[Amended 1-4-1996 by L.L. No. 1-1996]
There is hereby created by the Board of Trustees an office of the Village
to be known as the "Office of Code Enforcement." Said office shall have the
responsibility of administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter,
the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and those other
local, state and federal laws regulating property and persons which designate
said Office of Code Enforcement as their official administration and enforcement
agency (hereafter referred to as the "applicable codes and ordinances").
The Code Enforcement Officer or other designated employee, official
or representative of the Office of Code Enforcement shall not engage in any
activity inconsistent with the duties or with the interests of the Office
of Code Enforcement, nor shall be or she, during the term of his or her employment,
be engaged directly or indirectly in any building business, in the furnishing
of labor, materials, supplies or appliances for or the supervision of the
construction, alteration, demolition or maintenance of a building or the preparation
of plans or specifications thereof within the Village of Elmira Heights, New
York, except that this provision shall not prohibit any employee from engaging
in any such activities in connection with the construction of a building or
a structure owned by him or her for his or her own personal use and occupancy
or for the use and occupancy of members of his or her immediate family and
not constructed for sale.
An official record shall be kept of all business and activities of the
Office of Code Enforcement, and all such records shall be open to the public
for inspection at all appropriate times, except that no individual, owner,
operator, occupant or other person shall be subject to unwarranted invasion
of privacy and except that all evidence or information obtained in the course
of any inspection shall be considered privileged information and shall be
kept confidential. Such evidence or information shall not be disclosed except
as may be necessary in the judgment of the Code Enforcement Officer for the
proper and effective administration and enforcement of the provisions of this
chapter and shall not otherwise be made public without the consent of the
owner, occupant, operator or other person in charge of the unit, structure
or premises inspected.
[Amended 1-4-1996 by L.L. No. 1-1996]
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall hear and decide all local code appeals and requests for variances as provided in Chapter
220, Zoning, and Village Law.
[Amended 1-4-1996 by L.L. No. 1-1996]
Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer determines that there are reasonable
grounds to believe that there has been a violation of any provision of this
chapter or of the other applicable codes and ordinances or of any rules and
regulations adopted pursuant thereto, he or she shall proceed as follows:
A. Serve notice, in writing, of the alleged violation, which
shall be signed by the Code Enforcement Officer or his or her authorized representative.
Said notice shall be served personally on the owner or someone of the owner's
executor, legal representative, agents, lessees or other persons having a
vested or contingent interest in the premises or served by certified mail
with a return receipt requested to the last known address as shown by the
record of the receiver of taxes of the person on which personal service could
be made. A copy of such notice served by certified mail shall be posted on
the affected premises.
[Amended 11-3-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]
B. Said notice shall identify the premises affected and
shall include a statement of the reasons why the notice is being issued, the
sections of the code and/or ordinances which have been violated and the remedial
actions required.
C. Time period.
(1) Said notice shall allow time, not to exceed 60 days,
for the initiation and correction of the violation alleged or of the remedial
actions required, except that a shorter time may be required if the nature
of the violation or condition so warrants, and the reason therefor shall be
stated in the notice if the time given is substantially less than 60 days.
(2) If the notice concerns an unsafe building or structure,
then additional information shall be included.
(3) If the notice concerns other than an unsafe building
or structure, such notice shall further state that if the violation is not
corrected within the time specified, the Code Enforcement Officer may cause
the condition to be corrected at the expense of the Village.
D. Said notice shall contain a statement indicating that
the notice will become an order if no request and approval for an extension
of time is made to the Code Enforcement Officer or if no petition for an appeal
or hearing is requested before the Code Hearing Board within 15 days from the receipt of said notice.
E. The Code Enforcement Officer may grant a request for
a reasonable extension of time where he or she has evidence to believe that
the responsible person is attempting to remove the alleged violation. However,
no such extension of time may exceed a period of 90 days unless authorized
by the Code Hearing Board upon appeal of the responsible owner, operator,
occupant or other person in charge.
If state statutes provided for the enforcement of a state code that
is an applicable code in this chapter, the enforcement provisions of this
chapter shall be alternate provisions as to such a state code unless prohibited
by law.
[Added 6-6-2006 by L.L. No. 4-2006]
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Elmira Heights hereby acknowledges
and accepts the applicability of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention
and Building Code of 1984, as revised, in accordance with the provisions of
§ 381 of the Executive Law of the State of New York and the regulations
promulgated pursuant thereto.