(a) Defects Deemed Dangerous. All buildings, dwellings and other structures or parts thereof which have any of the following defects shall be deemed dangerous and shall be condemned as unfit for human habitation or injurious to the public safety:
(1) Those whose interior or exterior bearing walls or other vertical structural members list, lean or buckle to such an extent as to unsafely weaken the structural support they provide;
(2) Those which, excluding the foundation, show thirty-three percent (33%) or more of damage or deterioration of the supporting member or members, or fifty percent (50%) or more of damage or deterioration of the nonsupporting enclosing or outside walls or covering;
(3) Those which have unsafely distributed loads on the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded, or which have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used;
(4) Those which have been damaged by fire, wind or other causes so as no longer to provide shelter from the elements and which have become dangerous to life, safety, morals or the general health and welfare of the occupants or the people of the City;
(5) Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary, vermin-infested or obsolete that they are likely to cause sickness, or disease, or injury to the health, morals, safety, or general welfare of those living therein or of the people at large;
(6) Those which lack light, air and sanitation facilities as required by the Housing Code to protect the health, morals, safety or general welfare of persons living therein;
(7) Those which lack the facilities required by the Housing Code for egress in case of fire or panic, or those which have insufficient stairways, elevators, fire escapes, or other means of communication required herein; or
(8) Those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall and injure occupants or the public or other property.
(b) Declaration of Nuisance and Remedial Orders. All dangerous buildings, dwellings and other structures or parts thereof within the terms of the Housing Code are declared to be public nuisances and shall be vacated and repaired or demolished.
(1980 Code 150.76)
(c) Vacation or Demolition Orders. In any case where a dangerous building, dwelling or other structure is fifty percent (50%) or more damaged or decayed, or deteriorated from its original structure, or where it would be unreasonable to repair the structure in order to comply with the Housing Code it shall be ordered demolished in accordance with Section 1361.08
through 1361.19
. If the structure is occupied, the structure shall be ordered vacated in accordance with Section 1361.08
through 1361.19
.
(d) Unreasonable Repairs. Whenever the Housing Inspector determines that the cost of repairs would exceed 100 percent (100%) of the current County Auditor's true value of the dangerous building, dwelling or other structure, such repairs shall be presumed unreasonable and it shall be presumed for the purpose of this section that such dangerous building, dwelling or other structure is a public nuisance which may be ordered demolished.
(e) If a dangerous structure is ordered secured and repaired and where there has been a cessation of normal construction for a period of more than two years, the dangerous structure shall be demolished.
(Ord. 1991-205. Passed 8-12-91.)
(f) A fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) shall be charged each time the Housing Department condemns a structure and said fee will be assessed with each subsequent notice. Once the Housing Department condemns a structure, the owner/agent is responsible for repairing or razing said structure in the time allotted on the notice issued.
(g) A fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) shall be charged with each notice the Housing Department issues to a property owner/agent informing them of the need to secure their occupied, vacant and/or abandoned property.
(Ord. 2006-123. Passed 8-21-06.)
CITY OF ASHTABULA