(A) Inspections. The Director shall have the authority to conduct, or cause to be conducted, inspections, investigations and/or surveys to determine compliance or noncompliance of all buildings, structures, utilities and/or uses within the scope of this Division.
(B) Right of entry. Incidental to inspections, investigations and/or surveys under the authority of this Division, the Director or his or her authorized representative may at reasonable hours enter into and upon and cause any land, building, structure or utility to be inspected and examined. A failure or refusal to permit the entry and inspection after the issuance, by the Director, of a proper request therefor, shall constitute a violation of this Division. Additionally, the right to entry and inspection may be enforced by application to and proper order from a court of proper jurisdiction pursuant to G.S. §§ 15-27.2.
(C) Stop orders.
(1) Wherever any work is being performed contrary to the provisions of this section, the Director may order the work stopped by notice pursuant to G.S. §§ 160D-404.
(2) After due stop order notice has been given, it shall be unlawful for any person to proceed with the work until the corrective work required to be performed by the notice is complied with, within a reasonable specified time.
(D) Unsafe buildings, structures, utilities or land uses.
(1) The Director shall have authority to cause existing conditions in any building, structure, utility or land use, which has determined through due process to be unsafe, to corrected in the reasonable manner to remove the hazard caused by the condition.
(2) After the owner or his or her agent has been duly notified, failure of the owner or his or her agent to make the necessary corrections as may be prescribed shall constitute a violation of this section.
(3) In the case where a utility has been determined and declared by the Director to be unsafe, the Director shall have authority to order the utility disconnected or its use discontinued until the hazard caused thereby is corrected.
(4) In the event that it is discovered that construction performed under a permit issued under this section is suspected to have State Building Code violations following the issuance of certificate of compliance, the following procedure shall be adhered to by the Director.
(a) The complainant shall submit to the Director the following information:
1. Name of complainant;
2. Location of complaint;
3. Building permit number; and
4. Suspected code violations.
(b) The Director shall conduct an investigation to determine if there are in fact State Building Code violations involved. The investigation shall be conducted using the Building Code and standard inspection practices and procedures in effect at the time the building permit was issued.
(c) If code violations are found, the Director shall contact the contractor and owner to which the permit was issued and direct them to correct the State Building Code violations pursuant to G.S. §§ 160D-1118 and 160D-1121.
(d) If there is a disagreement between the contractor and the Director as to what constitutes a Building Code violation, the Director shall request that the state’s Department of Insurance review the specific code items and render a written opinion to the Director.
(e) If the state’s Department of Insurance determines that these items are not State Building Code violations, the investigation shall be discontinued.
(f) If the state’s Department of Insurance determines that in fact these items are code violations, the contractor again will be directed to correct those identified items. If the contractor refuses to arrange to correct the items, within 30 days, the Director shall file with the appropriate State Licensing Board a complaint against the contractor requesting that appropriate disciplinary actions be taken.
(E) Posting of signs. When necessary to preserve the public health, safety and/or welfare of the citizens of the county, the Director may post signs which shall prohibit entry into unsafe buildings or structures; however, with permission of the Director, it shall be lawful to enter in or upon a building or structure for the purpose of effecting any required repairs, rehabilitation or demolition.
(F) Service of notice.
(1) Service of any notice may be by personal service as defined by the state’s Rules of Civil Procedures, or may be made by registered mail, return receipt requested; and the service shall be deemed complete upon delivery.
(2) In the event the address of a person to be notified is unknown or the receipt of a notice which has been mailed is returned unsigned, the notice may be served pursuant to G.S. §§ 160D- 1121.
(1984 Code, § 2-4-41) (Ord. passed 8-6-1979; Ord. passed 11-26-1990; Ord. passed 4-19-2021)
Penalty, see § 150.999
Statutory reference:
Rules of civil procedure, see G.S. § 1A-1