Responsibility. The owner of a building or other structure or premises in or on which buildings, structures, service equipment are installed, altered, replaced, repaired or maintained shall have the final responsibility for every violation of any provisions of this Code. However, any person, firm or corporation which performs work for which a permit is required by the Code without first having secured a permit therefor; and every person, firm or corporation who shall violate or assist in the violation of any provisions of the Code shall also be responsible and liable for such violation and subject to the penalty provided by the Code. Any person who misrepresents a material fact in securing a permit under the provisions of the Code shall be in violation thereof and subject to the penalties provided.
(1) Transfer of ownership. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dwelling unit or structure who has received a compliance order or upon whom a notice of violation has been served to sell, transfer, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of such dwelling unit or structure to another until the provisions of the compliance order or notice of violation have been complied with, or until such owner or the owner's authorized agent shall first furnish the grantee, transferee, mortgagee or lessee a true copy of any compliance order or notice of violation issued by the code official and shall furnish to the code official a signed and notarized statement from the grantee, transferee, mortgagee or lessee, acknowledging the receipt of such compliance order or notice of violation and fully accepting the responsibility without condition for making the corrections or repairs required by such compliance order or notice of violation.
(2) Unauthorized tampering. Signs, tags or seals posted or affixed by the code official shall not be mutilated, destroyed or tampered with, or removed without authorization from the code official. The unauthorized removal by any person(s) not so authorized by the Building Official of posted orders from a building or structure, which orders have been affixed to the building, shall be deemed to be obstruction of official business in accordance with FPCO § 132.23, and be subject to a fine not to exceed $500, or imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both (by authority of R.C. § 715.67).
(B) Notice. The Building Official shall serve written notice of violation of the provisions of the Code, of violation of construction documentation approved thereunder, or of violation of a permit or certificate issued under the Code, or of unsafe building, of condemnation, of stop work orders, or of any other order of the Building Official, on the person(s) responsible for such violation or for its remedy in accordance with § 109 of the OBC or the RCO as appropriate. The Building Official shall order the discontinuance of illegal action or condition, the abatement or correction of any such violation or the taking of such action as may be necessary to achieve compliance with the Code, and he shall serve written notice of such order on such responsible person(s), and shall post such notices or orders as appropriate. The Building Official may also cancel any existing Certificate of Occupancy, or withhold an updated certificate if it is determined that such violation renders the building or part thereof to be unsafe (ref § 152.22 (J)(1)).
(C) Prosecution of violation. If such violation is not corrected or such order is not complied with in the time noted on the notice, and there is no appeal of the order, the Building Official shall request legal counsel of the City to institute appropriate proceedings at law or in equity to restrain, correct, abate or punish such violation of the Code or of such order.
(D) Violation penalties. Any person who shall violate any provision of the Code or fail to comply with any of its requirements or who shall erect, construct, alter or repair, or do any work upon or in connection with any buildings or structures in violation of a plan therefor or a directive relating thereto made by the Building Official, or of a permit or certificate issued under the Code is subject to a fine in accordance with § 109.3 of the OBC or the RCO, as appropriate. Each day that any such violation or failure continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
(1) Any person who violates any provision of the Code or fails to comply with any of its requirements, or who shall erect, construct, alter or repair, or do any work upon or in connection with any buildings or structures in violation of a plan therefor or a directive relating thereto made by the Building Official, or of a permit or certificate issued under the Code, shall, in addition to any civil or administrative remedies, be subject to criminal prosecution of such conduct or omission.
(2) If the offending person or entity receives a notice pursuant to this chapter for corrective action, or to stop work pending corrective action, and said person or entity fails to obey said notice, that person shall be charged with a violation, and such charge shall be considered a minor misdemeanor subject to a fine not to exceed $150. If two or more notices are given for the same unlawful conduct or failure to comply, said violation shall constitute a fourth degree misdemeanor subject to punishment of up to a maximum of $500 fine and 30 days incarceration. Each and every subsequent violation will be considered a separate fourth degree misdemeanor offense subject to separate charges and punishment.
(E) Abatement. Further, as provided in R.C. § 715.30, in the event any building is being erected, constructed, altered, repaired or maintained in violation of these regulations, the Attorney for the City of Forest Park, the Building Official, or any adjacent, contiguous or neighboring property owner who would be especially damaged by such violation, in addition to the remedies provided by law, may institute a suit for injunction, abatement or other appropriate action to prevent such violation of these regulations relating to the erection, construction, alteration, repair or maintenance of such building.
(F) Legal action. The imposition of any fine shall not preclude the Building Official from instituting an appropriate action or proceeding in a court of proper jurisdiction to prevent an unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use; or to restrain, correct, or abate a violation or to prevent an illegal act, conduct an illegal business or use in or about any premises or to require compliance with provisions of the Code or applicable laws, ordinances, rules, resolutions or the orders or determinations of the Building Official or the Board of Appeals provided that the Building Official has first complied with the procedures established under R.C. § 3781.031.
(Ord. 24-2019, passed 8-5-19)