(a) Nuisance. All dwelling structures and appurtenant structures which are a menace to the public health, safety or welfare or which are structurally unsafe or unsanitary, or not provided with adequate safe egress, or which constitute a fire hazard or are otherwise dangerous to human life, or which in relation to existing use constitute a hazard to the public health, safety or welfare by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence and/or abandonment are, severally, for the purposes of this section, declared to be unsafe structures and public nuisances. All such public nuisances are hereby declared to be illegal and shall be abated by repair and rehabilitation or by demolition in accordance with the procedures of this section.
(b) Notice; Order to Repair or Demolish. Whenever the Property Maintenance Officer determines any dwelling structure or appurtenant structure to be a public nuisance as defined in subsection (a) hereof, he shall give written notice of the order to repair or demolish to the owner or person in control thereof or said repairs/demolition shall be done by the City and costs charged to the property owner. If the City repairs/demolishes the building in question and the owner fails to pay within the tax fixed by the Director of Inspections, the Director of Inspections shall report that fact to Council which may assess the same on the real estate involved.
(c) Contents of Notice and Order. Such written notice of nuisance and order to repair or demolish shall specify the structure deemed to be a public nuisance, shall specify which section or sections of this Code are being violated, shall include an order to repair defects therein to allow the person in control to make required repair if such repairs will abate such public nuisance or, in the alternative, shall include an order to demolish the structure if such public nuisance cannot be abated by repair, and shall specify a reasonable period of time and/or date by which such repairs or demolition shall be completed so as to bring such structure into conformity with this Code. The notice shall include the cost of repair and/or demolish if done by the City and a statement that unless the repairs/demolition is completed in the stated time it will be done by the City and the cost will be assessed on the real estate involved.
(d) Service of Notice and Order. Proper service of notice shall be by personal service, residence service or by certified mail; provided, however, that such notice and order shall be deemed to be properly served if a copy thereof is sent by certified mail to the owner’s last known address. If any party cannot be located, nor this address ascertained, the notice and order shall be deemed to be properly served if a copy thereof is placed in a conspicuous place in or about the dwelling structure affected by such notice and order and if a copy of the notice and order is published in a newspaper of general circulation in Cuyahoga County for a period of three consecutive days. No person shall remove or deface such copy of notice and order so posted without written permission of the Director of Inspections.
(1) Exception. Whenever the Director of Inspections shall ascertain, either upon information or by observation or inspection, that any condition amounting to a nuisance or defined by law or ordinances as a nuisance exists on any premises, which nuisance poses an imminent danger to the public health, safety or welfare, he shall affect the repair/demolition or removal of the nuisance without giving notification.
(e) Duty to Inform Purchaser. Any owner or person in control of such structure who has received a notice of the order to repair or demolish shall inform any purchaser thereof of such notice and order. No owner or person in control of such structure shall transfer to any vendee any interest in such structure after receiving the notice and order without first providing the vendee with a copy of such notice and order.
(f) Disregard of Notice and Order. If proper service of notice of the nuisance and order to repair or demolish is made in accordance with subsection (d) hereof, and the owner or person in control of such structure fails, neglects or refuses to comply with such notice and order by the date specified therein, the Director of Inspections shall order the nuisance to be repaired or demolished by the City. The City may prosecute the property owner for failure to comply with the order.
(g) The Director of Inspections shall consider the following standards when making his determination to repair/demolish:
(1) All buildings or structures which have any or all of the following defects shall be deemed and are hereby declared to be public nuisances:
A. Those whose interior walls or other vertical structural members list, lean or buckle to such an extent that plumb line passing through the center of gravity falls outside of the middle third of its base.
B. Those which, exclusive of the foundation, show thirty-three percent (33%) or more of damage or deterioration of the supporting member or members, or fifty percent (50%) of damage or deterioration of the nonsupporting enclosing member or members of outside walls or covering.
C. Those which have improperly distributed loads upon the floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded, or which have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used.
D. Those which have been damaged by fire, wind, or other causes so as to have become imminently dangerous to life, safety, morals or the general health and welfare of the occupants or the people of the City.
E. Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary or which so utterly fail to provide the amenities essential to decent living that they are unfit for human habitation, or are likely to cause sickness or disease, so as to work injury to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the occupants thereof.
F. Those having light, air and sanitation facilities which are inadequate to protec the health, morals, safety or general welfare of human beings who live or may live therein.
G. Those having inadequate facilities for egress in case of fire or panic or those having insufficient stairways, elevators, fire escapes or other means of communication.
H. Those which have parts thereof which are not attached that they may fall and injure the occupants thereof or members of the public.
I. Those which because of their condition are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people.
J. Those buildings existing in violation of any provision of this Real Property Maintenance Code or other ordinances of the City, provided, however, that the provisions of this chapter shall not interfere with a valid nonconforming use, unless it is otherwise an unsafe building.
(2) If the public nuisance can reasonably be repaired so that is will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this Code it shall be ordered to be repaired.
(3) If the public nuisance is in such condition as to make it imminently dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of its occupants, and it is still occupied, it shall be ordered to be demolished.
(4) In any case where a public nuisance is fifty percent (50%) damaged, decayed, or deteriorated from its current market value as determined by the Cuyahoga County Auditor’s tax duplicate, it shall be demolished and in all cases where a building cannot be repaired so that is will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this Code, it shall be demolished. In all cases where a public nuisance is a fire hazard existing or erected in violation of the terms of this Code or any ordinance of the City or laws of the State, it shall be demolished.
(h) Resolution of Council. Service of the decision and order by the Director of Inspections shall be given in accordance with subsection (d) hereof, to the holders of legal or equitable liens of record upon the real property on which the dwelling structure or appurtenant structure is located, and to the owners of record of such property, and if the owner or person in control of the structure fails, neglects or refuses to comply with the decision and order of the Director of Inspections, the decision and order of the Director of Inspections shall be placed before Council for confirmation or nonconfirmation by resolution. (Ord. 2008-96. Passed 7-3-08.)
(i) Public Hearing; Procedure and Council Action. Council, before approving legislation to declare and eliminate a public nuisance, shall hold a public hearing at which an opportunity shall be provided to all persons interested to be heard either in person or by counsel. Notice of the date, time and place of such hearing will be given by posting the notice thereon the premises; or mailing such order or notice to the last known address of the owner or owners of record of the premises or the persons in charge of the premises or to the occupant(s) thereof; or published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City once a week for two consecutive weeks on the same day of the week and at least seven full days shall elapse between the second publication and the date set for the public hearing.
(1) At the public hearing, the resolution shall be read and shall constitute prima facie evidence of a public nuisance on the premises and the need to eliminate and prevent recurrence of a public nuisance thereon. Thereafter, the owner or owners, person in charge, occupant of the premise or any person having an interest therein, may proceed to show cause why the premises should not be declared a public nuisance. At the hearing, the owner or owners, person in charge of the premises or occupant may cause
to be presented at the hearing any records of the City pertaining to issues relevant to the hearing and may examine City employees in regard thereto, provided that the production of such records or the presence of such employees is required by the owner or owners, person in charge or occupant of the premises in writing at least 24 hours prior to the hearing.
(2) If the owner or owners, person in charge or occupant of the premises does appear and presents testimony for the purpose of showing cause why the premises should not be declared a public nuisance, the Director of Inspections or his respective designated representative shall proceed to present evidence at the hearing of the existence of a public nuisance on the premises. Members of the general public residing in the neighborhood or who may otherwise have knowledge of the condition of such premises may present testimony or other evidence at the hearing. The hearing may be adjourned and continuances granted in order that further argument or evidence can be presented in regard to the existence of a public nuisance on the premises.
(3) Following the completion of such public hearing, Council may either approve or reject such resolution calling for the declaration of and elimination of a public nuisance. The resolution of Council approving the declaration of and elimination of a public nuisance shall include the following findings: specific findings of fact as to the condition of the premises which make it a public nuisance; that the elimination of the public nuisance will afford opportunity consistent with the sound needs of the community as a whole for the rehabilitation or redevelopment of the neighborhood.
(4) On or after the effective date of the resolution declaring the public nuisance the Director of Finance shall have authority to spend monies of the City appropriated for carrying out such action, and to accept advances, gifts, donations, and grants from the Federal government, the State, any entity, instrumentality, or subdivision of either, or from any other entity or person for such purpose. (Ord. 2011-145. Passed 1-15-12.)
(j) Repair or Demolition. Upon enactment of such resolution by Council, service of the resolution shall be given in accordance with subsection (d) hereof to the holders of legal and equitable liens of record upon the real property upon which the dwelling structure or appurtenant structure is located and to the owners of record of such property, and if the owner or person in control of the structure fails, neglects or refuses within forty-five days of such service to comply with the decision and order of the Director of Inspections, as confirmed by Council, the City acting through the Property Maintenance Officer, shall cause such structure to be repaired or demolished in accordance with the decision and order of the Director of Inspections as confirmed by Council.
(k) Expenses and Costs of Repair or Demolition. Any expense or cost incurred by the City for repair or demolition under the provisions of this Code shall be paid by the owner of the structure or premises. If expenses and costs of repair or demolition are not paid by the owner or person in control thereof of the structure or premises within thirty days after receipt of written notice from the City sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or if his whereabouts are unknown and cannot with reasonable diligence be obtained after such notice is published once in a newspaper of general circulation within the City, the costs of such repair or demolition may be recovered by action at law against the owner, or may, by action of Council by resolution certified to the County Auditor, be added to the tax duplicate as an assessment against the land of the owner upon which the structure stands or did stand and shall become a lien thereof, and shall be collected in the manner provided by law for assessments.
(l) Destruction of Unsanitary Articles. The Director of Inspections may order any furniture, clothing or property destroyed, removed or disinfected, when it deems it necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the City.
(m) Other Legal and Equitable Relief. In the event of any actual or threatened violation of this chapter or an emergency situation, the Director of Law in addition to the other remedies provided by law, may institute proper suit in equity or at law to prevent or terminate such violation or remedy such situation. (Ord. 2008-96. Passed 7-3-08.)