Section
1468.01 Declaration of necessity
1468.02 Dangerous buildings defined
1468.03 Standards for repair, vacation or demolition
1468.04 Duties of Building Inspector
1468.05 Demolition Board of Appeal
1468.06 Notice
1468.07 Administrative liability
1468.08 Remedies not limited
1468.09 County land reutilization corporation
1468.99 Penalty
It is hereby found and determined that there exist within the city blighted, deteriorating and dangerous buildings that constitute a serious and growing menace to public health, safety and welfare and that the existence of such buildings:
(a) Contributes substantially and increasingly to the spread of blight, disease and crime, and to losses by fire and accident, necessitating excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for the preservation of the public health and safety, for crime prevention, correction, prosecution and punishment, for the treatment of juvenile delinquency, for the maintenance of adequate police, fire and accident protection, and for the public services and facilities;
(b) Constitutes an economic and social liability; and
(c) Substantially impairs and denigrates the sound growth of the community and housing accommodations in the city.
(Ord. 32-2013, passed 3-25-2013)
All buildings or structures which have any or all of the following defects shall be deemed DANGEROUS BUILDINGS:
(a) Those whose interior walls or other vertical structural members, list, lean or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line passing through the center of gravity falls outside of the middle third of its base;
(b) Those which, exclusive of the foundation, show 33% or more of damage or deterioration of the supporting member or members, or 50% of damage or deterioration of the non-supporting enclosing or outside walls or covering;
(c) Those which have improperly distributed loads upon the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded, or which have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used;
(d) Those which have been damaged by fire, wind or other causes so as to have become dangerous;
(e) Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary or which so utterly fail to provide the amenities essential to decent living that they are likely to cause sickness or disease;
(f) Those having light, air and sanitation facilities which are inadequate to protect the health, morals, safety or general welfare of human beings who lived or may live therein;
(g) Those having inadequate facilities for egress in case of fire or other emergency;
(h) Those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall and injure members of the public or property; and
(i) Those which, because of their condition are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to people of the city.
(Ord. 32-2013, passed 3-25-2013; Ord. 80-2017, passed 5-22-2017)
The following standards shall be followed in ordering repair, vacation or demolition:
(a) If the dangerous building can reasonably be repaired so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this chapter, it shall be ordered repaired;
(b) If the dangerous building is in such condition as to make it dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the occupants, it shall be ordered vacated;
(c) In any case where a dangerous building cannot be repaired so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this chapter, it shall be demolished; and
(d) If the dangerous building was ordered to be repaired, but it is not repaired within the time permitted by this chapter, it shall be demolished.
(Ord. 32-2013, passed 3-25-2013)
The Building Inspector shall:
(a) Inspect any building, wall or structure about which complaints are filed by any person, to determine whether a building, wall or structure is or may be existing in violation of this chapter;
(b) Inspect any building, wall or structure reported (as herein provided for) by the Fire or Police Departments of the city as potentially existing in violation of the terms of this chapter;
(c) Notify the owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee, agent and all other persons having an interest in such building pursuant to § 1468.06 (such notice being hereinafter referred to as the “action notice”), as shown by the land records of the Recorder of Lorain County or tax records of the Auditor of Lorain County, of any building found by him or her to be a dangerous building within the standards set forth in § 1468.02 that:
(1) The owner must vacate, repair or demolish such building in accordance with the terms of the notice and this chapter;
(2) The occupant or lessee must vacate such building or have it repaired in accordance with the notice and remain in possession; and
(3) The mortgagee, agent or other person having an interest in such building as shown by the land records of the Recorder of Lorain County or the tax records of the Auditor of Lorain County may at his or her own risk repair, vacate or demolish such building or have such work or act done.
Any person notified under this division (c) to repair, vacate or demolish any building shall be given 30 days from the date the action notice is given to do or have done, the work or act required by the action notice.
(d) Set forth in the action notice a description of the building or structure deemed unsafe, a statement of the particulars which make the building or structure a dangerous building, and an order requiring the same to be put in such condition as to comply with the terms of this chapter within 30 days from the date of notice and pursuant to § 1468.06; and
(e) Place a notice on all dangerous buildings stating the following: “This building has been found to be a dangerous building by the Avon Lake Building Inspector. This notice is to remain on this building until it is repaired, vacated or demolished in accordance with the notice which has been given the owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee or agent of this building, and all other persons having an interest in such building as shown by the land records of the Recorder of Lorain County or tax records of the Auditor of Lorain County. It is unlawful to remove this notice until such notice is complied with.”
The inspections required by this section may include destructive and non-destructive testing, provided that destructive testing shall be used only to the extent reasonably necessary.
(Ord. 32-2013, passed 3-25-2013)
(a) There is hereby established a Demolition Board of Appeal (the “Board”) which shall be comprised of the Municipal Engineer, the Chief of the Fire Department and the Code Administrator. The Municipal Engineer shall be the Chairperson of the Board. In the event any such officer is unable to attend, a designee from his or her department may act on his or her behalf. Two members shall constitute a quorum of the Board and all actions taken by the Board must be by a majority of the members.
(b) The owners or parties in interest may make immediate application in writing or in person to the Building Inspector for a building permit to undertake the repair or replacement of the dangerous building or structure. The Building Inspector, upon being furnished by the owners or parties in interest with the complete plans and specifications covering the repairs or replacements, in conformity with the ordinances of the city, shall, upon approval of the plans and specifications, cause a building permit to be issued to the owners or parties in interest. The Building Inspector may grant more than 30 days to the owners or parties in interest in which to safely secure and make generally safe the building or structure so that plans for repairs and/or replacements may be created and submitted to the Building Inspector to secure a permit and proceed with work as approved to correct the building code violations.
(c) The owners or parties in interest may, within 14 days after the action notice is given pursuant to § 1468.04(c), appeal such action notice by making a demand in writing to the Municipal Engineer for a hearing before the Board on the questions of whether in fact a dangerous building exists as defined by § 1468.02, and/or whether more time than permitted in the action notice should be granted to the owners or parties in interest to abate the dangerous building.
(d) A hearing requested pursuant to division (c) of this section shall be held within 14 days from the receipt of the written demand, and at least five days’ notice of the hearing shall be given to the owners or parties in interest. The obligation to take the actions required by the action notice shall be delayed until the Board renders its decision or until the appeal is dismissed. The hearing shall be conducted by the Board as set forth herein. If the decision of the Building Inspector is appealed, the Board must determine that a dangerous building exists, as defined by § 1468.02, before enforcement of the abatement is executed. The Board may affirm, amend or modify the action notice or extend the time for compliance by the owners or parties in interest with parts of the abatement by such date or dates as the Board may determine.
(e) In a hearing shall permit the owners or parties in interest to appear and be heard in person, or an attorney, and present the position, arguments and contentions of the owners or parties in interest; offer and examine witnesses and present evidence in support; cross-examine witnesses purporting to refute the position of the owners or parties in interest, arguments and contentions; offer evidence to refute evidence and testimony offered in opposition to the position, arguments and contentions of the owners or parties in interest; and proffer any such evidence into the record. All testimony during the hearing shall be given under oath or affirmation, which may be administered by any member of the Board.
(f) The Board may subpoena witnesses and require the production of records in accordance with Chapter 268 of this code of ordinances.
(g) The Board shall make written findings of fact from the testimony offered as to whether or not the building in question is a dangerous building within the terms of § 1468.02. The owners or parties in interest shall be promptly notified of the decision of the Board in the manner provided for in § 1468.06. The decision of the Board shall be final and conclusive, unless the owners or parties in interest shall timely file, after notice of the aforesaid decision is effectuated, an action in or appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2506; otherwise the same shall become final and conclusive at the termination of such action or appeal proceeding as determined by such court.
(h) The Board shall issue an order based upon findings of fact made pursuant to division (e) of this section. If the Board finds that the building in question is a dangerous building within the provisions of § 1468.02, then such order shall require the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee, agent and all other persons having an interest in such building as shown by the land records of the Recorder of Lorain County or the tax records of the Auditor of Lorain County, to repair, vacate or demolish such building.
(i) If an appeal to the Board was not made and the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessor or lessee or other interested party fails to comply with the action notice within 30 days (or such longer period of time as may have been granted therein) from the date the action notice was given, or the appeal dismissed, or if a hearing before the Board was held and the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessor or lessee fails to comply with the order of the Board within the time specified therein, then the Building Inspector shall cause such
building or structure to be repaired, vacated or demolished as such circumstances may warrant, under the standards provided for in § 1468.02, and shall, with the assistance of the Law Director, cause the costs of such repair, vacation or demolition to be charged against the land on which the building existed as a municipal lien, or cause such costs to be added to the tax duplicate as an assessment or to be levied as a special tax against the land upon which the building stands or did stand, or to be recovered in a suit at law against the owner. In cases where such procedure is desirable and any delay thereby caused will not be dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people of the city, the Building Inspector may request the Law Director to take legal action to force the owner to make all necessary repairs or demolish the building.
(Ord. 32-2013, passed 3-25-2013; Ord. 68-2015, passed 6-8-2015)
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