(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)