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(a) When the director finds that any person has violated, or continues to violate, this article, the director may issue to such person a written notice of violation.
(b) No later than the tenth calendar day after receipt of the notice, the person may submit to the director, a written response which describes a plan of action to correct or abate violations identified in the notice of violation. The plan shall include specific actions to be taken by the person and a specific completion date in which violations will be corrected or abated.
(c) If the person denies that any violation is occurring, or contends that no corrective action is necessary, the person shall submit to the director no later than the tenth calendar day after receipt of the notice, a written explanation of the basis of any such denial or contention. The director shall review the written explanation of denial or contention and provide either a written or verbal response.
(d) Submission of an explanation and/or plan of action in no way relieves the person of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the notice of violation.
(e) Issuance of a notice of violation shall not be a bar against taking any other action against the person, nor shall issuance of a notice of violation be a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the person.
(f) A notice of violation may be served either by personally serving the owner with written notice, or by mailing such notice by certified mail, return receipt requested to the person’s last known address and shall be deemed to have been served three calendar days after mailing.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 1, passed 3-19-2019)
(a) Where the owner demonstrates the ability, resources and a reasonable action plan commensurate with the action necessary to comply with this article, the director may enter into a compliance agreement with any owner, lienholder or mortgagee of property that is not in compliance with this article.
(b) The compliance agreement shall include a specific corrective plan of action to be taken by the owner, lienholder or mortgagee of the property to correct all violations of this article within a time period specified in the compliance agreement.
(c) A compliance agreement shall not be a bar against taking any other action against the person, nor shall a compliance agreement be a prerequisite for taking any other action against the owner of property.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 1, passed 3-19-2019)
(a) All cases to be heard by the commission shall be heard by a quorum of not less than six members. No decision by the commission shall be deemed rendered unless concurred in by a majority of those members in attendance, but by no less than a minimum of five members.
(b) The commission shall select a chairperson who shall act as presiding officer during the hearing of all cases.
(c) All owners, mortgagees and lienholders of the property shall be given an opportunity to present evidence at the hearing. Interested parties shall also be given an opportunity to present evidence. In a hearing to determine whether a building, property or structure is substandard, the owner, mortgagee or lienholder of the building or structure has the burden of proof to demonstrate the scope of work that may be required to bring the building or structure into compliance with this article and the time it will reasonably take to perform the work.
(d) The commission shall establish rules of procedure for the conduct of hearings, but such rules shall be consistent with this article and applicable state law.
(e) Meetings of the commission shall be held at the call of the director and at other times as determined by the commission. All meetings of the commission shall be open to the public. The chairperson, or in the chairperson's absence the acting chairperson, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.
(f) The director shall appoint an appropriate municipal official from the code compliance department to act as secretary for the commission. The secretary shall prepare and be the custodian of minutes for all commission proceedings showing the vote of each member on each question or the fact that a member is absent or fails to vote. The secretary shall keep records of the commission's examinations and other official duties.
(g) The director may appoint an appropriate municipal official from the code compliance department, to present all cases and evidence before the commission.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 4, passed 3-19-2019; Ord. 26383-08-2023, § 1, passed 8-22-2023)
(Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 4, passed 3-19-2019)
(a) The director shall give notice of all proceedings before the commission under § 7-102:
(1) By certified mail, return receipt requested, to:
a. The record owners of the affected property as shown by the records in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the affected property is located; and
b. Each holder of a recorded lien against the affected property, as shown by the records in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the affected property is located, if the address of the lienholder can be ascertained from such records.
(2) To all other persons by posting a copy of the notice on the front door of each improvement situated on the affected property or as close to the front door as practicable.
(3) The notice shall be mailed and posted on or before the tenth calendar day before the date of the hearing before the commission. Additionally, the notice shall be published in the official newspaper of the city on one occasion on or before the tenth calendar day before the date fixed for the hearing.
(4) The notice shall state the date, time and place of hearing, and shall include a statement, that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee, shall be required to submit at the hearing proof of the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this article, and the time in calendar days in which it will take to reasonably perform the work. The notice shall also inform the owner of his or her right to hire an attorney to represent him or her at the hearing; his or her right to inspect the file on the property at code compliance headquarters prior to the hearing; his or her right to request the presence of city staff for the purpose of questioning at the hearing; and shall advise the owner of his or her right to cross-examine city staff at the hearing.
(b) In a municipal court proceeding under § 7-102A, the city shall give notice of all proceedings before the municipal court:
(1) By certified mail, return receipt requested, to:
a. The record owners of the affected property as shown by the records in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the affected property is located; and
b. Each holder of a recorded lien against the affected property, as shown by the records in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the affected property is located, if the address of the lienholder can be ascertained from such records.
(2) To all other persons by posting a copy of the notice on the front door of each improvement situated on the affected property or as close to the front door as practicable.
(3) The notice shall be mailed on or before the tenth calendar day before the date of the hearing before the municipal court.
(4) The notice shall state the date, time and place of hearing, and shall include a statement, that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee, shall be required to submit at the hearing proof of the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this article, and the time in calendar days in which it will take to reasonably perform the work. The notice shall also inform the owner of his or her right to hire an attorney to represent him or her at the hearing; his or her right to inspect the file on the property at code compliance headquarters prior to the hearing; his or her right to request the presence of city staff for the purpose of questioning at the hearing; and shall advise the owner of his or her right to cross-examine city staff at the hearing.
(c) The city may file a notice of a proceeding that is before the building standards commission or municipal court in the official public records of real property in the county in which the affected property is located.
(1) The notice shall contain the name and address of the owner of the affected property if that information can be determined from a reasonable search of the instruments on file in the office of the county clerk, a legal description of the property, and a description of the proceeding.
(2) The filing of the notice is binding on subsequent grantees, lienholders or other transferees of an interest in the property who acquire such interest after the filing of the notice and constitutes notice of the proceeding on any subsequent recipient of any interest in the property who acquires such interest after the filing of the notice.
(3) When the city mails a notice in accordance with this section to a property owner, lienholder, or registered agent and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as "refused" or "unclaimed," the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered delivered.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 14629, § 1, passed 5-22-2001; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 5, passed 3-19-2019)
(a) The commission may, after notice and hearing as provided by this chapter, declare a building or structure to be in violation of this article only if the building or structure is proven by a preponderance of the evidence to be:
(1) Substandard;
(2) Substandard and a hazard to the public health, safety and/or welfare;
(3) Unoccupied by its owners, lessees or other invitees and unsecured from unauthorized entry to the extent that it could be entered or used by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage or could be entered or used by children;
(4) Boarded up, fenced or otherwise secured in any manner and;
a. Constitutes a danger to the public even though secured from entry; or
b. The means used to secure the building or structure are inadequate to prevent unauthorized entry or use of the building or structure by children or by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage.
(5) A construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and the site is not secured by a fence or other means to prevent its use by children or by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage; or
(6) A construction site where there has been no significant construction work done in the previous three months, and all building materials and construction equipment and tools have neither been removed from the site nor secured at the site to prevent their use by children, their theft, their deterioration; their vandalism, or their harborage of rodents or insects.
(b) The commission may specify, in its written order:
(1) A reasonable time, in compliance with this section, for the building or structure to be vacated, secured, repaired, removed or demolished by the owner; and
(2) May specify a reasonable time for the owner to relocate the occupants and an additional reasonable time for any of the mortgagees or lienholders to take the ordered action in the event that the owner fails to comply with the order within the time provided for action by the owner.
(c) In the event that the owner fails to comply timely with the order of the commission, the only notice the city needs to furnish to a mortgagee or lienholder of the failure is a copy of the order.
(d) If the commission makes a finding under subsection (a) of this section, the commission shall order the owners, lienholders or mortgagees of the building or structure to within 30 calendar days:
(1) Secure the building or structure from unauthorized entry; and/or
(2) Repair, remove or demolish the building or structure, unless the owner, mortgagee or lienholder establishes at the hearing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the work cannot reasonably be performed within 30 calendar days.
(e) If the commission allows the owner, mortgagee or lienholder more than 30 calendar days to repair, remove or demolish the building or structure, the commission shall establish specific time schedules for the commencement and performance of the work and shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee to secure the property in a reasonable manner from unauthorized entry while the work is being performed.
(f) The commission shall not allow the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than 90 calendar days to repair, remove or demolish the building or structure or fully perform all work required to comply fully with the order of the commission, unless the owner, lienholder or mortgagee:
(1) Submits a detailed plan and time schedule for the work at the hearing; and
(2) Establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be completed within 90 calendar days because of the scope and complexity of the work.
(g) If the commission allows the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than 90 calendar days to complete any part of the work required to repair, remove or demolish the building or structure, the municipality shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee to regularly submit progress reports to the municipality to demonstrate that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee has complied with the time schedules established for commencement and performance of the work. The order may require that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee appear before the commission or the director to demonstrate compliance with the time schedule.
(h) Within ten calendar days after the date that the order is issued, the director shall:
(1) File a copy of the order with the city secretary;
(2) Publish in the official newspaper of the city a notice containing:
a. The street address or legal description of the property;
b. The date of the hearing;
c. A brief statement indicating the results of the order; and
d. Instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained.
(3) File a copy of the notice published pursuant to subsection (h)(2) above in the official public records of real property for the county in which the affected property is located.
(i) The order shall be deemed issued and effective on the date the commission hears and decides the case.
(j) The order shall be reduced to writing and signed by the chairperson of the commission.
(k) After the hearing, the director shall promptly mail by certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the order to the owner of the building or structure, and to any known lienholder and mortgagee of the building or structure.
(l) A hearing before the commission shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a violator.
(Ord. 13743, § 1, passed 3-23-1999; Ord. 23577-03-2019, § 6, passed 3-19-2019)
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