The Building and Standards Commission, upon adoption of its own rules and procedures, shall perform the following.
(A) Upon receipt of a report of the Building Official, Community Development Director, Fire Marshal or designee, or other authorized representatives of the city as provided for in § 150.034 of this chapter, written notice of a hearing is to be given by the Commission to appear before the Commission on a date specified in the notice to determine whether the building complies with the standards set out in this subchapter.
(B) The Board shall hold a hearing and hear such testimony as the Building Official, Community Development Director, Fire Marshal or designee, or other representatives of the city and the owner, mortgagee, lessee or any other person having an interest in the building, as shown by the deed records of the County Clerk’s office and/or the tax rolls of the city, shall offer relative to the determination of the question of whether or not the building or structure in question is a dangerous building.
(C) A notice of a hearing sent to an owner, lienholder or mortgagee under this section must include a statement that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee will be required to submit at the hearing proof of the scope of any work that may be required to comply with the ordinance and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work.
(D) After the public hearing, if a building is found in violation of standards set out in the subchapter, the Building and Standards Commission may order that the building be vacated, secured, repaired, removed or demolished by the owner within a reasonable time as provided by this section. The Building and Standards Commission also may order that the occupants be relocated within a reasonable time. If the owner does not take the ordered action within the allotted time, the Building and Standards Commission shall make a diligent effort to discover each mortgagee and lienholder having an interest in the building or in the property on which the building is located. The Building and Standards Commission shall personally deliver or send by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each identified mortgagee and lienholder a notice containing:
(1) An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the building and the property on which it is located;
(2) A description of the violation of the city’s minimum standards that is present at the building; and
(3) A statement that the city will vacate, secure, remove or demolish the building or relocate the occupants of the building if the ordered action is not taken within a reasonable time.
(E) As an alternative to the procedure prescribed by division (D) above, the Building and Standards Commission may make a diligent effort to discover each mortgagee and lienholder before conducting the public hearing and may give them a notice of and an opportunity to comment at the hearing. In addition, the Building and Standards Commission may file notice of the hearing in the official public records of real property in the county in which the property is located. The notice must contain the name and address of the owner of the affected property if that information can be determined, a legal description of the affected property and a description of the hearing. The filing of the notice is binding on subsequent grantees, lienholders or other transferees of an interest in the property who acquire such interest after the filing of the notice, and constitutes notice of the hearing on any subsequent recipient of any interest in the property who acquires such interest after the filing of the notice. If the city chooses to operate under this division (E), the order issued by the Building and Standards Commission may specify a reasonable time as provided by this section for the building to be vacated, secured, repaired, removed or demolished by the owner or for the occupants to be relocated by the owner and an additional reasonable time as provided by this section for the ordered action to be taken by any of the mortgagees or lienholders in the event the owner fails to comply with the order within the time provided for action by the owner. Under this division (E), the Building and Standards Commission is not required to furnish any notice to a mortgagee or lienholder other than a copy of the order in the event the owner fails to timely take the ordered action.
(F) Within ten days after the date that the order is issued, the Building and Standards Commission shall:
(1) File a copy of the order in the office of the City Secretary; and
(2) Publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the city a notice containing:
(a) The street address or legal description of the property;
(b) The date of the hearing;
(c) A brief statement indicating the results of the order; and
(d) Instructions stating where a complete copy of the order may be obtained.
(G) After the hearing, the Building and Standards Commission shall promptly mail by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personally deliver a copy of the order to the owner of the building and to any lienholder or mortgagee of the building. The Building and Standards Commission shall use its best efforts to determine the identity and address of any owner, lienholder or mortgagee of the building.
(H) In conducting a hearing authorized under this section, the Building and Standards Commission shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee of the building to within 30 days:
(1) Secure the building from unauthorized entry; or
(2) Repair, remove or demolish the building, unless the owner or lienholder establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be performed within 30 days.
(I) If the Building and Standards Commission allows the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than 30 days to repair, remove or demolish the building, the Building and Standards Commission shall establish specific time schedules for the commencement and performance of the work and shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee to secure the property in a reasonable manner from unauthorized entry while the work is being performed, as determined by the Hearing Official.
(J) The Building and Standards Commission may not allow the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than 90 days to repair, remove or demolish the building or fully perform all work required to comply with the order unless the owner, lienholder or mortgagee:
(1) Submits a detailed plan and time schedule for the work at the hearing; and
(2) Establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be completed within 90 days because of the scope and complexity of the work.
(K) If the Building and Standards Commission allows the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than 90 days to complete any part of the work required to repair, remove or demolish the building, the Building and Standards Commission shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee to regularly submit progress reports to the city to demonstrate compliance with the time schedules established for commencement and performance of the work. The order may require that the owner, lienholder or mortgagee appear before the Hearing Official or the Hearing Official’s designee to demonstrate compliance with the time schedules. If the owner, lienholder or mortgagee owns property, including structures or improvements on property, within the municipal boundaries that exceeds $100,000 in total value, the Building and Standards Commission may require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee to post a cash or surety bond in an amount adequate to cover the cost of repairing, removing or demolishing a building under this division (K). In lieu of a bond, the Building and Standards Commission may require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee to provide a letter of credit from a financial institution or a guaranty from a third party approved by the Building and Standards Commission. The bond must be posted, or the letter of credit or third party guaranty provided, not later than the thirtieth day after the date the Building and Standards Commission issues the order.
(L) In a public hearing to determine whether a building complies with the standards set out in this subchapter, the owner, lienholder or mortgagee has the burden of proof to demonstrate the scope of any work that may be required to comply with the ordinance and the time it will take to reasonably perform the work.
(M) If the building is not vacated, secured, repaired, removed or demolished, or the occupants are not relocated within the allotted time, the city may vacate, secure, remove or demolish the building or relocate the occupants at its own expense. This division (M) does not limit the ability of the city to collect on a bond or other financial guaranty that may be required by division (K) above.
(N) If a city incurs expenses under division (M) above, the city may assess the expenses on, and the city has a lien against, unless it is a homestead as protected by the State Constitution, the property on which the building was located. The lien is extinguished if the property owner or another person having an interest in the legal title to the property reimburses the city for the expenses. The lien arises and attaches to the property at the time the notice of the lien is recorded and indexed in the office of the County Clerk in the county in which the property is located. The notice must contain the name and address of the owner if that information can be determined with a reasonable effort, a legal description of the real property on which the building was located, the amount of expenses incurred by the city and the balance due.
(O) If the notice is given and the opportunity to relocate the tenants of the building or to repair, remove or demolish the building is afforded to each mortgagee and lienholder as authorized by divisions (D), (E) or (G) above, the lien is a privileged lien subordinate only to tax liens.
(P) The Building and Standards Commission satisfies the requirements of this section to make a diligent effort, to use its best efforts or to make a reasonable effort to determine the identity and address of an owner, a lienholder or a mortgagee if the municipality searches the following records:
(1) County real property records;
(2) County Appraisal District records;
(3) Records of the Secretary of State;
(4) Assumed name records of the county;
(5) City tax records; and
(6) City utility records.
(Q) When the Building and Standards Commission mails a notice in accordance with this section to a property owner, lienholder or mortgagee and the United States Postal Service returns the notice as “refused” or “unclaimed”, the validity of the notice is not affected, and the notice is considered delivered.
(R) Administrative tasks such as mailing of notices, efforts to determine identities and publication of hearings may be performed on behalf of the Building and Standards Commission by authorized officials of the city.
(1998 Code, § 22-320) (Ord. 04-35, passed 9-1-2004)