(A) Fire limits. The following shall be and are hereby declared to be the fire limits of the city:
Beginning at the middle of the intersection of Park Street and First Street; thence one block in an easterly direction, along the middle of First Street, to the middle of the intersection of First Street and Melear Street; thence one block in a southerly direction along the middle of Melear Street, to the middle of the intersection of Front Street and Melear Street; thence in a westerly direction, along the middle of Front Street to a point in the middle of Front Street, which the point is 200 feet westerly from the middle of the intersection of Front Street and Oak Street; thence in a northerly direction, in a straight line, to a point in middle of First Street, which the point is 200 feet westerly from the m of the intersection of First Street and Oak Street; thence in an easterly direction along the middle of First Street to the place of beginning.
(B) Permits and inspections.
(1) No wall, structure, building or part thereof, shall hereafter be built, enlarged or altered, until a plan of the proposed work, together with a statement of materials to be used, shall have been submitted to the Building Inspector, who shall, if in accordance with the provisions herein contained, issue a written permit in triplicate for the proposed work. Permits shall be kept on file with the City Clerk.
(2) Structures hereafter erected without a permit, or not in conformity with this section, shall be removed.
(3) No building shall be moved from without to within the fire limits, nor from one location to another within the fire limits, until a permit shall have been issued therefor. No permit shall be issued, unless the construction is in accordance with this section.
(4) The Building Inspector shall inspect, as often as practical, construction in progress, to see that all provisions of this section are being complied with.
(5) All plans and specifications submitted to the Building Inspector shall comply with all city ordinances and with state law.
(C) Construction required within the fire limits.
(1) No building or structure of wooden, ironclad (whether on wood or metal supports), stucco or veneer type construction, or any building whose walls contain wood supports, shall be permitted within the fire limits, except as indicated in division (D) below. No building shall hereafter be built, enlarged or altered, except in accordance with this section.
(2) The thickness of walls shall be not less than as given below.
(a) Brick walls shall be not less than 12 inches thick, except that one-story buildings with floor areas of 750 square walls eight inches thick, 11 feet or less may have reinforced concrete walls may be three-fourth of the thickness of brick walls, but in no case less than eight inches.
(b) Hollow building tile may be used as filler walls; provided, the walls are supported or reinforced concrete beams and footings, and by adequate reinforced concrete or brick pillars or columns spaced not more than 16 feet apart. Walls shall be not less than 12 inches thick. Small one-story buildings of less than 500 square feet floor area may have walls of eight-inch hollow tile.
(c) Solid stone walls shall be four inches thicker than brick walls for like construction.
(d) All exterior walls, party walls and division tire walls shall have parapets extending at least 18 inches above the roof, and the parapets shall be at least 12 inches thick, except where eight-inch walls are permitted as above, in which case parapets may be eight inches thick.
(D) Frame building in fire limits. The following frame structures are permissible in the fire limits:
(1) Temporary one-story frame buildings for the rise of builders; and
(2) Wooden fences not over eight feet high, without roof or cover.
(E) Roofs.
(1) All buildings or structures hereafter constructed in the fire limits shall have incombustible roof coverings.
(2) No roofing on an existing roof shall be renewed or repaired to a greater extent than 10% of the roof surface, except in conformity with this section; and in no instance shall more than one permit be issued each existing building in any one year.
(F) Repairs and additions.
(1) An existing building within the fire limits which may hereafter be damaged by fire, decay or otherwise, to an amount greater than 50% of its present value, exclusive of the foundation, shall not be repaired or rebuilt, but shall be removed.
(2) Extensions, remodeling or additions to existing buildings shall not be considered as repairs and shall not be permitted except when conforming with division (C) above.
(G) Arbitration. Whenever an application for permit to repair any existing building already located within the fire limits is made by any person or firm, and the City Council and the applicant disagree on the extent of repairs to be made, and a permit is denied by the Building Inspector, the City Council shall appoint a competent and disinterested person, and the applicant shall appoint a competent and disinterested person, which two persons so appointed shall select a third member, and these three persons shall appraise the building, examine the plan of the proposed work and the statement of materials and labor to be used in the repairing or rebuilding of the building, and make a signed written report of their findings to the City Council. If the report reflects clearly that the rebuilding or repairing would be a violation of this section, then the application for permit shall be denied by the City Council, and if the report reflects that the person seeking the permit has complied with this section, and the requested rebuilding or repairing is not in violation of this section, then the City Council shall issue a permit for the proposed rebuilding or repairing.
(H) Fees. The building inspector shall be entitled to a fee of $ for each inspection.
(Ord. 57-3, passed 10-10-1957) Penalty, see § 150.99