It is hereby directed and found that unsafe buildings or collapsed structures
within the Village constitute a hazard to life and property and consequently
should be subject to supervision and administrative control for the purpose
of safeguarding the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the
Village.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
UNSAFE BUILDING OR STRUCTURE
A building or structure in a collapsed or dilapidated condition involving
substantial structural weakness or involving substantial violations of applicable
Building and Fire Codes so as to constitute a hazard to persons or property
in the Village.
No person shall maintain or suffer to be maintained within the limits
of the Village of Piermont any unsafe building or collapsed structure.
The Building Inspector of the Village of Piermont shall make inspections
of all unsafe buildings and collapsed structures within the Village of Piermont.
The Building Inspector shall report to the Board of Trustees all unsafe buildings
and collapsed structures which from time to time may be found within the limits
of the Village of Piermont. When it shall be reported to the Board that a
building is in an unsafe or dangerous condition or that it is a collapsed
structure, the Board shall request the Building Inspector to inspect the same
and to report the findings to the Board of Trustees with all convenient speed.
When the Building Inspector has reported to the Board of Trustees of
the Village of Piermont that any unsafe building or collapsed structure is
located within the Village of Piermont and has reported the condition of such
building to the Board, the Board shall cause a notice to be served upon the
owner of the same, or upon some one of the owner's executors, legal representatives,
agents, lessees or any other person having a vested or contingent interest
in the building, either personally or by certified mail addressed to the last
known address, if any, of the owner, or some one of the owner's executors,
legal representatives, agents, lessees or other persons having a vested or
contingent interest in the same, as shown by the records of the Village Clerk-Treasurer
or the office of the County Clerk of the County of Rockland. Such notice shall
contain a description of the premises, a statement of the particulars in which
the building or structure is unsafe or dangerous and an order requesting the
same to be made safe and secure or removed. In the event that service of such
notice is made by certified mail, a copy of such notice shall be posted on
the premises involved. Said notice shall also provide for the time within
which the person served with said notice shall commence and complete the securing
or removal of the building or structure. In the event of the neglect or refusal
of the person so served with said notice to comply with same within the allotted
time, the Village of Piermont shall have the right to make an application
to any court of competent jurisdiction 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 by the Village.
Every person served with any such notice as aforesaid shall commence
the securing or removal of the building or structure involved and shall obtain
the necessary permit therefor from the Building Inspector of the Village of
Piermont.
All costs and expenses incurred by the Village in connection with any
and all of the above proceedings to remove or secure, including the cost of
actually removing the said building or structure or securing the same, shall
be assessed against the land on which the building or structure is located.
If such owner or person served by mail, as hereinabove provided, shall
fail to pay the costs and expenses incurred by the Village within 10 days
after being notified of the costs thereof by certified mail, the Village Clerk
shall file with the assessing authority of the Village immediately preceding
the time for making the annual assessment roll, a certificate of such actual
cost and expense with a statement as to the property upon which such cost
and expense were incurred and the buildings or other obstructions removed,
as the case may be. The Assessor, in the preparation of the next assessment
roll of the general Village taxes, shall assess such amount upon such property,
and the same shall be levied, collected and enforced in the same manner, by
the same proceedings, at the same time, under the same penalties and having
the same lien upon the property assessed as the general Village tax and as
a part thereof.