No person shall occupy as owner-occupant, or let to another for occupancy, a dwelling or dwelling unit, for the purpose of living therein, which does not comply with the following standards.
(A) Every habitable room shall have at least one window or skylight facing directly to the outdoors. The minimum total window area, measured between stops, for every habitable room shall be 8% of the floor area of the room. Whenever walls or other portions of structures face a window of any room and the light-obstruction structures are located less than three feet from the window and extend to a level above that of the ceiling of the room, the window shall not be included as contributing to the required minimum total window area. Whenever the only window in a room is a skylight-type window in the top of the room, the total window area of the skylight shall equal 15% of the total floor area of the room.
(B) Every habitable room shall have at least one window or skylight which can easily be opened or another device which will adequately ventilate the room. The total openable window area in every habitable room shall be equal to at least 40% of the minimum window area size or minimum skylight-type window size, as required in division (A) hereof, except where there is supplied another device affording adequate ventilation.
(C) Every bathroom and water closet compartment shall comply with the light and ventilation requirements for habitable rooms contained in divisions (A) and (B) hereof, except that no window or skylight shall be required in adequately ventilated bathrooms and water closet compartments equipped with a ventilation system.
(D) For new construction, every habitable room of a dwelling shall contain electrical outlets and fixtures as required in the National Electrical Code, as adopted in Chapter 1424.
(E) Every dwelling shall have heating facilities which are properly installed, maintained in safe and good working condition and are capable of safely and adequately heating all habitable rooms, bathrooms and water closet compartments in every dwelling unit located therein to a temperature of at least 70ºF at a distance three feet above floor level, under ordinary minimum winter conditions.
(F) Every person who owns or controls the heating plant which furnishes heat to any tenement house, hotel or lodging house in which the heat is furnished from a heating plant used in common for the purpose of heating the various rooms and apartments therein, and the heating plant is under the control or supervision of the owner or person in control of the building, shall furnish heat to the rooms and apartments, from September 15 of each year to June 1 of the succeeding year, so that the occupants thereof may secure, without undue restriction of ventilation as to interfere with proper sanitary conditions, a minimum temperature of 60ºF at 6:30 a.m., 65ºF at 7:30 a.m. and 68ºF from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. and, from October 1 of each year to March 31 of the succeeding year, a minimum temperature of 60ºF from 10:30 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. of the next day, averaged throughout the room or apartment. Written notice of complaint concerning lack of heat in the room or apartment shall first be given to the person by mail before a violation of this division shall be deemed to exist.
(G) Every person who owns or controls the heating plant which furnishes heat to any office, store or other place of employment, shall maintain a temperature, within the office, store or other place of employment, of not less than 68ºF, without undue restriction of ventilation as to interfere with proper sanitary conditions therein, whenever employees are working on the premises, from September 15 of each year to June 1 of the succeeding year.
(H) For the purpose of determining whether or not the temperature in any room or apartment is in accordance with divisions (F) and (G) hereof, the temperature readings shall be made only by an Inspector of the Board of Health, by means of a standard Fahrenheit thermometer approved by the Board, in not less than two separate rooms in the apartment or, if the apartment consists of only one room, in two opposite parts of the room as near the extremes as is practical. The thermometer shall be placed at the point not less than four feet nor more than six feet away from any door or window leading to the outer air.
(I) The failure to furnish the heat required in divisions (F) and (G) hereof shall not constitute an offense where it is due to:
(1) A breakdown of the heating plant, if diligence is used to have the plant repaired, unless the breakdown has been caused by the violation of an existing ordinance relating to the operation of heating plants;
(2) Strikes;
(3) General shortage of fuel;
(4) Any act of the tenant who makes the complaint; or
(5) Any cause beyond the owner’s control.
(J) Any air conditioning installation in new construction or remodeling in the city must be a closed-system air conditioning installation.
(K) Every public hall and stairway in a multi-family dwelling containing five or more dwelling units shall be adequately lighted at all times. Every public hall and stairway in structures devoted solely to dwelling occupancy and containing not more than four dwelling units may be supplied with conveniently located light switches controlling an adequate lighting system which may be turned on when needed, instead of full-time lighting.
(L) To protect against mosquitoes, flies and other insects, from May 1 through October 31, every door opening directly from a dwelling unit to outdoor space shall have screens and a self-closing device. Every window or other device with openings to outdoor space which is used, or intended to be used, for ventilation shall likewise be supplied with screens.
(M) Every basement or cellar window used, or intended to be used, for ventilation and every other opening to a basement which might provide an entry for rodents, shall be covered with a screen or another device which will effectively prevent their entrance.
(N) In all existing dwelling use-type occupancies, electrical receptacle outlets serving kitchen counter tops shall be ground-fault circuit-interrupter protected and at least one ground-fault circuit-interrupter protected wall-mounted electrical receptacle outlet shall be installed in each bathroom adjacent to the basin.
(Ord. 04-44, passed 10-26-2004; Ord. 05-27, passed 7-26-2005)