(a) The Building Program Manager may immediately secure a vacant structure whenever it is found open to entry at doors, window, or other points accessible to the general public. The Building Program Manager shall be authorized at any time to enter on the premises. And the owner shall permit entry to secure the structure in order to lessen the severity of the public nuisance. In securing such structure, the Building Program Manager may call on any department, division, bureau of the city, or by private contract for whatever assistance may be necessary to secure such structure. Photographs of the structure shall be taken prior to securing it, and those photographs shall be filed with the Building Department.
(b) Either before, or as soon as practicable after the securing of a vacant structure, the Building Program Manager shall serve a written notice on the owner in the manner provided in Section 1357.08. The notice shall inform the owner of:
(1) The date on which the structure was found open to entry and of the securing of the structure,
(2) The cost incurred in securing the structure and that the city will recover such costs in the manner prescribed by Section 1357.12, and
(3) The right to appeal the said notice to the Property Maintenance Appeals Board by making a written demand to the Building Program Manager within 15 days after receipt of the notice.
(c) The Property Maintenance Appeals Board may:
(1) Sustain the action of the Building Program Manager; or
(2) Find that the action taken to secure the structure was unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable.
(d) If the Property Maintenance Appeals Board does not sustain the action of the Building Program Manager, the costs incurred in securing the structure shall be paid from city funds specifically authorized by the City for such purpose.
(Ord. 13-05. Passed 4-18-05.)