CHAPTER 1381
Property Maintenance Code
1381.01   Introduction.
1381.02   Definitions.
1381.03   Maintenance standards.
1381.04   Violations.
1381.05   Board of Appeals.
 
 
1381.01 INTRODUCTION.
   (a)   Title. This chapter may be referred to as the “Property Maintenance Code”, and is herein referred to as “this Code”.
   (b)   Purpose. The purpose of this Code is to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and property values, by establishing minimum standards for maintenance, appearance, condition, and occupancy, and for essential utilities, facilities, and other physical components and conditions to make residential premises fit for human habitation, and to make nonresidential premises fit for use according to the purpose for which they were developed; by fixing certain responsibilities and duties upon the occupants; by authorizing and establishing procedures for inspection of premises, and enforcement of this Code; establishing penalties for violations; and providing for proper repair, demolition, or vacation of premises which do not comply with this Code.
   (c)   Interpretation.  
      (1)   The provisions of this Code shall be interpreted and applied as minimum requirements, and shall not be deemed a limitation or repeal of any other power granted by the Ohio Revised Code.
      (2)   Nothing in this Code shall be construed to abrogate the Federal or State Constitutions, nor to grant powers to the Village that are otherwise reserved by and for Federal and State government.
   (d)   Abrogation and Greater Restrictions. It is not the intent of this Code to repeal, abrogate, annul, impair, or interfere with any existing easements, covenants, deed restrictions agreements, ordinances, rules, regulations, or permits previously adopted or issued pursuant to law. Where two or more provisions apply the higher standard shall prevail.
   (e)   Severability. If a section, provision, or part of this Code is adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of this Code as a whole or any section, provision, or part hereof not adjudged invalid or unconstitutional.
(Ord. 3222. Passed 6-27-05.)
1381.02 DEFINITIONS.
   Words used in this Code shall have the following meaning:
   (a)   Abandoned Building. Any building or portion of a building under construction which has stood with an incomplete exterior shell for more than one year, or any completed building or portion thereof which has stood unoccupied for longer than six (6) months, and which is unsecured or has Housing Code or Building Code violations.
   (b)   Board of Appeals. The Board established and appointed by the Village to hear appeals from the Barnesville Building Code, referred to herein as "the Board".
   (c)   Deterioration. A state of conditions caused by a lack of maintenance or excessive use, characterized by holes, breaks, rot, crumbling, rusting, or other evidence of physical decay or neglect.
   (d)   Enforcement officer. Fire Chief, Chief of Police, or Village Administrator.
   (e)    Exposed to Public View. Any premises or any part thereof which may be lawfully viewed by the public or from adjoining premises.
   (f)   Exterior. Yards and other open outdoor spaces on premises, and the external surfaces of any structure.
   (g)   Extermination. The control and elimination of insects, rodents, and vermin.
   (h)   Farm. A tract of land having an area of ten or more acres devoted to raising of crops or domestic livestock.
   (i)   Infestation. The presence of insects, rodents, vermin, or other pests on the premise to the extent that they constitute a health hazard, are deemed by an Enforcement Officer to be in threat of spreading to adjoining premises, or are exposed to public view.
   (j)   Junk. Any discarded or salvaged material or fixture; obsolete or inoperable machinery or vehicle, or parts thereof; or scrap metal.
   (k)   Nuisance. Physical conditions that are dangerous or detrimental to the health or safety of persons on or near the premises where the conditions exist, or anything that is injurious to the senses or interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.
   (l)   Owner. Any person who alone, jointly, or severally with others, holds legal or equitable title to any premises, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof.
   (m)   Premises. A lot, plot, or parcel of land together with the structures thereon.
   (n)   Public Authority. Any officer of any department or branch of the Village, County, or State charged with regulating health, fire, zoning, or building regulations, or other activities concerning property in the Village.
   (o)   Refuse. Any material that has lost its value for the original purpose for which it was created or manufactured, or for its redesigned use, whether putrescible or non- putrescible, combustible or non-combustible, which is not securely stored in a building or legal outdoor storage yard for prompt disposal or resale, including but not limited to junk; paper or cardboard; plastic; metals; glass; yard clippings, leaves, woody vegetative trimmings, and other plant wastes which have not been properly composted; vegetable or animal waste resulting from the handling, processing, storage, preparation, serving or consumption of food; crockery; bedding, furniture, or appliances; offal; rubbish; ashes or incinerator residue; construction debris; accumulation of animal feces; dead animals; or wastes from commercial or industrial processes.
   (p)   Responsible party. Any person having possession, charge, care, or control of real or personal property, whether with or without the knowledge and consent of the owner, including without limitation any one or more of the following: owner, agent, property manager, contract purchaser, mortgagee or vendee in possession, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee or tenant, or any other person, firm or corporation exercising apparent control over a property.
   (q)   Vehicle. Any device designed to transport a person or property by land, air, or water, such as automobile, trucks, trailers, motorcycles, tractors, buggies, wagons, boats, airplanes, or any combination thereof, except bicycles.
   (r)   Vehicle Inoperable. Any vehicle that cannot legally travel on a public street due to broken, damaged, or missing windshield or other glass customary to the vehicle, fender, door, bumper, hood, wheel, steering wheel, or exhaust system; lacking an engine or other means of power suitable to the design, one or more wheels, or other structural parts which renders the vehicle incapable of both forward and reverse movement in the manner for which it was designed; has become a habitat for rats, mice, snakes, or any other vermin or insects; or constitutes a threat to the public health and safety because of its defective or obsolete condition. (Ord. 3222. Passed 6-27-05.)
1381.03 MAINTENANCE STANDARDS.
   (a)   General. The exterior of every premises and structure shall be maintained in good repair, to the end that the premises and each structure thereon will be preserved; adjoining properties protected from blighting influences; and safety and fire hazards eliminated.
   (b)   Maintenance of Premises. Each and every premises shall be kept free of all nuisances, health, safety, and fire hazards, unsanitary conditions, and infestation. It shall be the duty of the responsible party to keep the premises free of all said conditions and to promptly remove and abate same, which include but are not limited to the following declared nuisances:
      (1)   Weeds or grasses allowed to grow to a height greater than twelve (12) inches on the average, or any accumulation of dead weeds or grass that are exposed to public view, or on any non-farm property. This provision shall not apply to prairies, wetlands, or similar areas of naturalized perennial vegetation which are certified by an Enforcement Officer to not constitute a nuisance. (Ord. 3222. Passed 6-27-05.)
      (2)   Accumulations of refuse to the prejudice of others, or refuse left outside for more than seven (7) days. (Ord. 3471. Passed 8-2-10.)
      (3)   Any structure which is in such a dilapidated condition that it is unfit for human habitation or the use for which it was constructed; kept in such an unsanitary condition that it is a menace to the health of people residing therein or in the vicinity thereof; any structure defined as a dangerous building by the most current edition of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, as published by the International Conference of Building Officials; or any building that is defined as a dangerous building by the codified ordinances or by Ohio law.
      (4)   Mud, dirt, gravel or other debris or matter, whether organic or inorganic, deposited upon public property in a quantity judged by an enforcement officer to be a threat to public safety or to cause pollution, obstruction, or siltation of drainage systems, or to violate solid waste disposal regulations.
      (5)   Failure to establish a permanent cover of perennial grasses or ornamental ground cover on any non-farm property as soon as practical after any construction, and to thereafter maintain same in such condition as to substantially bind the surface of the soil and prevent erosion, whether by sheet or gullying, or by wind or water.
   Exceptions shall be permitted for densely shaded areas, landscape beds, and gardens, provided that vegetable gardens and agricultural crops shall not be placed in the front yard of a non-farm property, unless it can be demonstrated that no other viable location exists on the premises because of topography, natural vegetation, or similar circumstances out of the resident's control.
      (6)   Any nuisance as defined herein or described as such by state law.
      (7)   Any alteration, modification, or obstruction which prevents, obstructs or impedes the normal flow of runoff from adjacent lands, or any alteration or modification which substantially concentrates or increases the flow of water onto an adjoining premises to the extent of damaging or saturating such premises.
      (8)   Conditions which are conducive to the harborage or breeding of vermin.
      (9)   Facilities for the storage or processing of sewage, such as privies, vaults, sewers, private drains, septic tanks, cesspools, and drain fields, which have failed or do not function properly, as may be evidenced by overflow, leakage, seepage, or emanation of odors, or which do not comply with the Belmont County Department of Health regulations, as applicable. Septic tanks, cisterns, and cesspools which are no longer in use shall be removed, or emptied and filled with clean dirt or sand.
      (10)   Fences or retaining walls that are not structurally sound or which are deteriorating, as may be evidenced by leaning or loose elements.
   (c)   Building Maintenance. Every building, including house trailers, office trailers and storage trailers, shall be maintained to be weather and water tight, and free from excessively peeling paint or other conditions suggestive of deterioration or inadequate maintenance. Exteriors surfaces shall not have any holes or broken glass; loose, cracked or damaged shingles or siding; or other defects in the exterior finish which admit rain, cold air, dampness, rodents, insects, or vermin, deteriorating materials shall be replaced.
   (d)   Refuse and Inoperable Vehicles. Inoperable vehicles shall be stored within a fully enclosed building or other location not exposed to public view, or shall be removed from the premises. All refuse shall be contained in suitable collection container; kept free from infestation; and shall be removed weekly.
(Ord. 3222. Passed 6-27-05.)
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