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(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter if, in the opinion of the code official, the conditions at a property constitute an imminent hazard, the code official may order immediate abatement of the hazard without notice. Such abatement of an imminent hazard shall be limited to the minimum work necessary to remove the hazard, and may include disconnection of utilities.
(b) The city shall pay the cost and expense of such abatement from any appropriation made available for that purpose.
(c) A lien shall be recorded with the Pima County Recorder's Office and shall address the same costs and procedures identified in section 16-61, entitled abatement by the city.
(d) Whenever the code official finds that any structure contains an imminent hazard or health hazard, the code official may declare such structure unfit for human occupancy and order it to be vacated or to remain vacant. A structure declared unfit for occupancy and ordered vacated or to remain vacant under the provisions of this section shall not be leased, rented or occupied, and the utilities cannot be reconnected, until it has been inspected and deemed fit for occupancy by the city. The city shall reinspect, for the purpose of reoccupancy, within three (3) business days of the receipt of a written request by the owner.
(e) Fire department suppression forces are responsible for emergency operations related to fire conditions. In any case involving fire conditions at a building or structure, fire suppression forces shall be responsible for fire suppression and structure control until such time as the fire is fully extinguished. After fire conditions are fully extinguished, and after any necessary fire cause investigation, fire suppression forces shall transfer control and responsibility for the building or structure to the building official or other appropriate code official. After this transfer, all subsequent enforcement actions, such as securing the structure, restoring utilities, or ordering demolition, as well as all follow up actions such as cost recovery, shall be the responsibility of the building official or code official. After the transfer of responsibility, fire cause investigators shall retain authority over and responsibility for investigation of fire causation.
(Ord. No. 9816, § 15, 2-24-03)
(a) Whenever the code official has determined that a structure is unfit for occupancy and orders the structure to be vacated, the code official shall post a written notice at or upon each exit of the structure. The notice shall be in substantially the following form:
DO NOT ENTER
UNSAFE TO OCCUPY
It is unlawful to occupy this structure, or to remove or deface this notice.
(b) No person shall remain in or enter any structure that has been so posted, except to make repairs, demolish or remove such structure under permit. No person shall remove or deface such notice after it is posted until the required repairs, demolition or removal of the structure is completed and the property is reinspected and found to be in compliance.
(c) Whenever a notice is posted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the code official shall provide notice of such posting to the property owner using the procedures and provisions set forth in section 16-45 of this chapter. This notice shall recite the emergency and describe the hazardous condition(s) that necessitate the posting.
(Ord. No. 9816, § 15, 2-24-03)
Abatement by demolition shall be ordered only where repair of the structure is unreasonable or impracticable, and demolition and removal of a structure or building is necessary to correct and abate a violation. Any action involving the demolition of a building or structure shall be commenced by issuing a notice of violation to the owner and any responsible parties in accordance with the provisions of section 16-45.
(Ord. No. 9816, § 15, 2-24-03)
(a) Purpose. In order to promote the preservation and rehabilitation of significant historic structures that may have become structurally unsound, the following demolition procedures have been established to provide for adequate notification, analysis, stabilization, or demolition and documentation of such structures without jeopardizing the safety and welfare of the public.
(b) Applicability. These provisions apply to all historic structures within a City of Tucson Historic District or to designated national, state, or City of Tucson historic landmarks.
(c) Definitions. For the purpose of these procedures, an historic structure shall be defined as any structure more than fifty (50) years old.
(d) Organization. The appropriate historic district advisory board shall be responsible for providing a list of architects familiar with the types of construction in its district to the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission. At least one (1) architect from the list should be available to advise the structural engineer and/or building official when an emergency situation exists. The Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission shall file a list each January 30th with the planning department of five (5) qualified architects who are not city employees.
(e) Notification. When, either during or after business hours, the building official is informed that a structure is in imminent danger of collapse so as to endanger its occupants, other person, or neighboring structures, the building official shall at all times immediately notify the designated member of the planning department and the owner of the property in question and request the owner or the owner's agent to meet with the building official at the premises or other appropriate place concerning the course of action to be taken with regard to the subject structure. Planning department staff shall immediately notify the:
(1) Advisory board chairperson of the historic district in which the site is located;
(2) Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission Chairperson;
(3) State historic preservation officer if the structure is listed in the national historic register as being historically significant;
(4) An architect from the list provided by the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission.
(f) Evaluation.
(1) The building official shall immediately thereafter evaluate the demolition option with representatives of the planning and fire department staffs, and a licensed structural engineer who has experience in working with local historic structures.
(2) An architect from the list of architects familiar with adobe construction should be at the scene of the proposed demolition within two (2) hours of being notified to provide advice to the building official and a structural engineer concerning the proposed demolition.
(g) Abatement: emergency stabilization or demolition. When an historic building is damaged beyond the point of safety as determined by this review process, the feasibility of stabilizing the building shall first be considered by the building official after consultation with a structural engineer and an architect, if available. If the building cannot feasibly be brought to the point of safety by stabilization, partial demolition should be undertaken to the point of stability, again as determined by the building official after consultation with the structural engineer and architect, if available. Partial demolition should be done in such a manner that the future rehabilitation of the structure will not be impeded.
(h) Fire department operations. The role of the fire department suppression forces shall be limited to emergency operations and the abatement of imminent hazards to life. Only as a last resort and under the most extreme circumstances will the fire department suppression forces consider demolition of an historic structure as a means of hazard abatement. The fire department suppression forces will make every reasonable effort to salvage and preserve as much of the historic structure as possible when involved in fire.
(i) Report. A written report documenting the necessity of demolishing an historic structure should be prepared within five (5) working days of the decision to demolish a structure. This report must include the analysis of the structural engineer and the recommendations of the architect consulted.
(j) Salvage and documentation. A two (2) day delay shall be imposed in all but the most extreme cases to allow for salvage of important architectural features or photographic documentation. Access for these purposes will be permitted only with the permission of the building official and the property owner (following a securing of the property by fencing or other means as determined by the building official).
(Ord. No. 9816, § 15, 2-24-03)
Any person who fails to obey an order issued by a magistrate, special magistrate, or special limited magistrate directing abatement of a violation of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor. A violation of this section is punishable by a minimum mandatory twenty-four (24) hours in jail, up to a maximum six (6) months in jail; by a minimum mandatory fine of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00), up to a maximum two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00); and by probation up to three (3) years. Minimum jail and minimum fines can not be suspended.
(Ord. No. 9816, § 15, 2-24-03)
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