(a) The passage of this ordinance confirms the mayor’s and city manager’s appointment of the city building inspectors as the code enforcement officers hereunder as envisioned by the state law authorizing this ordinance.
(b) The Building Inspector shall investigate and determine whether real property violates provisions of the applicable building code of the municipality, such that it would ban uninhabitable building under this article.
(c) After inspecting the property, if the officer determines the property is uninhabitable and violates the applicable building code, then:
(1) The officer shall post a written notice on the property which shall include:
A. An explanation of the violation(s);
B. A description of the registration;
C. The date the fee will be assessed;
D. An explanation of how to be removed from the registration;
E. An explanation of the appeal process; and
F. A statement that if the fee is not paid, then the property is subject to forfeiture; and
(2) Within five business days of the inspection and the posting of the property, the officer shall, by certified mail, send a copy of the notice that was posted to the owner(s) of the property at the last known address according to the county property tax records.
(d) Within forty-five (45) days of receipt of the notification by the owner(s), the property owner may:
(1) Make and complete any repairs to the property that violate the applicable Building Code; or
(2) Provide written information to the officer showing the repairs are forthcoming within sixty (60) days, or some other reasonable proper of time approved by the officer.
(e) For purposes of this section, “owner” or “property owner” shall mean the persons or entities designated in Section 1107.02(b) above.
(f) After the repairs are made, the owner may request, in writing, a reinspection of the property to ensure compliance with the applicable building code. If the officer finds the violations are fixed, the owner is not subject to the registration and no fee will be incurred.
(g) The officer may reinspect the property at any time to determine where in the process the repairs fall.
(h) Within ninety (90) days of receipt of the notification by the owner(s), the property owner has the right to appeal the decision of the officer to the City Building Enforcement Agency.
(i) If an appeal is not filed within ninety (90) days, the property is registered and the uninhabitable building registration fee is assessed to the owner(s) on the date specified in the notice. The notice of the fee shall be recorded in the office of the Clerk of the County Commission of the county where the property is located and if different, in the office of the Clerk of the County Commission of the county where the property is assessed for real property taxes.
(j) If an appeal is filed and the enforcement agency affirms the registration and assessment of the uninhabitable building registration fee, the property owner has the right to appeal the decision of the enforcement agency to the circuit court within thirty (30) days of the decision. If the decision is not appealed in a timely manner to the circuit court, then the property is registered and the fee is assessed on the date specified in the notice. The notice of the fee shall be recorded in the office of the Clerk of the County Commission of the county where the property is located and if different, in the office of the Clerk of the County Commission of the county where the property is assessed for real property taxes.
(k) A fee assessed under this section for an uninhabitable building shall be recorded in the same manner as a lien is recorded in the office of the Clerk of County Commission of the county.
(l) If the uninhabitable building registration fee is paid, then the municipality shall record a release of the fee in the office of the Clerk of the County Commission of the county where the property is located and if different, in the officer of the Clerk of the County Commission of the county where the property is assessed for real property taxes.
(m) If an owner fails to pay the uninhabitable building registration fee, then the officer may annually post the written notice on the property and send the written notice to the owner(s) by certified mail.
(n) If a registration fee remains delinquent for two years from the date it was placed on record in the Clerk of the County Commission in which the property is located and assessed, the municipality may take action to receive the subject property by means of forfeiture by filing an action in the circuit court. Should the municipality take the steps necessary to receive the subject property, the municipality then becomes the owner of record and take the property subject to all liens and real and personal property taxes.
(Passed 10-3-17.)