For the purpose of this chapter the following definitions shall apply unless the context indicates or clearly requires a different meaning.
"BUILDING."Any combination of materials, whether portable or fixed, which comprises a structure affording facilities or shelter for any human occupancy, whether infrequent or regular, including all dwellings and nonresidential buildings. The BUILDING shall be construed as if followed by the words "or part of parts thereof and all equipment and contents therein" unless the context clearly requires a different meaning.
"DEMOLISH."To destroy a building and to remove all debris and waste materials from the lot on which the building stood.
"DWELLING."Any building or structure or part thereof used and occupied for human habitation or intended to be so used and including any garages or other accessory building belonging thereto.
"DWELLING UNIT."Any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with the facilities that are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, or eating.
"EXTERMINATE."The control and elimination of vermin and other pests by eliminating their harboring places, by removing or making inaccessible materials that may serve as their food, and by poisoning, spraying, fumigating, trapping, or by other legal methods.
"GARBAGE."The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
"OCCUPANT."Any person living, sleeping, cooking, or eating in, or having actual possession of a dwelling unit or rooming unit.
"OWNER."Any holder of any legal or equitable title in the subject premises, whether alone or jointly with others, and whether in possession or not, and shall further include any person who shall have charge, care, or control of any structure as owner, or as agent of the owner, or as fiduciary for the owner's estate.
"PARTIES IN INTEREST."All individuals, associates, and corporations who have a mortgage or other interest of record in a structure or who are in possession thereof.
"PUBLIC RECORD."Deeds, mortgages, and other instruments or record relating to land titles.
"RUBBISH."All waste materials except garbage.
"STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS."Any change in the supporting members of a building such as bearing walls, columns, beams or gutters, except repair or replacement of supporting members.
"STRUCTURE."Any man-made combination of materials, including but not limited to, buildings, dwellings, stadiums, reviewing stands, platforms, staging, observation towers, swimming pools above and below grade, radio towers, water tanks and towers, trestles, piers, wharves, sheds, coal bins, shelters, display signs, retaining walls, fences, and excavations. The term STRUCTURE shall be construed as if followed by the works "or part or parts thereof and all equipment and contents therein" unless the context clearly requires a different meaning.
"UTILITY PROVIDER."Any municipal or private utility supplying water, electricity, or natural gas.
"UNSAFE STRUCTURES."The following conditions are hereby determined to be hazardous and shall warrant a finding that a structure or its premises is unsafe:
(A) Structural hazards.
(1) Any structure whose walls or vertical members list, lean, or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line suspended from the top edge of such member shall fall outside of a distance from the edge equal to one-third of the thickness of such members;
(2) Any structure that has a support member or members that have deteriorated to such an extent as to be unable to safely support the applied loads or that have forty percent (40%) damage or deterioration of the non-supporting, enclosed or outside walls or covering;
(3) Any structure that has improperly distributed loads upon the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded or that have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used;
(4) A stress in any materials, element, or member of any structure, or portion thereof, due to all dead and live loads, which is greater than the working stresses allowed by the Kentucky Building Code of Fire Safety Standards;
(5) Any structure that has been damaged by fire, wind, earthquake, flood, or other causes in such a manner that the structural stability or strength thereof is appreciably less than the minimum requirements set forth by the Kentucky Building Code for new construction of a similar structure;
(6) Any structure that has parts thereof so attached, dislodged, or detached that they may fall or collapse and injure persons or property;
(7) Any structure that has settled to such an extent that the walls or other structural portions thereof have been displaced or distorted and rendered structurally unstable or dangerous, or that the basic function of such element has been impaired;
(8) Any structure that because of dilapidation, deterioration, decay, faulty construction, or the removal or movement of some portion of the ground necessary for its support, is likely to partially or completely collapse, or some portion of its foundation or underpinning is likely to fall or give way;
(9) Any structure, exclusive of its foundation, showing damage or deterioration to thirty three percent (33%) or more of its members, or fifty percent (50%) or more of its non-supporting enclosing or outside wall or covering;
(10) Any structure that is for any reason whatsoever manifestly unsafe for the purpose for which it is used or intended to be used;
(11) Any structure that has been so damaged by fire, wind, earthquake, flood, or has become so dilapidated or deteriorated from any cause whatsoever, as to become an attractive nuisance to children who might play therein, or as to afford a harbor for vagrants, criminals, disorderly persons, or others who are not lawful occupants of such structure, or as to enable person to resort thereto for the purpose of committing a nuisance or unlawful or immoral acts;
(12) Any structure that when constructed was, and now exists or is maintained in violation of any specific requirement or prohibition under city building ordinances or other laws in effect at the time of such construction relating to the location, use, and physical condition of structures;
(13) Any structure that, whether or not originally erected in accordance with all applicable laws and ordinances, because of dilapidation, deterioration, damage, or other cause, has become so weakened or defective as to have in any supporting member less than fifty percent (50%), or in any supporting member less than sixty-six percent (66%), of the strength, fire-resisting qualities or characteristics required by law or ordinance in the case of new construction of a similar structure;
(14) Any structure that because of faulty construction, age, lack of proper repair, or other cause, is especially liable to fire and constitutes, contains, or creates a fire hazard;
(15) Any structure that for any reason whatsoever is dangerous to the public health or safety because of its condition, and that may cause or aid in the spreading of disease or injury to the health or the occupants of it or neighboring structures.
(B) Faulty weather protection.
(1) Any structure that has deteriorated, crumbling, or loose plaster;
(2) Any structure that has deteriorated or ineffective water proofing of exterior walls, roofs, foundations, or floors, including broken windows or doors;
(3) Any structure that has defective or ineffective weather protection for exterior wall coverings, including lack of paint, or weathering due to lack of paint or other approved protective covering;
(4) Any structure that has broken, rotted, split, or buckled exterior walls or roof covering;
(C) Faulty construction materials. Any structure that has construction materials that are not approved by the Kentucky Building Code and the Fire Safety Standards and that have not been adequately maintained in good and safe condition.
(D) Fire Hazards.
(1) Any structure that is not of fire-resistive construction or provided with fire-extinguishing systems or equipment required by the Fire Safety Standards, except those structures that conformed with all applicable laws at the time of their construction and whose fire-resistive integrity and fire extinguishing systems or equipment have been adequately maintained and improved in relation to any increase in occupant load, alteration or additions, or any change in occupancy;
(2) Any structure or combustible waste or vegetation that is in a condition likely to cause a fire or explosion or provide ready fuel to augment the spread and intensity of fire or explosion arising from any cause;
(3) Any structure that has a door, aisle, passage way, stairway, or other mans of exit of insufficient width or size, or not so arranged as to provide safe and adequate means of exit in case of fire or panic for all persons housed or assembled therein who would be required to, or might use such means of exit;
(4) Any structure that does not have any unobstructed means of egress leading to safe and open space at ground level;
(E) Hazardous or unsanitary premises. Any premises in which there is an accumulation of weeds, vegetation, junk, dead organic matter, debris, garbage, refuse, vermin harborage, stagnant water, combustible materials, or similar materials or conditions, constituting fire, health, or safety hazards;
(F) Electrical hazards.
(1) Any structure that has permanent electrical wiring that is dangerous due to lack of insulation, improper fuses or circuit breakers, inadequate grounding, wires or inadequate capacity, obvious shock hazards, or other dangerous conditions;
(2) Any structure that has temporary wiring, except extension cords that run directly from portable electric fixtures to convenience outlets and do not lie underneath floor covering materials or extend through doorways, transoms or other similar openings through walls, floor, or ceiling.
(G) Plumbing hazards.
(1) Any structure that has plumbing that permits contamination of the water supply through backflow, back/siphonage, or any other methods of contamination;
(2) Any structure that has water supply inlets below the flood level of any sink, lavatory, bathtub, or other fixture, or submerged inlets except those with a vacuum breaker complying with the Kentucky Building Code;
(3) Any structure with a water using fixture whose waste line is not trapped;
(H) Heating hazards.
(1) Any structure that has a fuel supply connection of material other than pipe or tubing of solid metal, or is not permanently fastened in place;
(2) Any structure that has equipment or vents so close to combustible materials or structural components, or so lacking in insulation, that there is danger of combustion;
(3) Any structure that has equipment burning liquid or solid fuel that is not connected to chimneys or flues, or that is connected to vents suitable for natural gas only.
"UNFIT STRUCTURES."
(A) Ventilation.
(1) Any structure that does not have the window area for each habitable room equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the total floor area of such room, excluding rooms abutting row houses and rooms not abutting exterior walls;
(2) Any structure that does not have ventilation provided by operable doors or windows equal to four and one-half percent (4.5%) of total floor area of each room, except where there is supplied forced air ventilation complying with all applicable laws and ordinances;
(3) Any structure that, from May 15 through October 15, does not have screens to effectively cover all operable windows, doors, and other ventilation devices required under division (A)(2) above, with mesh in good repair and of maximum gauge 14 by 18.
(B) Below ground level.
(1) Any structure having a basement or cellar with windows or other openings that are not screened or otherwise protected to effectively prevent the entrance of vermin and other pests;
(2) Any basement or cellar used as a habitable room or dwelling unit in which the floor and walls are not impervious to leakage of underground and surface runoff water and are not insulated against dampness, or in which the total window area in each room is not equal to at least the minimum window area sizes required by division (A)(1) above, or in which such required minimum window area is not located entirely above the grad of the ground adjoining such window area, or in which the total operable window area in each room is not equal to at least the minimum required by division (A)(2) above, except where there is installed some other operable device affording adequate ventilation and approved by the Code Enforcement Office, or in which exits are not adequate or do not comply with the Fire Safety Standards;
(C) Ceiling height. Any structure having rooms with the ceiling height less than seven feet throughout one-half of the area of such room; any portion of a room having a ceiling height less than five feet high shall not be considered in computing the total floor area of such room.
(D) Plumbing.
(1) Any structure that does not have a portable water supply.
(2) Any structure that does not have hot and cold running water with operable water-heating facilities capable of heating water to such a temperature to permit an adequate amount of water to be drawn at every required kitchen sink, lavatory, bathtub or shower at a temperature of at least one hundred twenty (120) degrees fahrenheit.
(3) Any structure that does not have an installed kitchen sink in each dwelling unit properly connected to the hot and cold water supply pipes and the sewer system;
(4) Any structure that does not have an installed bathtub or shower and lavatory properly connected to the hot and cold water supply pipes and the sewer system, or in which the tub or shower is not located in a room affording privacy;
(5) Any structure that does not have an operable flush type water closet located in a room affording privacy and properly connected to the water supply pipes and the sewer system;
(6) Any structure in which all plumbing fixtures are not connected to sewer lines that discharge into a public sewerage system, or if no public system is available, into a private or jointly owned system meeting the requirements of all public health authorities having jurisdiction.
(E) Lighting.
(1) Any structure that does not have installed operable and safe electric lighting facilities consisting of at least two (2) separate wall type convenience outlets or one ceiling type fixture and one wall type outlet for every habitable room, and at least one such wall outlet or ceiling fixture in each water closet compartment, bathroom, laundry room, furnace room, and public hall and stairway;
(2) Any multiple dwelling of five or more units in which all public halls and stairways are not adequately lighted at all times, and any multiple dwelling of four units or less in which there is neither conveniently located switches controlling an adequate lighting system for public halls and stairways nor adequate full time lighting thereof.
(F) Heating. Any structure that does not have operable central or other heating facilities installed and maintained in accordance with the Fire Safety Standards, capable of safely and adequately heating all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and water closet compartments in every dwelling unit located therein to a temperature of a least seventy (70) degrees fahrenheit, and is adequately vented.
(G) Refuse and pests.
(1) Any structure that does not have adequate rubbish storage facilities and garbage disposal facilities or garbage storage containers;
(2) Any structure in which there has been accumulated extraordinary garbage, rubbish, and refuse, or in which there is an infestation of vermin or other pests, or other unsanitary conditions, any of which are hazardous to health; or
(H) Miscellaneous substandard and hazardous conditions. Any structure in which exists other conditions dangerous or injurious to the health, safety, or morals of the occupants thereof, or of the occupants or owners of neighboring structures, or of other residents of the city, including but not limited to any defects increasing the hazards of fire, accident, or other calamities, lack of adequate light, ventilation, or sanitary facilities, dilapidation, disrepair, structural defects, and uncleanliness.
(Ord. 9-1998, passed 8-17-98)