The following shall apply to this chapter:
(a) "Chief Building Official" means the Chief Building Official of the City of Massillon or his/her designee.
(b) "Owner" means any person who alone or jointly or severally with others shall have the legal or equitable title to a property and shall include executors, administrators, trustees or guardians of the estate of the owner and any purchaser or assignee under a certificate of sale pursuant to mortgage foreclosure. The term "owner" shall also include partnerships and corporations and other unincorporated associations. Any individual "owner" regardless of whether he shares ownership responsibility with other persons. Any general partner of a partnership and any officer of a corporation or unincorporated association shall have direct and personable responsibility and liability for compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(c) "Abandoned" means a structure that is unoccupied as the result of the relinquishment of possession or control by an owner or other person with the right of possession or control of the structure, a mortgagor or the mortgagor's assigns whether or not the mortgagor or mortgagor's assigns have relinquished equity and title. A structure may be deemed abandoned when there is evidence of conditions, taken separately or as a whole, that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the property was abandoned, including, but not limited to, evidence of overgrown or dead vegetation, accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers, mail, past due utility notices, or other means of notice by publication, the accumulation of junk, litter, trash, or debris, absence of windows or window treatments, absence of furnishings and personal items, statements of neighbors, delivery agents or similarly situated persons that the property is abandoned.
(d) "Vacant" means a structure that is not lawfully occupied or that otherwise qualifies as "Abandoned" under this Section. Multi-family residential structures shall be considered vacant when substantially all of the dwelling units are not lawfully occupied or that otherwise qualifies as "Abandoned" under this Section. Multi-tenant non-residential structures shall be considered vacant when substantially all of the units are not lawfully occupied or engaging in commercial activity, industrial, or manufacturing activity or that otherwise qualifies as "Abandoned" under this Section. Structures shall be considered vacant when all industrial or manufacturing activity has ceased at the site or that otherwise qualifies as "Abandoned" under this Section. In determining whether a structure is vacant, it is also relevant to consider, among other factors, the percentage of the overall square footage of the building or floor not in use to the occupied space; the condition and value of any items in the structure and the presence of rental or for sale signs on the property.
(e) "Evidence of vacancy" means any condition visible from the exterior of the property that alone or in combination with other existing conditions would lead a reasonable person to believe that the property is vacant. Such conditions include, but are not limited to, overgrown and/or dead vegetation; unmaintained pools or spas; an accumulation of newspaper, circulars, flyers and/or mail, past due utility notices and/or disconnected utilities; an accumulation of trash, junk and/or debris; the absence of window coverings such as curtains, blinds and/or shutters; the absence of furnishings and/or personal items consistent with residential habitation; statements by neighbors, passersby, delivery agents, and/or government employees that the property is vacant.
(f) "Non-residential property" means any structure, or part thereof, that is used, or designed to be used for any private or public manufacturing, industrial, or commercial business purposes whether or not legally zoned for such use. There is a rebuttable presumption that a structure located on a parcel of real property classified by the Stark County Auditor according to its principal use as "commercial" or "industrial" pursuant to Ohio R.C. § 5713.041 and O.A.C. 5703-25-10 is non-residential property.
(g) "Occupied" means a building that is being used in accordance with its listed classification by the Stark County Auditor, the defined use group, by the Ohio Basic Building Code, and meets or exceeds the City's Zoning regulations for the structure. All structures claimed as occupied must have all utilities working.
(h) "Unsecured" means a building or portion of a building which is open to entry by unauthorized persons without the use of tools or ladders.
(i) "Utilities" means water, sanitation, natural or propane gas, and electricity services.
(j) "Days" means consecutive calendar days.
(Ord. 53-2019. Passed 4-15-19.)