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(a) The owner of premises subject to the provisions of the Building Code shall be responsible for compliance with the standards set forth herein. He or she shall remain responsible therefor, regardless of the fact certain responsibilities may also be placed on operators or agents. The owner shall remain responsible for the elimination of any violation found on his or her premises.
(b) Exception: An owner who enters into a written agreement with a person or entity to perform work to improve, add to or construct on the owner’s property shall be exempt from the responsibility for the errors or omissions of the person or entity hired to perform the work, if the written agreement specifically makes the person or entity performing the work responsible for obtaining all required permits and approvals from the City.
(Ord. No. 2370-01. Passed 5-13-02, eff. 5-20-02)
(a) General Maintenance Requirements. All structures and all parts thereof, both exterior and interior, shall be maintained in good repair and shall be capable of performing the function for which such structure or part or any feature thereof, was designed or intended to be used.
All equipment and facilities appurtenant to a structure shall be maintained in good and safe working order.
(b) Maintenance of Foundations. All foundations of every structure shall be maintained structurally sound and in good repair.
All foundations of every structure shall be maintained in such condition as to prevent the accumulation of moisture within the space enclosed within such foundation.
(c) Maintenance of Exterior Walls and Roofs. All exterior walls of every structure secondary and appurtenant shall be maintained weathertight and shall be maintained so as to resist decay or deterioration from any cause.
In order to insure maintenance of weathertight exterior walls resistant of decay or deterioration, all such walls, windows, sashes and window frames shall be painted periodically and all loose masonry units and disintegrated mortar joints shall be properly bonded and repainted.
All roofs of every structure shall be maintained weathertight, devoid of leaks and shall be equipped with gutters and downspouts connected to a public storm sewer or combined storm and sanitary sewer.
Broken window glass shall be replaced with glass or other suitable material that will effect a good appearance.
(d) Maintenance of Interior Walls and Floors. All interior walls and floors of every structure shall be maintained free of holes, large cracks and any loose and deteriorated material.
(e) Maintenance of Exterior Property Areas. Exterior property areas of all premises shall be kept free of any object, wrecked, dismantled, inoperative, discarded, unused or unlicensed motor vehicles, except where permitted under Zoning Code ordinances.
The premises shall be maintained free of any debris, material or condition which may create a health, accident or fire hazard, or which is a public nuisance.
Fences shall be maintained in good vertical and horizontal alignment and shall be protected from decay by application of paint or other preservative material.
(f) Damaged Buildings. A building damaged by fire or other causes shall be repaired to its original condition and as may otherwise be accepted as good engineering practice.
The owner of the premises shall at all times prior to and while repairs are being done maintain the premises free of trash and debris.
If for a valid reason a damaged building cannot be promptly repaired, all damaged glass windows and all damaged entrance doors shall be replaced, or the openings shall be securely boarded up to prevent unlawful entry and painted in a manner to harmonize with the neighboring buildings.
(a) The exterior of all privately owned dwelling structures and premises shall be free from graffiti when such graffiti is visible from a right-of-way. Owners on whose property graffiti is displayed shall completely remove the graffiti or shall completely and uniformly cover the graffiti with appropriate wall finish.
(b) Whenever the Commissioner finds a structure or portion thereof to be in violation of division (a) hereof, said Commissioner shall forward by certified mail to the owner in control of such structure or portion thereof a written notice of violation describing the location of the graffiti to be removed or covered. Such notice and order shall be sent by certified mail to the owner’s tax mailing address, if available, as indicated on the County tax duplicate, and a copy of such notice shall be posted simultaneously in a conspicuous place on the premises to which it relates. Such notice of violation shall require the owner to remove or cover the graffiti in accordance with division (a) hereof or appeal the order to the Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals in accordance with division (c) within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the notice. Such mailing and posting shall be deemed legal service of such notice.
(c) The owner shall have a right to appeal the notice and decision of the Commissioner and appear before the Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals at a specified time and place to show cause why said owner should not comply with such notice.
(d) This Council determines that graffiti constitutes a public nuisance which must be abated. For this reason, if the owner fails to remove or cover the graffiti or appeal the order of the Commissioner within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the notice, the Commissioner shall cause the graffiti to be abated and any expenses or costs incurred under this section shall be paid by the owner of the dwelling structure or premises. If the owner fails to pay for the cost within thirty (30) days after the receipt from the Director of Community Development of a statement of the charges and costs incurred therein, then the Director of Community Development may certify the amount to the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses. The Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses shall make written return to the County Auditor of the action under this Code, with a statement of the charges for their services, the amount paid for the performing of such labor and a proper description of the premises for the purpose of making the same a lien upon such lands, to be collected as other taxes and returned to the City deposited with the General Fund with special accounting thereof in accordance with RC 715.261.
Notwithstanding the method of collection set forth above, the Director of Law may take any action necessary to collect the costs of graffiti abatement from the owner or other responsible party or parties.
(e) For purposes of this section, “graffiti” means any unauthorized inscription, word, figure or design which is marked, etched, scratched, drawn, applied or painted on any structural component of any building, structure, or other facility regardless of the nature of the material of the structural component. Such inscription, word, figure or design shall be deemed unauthorized if the property owner has not granted written permission prior to its application to the structure.
(Ord. No. 550-90. Passed 6-18-90, eff. 6-27-90)