(a) There is hereby organized a Demolition Board of Appeal which shall be comprised of a Designee appointed by the Mayor, the City Engineer, Chief of the Fire Department or his representative, City Electrician, a member of the Board of Health, and the Safety/Service Director, or in the event any such officers are unable to attend, a designee from their respective department may act on their behalf.
(b) The owners or parties in interest may make immediate application in writing or in person to the Building Inspector for a building permit to undertake the repair or replacement of items alleged to constitute the public nuisance. The Building Inspector, upon being furnished by the owners or parties in interest with the complete plans and specifications covering the repairs or replacements, in conformity with the Codified Ordinances of the City, shall, upon approval of the plans and specifications, cause a building permit to be issued to the owners or parties in interest. The Building Inspector may grant more than thirty (30) days to the owners or parties in interest in which to affect the repairs and/or replacements.
The owners or parties in interest may, within fourteen (14) days after notice is made pursuant to Section 1523.09, make a demand in writing to the Building Inspector for a hearing before the Demolition Board of Appeal on the question of whether in fact a dangerous building and/or public nuisance exists as defined by Sections 1523.02 and 1523.04, and whether more than thirty (30) days should be granted to the owners or parties in interest to abate the dangerous building and/or public nuisance. A hearing shall be held within ten (10) days from the receipt of the written demand and at least two (2) days notice of the hearing shall be given to the owners or parties in interest. The hearing shall be conducted by the Demolition Board of Appeal as set forth herein. A majority of a quorum of the Demolition Board of Appeal must find that a dangerous building and/or public nuisance exists, as defined by Sections 1523.02 and 1523.04, before enforcement of the abatement is carried out. A majority of a quorum of the Board may amend or modify the notice and/or order, or extend the time for compliance by the owners or parties in interest with parts of the abatement by such date or dates as such majority of a quorum may determine.
(c) The Board shall make written findings of fact from the testimony offered as to whether or not the building in question is a dangerous building and/or public nuisance within the terms of Section 1523.02 or 1523.04. The owners or parties in interest shall be promptly notified of the decision of the Board in the manner provided for in Section 1523.09. The decision of the Demolition Board of Appeal shall be final and conclusive unless the owners or parties in interest shall file, within the time prescribed in Ohio Revised Code Section 2506.01, after notice of the aforesaid decision is effectuated, an action in or appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction; otherwise the same shall become final and conclusive at the termination of such action or appeal proceeding as determined by such court.
(d) The Board shall issue an order based upon findings of fact made pursuant to subsection (c) hereof commanding the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee, agent and all other persons having an interest in such building as shown by the land records of the Recorder of Deeds of Lorain County, to barricade, repair, vacate or demolish any building found to be a dangerous building within the terms of this chapter and provided that any person so notified, except the owners, shall have the privilege of either vacating or repairing such dangerous building, or any person not the owner of such dangerous building, but having an interest in such building as shown by the land records of the Recorder of Deeds of Lorain County, may demolish such dangerous building at his own risk to prevent the acquiring of a lien against the land upon which such dangerous building stands by the City as provided in subsection (e) hereof.
(e) If the owner-occupant, mortgagee, lessor or lessee fails to comply with the order provided for per subsection (d) hereof within thirty (30) days from the day the first notice was effectuated by the Building Inspector under any provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant hereto, the Demolition Board of Appeal shall cause such building or structure to be barricaded, repaired, vacated or demolished as the facts may warrant, under the standards provided for in Section 1523.02 or 1523.04, and shall, with the assistance of the Director of Law, cause the costs of such barricading, repair, vacation or demolition to be charged against the land on which the building existed as a municipal lien, or cause such costs to be added to the tax duplicate as an assessment or to be levied as a special tax against the land upon which the building stands or did stand, or to be recovered in a suit of law against the owner. In cases where such procedure is desirable and any delay thereby caused will not be dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people of the City, the Building Inspector shall notify the Director of Law to take legal action to force the owner to make all necessary repairs or demolish the building.
(Ord. 83-18. Passed 6-18-18.)