(A) Provisions of 2021 International Property Maintenance Code adopted by reference.
(1) The City of Leitchfield, Kentucky, hereby adopts, enacts and incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, in their entirety, the following sections of the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code (herein after for purposes of this section referred to as “2021 Code”) as published by the International Code Council, Inc., as same may be amended from time to time hereafter:
(a) Section 101 Scope and General Requirements;
(b) Section 102 Applicability;
(c) Section 105 Duties and Powers of the Code Official;
(d) Section 106 Approval;
(e) Section 111 Unsafe Structures and Equipment;
(f) Section 112 Emergency Measures;
(g) Section 113 Demolition;
(h) Section 201 Definitions;
(i) Section 202 General Definitions;
(j) Section 301 General;
(k) Section 302 Exterior Property Areas;
(l) Section 303 Swimming Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs;
(m) Section 304 Exterior Structure;
(n) Section 305 Interior Structure;
(o) Section 306 Component Serviceability;
(p) Section 307 Handrails and Guardrails;
(q) Section 309 Pest Elimination;
(r) Section 401 General;
(s) Section 402 Light;
(t) Section 403 Ventilation;
(u) Section 404 Occupancy Limitations;
(v) Section 501 General;
(w) Section 502 Required Facilities;
(x) Section 503 Toilet Rooms;
(y) Section 504 Plumbing Systems and Fixtures;
(z) Section 505 Water System;
(aa) Section 506 Sanitary Drainage System;
(bb) Section 507 Storm Drainage;
(cc) Section 601 General;
(dd) Section 602 Heating Facilities;
(ee) Section 603 Mechanical Equipment;
(ff) Section 604 Electrical Facilities;
(gg) Section 605 Electrical Equipment;
(hh) Section 606 Elevators, Escalators and Dumbwaiters;
(ii) Section 607 Duct Systems;
(jj) Section 701 General;
(kk) Section 702 Means of Egress;
(ll) Section 703 Fire-Resistance Ratings;
(mm) Section 704 Fire Protection Systems;
(nn) Section 705 Carbon Monoxide Alarms and Detection; and
(oo) Appendix A Boarding Standard.
(2) Violations of the provisions of these sections above shall be deemed a nuisance enforceable by any and all provisions of this subchapter.
(B) Revisions/additions to International Property Maintenance Code. The following sections of the 2021 Code are hereby revised:
(1) The term “code official” as used in the 2021 Code shall be deemed to be either the city Code Enforcement Officer, city Fire Marshal or their duly authorized representatives, and all shall be charged with the administration and enforcement of this code.
(2) In that there is a need to establish a period of time a vacant problem structure may remain standing, Section 111 of the 2021 Code entitled Unsafe Structures and Equipment, is amended to add the following:
(i) 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 one or more of the following characteristics: utility services disconnected, extensive broken glass, peeling or flaking paint on exterior walls, lose or rotting material on the roof or the exterior walls or the structure has been damaged due to theft, fire damage, weather or neglect and the structure has not been secured from entry.
(ii) When a vacant problem structure, not in danger or 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 one (1) year 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.
(iii) Failure of the property owner to keep the structure closed or to obtain the required permit in the specified time shall constitute permission to a city official or designated 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.
(3) The referenced standards listed in chapter eight of the 2021 Code and used throughout the text are changed and shall be referred to 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 related 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 Leitchfield Electrical Ordinances, as amended from time to time; and
(h) International Zoning Code is changed to: City of Leitchfield Planning and Zoning Regulations, as amended from time to time, and/or related zoning Kentucky Revised Statutes.
(C) Unsafe structure: imminent danger. When, in the opinion of the 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 Code Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized and empowered to order and require occupants to vacate the premises forthwith. The Code Enforcement Officer shall cause to be posted at each entrance 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 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 streets and structures, 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. 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.
(Ord. 2021-11, passed 11-1-21)