(A) Before any building or structure may be ordered to be demolished and removed as provided in § 150.078 of this chapter, the Building Inspector shall notify the owner or owners thereof, in writing, by certified or registered mail to the last known address of the owner; by personal service of such notice by the Building Inspector or his or her assistant; or by posting notice as hereinafter provided in this section, that the building or structure is in such condition as appears to constitute a fire or safety hazard, be dangerous to life, health or other property, or be a public nuisance, and that a hearing will be held before the Building Inspector at a designated place at a time not less than ten days after the date of the written notice, at which time and place, the owner shall be entitled to be heard in person or by counsel upon all legal or factual questions relating to the matter and shall be entitled to offer such evidence as he or she may desire which is relevant or material to the questions sought to be determined or the remedies sought to be effected. If the name or whereabouts of the owner cannot, after due diligence, be discovered, the notice shall be considered properly and adequately served if a copy thereof is posted on the outside of the building or structure in question at least ten days prior to the date fixed for the hearing and a notice of the hearing is published one time in a newspaper having general circulation in the town at least one week prior to the date fixed for the hearing. Such notice shall state the address or location of the building or structure and the time, place and purpose of the hearing.
(B) If, upon hearing, the Building Inspector shall find that the building or structure in question is in such a dilapidated or substandard state of disrepair as to constitute a fire or safety hazard or be dangerous to life, health or other property, or is a public nuisance, he or she shall make an order in writing directed to the owner of the building or structure, requiring the owner to remedy such conditions so found to exist by demolishing and removing the buildings or structure or taking such other steps as may be necessary to abate the nuisance and remove the hazards, within such period, not less than 60 days, as the Building Inspector may prescribe.
(C) In cases in which the Building Inspector has been unable to give the owner actual notice of hearing in the manner provided in division (A) above and has given such notice by posting and publishing the same as authorized in division (A) above, and the owner has failed or refused to comply with the order or direction of the Building Inspector to demolish and remove the building or structure, or take such other remedial action as will remove the hazards, and such case is referred to the Board of Commissioners for action, the Board shall, before taking such action, cause to be posted on the outside of the building or structure in question at least ten days prior to the date fixed for the hearing, and published one time in a newspaper having general circulation in the town at least one week prior to the date fixed for such hearing, a written notice stating the address or location of the building or structure involved and the time, place and purpose of the hearing, and such other information as the Board of Commissioners may deem advisable.
(Prior Code, § 150.66)
Statutory reference:
Notice, hearing, see G.S. § 160A-428
Order to take corrective action, see G.S. § 160A-429