation and use of materials and equipment therein, and
the location, use, occupancy and maintenance thereof.
B.
The Building Inspector shall receive applications
and issue permits for the erection, alteration, removal and demolition
of buildings or structures or parts thereof, or additions thereto,
and shall examine the premises for which such applications have been
received or such permits have been issued for the purpose of ensuring
compliance with laws, ordinances and regulations governing building
construction.
C.
The Building Inspector shall issue all appropriate
notices or orders to remove illegal or unsafe conditions, to require
the necessary safeguards during construction and to ensure compliance
during the entire course of construction with the requirements of
such laws, ordinances or regulations. The Building Inspector shall
make all inspections which are necessary or proper for the carrying
out of his/her duties, except that he/she may accept written reports
of inspection from other employees of the Building Department or from
generally recognized and authoritative service and inspection bureaus,
provided that the same are certified by a responsible official thereof.[1]
D.
Whenever the same may be necessary or appropriate
to assure compliance with the provisions of applicable laws, ordinances
or regulations covering building construction, the Building Inspector
may require the performance of tests in the field by experienced,
professional persons or by accredited and authoritative testing laboratories
or service bureaus or agencies.
The Town of Woodstock Town Board shall cause
the Building Inspector to conduct periodic inspections for compliance
with the provisions of the Code. Such inspections may be made upon
the conditions set forth below:
A.
Upon consent of either the owner or a person who has
a privacy interest to be protected within the structure sought to
be inspected.
B.
Upon the existence of urgent circumstances by reason
of an emergency situation existing.
C.
Upon the issuance of a search warrant based upon probable
cause established either through the condition of the building, condition
of the neighborhood, passage of time since last inspection or a regular
schedule of inspections, which search warrant shall be issued by a
judge of competent jurisdiction, including a Town Justice.[1]
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall commence the
erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, removal, improvement,
demolition, conversion, or change in the nature of the occupancy of
any building or structure, or cause the same to be done, without first
obtaining a separate building permit from the Building Inspector for
each such building or structure, except that no building permit shall
be required for the performance of ordinary repairs which are not
structural in nature.
B.
Contents.
(1)
Application for a building permit shall be made to
the Building Inspector on forms provided by him and shall contain
the following information:
(a)
A description of the land on which the proposed work
is to be done;
(b)
A statement of the use or occupancy of all parts of
the land and of the building or structure;
(c)
The valuation of the proposed work;
(d)
The full name and address of the owner and of the
applicant, and the names and addresses of their responsible officers
if any of them are corporations;
(e)
A brief description of the nature of the proposed
work;
(g)
Such other information as may reasonably be required
by the Building Inspector to establish compliance of the proposed
work with the requirements of the applicable building laws, ordinances
and regulations.
(2)
Applications shall be made by the owner or lessee,
or agent of either, or by the architect, engineer or builder employed
in connection with the proposed work. Where such application is made
by a person other than the owner, it shall be accompanied by an affidavit
of the owner or applicant that the proposed work is authorized by
the owner and that the applicant is authorized to make such application.
C.
Plans and specifications.
(1)
Each application for a building permit shall be accompanied
by duplicate copies of plans and specifications, including a plot
plan, drawn to scale, showing the location and size of all proposed
new construction and all existing structures on the site, the nature
and character of the work to be performed and the materials to be
incorporated, distance from lot lines, the relationship of structures
on adjoining property, widths and grades of adjoining streets, walks
and alleys, and, where required by the Building Inspector, details
of structural, mechanical and electrical work, including computations,
stress diagrams and other essential technical data.
(2)
Plans and specifications shall bear the signature
of the person responsible for the design and drawings. Where applicable,
the provisions of Education Law § 7307, as currently in
effect or hereafter amended, shall be complied with.
(3)
The Building Inspector may waive the requirement for
filing plans when the work to be done does not reasonably require
plans due to its simplicity and does not require an engineer's or
architect's drawings.
D.
Amendment to the application or to the plans and specifications
accompanying the same may be filed at any time prior to the completion
of the work subject to the approval of the Building Inspector.
[Added 1-21-2003 by L.L. No. 1-2003]
A.
The following uses established in the New York State Fire Code shall require an annual operating and safety inspection permit at a fee approved by the Town Board of the Town of Woodstock in accord with § 32-11:
B.
The following uses as defined in the New York State Fire Code shall require a permit and inspection at a fee approved by the Town Board pursuant to § 32-11:
(1)
Carnivals.
(2)
Exhibits and trade shows.
(4)
Lumberyards and woodworking plants (excess of 100,000
board feet).
(5)
Liquefied petroleum (LP) gas storage and use.
(6)
Miscellaneous combustible storage.
(7)
Places of assembly.
(8)
Pyrotechnic special effects material.
(9)
Repair garages and service stations.
(10)
Temporary membrane structures and tents.
A.
The Building Inspector shall examine or cause to be
examined all applications for permits and the plans, specifications
and documents filed therewith and shall approve or disapprove the
application within a reasonable time.
B.
Issuance of building permit. Upon approval of the
application and upon receipt of the proper fees therefor, the Building
Inspector shall issue a building permit to the applicant upon the
form prescribed by him/her and shall affix his/her signature or cause
his/her signature to be affixed thereto.
C.
Upon approval of the application, both sets of plans
and specifications shall be endorsed with the word "Approved." One
set of such approved plans and specifications shall be retained in
the files of the Building Inspector and the other set shall be kept
at the building site open to inspection by the Building Inspector
or his/her authorized representative at all reasonable times.
D.
If the application, together with the plans, specifications
and other documents filed therewith, proposes work which does not
conform to all of the requirements of the applicable building regulations,
the Building Inspector shall disapprove the same and shall return
the plans and specifications to the applicant. Upon the request of
the applicant, the Building Inspector shall cause such refusal, together
with the reasons therefor, to be transmitted to the applicant in writing.[1]
E.
The Building Inspector shall file or cause to be filed
with the Assessor a copy of each building permit issued.
A.
A building permit shall be effective to authorize
the commencing of work in accordance with the application, plans and
specifications on which it is based for a period of one year after
the date of issuance. For good cause, the Building Inspector may allow
a maximum of two extensions for periods not exceeding three months
each.
B.
The issuance of a building permit shall constitute
authority to the applicant to proceed with the work in accordance
with the approved plans and specifications and in accordance with
the applicable building laws, ordinances and regulations. All work
shall conform to the approved application, plans and specifications.
Upon the filing of an application for a demolition
permit, sign permit or a building permit, fees shall be payable as
established from time to time by the Town Board.
A.
The Building Inspector may revoke a building permit
theretofore issued and approved in the following instances:
(1)
Where the Inspector finds that there has been any
false statement or misrepresentation as to a material fact in the
application, plans or specifications on which the building permit
was based;
(2)
Where the Inspector finds that the building permit
was issued in error and should not have been issued in accordance
with the applicable law;
(3)
Where the Inspector finds that the work performed
under the permit is not being prosecuted in accordance with the provisions
of the application, plans and specifications; or
(4)
Where the person to whom a building permit has been
issued fails or refuses to comply with a stop order issued by the
Building Inspector.
B.
Prior to issuing any revocation hereunder, the Building
Inspector shall provide 20 days' advance notice of the intended action
and the reasons therefor by personal delivery of such notice or by
certified mail to the applicant at his/her last known address.
Wherever the Building Inspector has reasonable
grounds to believe that work on any building or structure is being
prosecuted in violation of the provisions of the applicable building
laws, ordinances or regulations, or not in conformity with the provisions
of an application, plans or specifications on the basis of which a
building permit was issued, or in an unsafe and dangerous manner,
he/she shall notify the owner of the property, or the owner's agent,
or the person performing the work, to suspend all work, and any such
person shall forthwith stop such work and suspend all building activities
until the stop order has been rescinded. Such order and notice shall
be in writing, shall state the conditions under which the work may
be resumed, and may be served upon a person to whom it is directed
either by delivering it personally to such person or by posting the
same upon a conspicuous portion of the building under construction
and sending a copy of the same by certified mail.
A.
No building hereafter erected shall be used or occupied
in whole or in part until a certificate of occupancy shall have been
issued by the Building Inspector.
B.
No building hereafter enlarged, extended or altered,
or upon which work has been performed which required the issuance
of a building permit, shall continue to be occupied or used for more
than 30 days after the completion of the alteration or work unless
a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the Building
Inspector.
C.
No change shall be made in the type of use of an existing
building unless a certificate of occupancy authorizing such change
shall have been issued by the Building Inspector.
D.
The owner or owner's agent shall make application
for a certificate of occupancy. Accompanying this application, and
before the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, there shall be
filed with the Building Inspector an affidavit of the registered architect
or licensed professional engineer who filed the original plans, or
of the registered architect or licensed professional engineer who
supervised the construction of the work, or of the superintendent
of construction who supervised the work and who, by reason of his/her
experience, is qualified to supervise the work for which the certificate
of occupancy is sought. This affidavit shall state that the deponent
has examined the approved plans of the structure for which a certificate
of occupancy is sought and that the structure has been erected in
accordance with the approved plans and as erected complies with the
law governing building construction except insofar as variations therefrom
have been legally authorized. Such variations shall be specified in
the affidavit.
A.
Before issuing a certificate of occupancy, the Building
Inspector shall examine, or cause to be examined, all buildings, structures
and sites for which an application has been filed for a building permit
to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, demolish or change the
use or occupancy and he/she may conduct such inspections as he/she
deems appropriate from time to time during and upon completion of
the work for which a building permit has been issued.
B.
There shall be maintained in the Building Inspector's
office a record of all such examinations and inspections, together
with a record of findings of violations of the law, ordinances and
regulations.
A.
When, after final inspection, it is found that the
proposed work has been completed in accordance with the applicable
building laws, ordinances and regulations and also in accordance with
the application, plans and specifications filed in connection with
the issuance of the building permit, the Building Inspector shall
issue a certificate of occupancy upon the form provided by him/her.
If it is found that the proposed work has not been properly completed,
the Building Inspector shall refuse to issue a certificate of occupancy
and shall order the work completed in conformity with the building
permit and in conformity with the applicable building regulations.
B.
A certificate of occupancy shall be issued, where
appropriate, within 30 days after application therefor is made. Failure
to act upon such application within 30 days shall constitute approval
of such application, and the building or portion thereof may thereafter
be occupied as though a certificate of occupancy had been issued.
C.
The certificate of occupancy shall certify that the
work has been completed and that the proposed use and occupancy are
in conformity with the provisions of the applicable building laws,
ordinances and regulations and shall specify the use or uses and the
extent thereof to which the building or structure or its several parts
may be put.
Upon request, the Building Inspector may issue
a temporary certificate of occupancy for a building or structure,
or part thereof, before the entire work covered by the building permit
shall have been completed, provided that such portion or portions
as have been completed may be occupied safely without endangering
life or the public welfare.
Whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe
that any material, construction, equipment or assembly does not conform
to the requirements of the applicable building laws, ordinances or
regulations, the Building Inspector may require the same to be subjected
to tests in order to furnish proof of such compliance.
A.
A person owning, operating, occupying or maintaining
property or premises within the scope of the code shall comply with
all the provisions of the code, this chapter, and all orders, notices,
rules, regulations or determinations issued in connection therewith.
B.
Whenever the CEO finds that there has been a violation
of the code, this chapter, or any rule or regulations adopted pursuant
to this chapter, a violation order shall be issued to the person or
persons responsible.
C.
Violation orders shall be in writing, shall identify
the property or premises, shall specify the violation and remedial
action to be taken, shall provide a reasonable time limit for compliance,
and shall state the time limit within which an appeal may be taken.
D.
Violation orders may be served by personal service,
or by mailing by certified mail, or by posting a copy thereof in a
conspicuous place on the premises, and by mailing a copy thereof to
the premises on the same day as posted, enclosed in a postpaid wrapper
addressed to the person responsible.
E.
In case the owner, lessor, occupant or the agent of
any of them shall fail, neglect or refuse to remove, eliminate or
abate the violation within the time specified in the violation order,
an appearance summons to appear at a local court may be issued.
A.
Any persons who shall fail to comply with a written
order of the Building Inspector within the time for compliance therewith,
and any owner, builder, tenant, architect, contractor, subcontractor,
construction superintendent or their agents or any other persons taking
part or assisting in the construction or use of any building who shall
knowingly violate any of the applicable provisions of this chapter
or the State Uniform Code or any lawful order, notice, directive,
permit, or certificate of the Building Inspector made thereunder,
shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment
for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Each day that violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.[1]
B.
Except as provided otherwise, such a violation shall
not be a crime, and the penalty or punishment imposed therefor shall
not be deemed for any purpose a penal or criminal penalty or punishment
and shall not impose any disability upon or affect or impair the credibility
as a witness, or otherwise, of any person convicted thereof.
A.
Except when necessary to avoid conflict with other
traffic or in compliance with directives of a police officer, Fire
Department official or official traffic control device, no person
shall park, abandon or leave unattended any vehicle in a fire lane
or access road or in such a manner that it could obstruct access to
buildings, structures and property by fire-fighting and emergency
service personnel, apparatus and equipment in violation of § 503
of the State Fire Code.[1]
B.
In addition to the penalties prescribed in § 32-20 hereof and the provisions for the issuance of violation orders in 32-19 hereof, whenever any police officer finds a vehicle or vehicles parked, abandoned or left unattended in violation of Subsection A hereof, such police officer is hereby authorized to:[2]
(1)
Issue a notice of violation pursuant to Article 2-B
of the Vehicle and Traffic Law of New York.
(2)
Move such vehicle or vehicles or require the driver
or other person in charge of the vehicle to move the same.
(3)
Provide for the removal of such vehicle or vehicles
to a garage, automobile pound or other place of safety.
C.
Whenever the CEO, or his/her delegate, finds a vehicle or vehicles parked, abandoned or left unattended in violation of Subsection A hereof during the course of a fire, he/she shall be authorized to exercise those powers as described in Subsection B(2) and (3) hereof, and the owner or other person entitled to the possession of such vehicle or vehicles shall be charged a reasonable cost for removal and storage, payable before the vehicle is released.[3]
