(a) Registry. There shall be established and maintained a Vacant Buildings Registry, in which all Vacant Buildings in the City shall be registered.
(b) Notice of Requirement to Register. Prior to the last day of April in each year, the Vacant Buildings Official shall cause a Notice of Requirement to Register to be published as a Class II legal advertisement (as defined in W. Va. Code § 59-3-2) and mailed by regular U.S. mail to: the name and address of the Owner, as appearing in the Vacant Buildings Registry, of each Vacant Building then registered in such registry; and the name and last known address of the Owner, according to the records of the Jefferson County Tax Office, of each Building that Staff has determined to be, or reasonably suspects to be, a Vacant Building. The Notice of Requirement to Register shall provide notice that: (i) the Owner of any Vacant Building within the City is required to register that Vacant Building in the Vacant Buildings Registry by submission of a completed Vacant Building Registration no later than the first day of July in the subject year; (ii) upon the initial registration of a Vacant Building in such registry, or in the event of re-registration of a Vacant Building that previously was registered but later removed from the registry, payment of a registry fee in the specified applicable amount must accompany submission of the Vacant Building Registration; (iii) in the event that a Vacant Building Registration is not timely submitted with respect to a Building then or subsequently determined to be a Vacant Building pursuant to Section 1759.03(e), such Vacant Building shall be involuntary registered pursuant to Section 1759.03(e) and the Owner of the Vacant Building shall be charged a registry fee in the specified applicable amount whether or not the subject Vacant Building is then registered in the Vacant Buildings Registry pursuant to registration in a prior year; (iv) if any applicable registry fee is not timely paid, the City may bring a civil action against the Owner to collect such registry fee and/or file a lien against the subject real property for the amount of such registry fee; and (v) a Non-resident Owner of a Vacant Building is required to designate a Local Agent to accept service of process and certain notices on behalf of the Non-Resident Owner. Publication of the Notice of Requirement to Register shall state where a person may obtain a blank Vacant Building Registration, and a blank Vacant Building Registration shall be sent with any mailed Notice of Requirement to Register.
(1) Neither the failure of the Vacant Buildings Official to mail a Notice of Requirement to Register to any Owner of a Vacant Building nor the non-receipt of a Notice of Requirement to Register by any Owner of a Vacant Building will relieve the Owner of the requirements under this Article.
(c) Non-resident Owners. Each Non-resident Owner is required to provide to the Vacant Buildings Official signed and notarized document designating the name and address of a person who resides within the State of West Virginia and who the Non-resident Owner authorizes to accept service of process and notices of fees due under this section on behalf of the Non-resident Owner and who is designated as the Non-resident Owner's responsible agent for the purposes of receipt of notification in the event of an emergency affecting the public health, safety, or welfare (a "Local Agent"). Once provided, such document shall remain in effect until cancelled in writing by the Owner; provided that, the Owner shall be responsible for notifying the Vacant Buildings Official of any changes in the name or address of a Local Agent. Failure to provide such document by July 1 of the first year following enactment of this Article in which a Non-resident Owner owns a Vacant Building is a violation of this Ordinance subject to the General Penalty fine specified in Section 101.99 of the Codified Ordinances. Any provision herein requiring notice to or service upon an Owner shall be satisfied by notice to or service upon the Owner's designated Local Agent.
(d) Voluntary Registration. By July 1 of each year, the Owner of any Vacant Building within the City is required to register the Vacant Building in the Vacant Building Registry by submitting a completed Vacant Building Registration to the Vacant Buildings Official. A Vacant Building Registration will not be considered effective unless and until any registry fees required under Section 1759.03(g) are received by the Vacant Buildings Official.
(e) Involuntary Registration. Staff shall investigate any Building that is suspected to be a Vacant Building and determine whether it shall be considered a Vacant Building. Upon Staff's determination that a Building is a Vacant Building, Staff shall: (i) set forth in a written statement its findings supporting the determination; (ii) place the Owner of such Vacant Building on the list of persons to receive Notice of Requirement to Register pursuant to Section 1759.03(b); (iii) notify the Owner of the Vacant Building in writing by Certified Mail or Alternative Means of Service of Staff's determination that the Building is a Vacant Building that the Owner must register in the City's Vacant Buildings Registry by submission of a completed Vacant Building Registration by the following July 1, after which the City will involuntarily register the Vacant Building, with all applicable fees due; and (iv) in the event the Owner fails to register the Vacant Building by timely submitting a completed Vacant Building Registration, involuntarily register the Vacant Building in the Vacant Building Registry and assess against the Owner any registry fees required under Section 1759.03(g) whether or not the subject Vacant Building is then registered in the Vacant Buildings Registry pursuant to voluntary or involuntary registration in a prior year.
(f) Exemption from Registration. The Owner of a Vacant Building may submit in writing to the Vacant Buildings Official, for presentation to and consideration by City Council, a request for exemption from registration of such Vacant Building in the Vacant Buildings Registry due to inability to occupy the Building for a period stated and for reasons stated in the request. Upon a finding of good cause shown, City Council may exempt the Building from registration for a time specified in City Council's decision. Examples of circumstances when good cause for an exemption may exist include when the Vacant Building is being actively marketed for sale following the Owner's move to other property, or when the Vacant Building is being offered for lease following a prior tenant's vacation of the property.
(g) Registry Fees.
(1) The voluntary registry fee set forth in Section 1759.06(a) for the applicable type of Building shall be assessed to the Owner of a Vacant Building upon its initial voluntary registration by the Owner and also in the instance that the Vacant Building is voluntarily re-registered in the Vacant Buildings Registry after previously having been registered and later removed from such registry. Thereafter, the voluntary registry fee shall not be further assessed for so long as the Owner continues to voluntarily register the Vacant Building annually. The voluntary registry fee shall be submitted with the Owner's submission of the Vacant Building Registration by which the Vacant Building is first registered (or first re-registered in the case of a prior registration and removal from the registry) and due at that time.
(2) The involuntary registry fee set forth in Section 1759.06(b) for the applicable type of Building shall be assessed to the Owner of a Vacant Building in each year that it is involuntarily registered pursuant to Section 1759.03(e). In addition to the involuntary registry fee, the Owner shall reimburse the City for all its costs incurred in notifying the Owner of Staff's determination of Vacant Building status and of the registry fee due. The Owner shall be notified in writing of the involuntary registry fee due, together with all costs reimbursable to the City hereunder, by Certified Mail or Alternative Means of Service, which amounts are due when service of the notice is deemed made under Section 1759.02(a) or Section 1759.02(d), as the case may be.
(3) The City may take the following actions in order to collect any registry fees and costs reimbursable to the City that are not paid in full within thirty (30) days of when due:
A. After providing the Owner the notice specified below, file in the Office of the Clerk of the County Commission of Jefferson County a lien against the Vacant Building for the full amount of the delinquent registry fees and reimbursable costs, plus filing fees. Prior to filing such lien, the Vacant Buildings Official shall notify the Owner of the Vacant Building in writing by Certified Mail or Alternative Means of Service that the City may file said lien unless all delinquent amounts are paid by a date stated in the notice, which stated date shall be no less than thirty (30) days following the date on which service of the notice is deemed made under Section 1759.02(a) or Section 1759.02(d), as the case may be.
B. Institute a civil action in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County against the Owner for the delinquent registry fees, reimbursable costs, and reasonable attorney fees and court costs incurred relative to the civil action.
(4) A registry fee paid shall be refunded if, on timely appeal, Staff's determination requiring registration as a Vacant Building is reversed.
(h) Removal from Registry. In the event a Building in the Vacant Buildings Registry becomes lawfully occupied or is removed from the subject real property, the Owner of the Building is required to provide to the Vacant Buildings Official a written notice explaining the situation, together with evidence thereof (such as a copy of a lease of the property, photographs of demolition, etc.), and requesting removal of the Building from the Vacant Buildings Registry. Upon Staff's verification of lawful occupation or removal of the Building, the Building shall be removed from the Vacant Buildings Registry. In the event Staff is unable to verify lawful occupation or removal of the Building, the Vacant Buildings Official shall notify the Owner of the Building in writing by Certified Mail or Alternative Means that Staff has determined that it is unable to verify lawful occupation or removal of the Building and that the Building shall continue to be considered a Vacant Building and remain registered in the Vacant Buildings Registry.
(Ord. 2024-004. Passed 5-6-24.)
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