[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Baxter Estates 11-2-1993 by L.L. No. 2-1993; amended in its entirety 9-19-2005 by L.L. No. 1-2005. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Property maintenance — See Ch. 144.
[Amended 3-7-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
The Board of Trustees, upon notification that a building or structure or property, from any cause, may now be or shall become dangerous or unsafe to the public, shall direct the Superintendent of Buildings, or such other official of the Village of Baxter Estates as may be designated by the Board of Trustees, to inspect such property, building or structure and report his findings concerning the same to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Baxter Estates.
If, upon reviewing the report prepared in accordance with § 80-1, the Board of Trustees shall find that the building or structure or property, from any cause, may be or shall become dangerous or unsafe to the public, it may make an order directing notice to be served on the owner or some one of the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents or lessees or any other person having a vested or contingent interest in such property or in the premises where such building or structure is located, as shown by the records of the Village Assessor or the Receiver of Taxes and/or in the office of the County Clerk or County Register.
[Amended 3-7-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
A. 
In any case where, in the opinion of the Superintendent of Buildings, there is a clear and imminent danger to life or property due to an unsafe or hazardous condition in or on a building, structure or property in the Village, he shall immediately take such action as is necessary to safeguard such life and property.
B. 
In the performance of this duty, the Superintendent of Buildings may:
(1) 
Cause temporary repairs to be made, safeguards to be installed and barriers to be erected.
(2) 
Order some or all of the occupants of the building, structure, or property where such unsafe or hazardous condition is found to exist to vacate the same forthwith.
(3) 
Prohibit further occupancy of such building, structure or property until the condition thereof is rendered safe for such occupancy.
(4) 
Temporarily close and cause to be vacated sidewalks, streets, buildings, structures and properties which adjoin the building, structure or property where the hazardous or unsafe condition is found to exist.
(5) 
Employ, on behalf of the Village, such labor, equipment and material as may be necessary to achieve the foregoing.
[Amended 3-7-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
Notice of the unsafe or hazardous conditions and any action proposed or taken with respect thereto shall, at the earliest opportunity, be given by the Superintendent of Buildings or such other official of the Village as may be designated by the Board of Trustees to the last owner of record of the real property involved at the address given for such owner on the last deed of record in the Nassau County Clerk's office, to be served either personally or by registered mail, return receipt requested, provided that if service is made by registered mail, a copy of the notice shall be posted on the property or upon the premises where the building or structure is located.
Such notice shall contain a description of the premises, a statement of the particulars in which the building or structure or property is unsafe or dangerous and an order requiring the same to be made safe and secure or removed. The notice shall specify a reasonable time after the service thereof, within which the person served with such notice may commence the securing or removal of the buildings or structures or property, as specified in said notice. The notice shall state that in the event that the building or other structure or property shall be reported unsafe or dangerous under a survey to be made, as hereinafter provided, an application will be made, at a special term of the Supreme Court in the judicial district in which the property is located, for an order determining the building or structure or condition at the property, as applicable, to be a public nuisance and directing that it be repaired and secured or taken down and removed or otherwise rendered safe.
In the event of the neglect or refusal of the person served with the notice to comply with the same, the Board of Trustees shall cause a survey and report to be made by an official of the Village and a practical builder, engineer or architect to be named by the Board of Trustees.
In the event the building or other structure shall be reported unsafe or dangerous under such survey, an application shall be made at a special term of the Supreme Court in the judicial district in which the property is located, not less than five nor more than 10 days thereafter, 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.
[Amended 3-7-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
Any and all costs and expenses incurred by the Village in connection with the proceedings set forth in this chapter, including, without limitation, legal and engineering fees, costs and expenses, and the cost of removing or remediating the building, structure or other condition, shall be assessed against the real property where the unsafe or hazardous condition is found to exist. The amount of such costs and expenses shall be audited and the assessment determined by the Board of Trustees, after providing the owner of the affected premises with an opportunity to be heard, as described below. The assessment shall be reported to the Village Treasurer as an amount to be levied and assessed against the real property. Said assessment shall be a lien and charge upon said real property on the date fixed by the Board of Trustees; and, if not paid within 30 days after the same is billed by the Treasurer, it shall be collected in the manner provided by law for the collection of delinquent taxes. Ten days' written notice of the date, time and place of the meeting at which the Board of Trustees shall make such audit and determination shall be sent to the last owner of record in the same manner as above provided for the Superintendent of Buildings's notice. At said meeting, the owner shall be given an opportunity to be heard on the necessity for and amount of the proposed assessment before the same is finally determined.