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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-860ORDINANCE 8C 1) AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ELIMINATION OR REPAIR OF DAN- GEROUS BUILDINGS WITHIN THE CITY OF FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA, AS FOLLOWS: Section One. Defined All buildings or structures which have any or all of the following defects shall be deemed dangerous buildings: (a) Those whose interior walls or other vertical structural members list, iean 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 thirty- three per cent(33%) or more, of damage or deteriora- tion of the supporting member or members, or fifty per cent(50%) of damage or deterioration of the non - supporting 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, for the general welfare and health of the occu- pants or the people of the City of Fairhope, Alabama. (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 the 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 the city. Section Two . Public nuisance declared. All dangerous buildings within the terms of section one of this article are hereby declared to be public nuisances, and shall be repaired, vacated, or demolished as hereinabove and hereinafter provided. Section Three. Standards for repair, vacation or demolition. The following standards shall be followed in substance by the Building Official in ordering repair, vacation or demolition: (a) If the dangerous building can reasonably be repaired so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this article it shall be ordered repaired. (b) If the dangerous building is in such condition as to make it dangerous to the health, morals, safety, or general welfare of its occupants it shall be ordered to be vacated. N (c) In any case where a dangerous building is fifty per cent(50%) damaged or decayed, or deteriorated from its original value or structure, it shall be demolished, and in all cases where a building cannot be repaired so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this article it shall be demolished. In all cases where a dangerous building is a fire hazard existing or erected in violation of the terms of this article it shall be de- molished. Section Four. Duties of Building Official. The Building Official shall: (a) Inspect or cause to be inspected as may be required by the City Council all public buildings, schools, halls, churches, theaters, hotels, tenements, commercial, manufacturing, or loft buildings for the purpose of determining whether any conditions exist which render such places a dangerous building within the terms of section 'one of this article. (b) Inspect any building, wall or structure about which complaints are filed by any person to the effect that a building, wall or structure is or may be existing in violation of this article. (c) Inspect any building, wall or structure reported by the fire or police department of this city as probably existing in violation of the terms of this article. (d) Notify in writing the owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee, agent and all other persons having an interest in said building as shown by a records search provided by the abstractor appointed by the City, of any building found by him to be a dangerous building within the standards set forth in Section One of this article, that: 3. (1) The owner must vacate, or repair, or demolish said building in accordance with the terms of the notice and this article; (2) The occupant or lessee must vacate said building or may have it repaired in accordance with the notice and remain in possession; (3) The mortgagee, agent, or other persons having an interest in said building as shown in the office of the Judge of Probate of Baldwin County, Alabama, may at his own risk repair, vacate or demolish said building or have such work or act done; provided, that any person notified under this subsection to repair, vacate or demolish any build- ing shall be given such reasonable time, not exceeding sixty(60) days, as may be necessary to do, or have done, the work or act required by the notice provided for herein. (e) Set forth in the notice provided for in subsection (d) hereof, a description of the building, or structure deemed unsafe, a statement of the particulars which make the building or structure a dangerous building and an order requiring the same to be put in such con- dition as to comply with the terms of this article within such length of time, not exceeding sixty(60) days, as is reasonable. (f) Report to the City Council any noncompliance with the notice provided for its subsections (d) and (e) hereof. 91 (g) Place a notice on all dangerous buildings reading as follows: "This building has been found to be a dangerous build- ing by the Building Official of the City of Fairhope, Alabama. This notice is to remain on this building until it is repaired, vacated, or demolished in accordance with the notice which has been given to owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee, or agent of this building, and all other persons having an in- terest in said building as revealed by a reasonable search of the Probate Records of Baldwin County, Alabama. It is unlawful to remove this notice until compliance with such notice". Section Five. Duties of the City Council. The City Council shall: (a) Upon receipt of a report of the Building Official as provided for in section four, subsection (f) hereof, give written notice to the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee, agent and all other persons having an interest in said build- ing as shown by abstractor's title search, to appear before it on the date specified in the notice to show cause why the building or structure reported to be a dangerous building should not be repaired, vacated, or demolished in accordance with the statement of particulars set forth in the Building Official's notice provided for herein in section four, sub- section (g) . (b) Hold a hearing and hear such testimony, under oath as the Building Official or the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee, or any other person having an interest in said building as shown by the abstrator's title search, shall offer relative to the dangerous building. 5- (c) Determine from the testimony offered pursuant to sub- section(b) as to whether or not the building in ques- tion is a dangerous building within the terms of section four hereof. (d) Issue an order based upon the determination made pursuant to subsection (c) commanding the owner, occupant, mortagee, lessee, agent and all other persons having an interest in said building as shown by the land records in the office of the judge of probate of Baldwin County, Alabama, to repair, vacate, or demolish any building found to be a dangerous building within the terms of this article and provided that any person so notified, except the owners, shall have the privilege of either vacating or repairing said dangerous building; or any person not the owner of said dangerous building but having an interest in said building as shown on the land records in the office of the Judge of Probate of Baldwin County, Alabama, may demolish said dangerous building at his own risk to prevent the acquisition of a lien against the land upon which said dangerous building stands by the City as provided in subsection (e) hereof. (e) If the owner, occupant, mortgagee, or lessee fails to comply with the order provided for in subsection (d ) hereof, within thirty(30) days, the City Council shall cause such building or structure to be repaired, vacated, or demolished as the facts may warrant, under the standards hereinabove provided for in section three of this article, and, with the assistance of the City Attorney, shall cause the costs of such repair, vacation, demolition to be charged against the land on which the building ex- isted as a municipal lien or cause such costs to be recovered in a suit at law against the owner; provided, that in cases where such procedure is desirable and any delay thereby caused will not be dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people of this city, the City Council may notify the City Attorney to take legal action to force the owner to make all necessary repairs or demolish the building. (f) Report to the City Attorney the names of all persons not complying with the order provided for in section five, subsection (d) hereof. Section Six. Penalty for disregarding notices or orders. (a) The owner of any dangerous building who shall fail to comply with any notice or order to repair, vacate, or demolish said building given by any person authorized by this article to give such notice or order shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as provided in Section 1-8 of the Code of Ordin- ances. Each day's violation of the provisions of this article shall constitute a separate offense, punishable as herein provided. (b) The occupant or lessee in possession who fails to com- ply with any notice to vacate and who fails to repair said building in accordance with any notice given as provided for in this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as provided in Section 1-8 of the Code of Ordinances. Each day's violation of the provisions of this article shall constitute a separate offense, punishable as herein provided. (c) Any person removing the notice provided for in section four subsection (g) hereof shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in Section 1-8 of the Code of Ordinances for each offense. Section Seven. Duties of the City Attorney The City Attorney shall: (a) Prosecute all persons failing to comply with the terms of the notices provided for herein in section 5-48, sub- sections (e) and (f) , and the order provided for in section five, subsection (d) . (b) Appear at all hearings before the City Council in regard to dangerous buildings. (c) Bring suit to collect all municipal liens, expenditures or costs incurred by the City Council in repairing or causing to be vacated or demolished dangerous buildings. (d) Take such other legal action as is necessary to carry out the terms and provisions of this article. Section Eight. Emergency cases. n cases where it reasonably appears that there is immediate danger to the life or safety of any person unless a dangerous building as defined herein is immediately repaired, vacated, or demolished the Building Official shall report such facts to the City Council and the Council shall cause the immediate repair, vacation, or demolition of such dangerous building. The costs of such emergency repair, vacation or demolition of such dangerous building shall be collected in the same manner as provided in section five, subsection (e) hereof. Section Nine. Mailing and posting of notice when owner absent from City. In cases, other than emergency, where the owner, occupant, in lessee, or mortgagee is absent from the City, all notices or orders provided for herein shall be sent by certified mail to the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee, and any other person having an in- terest in said building as shown by the land records in the office of the judge of probate of Baldwin County, Alabama, to the last known address of each, and a copy of such notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the dangerous building to which it relates. Such mailing and posting shall be deemed adequate service. Section Ten. Duties of Fire Department. The employees of the fire department shall make a report in writing to the Building Official of all buildings or structures which are, may be, or are suspected to be dangerous buildings within the terms of this article. Such reports must be delivered to the Building Official within twenty-four(24) hours of the discovery of such buildings by an employee of the fire department. Section Eleven. Duties of Police Department All employees of the police department shall make a report in writing to the Building Official of any buildings or structures which are, may be, or are suspected to be dangerous buildings within the term of this article. Such reports must be delivered to the Building Official within twenty-four(24) hours of the discovery of such buildings by an employee of the police department. Section Twelve. Administrative liability. No officer, agent, or employee of the City of Fairhope, Alabama shall render himself personally liable for any damage that may accrue to persons or property as a result of any act, or failure to act, as required or permitted in the discharge of his duties under this article. Any suit brought against any officer, agent, or employee of the City of Fairhope, Alabama as a result of any act required q, or permitted in the discharge of his duties under this article shall be defended by the city attorney until the final determination of the proceedings therein. Section Thirteen. In the event that any provision or application of this Ordinance shall be held to be invalid, it is the lesislati intent that the other provisions and applications hereof shall not thereby be affected. Section Fourteen. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its due adoption and publication as required by law. ADOPTED THIS /3"� DAY OF 194*1 Aams P. Nix, Mayor Evelyn . Phillips, Cit V Clerk lb.