(a) (1) The City Engineer or the City Engineer's designee shall issue a notice and order in writing to each owner of or party in interest in the building or structure in whose name the property appears on the last local tax assessment records. This notice and order shall include a time and place of a hearing on whether the building or structure is a dangerous building and a period of time in which the owner shall commence and complete the required alteration, repair or rehabilitation, or demolition and removal of the building or structure or portions thereof. All work shall be completed prior to the date of the hearing determined by the City Engineer or the City Engineer's designee and so stated in the written notice and order. In no event shall this period allowed to complete the work exceed 90 days from the date of delivery of the notice.
(2) If necessary to protect the health and safety of occupants or persons in the vicinity, such notice shall also require the building, structure or portion thereof to be vacated forthwith and not to be reoccupied until the required repairs and improvements are completed, inspected and approved by the City Engineer or the City Engineer's designee.
(3) The City Engineer or the City Engineer's designee may order the building, structure or portion thereof to be boarded in accordance with the standards set forth in the current Building Code and current International Property Maintenance Code, as adopted and amended. In such an event, the owner or agent thereof shall cause the building, structure or portion thereof to be boarded as directed. Such orders are deemed to be a temporary measure for use during the period of time set forth in the notice and order for alteration, repair or rehabilitation, or demolition and removal of such dangerous buildings, structures or portion thereof.
(4) In no event shall the boarding of a building or structure be deemed to be a permanent abatement of a dangerous building. The City has specifically determined that, though appropriate for temporary securing of dangerous buildings or structures, boarding of buildings or structures as a permanent measure leads or contributes to:
A. Urban blight;
B. A decline in property values for surrounding properties;
C. A decline in the aesthetics of the City;
D. The building or structure being a target for arson;
E. A site for trafficking in illegal and controlled substances, prostitution and/or other social evils.
(b) Service of the notice and order to show cause shall be made upon each owner of or party in interest as defined in division (a)(1) of this section. Service shall be by any of the following methods:
(1) Personally delivering a copy to the owner or agent thereof; or
(2) Mailing a copy by certified mail, postage paid, return receipt requested, and first class mail, postage paid, to the owner; or
(3) Posting a copy thereof upon a conspicuous part of the building or structure.
(c) Notice shall be effective upon the earliest occurrence of any of the following:
(1) Personal service upon the owner or the owner's agent;
(2) The date of mailing by certified mail when a signed return receipt is received;
(3) The date of posting.
(Ord. 2004-10. Passed 8-2-04; Ord. 2009-05. Passed 4-21-09.)