(A) Order to vacate.
(1) The County Board of Commissioners may issue an order relative to any unsafe premises to require action, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) Vacating of an unsafe dwelling;
(b) SEALING AND/OR FENCING (defined as a wood or metal barrier sufficient to block human entrance) an unsafe dwelling against intrusions by unauthorized persons by boarding over each basement and ground floor level door, window, or other opening;
(c) Extermination of vermin in, and about, the unsafe premises;
(d) Repair of an unsafe dwelling to bring it into compliance with standards for dwelling condition, or maintenance, found in ordinances and rule enacted by the county and the state;
(e) Removal of a portion of an unsafe dwelling;
(f) Removal of an unsafe dwelling, including unattached adjacent structures; and/or
(g) Removal of all refuse, including all garbage, trash, excreta, and the like, including disinfection and purification.
(2) The ordered action shall be reasonably related to the condition of the unsafe premises and the nature and use of nearby properties. The order shall take precedence over any municipally issued permit relating to the dwelling, or land use, which is obtained either before or after the order is issued.
(3) The force of an order shall expire three years from the day the notice of the order is given, unless one or more of the following events occur within such three-year period:
(a) A complaint requesting judicial review is filed in accordance with division (C) below;
(b) Work is let out at public bid to a contractor to perform action required by an order in accordance with this section; and/or
(c) A civil action is filed in the County Circuit Court or Superior Court, in accordance with division (C) below.
(B) Details and requirements within the order.
(1) Any order shall contain the following information:
(a) The name of the person to whom the order is issued;
(b) The legal description, or address, of the unsafe premises that is the subject of the order;
(c) PROPERTY means any dwelling on its premises, including unattached buildings, used as a place of residence of habitation to which an owner permits another individual, or individuals, to reside there for which the owner receives consideration, including:
1. Rural Residential Districts, which are comprised of residential areas in the county which are not of sufficient density or area to warrant central sewage facilities now, or in the foreseeable future. Density should not be greater than one dwelling unit per acre in these areas; and
2. Higher density development such as smaller, unincorporated communities will be considered for smaller amounts of acreage;
(d) A statement of the conditions which make the premises in noncompliance;
(e) The action which the order requires to be accomplished;
(f) The period of time in which the action is required to be accomplished, measured from the time when the notice of the order is given;
(g) A statement indicating the exact time and place of the hearing regarding the order, and indicating that the person to whom the order was issued has a right to appear at the hearing with, or without, legal counsel and present evidence, cross-examine opposing witnesses, and make argument;
(h) A statement briefly indicating what action can be taken by the County Board of Commissioners if the order is not complied with; and
(i) A statement indicating the obligation of the owner to notify any subsequent interest holders of the existence of this order, and to notify the County Board of Commissioners of the owner’s intention to transfer the interest to a subsequent interest holder. The owner shall be required to deliver said notices, which notices shall be provided in writing by the owner, to said subsequent interest holders and the Board.
(2) The order shall allow sufficient time in which to accomplish the required action. In no case shall less than five calendar days from the day when the notice of the order is given be allowed for compliance with the order. In the instance where more than 60 calendar days are allowed by the order to accomplish the action, the order may require that a substantial beginning be made in accomplishing the action within a period of 15 calendar days.
(C) Rescinding an order.
(1) The County Board of Commissioners may, at any time, modify or rescind an order.
(2) All persons who have been issued an order shall be notified of its modification, or rescission, by means of a written statement which should include the following information:
(a) The name of the person to whom the statement of modification, or rescission, of order is issued;
(b) The legal description, or address of the premises, that is the subject of the order being modified or rescinded;
(c) The substance of the order being modified or rescinded;
(d) A statement that the order is being modified or rescinded; and
(e) The name, address, and telephone number of the County Board of Commissioners.
(Ord. passed 1-15-1996)