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Item 5D AudioItem 5D Ordinance 876-A Property Maintenance Ordinance Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Background • Original Ordinance # 697 was amended i 2004 as Ordinance #876. • This amendment was required to comply with legislative changes. • Recent litigation has required her clarification of the Ordinance Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Purpose • To Clarify procedures, burdens and remedies; providing for the repair, demolition, removal, securing, and vacation of dangerous and substandard buildings. Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-165. Determination by building official • Amended — (1) Issue notice to the record owner that the building is substandard and must be repaired, listing the deficiencies, or issue notice to the record owner that the building is substandard, and that the nature and/or the extent of the deficiencies make repair infeasible, so that the building must be demolished, listing the deficiencies. Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-166. Public hearing for abatement of substandard buildings • Burden of Proof Amended — At the public hearing, the City has the burden of proof to establish that the building or structure at issue is not in compliance with applicable city codes, and is substandard and to identify the specific deficiencies or code violations — The owner, lienholder and mortgagee have the burden of proof to establish the scope of any work that may be required to comply with this article, the time it will take to reasonably perform the work, and the financial ability and willingness of the ow lienholder and/or mortgagee1oAo2rJDrm tb ,,wDrk,.wj h ilija k.- and dispatch. Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-166. Public hearing for abatement of substandard buildings • Conduct of public hearing • Amended - Any evidence may be received and considered by the board, provided, however, that the board shall not consider evidence as to the existence or extent of any deficiencies or code violations which were not identified in the.00lCo the�record-owner de-swjbed Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-167. Order of building board of appeals • Findings of the board Amended — (1) If the board, by a majority vote, finds upon evidence presented at the public hearing that the building is not in violation of standards set out in section 4.5-164, the board shall order that the enforcement action cease — (2) If the board, by a majority vote, finds upon evidence presented at the public hearing that the building is in violation of standards set out in section 4.5-164, that such conditions can reasonably be remedied by repair within a reasonable time, and that the owner, Iienholder, or mortgagee is financially able and is willing to conduct or cause such repairs to be made within a reasonable time, the board shall identify the specific violations found to exist, and order that the owner, mortgagee or Iienholder repair such violations, and, if necessary to the public safety, vacate, secure, or relocate the occupants, within such reasonable times as determined by the board to be appropriate, as provided herein — (3) If the board, by a majority vote, finds upon evidence presented at the public hearing that the building is in violation of standards set out in section 4.5-164, and that such conditions cannot reasonably be remedied by repair, or that neither the owner, Iienholder, nor the mortgagee are financially able or willing to conduct or cause such repairs to be made within a reasonable time, board shall identify the specific violations found to exist, and order that the owner, mortgagee or Iienholder remove or demolish �_lLhe structure, and, if necessary to the public safety, vacate, secure, or relocate the Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-167. Order of building board of appeals Time allowed to complete work 44 Amended — (1) Unless the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be performed within thirty (30) days, the order shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee of the building to, within thirty (30) days, and the lienholder or mortgagee to within an additional thirty (30) days if the owner does not comply, take one or more of the following actions: — a. Vacate the building; — b. Secure the building from unauthorized entry; — c. Repair the violations; and/or — d. Remove or demolish the building. — (2) If the owner, lienholder, or mortgagee establishes at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be performed within thirty (30) days, and the board allows the owner, lienholder or mortgagee more than thirty (30) days to repair, remove or demolish the building, the board shall establish specific time schedules as the board determines are appropriate for the commencement and performance of the work and shall require the owner, lienholder or mortgagee to secure the property in a reasonable manner from unauthorized entry while the work is being performed. — (5) All orders of the board must allow a lienholder or mortgagee at least thirty (30) additional days to complete the ordered work in the event the owner fails to comply with the order within the time provided for action by owner, prior to remedial action by the city, except as expressly provided otherwise in this Chapter. Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-167. Order of building board of appeals • Contents of Order (The order must contain at a minimum) Amended - (1) An identification which is not required to be a legal description, of the building and the property on which it is located; - (2) A description of each violation of minimum standards present in the building; and - (3) A description of each of the ordered actions, including a statement that the owner may repair, if determined feasible by the board, or demolish or remove, the building at his option; - (4) A statement that the city will vacate, secure, remove or demolish the building and/or relocate the occupants of the building if the ordered action is not taken within the time allowed, and charge the costs of such actions to the owner, and impose a lien against the property for all such costs; and - (5) If the board has determined that the building will endanger persons or property and that the building is a dwelling with ten or fewer dwelling units, a statement that the city may repair the building and charge the costs to the to the owner, and impose a lien against the property if the ordered action is not taken Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-169. Enforcement of the order of building board of appeals Amended — (a) If the order not complied with, city may take action as provided herein. If the building is not vacated, secured, repaired, removed or demolished within the time specified by the order, the city may vacate, secure, repair, remove or demolish the building or relocate the occupants at its own expense, provided however., — (1) Except as expressly provided otherwise in this Chapter, the city may not act to remove or demolish a building until after the board has found that such defects or conditions exist to the extent that the life, health, property or safety of the public or the occupants of the building are endangered; and either that — a. The building is infeasible of repair; or — b. There is no reasonable probability that the building will be repaired within a reasonable period of time if additional time is given. — (2) The city may only repair a building as provided herein to the extent necessary to correct the conditions which render the building dangerous, and may not act to repair a building unless: — a. The board has made a determination that the building is likely to endanger person or property, and — b. The building is a residential dwelling with ten (10) or fewer dwelling units. — (3) In the event there are mortgagees or lienholders, the city may only repair, remove or demolish the building after allowing the lienholder or mortgagee an additional thirty (30) days after the time prescribed in the order has expired to complete the required work. — (4) Remedial action by the city does not limit the ability of a municipality to collect on a bond o er financial guarantee that may be required by section 4.5-167(b)(4) of this article. Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-172. Additional authority to secure certain substandard buildings prior to public hearing and secure, demolish, repair or remove certain dangerous buildings. • (d) Notice. The notice must contain: • (1) An identification, which is not required to be a legal description, of the building and the property on which it is located; • (2) A description of each of the violations of the minimum standards present in the building; • (3) A statement that the city will secure or has secured, as the case may be, the building, or that the city has taken or will take the action ordered pursuant to subsection 4.5-172(b) above; • (4) An explanation of the owner's entitlement to request a hearing about any matter relating to the city's securing, removing, demolishing or repairing of the building. • (e) Hearing. The board or the City Council shall conduct a hearing at which the owner, lienholderand mortgagee may testify or present witnesses or written information about any matter relating to the city's securing, repairing, removing or demolishing of the building, if, within thirty (30) days after the date the city has taken action pursuant to subsections 4.5-172(a) or (b) above, the owner files with the city a written request for the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted within twenty (20) days after the date the request is filed. • (f) Lien. If the city incurs expenses under this section, such expenses incurred shall be a personal obligation of the property owner in addition to a priority lien upon the property, and costs shall be recovered as provided by section 4.5-170 of this article. g) Violation. It shall be unlawful to fail to comply with an order issued pursuant to this section. Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork Sec. 4.5-173. Civil penalty. • Amended — (d) Notice of administrative hearing. Not less than ten days prior to the date on which the administrative hearing is set, the property owner shall be sent a notice of the hearing by certified mail/return receipt requested. The notice shall contain: — (1) A copy of the order issued by the board to section 4.5-167 of this article; — (2) A statement that the building official has determined that the property owner committed an act in violation of that order, or failed to take an action necessary for compliance with that order, together with a description of the acts that violated the order, or a description of what actions the owner failed to take that were necessary for compliance with the order; — (3) A statement that at the administrative hearing the board may assess a civil penalty not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per day for each violation or, if the owner shows that the property is the owner's lawful homesteplj, in a mount not to exceed ten dollarslSJA,AQ)ordav,for-each violatiod Integrity 1 Innovation 1 Accountability 1 Commitment to Excellence 1 Teamwork