(A) The Building Inspector is hereby designated as the officer to enforce the provisions of this chapter, and to exercise the duties and powers herein prescribed. It shall be the duty of the Building Inspector:
(1) To investigate the dwelling conditions, and to inspect dwellings and dwelling units, located in the county, in order to determine which dwellings and dwelling units are unfit for human habitation, and to carry out the objectives of this chapter with respect to the dwellings and dwelling units;
(2) To take the action, together with other appropriate departments and agencies, public and private, as may be necessary to effect rehabilitation of deteriorated housing;
(3) To keep a record of the results of inspections made under this chapter, and an inventory of those dwellings that do not meet the minimum standards of fitness herein prescribed; and
(4) To perform the other duties as may be prescribed herein.
(B) The Building Inspector is authorized to exercise the powers as may be necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purpose and provisions of this chapter, including the following powers in addition to others herein granted:
(1) To investigate the dwelling conditions in the county;
(2) To administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses and receive evidence;
(3) To enter upon premises to make examinations and inspections; provided entry shall be made in a manner as to cause the least possible inconvenience to the persons in possession; and
(4) To appoint and fix the duties of the officers, agents and employees as he or she deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(C) The Inspection Department may make periodic inspections, subject to the Board of Commissioners’ directions, when there is reasonable cause to believe that unsafe, unsanitary, otherwise hazardous or unlawful conditions may exist in buildings or structures within its planning and
development regulation jurisdiction. However, when the Inspection Department determines that a safety hazard exists in one of the dwelling units within a multifamily building, which in the opinion of the Inspector poses an immediate threat to the occupant, the Inspection Department may inspect, in the absence of a specific complaint and actual knowledge of the unsafe condition, additional dwelling units in the multifamily building to determine if the same safety hazard exists. For purposes of this section, the term REASONABLE CAUSE means any of the following:
(1) The landlord or owner has a history of more than two verified violations of the housing ordinances or codes within a 12-month period;
(2) There has been a complaint that substandard conditions exist within the building or there has been a request that the building be inspected;
(3) The Inspection Department has actual knowledge of an unsafe condition within the building; or
(4) Violations of the local ordinances or codes are visible from the outside of the property.
(D) In conducting inspections authorized under this section, the Inspection Department shall not discriminate between single-family and multifamily buildings, or between owner-occupied or tenant-occupied buildings. In exercising this power, members of the Department shall have the right to enter on any premises within the jurisdiction of the Department at all reasonable hours for the purposes of inspection or other enforcement action, upon presentation of proper credentials. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit periodic inspections in accordance with State Fire Prevention Code or as otherwise required by state law.
(Ord. 2019-08-01, passed 9-9-19) Penalty, see § 150.99