(a) Preliminary investigation; complaint and notice of hearing. Whenever a petition is filed with the code enforcement officer by a public authority or by at least five residents of the town charging that any dwelling or structure is in violation of this article or whenever it appears to the code enforcement officer, upon inspection, that any dwelling or structure exists in violation hereof, he shall, if his preliminary investigation discloses a basis for such charges, issue and cause to be served upon the owner of and parties in interest in such dwelling or structure a complaint stating the charges and containing a notice that a hearing will be held before the code enforcement officer at a place therein fixed, not less than ten or more than 30 days after the serving of the complaint. The owner or any party in interest shall have the right to file an answer to the complaint and to appear in person, or otherwise, and give testimony at the place and time fixed in the complaint. Notice of such hearing shall also be given to at least one of the persons signing a petition relating to such dwelling or structure. Any person so desiring to do so may attend such hearing and give evidence relevant to the matter being heard. The rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not be controlling in hearings before the code enforcement officer.
(b) Notice of lis pendens. Upon the issuance of a complaint and notice of hearing pursuant to this section, the inspector may cause the filing of a notice of lis pendens, with a copy of the complaint and notice of hearing attached thereto, in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county, to be indexed and cross-indexed in accordance with the indexing procedures of the state general statutes. The inspector shall cause a copy of the notice of lis pendens to be served upon the owners and parties in interest in the dwelling at the time of filing in accordance with G.S. 160D-1206, as applicable. Upon compliance with the requirements of any order issued based upon such complaint and hearing, the inspector shall direct the clerk of superior court to cancel the notice of lis pendens.
(c) Procedure after hearing; order. If, after notice and hearing, the code enforcement officer determines that the structure under consideration is unfit for human habitation in accordance with the standards set forth herein, he shall state in writing his findings of fact in support of that determination and shall issue and cause to be served upon the owner thereof an order as provided herein.
(1) If the repair, alteration or improvement of the dwelling can be made at a cost of less than 50 percent of the value of the dwelling, the order shall require the owner, within the time specified, to repair, alter or improve the dwelling in order to render it fit for human habitation.
(2) If the repair, alteration or improvement of the dwelling cannot be made at a cost of less than 50 percent of the value of the dwelling, the order shall require the owner, within the time specified, to repair, alter, or improve the dwelling in order to render it fit for human habitation or, at the owner's option, to remove or demolish such dwelling.
(3) If continued occupancy during the time allowed for repair will present a significant threat of bodily harm, taking into account the nature of the necessary repairs, alterations, or improvements, the current state of the property, and any additional risks due to the presence and capacity of minors under the age of 18 years or occupants with physical or mental disabilities, the order may require that the property be vacated and closed. The order shall state that the failure to make timely repairs as directed in the order shall make the dwelling subject to the remedies afforded the town in subsection (d) of this section.
(d) Failure to comply with order.
(1) In personam remedy. If the owner of any dwelling or structure shall fail to comply with an order of the code enforcement officer within the time specified therein, the code enforcement officer may submit to the town council at its next regular meeting a resolution directing the town attorney to petition the superior court for an order directing such owner to comply with the order of the inspector, as authorized by G.S. 160D-305.
(2) In rem remedy. After failure of an owner of a dwelling or structure to comply with an order of the code enforcement officer within the time specified therein, if injunctive relief has not been sought or has not been granted as provided in subsection (d)(1) of this section, the code enforcement officer shall submit to the town council an ordinance ordering the code enforcement officer to cause such dwelling or structure to be repaired, altered or improved, vacated and closed, or removed or demolished, as provided in the original order of the code enforcement officer and pending such repair, alteration, improvement, vacating, closure, removal or demolition, to placard any such dwelling as provided by G.S. 160D-1203.
(e) Appeals.
(1) The board of adjustment is hereby appointed as the housing appeals board to which appeals from any decision or order of the code enforcement officer may be taken. Except where this article provides for different rules or procedures, the board of adjustment acting as the housing appeals board shall follow its rules of procedure, which may be amended to provide specifically for this function.
(2) An appeal from any decision or order of the code enforcement officer may be taken by any person aggrieved thereby or by any officer, board or commission of the town. Any appeal from the code enforcement officer shall be taken within 15 days from the rendering of the decision or service of the order by filing with the code enforcement officer and with the board a notice of appeal which shall specify the grounds upon which the appeal is based. Upon the filing of any notice of appeal, the code enforcement officer shall forthwith transmit to the board all the papers constituting the record upon which the decision appealed from was made. When an appeal is from a decision of the code enforcement officer refusing to allow the person aggrieved thereby to do any such act, his decision shall remain in force until modified or reversed. When any appeal is from a decision of the code enforcement officer requiring the person aggrieved to do any act, the appeal shall have the effect of suspending the requirement until the hearing by the board, unless the code enforcement officer certifies to the board after the notice of appeal is filed with him, that because of facts stated in the certificate (a copy of which shall be furnished the appellant), a suspension of his requirement would cause imminent peril to life or property. In that case the requirement shall not be suspended except by a restraining order, which may be granted for due cause shown upon not less than one day's written notice to the code enforcement officer, by the board, or by a court of record upon petition made pursuant to subsection (e)(5) of this section.
(3) The board of adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for hearing appeals, shall give due notice to the parties, and shall render its decision within a reasonable time. Any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney. The board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the decision or order appealed from, and may make any decision and order that in its opinion ought to be made in the matter, and to that end it shall have all the powers of the code enforcement officer, but the concurring vote of four-fifths of the members of the board shall be necessary to reverse or modify any decision or order of the code enforcement officer. The board shall have power also in passing upon appeals, when practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships would result from carrying out the strict letter of this article, to adapt the application of the section to the necessities of the case to the end that the spirit of the article shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and substantial justice done.
(4) Every decision of the board shall be subject to review by proceedings in the nature of certiorari instituted within 15 days of the decision of the board, but not otherwise.
(5) Any person aggrieved by an order issued by the code enforcement officer or a decision rendered by the board may petition the superior court for an injunction, restraining the code enforcement officer from carrying out the order or decision and the court may, upon such petition, issue a temporary injunction restraining the code enforcement officer pending a final disposition of the cause as provided by G.S. 160D-305. The petition shall be filed within 30 days after issuance of the order or rendering of the decision. Hearings shall be had by the court on a petition within 20 days, and shall be given preference over other matters on the court's calendar. The court shall hear and determine the issues raised and shall enter such final order or decree as law and justice may require. It shall not be necessary to file bond in any amount before obtaining a temporary injunction under this subsection.
(Code 1989, § 90.05; Ord. of 3-23-1982; Ord. of 3-13-2012; Ord. of 3-14-2013)