(A) General. Regulations concerning building wreckers and the process of building wrecking within the city shall be as set forth in this section.
(B) Permit required. Before proceeding with the wrecking or tearing down of any building or other structure which is more than one story in height; has a ground floor area of more than 400 square feet; is situated immediately adjacent to or is located so closely to the line of any public street or alley that wrecking or tearing down will necessitate the use of some portion of the public way; or may endanger persons or property using or being upon the public way; a permit for the wrecking or tearing down shall be obtained by the owner or his or her agent from the City Clerk. It shall be unlawful to proceed with the wrecking or tearing down of any building or structure or any structural part unless the permit is obtained.
(1) Application for a permit shall be made in writing by the owner or his or her agent to the City Clerk who shall refer the same to the Building Commissioner, who shall inspect the premises affected and make report to the City Clerk before any permit is issued. Every application shall state the location and describe the building or other structure which it is proposed to wreck or tear down, the extent of the public ways to be occupied or obstructed, the dates when the work is to begin and the name and address of the person, firm or corporation proposing to do the wrecking or tearing down.
(2) If the Building Commissioner determines that the applicant has complied with the terms of this section and other applicable ordinances, he or she shall approve the issuance of the permit and the City Clerk shall issue the permit upon the payment of a permit fee of $50. However, in the case of the wrecking or tearing down of a building or other structure which is not more than one story in height and has a ground floor area of not more than 400 square feet which can be torn down and removed without the obstruction of any public way and without the risk of injury to persons or property using or being upon any public way, no permit fee shall be required.
(C) Safety requirements. Upon the issuance of a permit, the building or other structure may be wrecked or torn down provided that all the work done shall be subject to the supervision of the Building Commissioner and to reasonable restrictions that he or she imposes to safeguard the public and to protect any public way. The work shall be protected by barricades, scaffolding and other similar devices as may be necessary to protect the public and to ensure safety to human life and to comply with the provisions of the Act of the General Assembly passed 6-3-1907, in force 7-1-1907, provisions of this chapter and applicable state law providing for the safety of workers in and about the construction and removal of buildings.
(D) Surety bond or insurance.
(1) Before any permit is issued granting authority to wreck a building or structure for which a permit is required, the person engaged in the work of wrecking the building shall file with the City Clerk a surety bond with sureties to be approved by the City Clerk in the amount of $20,000 to indemnify, keep, and save harmless the city against any loss, cost, damage, expense, judgment or liability of any kind whatsoever which the city may suffer or which may accrue against, be charged to or be recovered from the city or any of its officials from anything done under any permit granted for the wrecking operations.
(2) However, the person engaged in the work of wrecking may, in lieu of the surety bond, file with the City Clerk a policy of insurance or a certificate evidencing the existence of a policy of insurance written by a reputable insurance company qualified to do business in the state. The policy shall be acceptable to the City Clerk and name the city as one of the insured. The policy of insurance shall be written to afford protection to the city against all claims by any person or persons who may sustain or suffer injury or damage to property as a result of anything done in and about the wrecking of the building. The limits of protection afforded by the insurance policy shall be not less than $100,000 for injury to one person and not less than $200,000 for injury to two or more persons and $20,000 for damage to property. The insurance policy shall be kept in force at all times during the wrecking of the building or other structure and until the wrecking is fully completed.
(E) Disposition of wreckage and debris.
(1) All debris shall be removed from the site as the wrecking progresses.
(2) However, salvage materials may be temporarily stored on the premises upon condition that they be stored in a safe and neat manner and that they be removed upon the completion of the wrecking.
(3) In no case shall wreck materials or debris be permitted to fall upon any public way or any adjoining private property, or to occupy or obstruct a public way.
(4) Upon the completion of the demolition, and if a succeeding building is not to be immediately erected upon the site, the site shall be filled where necessary with soil, cinders or other firm material to a level equal to that of adjoining sidewalks, alleys or other properties.
(F) Discontinuance of operation.
(1) No wrecking operation shall be discontinued or abandoned once it has been undertaken.
(2) It shall be carried forward promptly and without unnecessary interruption.
(G) Obstruction or opening of street. In any case where the wrecking of any building or structure will require the obstruction of any public street or the opening of any public street or alley, the applicant, at the time of making application for the permit required by the terms of this section, shall also make application for and obtain any other permit which may be required in connection with the street obstruction or street opening pursuant to the terms of any other city law. The issuance of the permit required by this section shall be subject to the provisions of this section.
(H) Protection of sidewalks.
(1) In every case where the wrecking of any building or structure will or may cause or result in damage to any public sidewalk bordering the premises upon which the building or structure is situated, the applicant shall, as a condition precedent to the issuance of the permit required by the terms of this section, make a deposit of cash with the City Clerk in an amount not less than the amount estimated to be required to replace any sidewalk which may be damaged in connection with the wrecking operation.
(2) The cash deposit shall be held by the City Clerk until the wrecking operations are completed and any sidewalk damaged is repaired or replaced to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Streets of the city, following which the cash deposit shall be returned to the person making the same.
(3) In the event any damaged sidewalk is not repaired or replaced within 30 days following the date of the completion of the wrecking operations or within a reasonable additional time allowed by the City Clerk because of weather conditions or other similar cause, the cash deposit or so much thereof as shall be necessary shall be used to pay the cost of repairing or replacing the damaged sidewalk.
(4) The remainder, if any, shall be returned to the person making the deposit.
(Prior Code, § 150.146) (Ord. 1864, passed 12-20-1960; Ord. 2304, passed 3-23-1976) Penalty, see § 150.999