§ 73-1. Purpose.
The purpose
of this chapter is to promote and preserve the health, welfare and property of
residents of and owners of property located within this Village by providing a
method for the removal or repair of buildings and structures within the limits
of this Village, that, from any cause, may now be or shall hereafter become
dangerous or unsafe to the public.
§ 73-2. Unsafe building
or structure not permitted.
No person,
firm, corporation or association owning, possessing or controlling a building
or structure in this Village shall permit, suffer or allow said building now or
hereafter to be or become dangerous or unsafe to the public, from any cause
whatsoever.
§ 73-3. Defects deemed
unsafe or dangerous.
All
buildings and structures which have any or all of the following defects shall
be deemed "unsafe or dangerous" within the meaning of this
chapter:
A. Those
whose interior walls or other vertical structural members list, lean or buckle
to such an extent that a 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 33% or more of damage or deterioration
of the supporting member or members or 50% of damage or deterioration of the
nonsupporting enclosing or 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
dangerous to life, safety, morals or the general health and welfare of the
occupants or the people of this Village.
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 those
living therein.
F. Those
having light, air and sanitation facilities which are inadequate to protect 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 so attached that they may fall and injure
members of the public or property.
I. Those
which because of their condition are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to the
health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people of this Village.
§ 73-4. Inspections and
reports.
The Code
Enforcement Officer shall be the enforcement officer of this chapter and shall
make inspections of all unsafe buildings and structures within the Village. The
Code Enforcement Officer shall report to the Board of Trustees all unsafe
buildings and structures which from time to time may be found within the limits
of the Village. When it is reported to the Board of Trustees that a building or
structure is in an unsafe or dangerous condition, the Board of Trustees shall
direct the Code Enforcement Officer to inspect the same and to report the
condition of the same and his finding to the Board of Trustees with all convenient
speed.
§ 73-5. Board of
Trustees to determine if repairs can be made.
The Board of
Trustees shall thereafter consider the report of the Code Enforcement Officer
and by resolution determine, if in its opinion the report so warrants, that the
said building or structure is unsafe and dangerous and order its removal or
repair if the same can be safely repaired, and further order that a notice
shall be given to interested persons or corporations in the manner as
hereinafter provided.
§ 73-6. Repair and
removal notice requirements.
The notice
shall contain the following:
A. A
description of the premises.
B. A
statement of the particulars in which the building or structure is unsafe or
dangerous.
C. An
order requiring the same to be made safe and secure, or removed.
D. That
the securing or removal of the said buildings or structures shall commence
within 30 days of the serving of the notice, as hereinafter provided, and shall
be completed within 60 days thereafter.
E. That
in the event of neglect or refusal of the persons and/or corporations served
with the notice to comply with the same, a survey of the premises will be made
by an inspector and architect or engineer to be named by the Board of Trustees,
and a practical builder, engineer or architect appointed by the said persons or
corporations so notified.
F. That
in the event of the refusal or neglect of the persons or corporations so
notified to appoint a surveyor, the two surveyors named by the Board of
Trustees shall make the survey and report.
§ 73-7. Service of
notice.
The said
notice shall be served in the following manner:
A. By
personal service of a copy thereof upon the owner or some one of the owners,
executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees or any other person having a
vested or contingent interest in the premises as shown by the last preceding
completed assessment roll of the Village, such service to be complete, and the
thirty-day time period recited in the said notice to commence upon filing of an
affidavit of personal service upon the owner with the Village Clerk;
B. Or
by mailing a copy of the said notice to such owner as aforesaid, by certified
mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the last known address of the
owner, and by affixing a copy of the said notice to the premises, such service
to be complete, and the thirty-day time period recited in the said notice to
commence 10 days after the filing of the return receipt and the affidavit of
posting with the Village Clerk;
C. And
by personal service of a copy of said notice upon any adult residing in or
occupying said premises; or, if no such person can be reasonably found, by
posting a copy of said notice upon the premises.
§ 73-8. Noncompliance
with order.
In the event
of neglect or refusal of the persons so notified to comply with said order of
the Board of Trustees, a survey of said premises shall be made in the following
manner:
A. The
Board of Trustees shall appoint an inspector and architect or engineer and the
persons so notified shall appoint a practical builder, engineer or architect
who shall make the said survey and submit a written report thereon in regard to
the unsafe or dangerous condition of said building or structure. If the persons
so notified shall refuse or neglect to appoint a surveyor within 40 days after
service of the notice, the two surveyors appointed by the Board of Trustees
shall proceed and report.
B. A
signed copy of such report shall be posted on the said structure.
§ 73-9. Application to
Supreme Court for order.
In the event
the building or other structure shall be reported unsafe or dangerous under
such survey, the Board of Trustees may pass a resolution directing the Mayor to
make an application to the Supreme Court for an order determining the building
or other structure to be a public nuisance and directing that it shall be
repaired and secured or taken down and removed.
§ 73-10. Compensation
of surveyors.
The said
surveyors shall be paid reasonable compensation for the service performed by
them in making their survey and in preparing the report thereof.
§ 73-11. Assessment of
costs and expenses.
All costs
and expenses incurred by the Village in connection with the proceedings to
remove or secure, including the cost of actually removing said building or
structure, shall be assessed against the land on which said buildings or
structures are located.
