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1460.01 DEFINITIONS.
   As used in this chapter:
   (a)   “Public nuisance” means a fence, wall, garage, shed, house, building, structure, tree, pole, smokestack or any excavation, basement, cellar, well, cistern or sidewalk subspace or part thereof which may endanger the health, life, limb, safety or property of, or cause any hurt, harm, inconvenience, discomfort, danger or injury to, any person in the Village in any of the following ways:
      (1)   By being detrimental to the general health of the community;
      (2)   By being a fire hazard;
      (3)   By being unsafe for occupancy, or use on, in, upon, about or around the premises;
      (4)   By continued vacancy, thereby resulting in a lack of reasonable or adequate maintenance of structures and grounds and causing deterioration thereof and a blighting influence on nearby properties and thereby depreciating the enjoyment and use of the property in the immediate vicinity to such an extent that it is harmful to the community in which such structure is situated;
      (5)   By lacking facilities required by this chapter or other Village ordinances or codes or the laws of the State of Ohio, for egress in case of fire or panic, or those having insufficient stairways and elevators, fire escapes or other means of access;
      (6)   By having parts, bricks, boards or appurtenances which are so attached that they may fall and injure occupants or the general public or damage property;
      (7)   By becoming or being dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary or vermin- infested or being likely to cause sickness, disease or injury to occupants or the general public.
   (b)   “Owner” means the owner of record in the premises in fee or lesser estate therein, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, assignee of the rents, receiver, executor, administrator, trustee, guardian, mortgagor or other person, firm or corporation in control of a building, or their duly authorized agents. Any such person representing the owner shall be bound to comply with this chapter in the same manner as if he or she were the owner.
   (c)   “Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors” means the Loudonville Village Codes Enforcement Officer, the Loudonville Fire Chief, or the Chief of the Loudonville Police Department. (Ord. 46-2006. Passed 11-8-06.)
1460.02 INSPECTION AND NOTIFICATION.
   (a)   When any building or structure within the Village is reported to or discovered by at least one of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors to be alleged public nuisance, at least two of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors shall inspect the premises suspected to hold the potential public nuisance at the earliest date possible. The Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors shall keep written reports of the findings of their inspection as well as photographs of the premises inspected.
   (b)   If, upon inspection, a premises within the Village is found to be a public nuisance by at least two of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors, then at least one of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors shall immediately notify the owner of the property of the condition of the property in writing and shall order the owner to cause the abatement of the public nuisance by repair, rehabilitation or demolition. Any one of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors may also order that all persons vacate the premises where at least two Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors deem it necessary for the safety of any person(s).
   (c)   The order mentioned in this section shall be in writing and shall specify the building, structure or portion thereof found to be a public nuisance and shall specify the repairs to be made thereto, and direct the owner to cause the public nuisance to be abated by repair, rehabilitation or demolition or the public nuisance will be abated by repair, rehabilitation or demolished by the Village at the expense of the owner. The order shall direct that the abatement commence within a period of thirty days from service of notice, and to proceed with the repair so commenced without interruption and with diligence until completed. The order shall also direct that the abatement must be completed within sixty days from the service of the notice unless an extension of such time is granted by the Village Council at the request of the owner. (Ord. 46-2006. Passed 11-8-06.)
1460.03 METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.
   The notice and order provided for in Section 1460.02 shall be served upon the owner, by leaving a copy at the usual place of residence of the owner, or by mailing a copy to the owner at his or her usual place of residence if such place of residence is outside of Ashland County, by United States certified mail with return receipt requested. If service of the notice is not achieved by either method, then one of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors shall cause such notice to be published on the Village of Loudonville web site and social media account(s) (if any) once each week for two consecutive weeks and shall further cause a copy of the notice to be left with the person, if any, in possession of the premises on which it is alleged that such public nuisance exists. If there is no such person in possession thereof, or if one of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors is unable to locate such a person, then one of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors shall cause a copy of the notice to be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises. One of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors shall cause a return of service, in the form of an affidavit, to be made by the person who served it, which affidavit shall set forth the name and address of the person served, the manner of service and the date thereof. (Ord. 44-2023. Passed 12-18-23.)
1460.04 RIGHT OF APPEAL.
   (a)   The Village Council shall also be the Board of Building Appeals for purposes of this chapter.
   (b)   Any owner of any premises ordered to vacate and/or to abate the public nuisance, may, within ten days from the date of service of the written notice to abate the public nuisance as provided above, file with the Board of Appeals his or her written objection to the order. Said objection shall include the owner’s address for future service. In the event of an objection being filed, a hearing shall be held at the first available hearing date, upon the question of whether or not a public nuisance exists as determined by the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors. The owner of the premises shall be notified in writing of the date, time, and place of the hearing. The notice of hearing shall be so given at least forty-eight hours in advance of the time of the hearing by the Clerk of the Village Council/Board of Building Appeals by personal service or United States certified mail, return receipt requested.
   (c)   At any hearing before the Board of Appeals, at least two of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors shall report in person the finding made upon their inspection of the premises and shall present other evidence as may be available in support thereof. The owner shall then be heard, and the Board of Appeals shall receive evidence as may be offered tending to rebut the findings and evidence presented by the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors. Thereupon, the Board of Appeals shall determine whether or not the premises or any part thereof constitutes a public nuisance and shall notify all interested parties of its decision within seven days of the hearing. Two-thirds of the members of the Village Council must concur that a public nuisance exists before enforcement of abatement by repair, rehabilitation or demolition can be carried out. If the Board of Appeals finds that the premises or any part thereof constitutes a public nuisance, it shall so notify the Village Solicitor or other Village legal counsel by the same written finding it issued to the interested parties.
   (d)   The Clerk of the Board of Appeals shall forward a copy of the Board’s findings to all interested parties by certified mail, return receipt requested within seven days of the Board’s hearing.
   (e)   Upon receipt of a decision adverse to the owner, the owner may commence repairs, rehabilitation or demolition of the public nuisance within fourteen (14) days of receipt of such decision or may appeal the decision of the Board of Appeals as provided in Ohio R.C. Chapter 2506.
   (f)   If the owner does not commence proceedings to repair, rehabilitate or demolish any premises or structure found by the Board of Appeals to be a public nuisance within thirty-one days from the date of receipt of the decision of the Board of Appeals, or appeal such decision to the appropriate court, the Mayor may, through any employee(s), agent(s) or private contractor(s), enter the premises and abate the public nuisance by repair, rehabilitation or demolition or take any other action deemed necessary by the Mayor to ensure public health, welfare and safety or the Mayor may instruct the Village Solicitor or other Village legal counsel to bring such actions for judicial order as may be appropriate. The costs of the abatement shall be paid by the Village and recovered from the owner as follows:
      (1)   The owner shall be billed directly by certified mail for the cost of the abatement. The bill for such cost shall be paid within sixty days after receipt of the bill.
      (2)   If the cost is not so recovered, then the Village shall cause the cost to be levied against the owner as an assessment and recovered in accordance with Ohio R.C. 715.261, as amended from time to time.
         (Ord. 46-2006. Passed 11-8-06.)
1460.05 POSTING OF NOTICE.
   Any premises or portion thereof declared to be a public nuisance may be posted with a placard by one of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors explaining that it is deemed unsafe to occupy said premises. Said notice shall read: “DO NOT ENTER. UNSAFE TO OCCUPY. VILLAGE OF LOUDONVILLE, OHIO.” Where the public nuisance pertains to a building or structure, the placard shall be affixed to the building or structure, upon the doors or entrances thereto and shall contain a declaration that the structure is a public nuisance and is ordered vacated. No person shall deface or remove such placard. A Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspector shall remove the placard whenever the defect or defects upon which the vacation was based have been eliminated. (Ord. 46-2006. Passed 11-8-06.)
1460.06 VACATION AND DEMOLITION OR REPAIR BY VILLAGE.
   (a)   If the owner of the premises affected fails to comply with the order of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors and does not appeal such order to the Board of Appeals within thirty days of its issuance, the Mayor may, at his or her sole discretion, through any employee(s), agent(s) or private contractor(s), enter the premises and abate the public nuisance by repair, rehabilitation or demolition or take any other action deemed necessary by the Mayor to ensure public health, welfare and safety or the Mayor may, at his or her sole discretion, instruct the Village Solicitor or other Village legal counsel to bring such actions for judicial order as may be appropriate. The costs of the abatement shall be paid by the Village and recovered from the owner as follows:
      (1)   The owner shall be billed directly by certified mail for the cost of the abatement. The bill for such cost shall be paid within sixty days after receipt of the bill.
      (2)   If the cost is not so recovered, then the Village shall cause the cost to be levied against the owner as an assessment and recovered in accordance with Ohio R.C. 715.261, as amended from time to time.
   (b)   In cases where at least two of the Public Nusance/Unsafe Building Inspectors deem that there is immediate danger to the life or safety of any person unless a public nuisance premises is immediately vacated and abated by repair, rehabilitation or demolition, those two Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors shall notify the Mayor in writing and the Mayor may cause the immediate vacation of the premises and abatement of the public nuisance after serving written notice of the emergency and necessary abatement on the owner if possible. The costs of emergency repair or demolition shall be charged or recovered in the same manner as provided in subsection (a) hereof. The costs of the abatement shall be paid by the Village and recovered from the owner as follows:
      (1)   The owner shall be billed directly by certified mail for the cost of the abatement. The bill for such cost shall be paid within sixty days after receipt of the bill.
      (2)   If the cost is not so recovered, then the Village shall cause the cost to be levied against the owner as an assessment and recovered in accordance with Ohio R.C. 716.261, as amended from time to time.
         (Ord. 46-2006. Passed 11-8-06.)
1460.07 REHABILITATION OR RESTORATION.
   Wherever at least two of the Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspectors determine that a public nuisance has been so repaired, reconstructed, and rehabilitated that it is in such condition as to be fit for human habilitation or occupancy, then they shall notify the owner or operator of that determination. A Public Nuisance/Unsafe Building Inspector shall then cause the placard set forth in Section 1460.05 above to be removed.
(Ord. 46-2006. Passed 11-8-06.)
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