(A) (1) Beginning with the registration cycle for the year 2020, all owners/controllers of non-owner occupied property and unoccupied property containing a building or other structure that is more than one story and less than ten feet from the public right-of-way shall have all roof-mounted structures and every exterior wall of or part of the building's exterior, including connecting bridges, cornices, copings, eaves, bays, or similar projections, thoroughly inspected and examined by competent professionals, at their own expense, at intervals not to exceed five years and shall furnish the city's Chief Inspector with a written report setting forth the true condition of the structure inspected. The Chief Inspector shall be notified in advance of such an inspection of an existing building and may have an authorized designee present. Where conditions of a structure or wall cannot be determined by inspection of the exterior of the structure or wall, the Chief Inspector, or his or her designee, may require portions thereof to be removed for a more thorough examination.
(2) A competent professional shall be defined as a licensed architect, structural engineer, or other professional deemed acceptable by the city's Chief Inspector.
(B) Upon successful completion of such inspection, a certificate of compliance shall be issued by the Chief Inspector, or his or her designee. With regard to unoccupied property, the certificate of compliance shall be posted in a conspicuous place within the building or structure and readily available for inspection. Certificates of compliance for non-owner occupied property shall be maintained by the owner/controller and made available upon request by the Chief Inspector, or his or her designee, or by any current or prospective tenant.
(C) It shall be unlawful to occupy or use a building, premises, or structure required to have a certificate of compliance under this section, or cause same to be occupied, without the required certificate of compliance for the building, premises, or structure.
(D) Upon a finding that the building, premises, or structure is unsatisfactory for human habitation or is otherwise structurally unsound, the Chief Inspector may deem such property to be a nuisance and order such building, premises, or structure vacated, as well as issue a written order to repair/correct.
(Ord. O-209, passed 4-1-2019, effective 4-11-2019; Ord. O-212, passed 8-19-2019, effective 8-29-2019)