(A) Pursuant to G.S. § 160A-441, it is hereby found and declared that the existence and occupation of dwellings in this state that are unfit for human habitation are inimical to the welfare and dangerous and injurious to the health, safety and morals of the people of this state, and that a public necessity exists for the repair, closing or demolition of such dwellings. Whenever any city or county of this state finds that there exists in the city or county dwellings that are unfit for human habitation due to dilapidation, defects increasing the hazards of fire, accidents or other calamities, lack of ventilation, light or sanitary facilities, or due to other conditions rendering the dwellings unsafe or unsanitary, or dangerous or detrimental to the health, safety, morals or otherwise inimical to the welfare of the residents of the city or county, power is hereby conferred upon the city or county to exercise its police powers to repair, close or demolish the dwellings in the manner herein provided.
(B) The town may also, in pursuant of G.S. § 160A-441, by ordinance provide for the repair, closing or demolition of any abandoned structure which the Town Council finds to be a health or safety hazard as a result of the attraction of insects or rodents, conditions creating a fire hazard, dangerous conditions constituting a threat to children or frequent use by vagrants as living quarters in the absence of sanitary facilities. The ordinance, if adopted, may provide for the repair, closing or demolition of the structure pursuant to the same provisions and procedures as are prescribed herein for the repair, closing or demolition of dwellings found to be unfit for human habitation.
(Ord. passed - -2007)