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) "Owner" means the holder of fee simple title.
(b) "Parties in interest" means all individuals, associates, and corporations who have a mortgage or other interest of record in a dwelling or building or who are in possession thereof.
(c) "Dwelling" means any building or structure or part thereof used and occupied for human habitation or intended to be so used and includes any garages or other accessory buildings belonging thereto.
(d) "Dwelling unit" means any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with the facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, or eating.
(e) "Rooming house" means any dwelling or that part of any dwelling containing one or more rooming units in which space is let by the owner or occupant to three or more persons who are not husband and wife, son or daughter, mother or father, sister or brother of the occupant.
(f) "Rooming unit" means any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes.
(g) "Building" means a structure or part thereof.
(h) "Structural alterations" means any change in the supporting members of a building such as bearing, walls, columns, beams, or gutters, except repair or replacement of supporting members.
(i) “Demolish” or “demolition” means the tearing down and removal, so as to require reassembly as new construction if rebuilt, of any dangerous building, shed, fence or other man-made structure permanently affixed to the soil whose original construction cost was five hundred dollars ($500.00) or more.
(j) "Public record" means deeds, mortgages and other instruments of record relating to land titles.
(k) "Occupant" means any person over one year of age living, sleeping, cooking, or eating in, or having actual possession of a dwelling unit or rooming unit.
(l) "Public officer" means the officer or officers who are authorized by law to exercise the powers prescribed by this chapter.
(m) “Dangerous building” means any building, wall, shed, fence or other man-made structure which is, in whole or part:
(1) Insecure, unsafe, abandoned or open and vacant and unsecured to trespass, structurally defective and unsafe to health, life and other property from any cause;
(2) Unsafe to the public health because of any condition which may cause or aid in the inception or spread of disease, or injury to the health of the occupants thereof or of its neighboring structures; or
(3) Is especially liable to fire, or maintains or creates a fire hazard to the premises or to adjoining property for any cause.
(n) “Original construction cost” means the fair market value of the building or structure at the time of its original construction.
(o) “Party wall” means a wall, part of a building or fence constructed upon and straddling the common lot line between two adjoining properties under different ownership and serving both of such adjoining properties.
(p) “Permanently affixed to the soil” means construction or erection so designed as to not anticipate removal from the original site during the reasonable life of the building or structure.
(q) “Person” includes individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation or other legal entity.
(r) “Abandoned” means any property, building, structure or dwelling in whole or part that is permitted to remain uninhabitable for a period of at least six months. Some example elements of which shall determine whether or not a structure has been abandoned are any of the following conditions:
(1) Has broken windows and/or doors leaving the structure insecure to trespass;
(2) Where further construction is needed to make such premises safe or habitable;
(3) Where grass, weeds, and other vegetation are permitted to grow without being mowed or controlled;
(4) Where trash is permitted to accumulate;
(5) Where taxes remain unpaid on a structure;
(6) Any premises from which plumbing/heating or facilities required by the Richland County Building Code have been removed, or from which utilities have been disconnected, destroyed, removed or rendered ineffective, from which the required precautions against trespassers have not been provided.
(7) Where ingress and egress is prohibited due to careless maintenance of property or structures.
Abandoned structures do not include structures or buildings under construction and have current and valid building permits from the appropriate government agencies. (Ord. 22-52. Passed 1-4-23.)