[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of
the City of Hornell as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-21-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997]
The purpose of this article is to promote and
preserve the health, safety and welfare of the public and residents
and/or owners of property located within this City by providing a
method for the removal or repair of buildings that, from any cause,
may now be or shall hereafter become dangerous or unsafe to the public
and residents and/or owners of property within the City. Unsafe buildings
serve as an attractive nuisance for young children who may be injured
therein; may be a point of congregation by vagrants and transients;
may attract rodents or insects; and may also attract illegal drug
activity. The powers conferred upon the City by this article shall
be in addition to all other powers conferred upon the City in relation
to the same subject by state law.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any building, structure or portion thereof used by residential,
business or industry.
The Building Inspector of the City or such other person appointed
by the Common Council to enforce the provisions of this article.
Includes all buildings which have any or all of the following
defects:
Those whose interior walls or exterior bearing
walls or other vertical structural members list, lean or buckle to
such an extent as to weaken the structural support they provide.
Those which, exclusive of the foundation, show
33% or more of damage to or deterioration of the supporting members
or members or 50% of damage to or deterioration of the nonsupporting
enclosing or outside walls or covering.
Those which have improperly distributed loads
upon the floors or roofs in which the same are overloaded or which
have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used
Those which have been damaged by fire, wind
or other causes so as to have become dangerous to life, safety or
the general health and welfare of the occupants or the people of this
City.
Those which have become or are so dilapidated,
decayed, unsafe or 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 to those living
therein or adjacent thereto.
Those having light, air and sanitation facilities
which are inadequate to protect the health, safety or general welfare
of human beings who live therein with particular reference to the
requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building
Code as a determinant.
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, again referencing the
New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code as a determinant.
Those which have parts thereof which are so
attached that they fall and injure members of the public or property.
Those which consist of debris, rubble or parts
of buildings left on the ground after demolition, reconstruction fire
or other casualty.
Those which, because of their condition, are
unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to the health, safety or general welfare
of the people of this City.
No person, firm, corporation or association
owning, possessing or controlling a building in this City shall permit,
suffer or allow said building now or hereafter to be or become unsafe
to the public and/or residents from any cause whatsoever.
The Building Inspector shall make inspections
of all unsafe buildings within the City and report to the Board of
Public Safety all unsafe buildings which from time to time may be
found within the limits of the City.
A.
The Board of Public Safety shall consider the report
of the Building Inspector and, if in its opinion the report so warrants,
shall determine that the building is unsafe and order its demolition
or repair, if the same can be safety repaired, and further order that
a notice shall be given to the owner as follows.
B.
The notice shall contain the following:
(1)
A description of the premises.
(2)
A statement of the particulars in which the building
is unsafe.
(3)
An order requiring the building to be repaired or
demolished.
(4)
That the repairing or demolition of the building shall
commence within 30 days of the serving of the notice, as hereinafter
provided, and shall be completed within 60 days thereafter.
(5)
A date, time and place for a hearing before the Board
of Public Safety in relation to such unsafe building, which hearing
shall be scheduled not less than five business days from the day of
service of the notice.
(6)
A statement that in the event of neglect or refusal
to comply with the order to repair or demolish the building, the Board
of Public Safety is authorized to provide for its repair or demolition,
to assess all expenses thereof against the land on which it is located
and to institute a special proceeding to collect the costs of demolition,
including legal expenses.
A.
Said notice shall be served in the following manner:
(1)
By personal service of a copy thereof upon the owner
or some one of the owners, executors, legal representative, 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 City or of the County Clerk, such service to be complete,
and the thirty-day time period recited in said notice to commence
upon service; or
(2)
By mailing a copy of said notice to such owner as
aforesaid, by registered mail, return receipt requested, addressed
to the last known address of the owner and by affixing a copy of said
notice to the premises, such service to be complete, and the thirty-day
time period recited in said notice to commence 10 days after the filing
of the return receipt.
B.
A copy of the notice shall also be filed in the office
of the County Clerk of the county within which such building is located,
which notice shall be filed by such Clerk in the same manner as a
notice of pendency pursuant to Article 65 of the Civil Practice Law
and Rules and shall have the same effect as a notice of pendency as
therein provided, except as otherwise hereinafter provided. A notice
so filed shall be effective for a period of one year from the date
of filing; provided, however, that it may be vacated upon the order
of a judge or upon the consent of the City Attorney.
A.
The hearing shall be conducted before the Board of
Public Safety. The Building Inspector shall present his or her report
to the Board of Public Safety in writing. The owner or his or her
representative, if present, shall call such witnesses as he or she
deems necessary. The Board of Public Safety shall make written findings
of fact from the testimony offered as to whether or not the building
in question is an unsafe building.
B.
If such owner shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply
and shall fail to appear at said hearing, then the Board of Public
Safety shall direct the repair or demolition of the building forthwith.
C.
If such owner shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply
and after appearing at said hearing the Board of Public Safety finds
the building is a public nuisance and directs its repair or demolition,
the owner shall repair or demolish said building within the time prescribed
by the Board of Public Safety.
D.
If the owner fails or neglects to repair or demolish
said building as directed by the Board of Public Safety following
the hearing, then the Board of Public Safety shall direct the repair
or demolition of same forthwith.
In the event of neglect or refusal of the persons
so notified to comply with said order of the Board of Public Safety,
the Board of Public Safety shall provide for the demolition and removal
of such building by City employees or by contract. Except in an emergency,
any contract in excess of $20,000 shall be awarded by competitive
bidding.
A.
In case there shall be, in the opinion of the Building
Inspector, actual and immediate danger of the falling of a building
so as to endanger public safety, life or property or actual or immediate
menace to health or public welfare as a result of the conditions present
in or about a building, he or she shall cause the necessary work to
be done to render such a building temporarily safe, whether the procedure
prescribed in this article for unsafe buildings has been instituted
or not.
B.
When emergency work is to be performed under this
section, the Building Inspector shall cause the owner thereof to be
served personally or by registered mail, return receipt requested,
and, if served by registered mail, shall post on the premises a notice
to comply containing a description of the premises, a statement of
the facts in which the building is unsafe or dangerous and orders
and directions to correct the conditions which constitute an emergency
within a specified period not to exceed three days from actual or
constructive receipt of the notice.
C.
In the event that the emergency does not permit any
delay in correction, the notice shall state that the City has corrected
the emergency condition.
D.
In both cases, the notice shall state that the corrective
costs of the emergency will be assessed against the owner pursuant
to the provisions of this article.
In addition to the remedies provided by this
article, the Board of Public Safety may request the City Attorney
to make an application to the Supreme Court for an order determining
the building to be a public nuisance and directing that it shall be
repaired and secured or demolished.
A.
All costs and expenses incurred by the City in connection
with the administratively and/or judicially substantiated proceedings
to remove or secure, including the cost of actually removing said
building, shall be assessed against the land on which said building
is located.
B.
The City may commence a special proceeding pursuant
to § 78-b of the General Municipal Law to collect the cost
of demolition, including reasonable and necessary legal expenses.
[Adopted 5-15-2021]
A.
If the
property is in imminent danger as defined in the law,[1] a sticker shall be placed upon the building giving the
owner or other occupant of the building notice of the authority having
jurisdiction to place the "do not occupy" notice on the building.
The notice shall further include the reasons that "do not occupy"
was placed on the building. It shall further include notice of the
right of the owner or occupant of the building to be heard in front
of the City of Hornell Board of Public Safety.
[1]
Editor's Note: See the Uniform Code.
B.
The notice
shall further contain a time within which the owner/occupant may request
a hearing and the manner which the owner or occupant must make that
request. Said request for a hearing may be made either orally, by
email, or by writing to the City of Hornell Codes Office, and said
hearing must be requested within 10 days of placing the "do not occupy"
sticker upon the building.
C.
If the
building is not in imminent danger but the City feels the property
should not be occupied due to various code violations prior to placing
the "do not occupy" notice on the building, it is the City of Hornell
Codes Office's intention to put a "do not occupy" notice on the building.
Said notice shall have the reasons for the Codes Office doing so,
including citations to the specific code sections that are in violation.
Said notice shall also inform the owner/occupant of their right to
a hearing in front of the City of Hornell Board of Public Safety in
order to provide reasons why the owner/occupant believes the Code
Enforcement officials' proposed action should not be taken and furthermore,
the notice shall be given to the City of Hornell Codes Office either
in writing, by email or by telephone within 10 days of the potential
notice that a "do not occupy" sticker has been placed upon a structure.
