For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
COMMERCIAL RENTAL PROPERTY. Leisure, retail, multi-family residential, office, industrial and healthcare structures for lease, lent or rent.
EVIDENCE OF OCCUPANCY. Conditions visible from the exterior of the structure that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the property is currently occupied by the owners or tenants.
EVIDENCE OF VACANCY. Conditions visible from the exterior of the structure that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the property is not currently occupied by the owners or tenants. Such conditions shall include, but are not limited to, overgrown and/or dead vegetation; accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers, phone books and/or mail; past due utility notices; accumulation of trash, junk and/or debris; the absence of basic household furnishings and/or personal items consistent with occupied structures; statements and observations by neighbors, utility personnel, delivery agents or other government employees that the property is vacant; or evidence of the property being an attractive nuisance or harborage for rodents, pests or vermin. Disconnected or discontinued public utilities shall be considered EVIDENCE OF VACANCY.
“FOR SALE” STRUCTURE. A structure that is currently listed for sale, either privately or as a listing with a real estate broker, which is otherwise not currently inhabited.
NEIGHBORHOOD STANDARD. Conditions that are present on a simple majority of properties within a 500-foot radius of the subject property which indicate a standard that properties should be maintained to in order to preserve neighborhood property values. Vacant and/or nuisance properties shall not be considered in the simple majority calculation.
NUISANCE PROPERTY. An occupied or unoccupied property that is in violation of one or more nuisance ordinances of the city.
OWNER. Any person, trustee, power of attorney, partnership, co-partnership, business, association, corporation, fiduciary or any other imaginable entity having a legal or equitable title or claim, or any interest in, the piece of property immediately in question.
REPAIR/REMODEL STRUCTURE. A structure that is currently undergoing repairs and/or remodeling such that occupancy is generally limited to workers performing the repairs and/or remodeling.
RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTY. One-family and two-family dwellings for lease, let or rent, to include residences inhabited by non-owner family members. Triplexes, four-plexes and apartment complexes shall be considered commercial rental properties.
RESPONSIBLE PARTY. A person, trustee, power of attorney, partnership, co-partnership, business, association, corporation, fiduciary or any other imaginable entity, other than the owner, that has taken responsibility for the piece of property immediately in question.
SEASONAL OCCUPANCY STRUCTURE. A structure that is occupied only seasonally during the year but is not regularly occupied year-round, and is at all times fully furnished with the intent to reoccupy. Utility service has been either disconnected or else maintained at only a minimum charge status.
VACANT COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE. A structure whose historical usage has been of a business or commercial nature (office, retail, restaurant, tavern, theater, warehouse and the like), which is not regularly occupied by one or more persons at least four times per month in the conduct of business. Accessory structures to a commercial structure are not required to separately register; only the principal structure on the property must register if it is a VACANT STRUCTURE. If a property qualifies as a seasonal occupancy structure, a repair/remodel structure or a “for sale” structure, it is not a VACANT STRUCTURE for purposes of this subchapter.
VACANT RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE.
(1) A structure that is designed for residential occupancy, which is vacant.
(2) For purposes of determining whether a residential structure is vacant, the following guidelines shall apply.
(a) If any person is residing in the residential structure at least four days per month, consistently month after month, including sleeping overnight, the structure is not vacant.
(b) If any person is regularly going into and checking the residential structure, but is not actually residing therein at least four days per month, the structure is vacant.
(c) If a property qualifies as a seasonal occupancy structure, a repair/remodel structure or a “for sale” structure, it is not a vacant structure for purposes of this subchapter.
(d) Accessory structures to a residential structure are not required to separately register; only the principal residential structure on the property must register if it is a vacant structure.
(Prior Code, § 12.08.03) (Ord. 927, passed 5-6-2019)