(A) Provisions of 2015 International Property Maintenance Code Adopted by Reference Herein.
(1) The City of Franklin, Kentucky, hereby adopts, enacts and incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, in their entirety, the following sections of the "2015 International Property Maintenance Code" as published by the International Code Council, Inc., as same may be amended from time to time hereafter:
(a) 108 - Unsafe Structures and Equipment;
(b) 301 - General;
(c) 302 - Exterior Property Areas;
(d) 303 - Swimming Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs;
(e) 304 - Exterior Structure;
(f) 305 - Interior Structure;
(g) 306 - Component Serviceability;
(h) 307 - Handrails and Guardrails;
(i) 308 - Rubbish and Garbage;
(j) 309 - Pest Elimination;
(k) 401 - General;
(l) 402 - Light;
(m) 403 - Ventilation;
(n) 404 - Occupancy Limitations;
(o) 501 - General;
(p) 502 - Required Facilities;
(q) 503 - Toilet Rooms;
(r) 504 - Plumbing Systems and Fixtures;
(s) 505 - Water System;
(t) 506 - Sanitary Drainage System;
(u) 507 - Storm Drainage;
(v) 601 - General;
(w) 602 - Heating Facilities;
(x) 603 - Mechanical Equipment;
(y) 604 - Electrical Facilities;
(z) 605 - Electrical Equipment;
(aa) 606 - Elevators, Escalators and Dumbwaiters;
(bb) 607 - Duct Systems;
(cc) 701 - General;
(dd) 702 - Means of Egress;
(ee) 703 - Fire-Resistance Ratings;
(ff) 704 - Fire Protection Systems; and
(gg) Appendix A: Boarding Standard.
(2) Violations of the provisions therein shall be deemed a nuisance enforceable by any and all provisions of this chapter.
(B) Revisions/additions to International Property Maintenance Code. The following sections of the International Property Maintenance Code are hereby revised:
(1) Section 302.4 of the International Property Maintenance Code shall be amended to read as follows:
Premises and Exterior Properties shall be maintained by the owner or agent having charge of a property free from weeds or plant growth in excess of ten inches in height. Noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs provided; however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens. Further, this section shall not apply to areas zoned as agricultural that are properly used and maintained as such. Premises and Exterior Properties shall also include all rights- of-way and easements, which includes the property line to the curb/street.
Upon failure of the owner or agent having charge of a property to cut and destroy weeds after service of a notice of violation, they shall be subject to prosecution in accordance with Section 106.3 or as prescribed by the City of Franklin’s Code of Ordinances. Upon failure to comply with the notice of violation, any duly authorized employee of the jurisdiction or contractor hired by the jurisdiction shall be authorized to enter upon the property in violation and cut and destroy the weeds growing thereon, and the costs of such removal shall be paid by the owner or agent responsible for the property.
(2) Section 304.14. Insert: May 1 to October 31;
(3) Section 602.3. Insert: September 1 to May 31;
(4) Section 602.4. Insert: September 1 to May 31;
(5) The term CODE OFFICIAL as used in the International Property Maintenance Code shall be deemed to be either the Building Inspector, Fire Marshal, code enforcement officer, Community Development Director, or their duly authorized representatives, and all shall be charged with the administration and enforcement of this code; and
(6) In that there is a need to establish a period of time a vacant problem structure may remain standing, § 108 of the International Property Maintenance Code, Unsafe Structures and Equipment, is amended to add the following:
(a) A vacant problem structure is defined as a vacant building or other structure that poses a nuisance or danger to the public, Police Department or Fire Department and is usually identified by utility services disconnected, extensive broken glass, peeling or flaking paint on exterior walls, loose or rotting material on the roof or the exterior walls or the structure has been fire damaged and not secured from entry.
(b) When a vacant problem structure, not in danger of structural collapse, has been closed by the property owner and the structure continues to remain closed by approved methods, it may remain standing in a safe condition for a period not to exceed six months from the date of the fire or the date of receipt of the notice of violation/citation from the code official, at which time an application must have been made for a building permit to repair or for a demolition permit.
(c) Failure of the property owner to keep the structure closed or to obtain the required permit in the specified time shall constitute permission to an official, employee, or other authorized agent of the city to enter upon the property to remedy the situation and to abate the nuisance by demolition and removal of the dilapidated structure.
(7) The referenced standards shown in Chapter 8, Page 21, of the International Property Maintenance Code are changed as follows:
(a) ICC - International Code Council is changed to: KDHBC - Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction;
(b) International Building Code is changed to: Kentucky Building Code, Current Edition, and includes, but is not limited to the Kentucky Residential Code;
(c) International Fire Code is changed to: NFPA 1 Fire Prevention Code, Current Edition, and/or Kentucky Fire Prevention Code, Current Edition;
(d) International Fuel Gas Code is changed to: Kentucky Fuel Gas Code, Current Edition, and/or Kentucky Revised Statutes or Kentucky Administrative Regulations;
(e) International Mechanical Code is changed to: Kentucky Mechanical Code, Current Edition;
(f) International Plumbing Code is changed to: Kentucky Plumbing Code, Current Edition;
(g) ICC Electrical Code is changed to: City of Franklin Electrical Ordinances, as amended from time to time; and
(h) International Zoning Code is changed to: Franklin-Simpson Planning and Zoning Regulations, as amended from time to time, and/or Kentucky Revised Statutes relating to zoning.
(C) Unsafe structure: imminent danger. When, in the opinion of the Property Maintenance Code Enforcement Officer, there is imminent danger of failure or collapse of a building or structure which endangers life, or when any structure or part of a structure has fallen and life is endangered by the occupation of the structure, or when there is actual or potential danger to the building occupants or those in proximity of any structure because of explosive fumes or vapors or the presence of toxic fumes, gases or materials, or operation of defective or dangerous equipment, the Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized and empowered to order and require occupants to vacate the premises forthwith. The enforcement officer shall cause to be posted at each entrance to such structure a notice reading as follows: "This Structure Is Unsafe and Its Occupancy Has Been Prohibited by the Code Enforcement Officer." It shall be unlawful for any person to enter such structure except for the purpose of securing the structure, making repairs, removing the hazardous condition or of demolishing the same.
(D) Temporary safeguards. Notwithstanding other provisions of this code, whenever, in the opinion of the code enforcement officer, there is imminent danger due to an unsafe condition, the code enforcement officer shall order the necessary work to be done, including the boarding up of openings, to render such structure temporarily safe whether or not the legal procedure herein described has been instituted; and shall cause such other action to be taken as the code enforcement officer deems necessary to meet such emergency.
(E) Closing streets. When necessary for public safety, the code enforcement officer shall have the authority to temporarily close structures and close, or order the authority having jurisdiction to close, sidewalks, streets, public ways and places adjacent to unsafe structures, and prohibit same from being utilized.
(F) Emergency repairs. For purposes of this section, the code enforcement officer shall employ the necessary labor and materials to perform the required work as expeditiously as possible. Costs incurred in the performance of emergency work shall be the responsibility of the property owner.
(G) Demolition; general. The code enforcement officer shall order the owner of any premises upon which is located any structure, which in the officer's judgment is so old, dilapidated or has become so out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise unfit for human habitation or occupancy, and such that it is unreasonable to repair the structure, to demolish and remove the structure; or if such structure is capable of being made safe by repairs, to repair and make safe and sanitary or to demolish and remove at the owner's option; or where there has been a cessation of normal construction of any structure for a period of more than two years, to demolish and remove such structure. Further, the code enforcement officer shall be authorized to order the owner to demolish or remove any and all buildings, walls and other structures including, but not limited to greenhouses, smokehouses, antennas, retaining walls, mailboxes and fences, which have been damaged by fire, decay or otherwise and which are in a state of dilapidation, deterioration or decay so as not to provide shelter, sufficient sewer, plumbing, electrical or heating facilities or which are unsound or in danger of collapse or failure and which are a danger to the safety of the public or which are vacant or abandoned and open or accessible to vagrants or passerby or which are otherwise built, erected or maintained in violation of any ordinance.
(Ord. 2016-012, passed 10-10-2016; Ord. 2023-011, passed 2-13-2023; Ord. 2023-025, passed 6-26-2023)