(A) Purpose. It is the purpose of this section to promote the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the town by establishing reasonable regulations for boarded up residential structures in order to prevent their detrimental effects in the town's neighborhoods.
(B) Standard requirements.
(1) The owner of a residential structure that is boarded up shall give notice to the town to have the property added the vacant residential structure inventory, maintained by the town;
(2) The residential structure shall be boarded up as prescribed herein in division (D);
(3) A residential structure shall not be allowed to be boarded up for a period greater than two years. After six months, the owner shall notify the town of their intent to repair the structure and agree to an "Intent to Repair" plan prepared by the land management department, described herein.
(4) A residential structure will be allowed to remain on the vacant residential structure inventory for six months, renewing every six months for a period of time not greater than two years, so long as the following conditions are met:
(a) The property owner or agent thereof has signed an "intent to repair" letter as provided by the land management department;
(b) The property owner or agent thereof is actively working on repairs with visible progress being made as determined by the land management director;
(c) If permits are required for the repairs being performed, they have been obtained by the property owner or agent thereof;
(d) The structure meets all other minimum housing standards as defined in this chapter and remains unoccupied; and
(e) The property owner has filed a claim with their insurance company due to fire or other type of damage, and the owner can produce documents thereof as proof of filing.
(5) Guidelines for boarding up a structure. In boarding up a residential structure, the following guidelines shall be used, unless approval is given otherwise by the land management director:
(a) Cut treated plywood, or approved substitute, to fit over the window and door openings, flush with outside of the molding.
(b) Place the plywood over the exterior opening and use a minimum 234 inch exterior screw to secure to the frame of the opening. Screws should be placed every 12 inches around the perimeter of the board. If the frame is unable to be used to secure plywood to the opening, the method of using 2 x 4s and carriage bolts may be a substituted process.
(c) Paint the plywood as specified for each specific opening:
1. For doors, paint the plywood white.
2. For windows, paint the plywood black. Then paint a white crosshair in the middle of the plywood to resemble a four-pane window. White duct tape may be substituted for white paint if approved by the land management director.
(C) Grace period. Any owner who has boarded up a residential structure prior to the effective date of this chapter shall comply with the regulations contained herein within 90 days after the effective date of this chapter. If after 90 days, an owner has failed to board up a residential structure in compliance with this chapter shall be in violation of this code.
(Ord. 16-12, passed 11-15-16)