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§ 153.56 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS; NOTICES; HEARINGS.
   Whenever a petition is filed with the Code Enforcement Officer by a public authority, or by at least five residents of the city, charging that any dwelling is unfit for human habitation, or whenever it appears to the Code Enforcement Officer (on his own motion) that any dwelling is unfit for human habitation, the Code Enforcement Officer shall, if his inspection discloses a basis for such charges, issue and cause to be served upon the owner and parties in interest in such dwellings, a complaint stating the charges in that respect, and containing a notice that a hearing will be held before the Code Enforcement Officer (or his designated agent) at a place within the county in which the property is located, fixed not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days after the serving of the complaint. The owner and parties in interest shall have the right to file an answer to the complaint and to appear in person, or otherwise, and give testimony at the place and time fixed in the complaint. The rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not be controlling in hearings before the Code Enforcement Officer.
(Ord. passed 2-18-92; Am. Ord. O-1999-37, passed 6-15-99; Am. Ord. O-1999-61, passed 10-5-99; Am. Ord. O-2022-54, passed 7-12-22)
§ 153.57 PROCEDURE AFTER HEARING; ORDER.
   (A)   If, after notice and hearing, the Code Enforcement Officer determines that the dwelling under consideration is unfit for human habitation, he shall state in writing his findings of fact in support of that determination and shall issue and cause to be served upon the owner thereof an order directing and requiring the owner to repair, alter and improve such dwelling unit to comply with the minimum standards of fitness established by this chapter within the time specified in the order as follows:
      (1)   If the repair, alteration or improvement of the dwelling can be made at a reasonable cost of less than 50% of the value of the dwelling, the order shall require the owner, within the time specified, to repair, alter or improve the dwelling in order to render it fit for human habitation or to vacate and close the dwelling as a human habitation; or
      (2)   If the repair, alteration, or improvement of the dwelling cannot be made at a reasonable cost of less than 50% of the value of the dwelling, the order shall require the owner, within the time specified in the order, to remove or demolish such dwelling.
   (B)   If, after notice and hearing the Code Enforcement Officer determines that the dwelling under consideration is not unfit for human habitation but is not in full compliance with one or more standards of dwelling fitness as set forth above, he may proceed with the enforcement procedures of §§ 10.19 and 10.99.
   (C)   Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the condition of the dwelling would require removal or demolition under division (A)(2) of this section and the dwelling is located in a historic district of the city and the historic district commission determines, after an administrative hearing as provided by the ordinance, that the dwelling is of particular significance or value toward maintaining the character of the district, and the dwelling has not been condemned as unsafe, the order may require that the dwelling be vacated and closed consistent with G. S. § 160D-949.
   (D)   The Code Enforcement Officer's order shall also provide that the housing to which it applies shall not be occupied if it is vacant as of the date of the order or becomes vacant before the required repair, alteration or improvement has been made, unless the owner obtains from the Code Enforcement Officer a certificate of fitness for occupancy, which shall be issued upon a finding by the administrator that the housing subject to the order is not unfit for human habitation.
(Ord. passed 2-18-92; Am. Ord. O-1999-37, passed 6-15-99; Am. Ord. O-1999-61, passed 10-5-99; Am. Ord. O-2022-54, passed 7-12-22)
§ 153.58 FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ORDER.
   (A)   If the owner fails to comply with an order to repair, alter or improve or to vacate and close the dwelling, the Code Enforcement Officer shall:
      (1)   Cause to be posted on the main entrance of any such dwelling, a placard with the following words: "This building is unfit for human habitation; the use or occupation of this building for human habitation is prohibited and unlawful." Occupation of a building so posted shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
      (2)   Cause the dwelling to be repaired, altered or improved or to be vacated and closed.
   (B)   If the owner fails to comply with an order to remove or demolish the dwelling, the Code Enforcement Officer shall:
      (1)   Cause to be posted on the main entrance of any such dwelling, a placard with the following words: "This building is unfit for human habitation; the use or occupation of this building for human habitation is prohibited and unlawful." Occupation of a building so posted shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
      (2)   Cause such dwelling to be vacated and removed or demolished.
   (C)   The duties of the Code Enforcement Officer set forth in divisions (A) and (B) shall not be exercised until the City Council shall have by ordinance ordered the Code Enforcement Officer to proceed to effectuate the purpose of this chapter with respect to the particular property or properties which the Code Enforcement Officer shall have found to be unfit for human habitation and which property or properties shall be described in the ordinance. No such ordinance shall be adopted to require demolition of a dwelling until the owner has first been given a reasonable opportunity to bring it into conformity with this chapter. For the purposes of this division a period of 90 days following the date of the Code Enforcement Officer's order shall constitute a reasonable opportunity. This chapter shall be recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds in the county wherein the property or properties are located and shall be indexed in the name of the property owner in the grantor index as provided by G.S. § 160D-1203(4).
   (D)   (RESERVED).
   (E)   As provided by G.S. 160D-1203(7), the amount of the cost of repairs, alterations or improvements, or vacating and closing, or removal or demolition by the Code Enforcement Officer shall be a lien against the real property upon which the cost was incurred, which lien shall be filed against the real property, have the same priority, and be collected as the lien for special assessment provided in G.S. Ch. 160A, Art. 10. If the dwelling is removed or demolished by the Code Enforcement Officer, he shall sell the materials of the dwelling, and any personal property, fixtures or appurtenances found in or attached to the dwelling, and shall credit the proceeds of the sale against the cost of the removal or demolition and any balance remaining shall be deposited in the Superior Court by the Code Enforcement Officer, shall be secured in a manner directed by the Court, and shall be disbursed by the Court to the persons found to be entitled thereto by final order of the decree of the Court.
   (F)   If any occupant fails to comply with an order to vacate a dwelling, the Code Enforcement Officer may file a civil action in the name of the city to remove such occupant. The action to vacate the dwelling shall be in the nature of summary ejectment and shall be commenced by filing a complaint naming as party-defendants any persons occupying such dwelling. The Clerk of Superior Court shall issue a summons requiring the defendant to appear before a magistrate at a certain time, date and place not to exceed ten (10) days from the issuance of the summons to answer the complaint. The summons and complaint shall be served as provided in G.S. § 42-29. The summons shall be returned according to its tenor, and if on its return it appears to have been duly served, and if at the hearing the Code Enforcement Officer produces a certified copy of an ordinance adopted by the City Council pursuant to division (C) of this section authorizing the Code Enforcement Officer to proceed to vacate the occupied dwelling, the magistrate shall enter judgment ordering that the premises be vacated and that all persons be removed. The judgement ordering that the dwelling be vacated shall be enforced in the same manner as the judgment for summary ejectment entered under G. S. § 42-30. An appeal from any judgment entered hereunder by the magistrate may be taken as provided in G.S. § 7A-228, and the execution of such judgment may be stayed as provided in G.S. § 7A-227. An action to remove an occupant of a dwelling who is a tenant of the owner may not be in the nature of a summary ejectment proceeding pursuant to this division unless such occupant was served with notice at least thirty (30) days before the filing of the summary ejectment proceeding that the City Council has ordered the Code Enforcement Officer to proceed to exercise his duties under divisions (A), (B) and (C) of this section to vacate and close or remove and demolish the dwelling.
   (G)   Whenever a determination is made pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section that a dwelling must be vacated and closed or removed or demolished under the provisions of this section, notice of the order shall be given by first class mail to any organization involved in providing or restoring dwellings for affordable housing that has filed a written request for such notices. A minimum period of forty-five (45) days from the mailing of such notice shall be given before removal or demolition by action of the Code Enforcement Officer, to allow the opportunity for any organization to negotiate with the owner to make repairs, lease, or purchase the property for the purpose of providing affordable housing. The Code Enforcement Officer shall certify the mailing of the notices, and the certification shall be conclusive in the absence of fraud. Only an organization that has filed a written request for such notices may raise the issue of failure to mail such notices, and the sole remedy and the sole remedy shall be an order requiring the public officer to wait 45 days before causing removal or demolition.
   (H)   If the City Council shall have adopted an ordinance, or the Code Enforcement Officer shall have issued an order, ordering a dwelling to be repaired or vacated and closed, as provided in § 153.57, and if the owner has vacated and closed such dwelling and kept such dwelling vacated and closed for a period of one year pursuant to the ordinance or order, then if the City Council shall find that the owner has abandoned the intent and purpose to repair, alter, or improve the dwelling in order to render it fit for human habitation and that the continuation of the dwelling in its vacated and closed status would be inimical to the health, safety, moral, and welfare of the city in that the dwelling would continue to deteriorate, would create a fire and safety hazard, would be a threat to children and vagrants, would attract persons intent on criminal activities, would cause or contribute to blight and the deterioration of property values in the area, and would render unavailable property and a dwelling which might otherwise have been made available to ease the persistent shortage of decent and affordable housing in the city, then in such circumstances, the City Council may, after the expiration of such one year period, enact an ordinance and serve such ordinance on the owner, setting forth the following:
      (1)   If it is determined that the repair of the dwelling to render it fit for human habitation can be made at a cost not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the then current value of the dwelling, the ordinance shall require that the owner either repair or demolish and remove the dwelling within 90 days; or
      (2)   If it is determined that the repair of the dwelling to render it fit for human habitation cannot be made at a cost not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the then current value of the dwelling, the ordinance shall require the owner to demolish and remove the dwelling within 90 days.
   (I)   This chapter shall be recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds in the county wherein the property or properties are located and shall be indexed in the name of the property owner in the grantor index as provided by G.S. 160D-1203(4). If the owner fails to comply with this chapter, the Housing Inspector shall effect the purpose of the ordinance.
(Ord. passed 2-18-92; Am. Ord. O-1999-37, passed 6-15-99; Am. Ord. O-1999-61, passed 10-5-99; Am. Ord. O-2022-54, passed 7-12-22)
§ 153.59 SERVICE OF COMPLAINTS AND ORDERS.
   (A)   Complaints or orders issued by the Code Enforcement Officer pursuant to this chapter, except those being issued under §§ 10.19 and 10.99, shall be served upon persons either personally or certified mail. When service is made by certified mail, a copy of the complaint or order may also be sent by regular mail. Service shall be deemed sufficient if the certified mail is unclaimed or refused, but the regular mail is not returned by the post office within ten (10) days after the mailing. If regular mail is used, a notice of the pending proceedings shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises affected.
   (B)   If the identities or whereabouts of any owners arc unknown and cannot be ascertained by the Code Enforcement Officer in the exercise of reasonable diligence, or, if the owners are known but have refused to accept service by certified mail, and the Code Enforcement Officer makes an affidavit to that effect, then the serving of the complaint or order upon the unknown owners or other persons may be made by publication in a newspaper having general circulation in the city at least once no later than the time at which personal service would be required under the provisions of this chapter. When service is made by publication, a notice of the pending proceedings shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises thereby affected.
(Ord. passed 2-18-92; Am. Ord. O-1999-37, passed 6-15-99; Am. Ord. O-1999-61, passed 10-5-99; Am. Ord. O-2022-54, passed 7-12-22)
§ 153.60 APPEALS.
   (A)   As provided by G. S. § 160D-305, the Board of Adjustment is hereby appointed as the Housing Appeals Board to which appeals from any decision or order of the Code Enforcement Officer may be taken. Except where this chapter provides for different rules or procedures, the Board of Adjustment acting as the Housing Appeals Board shall follow its rules of procedure, which may be amended to provide specifically for this function.
   (B)   An appeal from any decision or order of the Code Enforcement Officer is a quasi-judicial matter and may be taken by any person aggrieved thereby or by any officer, board or commission of the city. Any appeal from the Code Enforcement Officer shall be taken within ten days from the service of the order by filing with the Code Enforcement Officer and with the Board of Adjustment a notice of appeal that shall specify the grounds upon which the appeal is based. Upon the filing of any notice of appeal, the Code Enforcement Officer shall forthwith transmit to the Board of Adjustment all the papers constituting the record upon which the decision appealed from was made. When an appeal is from a decision of the Code Enforcement Officer refusing to allow the person aggrieved thereby to do any such act, his decision shall remain in force until modified or reversed. When any appeal is from a decision of the Code Enforcement Officer requiring the person aggrieved to do any act, the appeal shall have the effect of suspending the requirement until the hearing by the Board of Adjustment, unless the Code Enforcement Officer certifies to the Board of Adjustment after the notice of appeal is filed with him, that because of facts stated in the certificate (a copy of which shall be furnished the appellant), a suspension of his requirement would cause imminent peril to life or property. In that case the requirement shall not be suspended except by a restraining order, which may be granted for due cause shown upon not less than one (1) day's written notice to the Code Enforcement Officer, the Board of Adjustment, or by a court of record upon petition made pursuant to division (E) of this section.
   (C)   The Board of Adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for hearing appeals, shall give due notice to the parties, and shall render its decision within a reasonable time. Any party may appear in person or by agent or attorney. The Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the decision or order appealed from and may make any decision and order that in its opinion ought to be made in the matter, and to that end it shall have all the powers of the Code Enforcement Officer, but the concurring vote of four-fifths of the members of the Board of Adjustment shall be necessary to reverse or modify any decision or order of the Code Enforcement Officer. The Board of Adjustment shall have power also in passing upon appeals, when practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships would result from carrying out the strict letter of the ordinance, to adapt the application of the ordinance to the necessities of the case to the end that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and substantial justice done.
   (D)   Every decision of the Board of Adjustment shall be subject to review by proceedings in the nature of certiorari instituted within fifteen (15) days of the decision of the Board.
   (E)   Any person aggrieved by an order issued by the Code Enforcement Officer, or a decision rendered by the Board of Adjustment may petition the Superior Court for an injunction, restraining the Code Enforcement Officer from carrying out the order or decision and the Court may uphold such petition, issue a temporary injunction restraining the Code Enforcement Officer pending a final disposition of the cause. The petition shall be filed within thirty (30) days after issuance of the order or rendering of the decision. Hearings shall be had by the Court on a petition within twenty (20) days and shall be given preference over other matters on the Court’s calendar. The Court shall hear and determine the issues raised and shall enter such final order or decree as law and justice may require. It shall not be necessary to file bond in any amount before obtaining a temporary injunction under this section.
(Ord. passed 2-18-92; Am. Ord. O-1997-01, passed 2-4-97; Am. Ord. O-1997-07, passed 4-1-97; Am. Ord. O-1999-37, passed 6-15-99; Am. Ord. O-1999-61, passed 10-5-99; Am. Ord. O-2022-54, passed 7-12-22)
§ 153.61 ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES.
   (A)   Nothing in this chapter nor any of its provisions shall be construed to impair or limit in any way the power of the city to define and declare nuisances and to cause their removal or abatement by summary proceedings or otherwise, nor shall enforcement of one remedy provided herein prevent the enforcement of any other remedy or remedies provided herein or in other ordinances or laws. In addition to the remedies provided for herein, any violations of the terms of this chapter shall subject the violator to the penalties and remedies, either criminal or civil or both, as set forth in §§ 10.19 and 10.99. A violation of this Code shall not constitute a misdemeanor pursuant to G.S. § 14-4.
   (B)   No dwelling shall be hereafter erected, altered, moved, or changed in use without a certificate of occupancy. In any case where the Code Enforcement Officer, after notice and hearing as required herein, finds that a dwelling or dwelling unit is unfit for human habitation, he shall withhold issuance of a certificate of occupancy for such dwelling or dwelling unit until such time that he determines that it is fit for human habitation. In addition, in any case where the Code Enforcement Officer, after preliminary investigation as provided for herein, concludes, based upon that investigation, that a dwelling or dwelling unit is unfit for human habitation and believes that the occupancy of such dwelling or dwelling unit could cause imminent peril to life or property from fire or other hazards, he shall withhold issuance of a certificate of occupancy for such dwelling or dwelling unit until such time that he determines that it is fit for human habitation.
   (C)   If any dwelling is erected, constructed, altered, repaired, converted, maintained, or used in violation of this chapter or of any valid order or decision of the Code Enforcement Officer or Board of Adjustment made pursuant to any ordinance or code adopted under authority of this chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer or Board of Adjustment may institute any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent the unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration or use, to restrain, correct or abate the violation, to prevent the occupancy of the dwellings, or to prevent any illegal act, conduct or use in or about the premises of the dwelling.
(Ord. passed 2-18-92; Am. Ord. O-1999-37, passed 6-15-99; Am. Ord. O-1999-61, passed 10-5-99; Am. Ord. O-2022-54, passed 7-12-22)
§ 153.62 CONFLICT WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.
   In the event any provision, standard or requirement of this chapter is found to be in conflict with any provision of any other ordinance or code of the city, the provision which establishes the higher standard or more stringent requirement for the promotion and protection of the health and safety of the residents of the city's jurisdiction shall prevail. The North Carolina Building Code, current edition, shall serve as the standard for all alterations, repairs, additions, removals, demolitions and other acts of building made or required pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. passed 2-18-92; Am. Ord. O-1999-37, passed 6-15-99; Am. Ord. O-1999-61, passed 10-5-99; Am. Ord. O-2022-54, passed 7-12-22)
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