The Code Official may order the owner of any premises upon which is located any structure or part thereof, which in the judgment of the Service- Safety Director or Fire Chief or their designee is so old, dilapidated or has become so out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unfit for human habitation, occupancy or use, and so that it would be unreasonable to repair the same, to raze and remove such structure or part thereof; or, if it can be made safe by repairs, to repair and make safe and sanitary or to raze and remove at the owner's option within sixty days of such order. In the event, the owner, within such sixty day period, elects to repair the subject premises, such repairs shall commence within such sixty day period and shall, in all cases, be completed within four months of the original order given by the Code Official.
(a) Whenever the Code Official determines that the cost of such repairs would exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the current value of such structure, such repairs shall be presumed unreasonable and it shall be presumed for the purposes of this chapter that such structure is a public nuisance which may be ordered razed without option on the part of the owner to repair.
(b) Whenever the owner of a property fails to comply with a demolition order within the time prescribed, the Service-Safety Director or Fire Chief or their designee shall cause the structure or part thereof to be razed and removed, either through an available public agency or by contract or arrangement with private persons. The expenses therefore call be the responsibility of the owner of the premises.
(c) In the event that the owner or other appropriate person fails to pay the expenses for the work performed pursuant to subsection (b) hereof, within thirty days after being notified in writing, by regular U.S. mail, of the amount thereof by the Code Official, such expenses may be collected using one or more of the following methods provided, however, that the expenses may only be collected once:
(1) Such expenses may be submitted by the Code Official to the County Auditor and placed upon the tax duplicate for collection as a special assessment and thereupon shall be collected as other taxes and assessments; or
(2) The Director of Law is authorized to bring suit and take other necessary legal action to collect all such expenses.
(Ord. 18-36. Passed 5-22-18.)