The following terms whenever used or referred to in this Chapter shall have the following respective meanings unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
(a) “Abandoned building” shall mean a building which has one or more of the following defects which shall be deemed to be an “abandoned building”:
(1) The property has been tax delinquent for two or more years, or bills for water service for the property have been outstanding and unpaid for two or more years;
(2) The property is unoccupied by persons legally in possession;
(3) The property contains a dangerous or unsafe building.
(b) “Building” shall mean a structure or part thereof. It shall also encompass an excavation on real property and any shed, fence or any other manmade structure, or any portion thereof.
(c) “Dangerous and unsafe building” shall mean:
(1) A building that, because of its condition, constitutes a hazard to the health or safety of persons or to the safety of other property, whether real or personal property. Any building, which has one or more of the following defects, shall be deemed to be a “dangerous and unsafe building”:
A. Any building whose walls or vertical structural members list, lean, or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line suspended from the top edge of such member shall fall outside of a distance from the edge equal to one third of the thickness of such members.
B. Any building which has a support member or members which have deteriorated to such an extent as to be unable to safely support the applied loads or which have forty percent damage or deterioration of the nonsupporting, enclosed or outside walls or covering.
C. Any building which has improperly distributed loads upon the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded or which have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used.
D. Any building which has been damaged by fire, wind or other causes so as to have become dangerous to life, safety or the health and welfare of persons or to the safety of other property, whether real or personal.
E. Any building which has parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall and injure persons or property.
F. Any building which has wiring that is dangerous due to lack of insulation, improper fuses, inadequate grounding, lack of capacity of wires or other dangerous conditions.
G. Any building which, by reason of faulty construction, age, lack of proper repair, or any other cause, has become especially liable to fire, and constitutes or creates a fire hazard, or has become liable to cause injury or damage by collapsing or otherwise.
H. Any building which is dangerous to the public health because of its construction or condition or which may cause or aid in the spread of disease or cause injury to the health of the occupants of it or of neighboring structures.
I. Any building which, because of its condition or because of lack of doors or windows, is available to or has become an attractive nuisance to children, or a harbor for transients, vagrants or criminals who are not lawful occupants of such structure.
(2) The enumeration of certain defects herein shall not mean that a building with other defects which constitute a hazard to the health or safety of persons or to the safety of other property, whether real or personal, shall not be deemed a “dangerous and unsafe building”.
(d) “Demolish” means to destroy a building, to remove all debris and waste materials from the lot on which the building stood, and to properly fill in any excavation on such lot.
(e) “Owner” shall mean the holder of fee simple title.
(f) “Parties in interest” shall mean all individuals, associates, partnerships, corporations, or other legal entities who have a mortgage or other lien on a building or who are in possession thereof.
(g) “Uncompleted building” shall mean a building on which the construction thereof has been started and has not been completed and on which there has not been substantial construction work done toward the completion of such building for a period of ninety days. However, periods during which construction is impractical due to severe weather conditions or labor strikes shall be excluded in the computation of such ninety-day period.
(h) “Unfit building” shall mean a building not suited for occupancy, or for the purposes for which it was intended, or any building which, because of its lack of proper repair or maintenance, depreciates the appearance or value of the neighborhood in which it is located, or any building which, because of lack of proper repair or maintenance, could cause injury or damage to persons or property, or any building which was not constructed in whole or in part in accordance with any building, electrical, fire, or sewer ordinances of this city or statutes of the state of Illinois, or any rule, regulation or code of any agency thereof. While the enumeration of the following defects shall not mean that other defects do not make a building an “unfit building”, as above defined, any building which has one or more of the following defects shall be deemed to be an “unfit building”:
(1) Any building which has one or more of the defects mentioned in Subsection (c) above.
(2) Any building which does not have an unobstructed means of egress leading to an open space at ground level, or it has insufficient stairways, elevators, fire escapes, or other means of communication.
(3) Any building which has a broken window pane or panes or in which a window pane or panes have been broken out or removed, providing such condition has continued for more than thirty days.
(4) Any building in which a window or windows have been boarded up. However, the use of properly appearing window shutter or shutters over a window or windows shall not be considered boarding up as long as they do not detract from the general appearance of the area.
(5) Any building which, while used as a dwelling for human habitation, does not have an installed kitchen sink in each dwelling unit properly connected to the hot and cold water supply pipes and the sewer system, or does not have an installed tub or shower and lavatory properly connected to hot and cold water supply pipes and sewer system, or does not have a flush-type water closet located in a room affording privacy and properly connected to the water supply pipes and sewer system, or does not have installed electric lighting facilities for every habitable room, or does not have installed a heating system adequate to provide necessary heat to occupants.
(6) Any building that has light, air and sanitation facilities which are inadequate to protect the health, morals, safety or general welfare of human beings who live or may live therein.
(7) Any building in which the heating equipment installed is not vented and maintained in good order and repair.
(8) Any building in which there are leaking gas lines.
(9) Any building in which bricks, blocks, boards, siding or covering forming part of the walls or other structure of such building are loose or not firmly attached or are rotted, decayed or crumbling.
(10) Any building with a chimney in which bricks or blocks forming a part thereof are loose or not firmly attached or are decayed or crumbling.
(11) Any building which has kept or maintained thereon, therein, or about the same, combustible or explosive material or inflammable conditions, which endanger the safety of persons or other property.
(12) Any building which does not comply with rules of the office of the state fire marshall adopted and promulgated under Section 9 of “An Act relating to the investigation and prevention of fire,” approved June 15, 1909, as amended (425 ILCS 2519).
(13) Any building which has a roof thereon that leaks so as to permit water to enter into any room or rooms of such building and which has not been repaired to prevent such leaks within thirty days after such leaks first commenced.
(14) Any building in which or about which junk, trash, paper, garbage, or materials is or are stored or kept in such a manner as could increase the possibility of rat infestation, or the spread of disease, or the hazards of fire, or injury to persons or property.
(15) Any building which has become or is so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary or so utterly fails to provide amenities essential to decent living that it is unfit for human habitation, or is likely to cause sickness or disease, or to cause injury to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of those living therein.
(Ord. 2024-1-1. Passed 1-10-24.)