[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Hamburg 3-15-1976 by L.L. No. 7-1976; amended in its entirety 1-6-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction and fire prevention — See Ch. 123.
Electrical standards — See Ch. 141.
Maintenance of unoccupied buildings — See Ch. 182.
All buildings or structures which have any or all of the following defects shall be deemed an unsafe and/or dangerous building:
A. 
Those whose exterior 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 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.
C. 
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 the Village.
D. 
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.
E. 
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.
F. 
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.
G. 
Those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall and injure members of the public or property.
H. 
Those which, because of their condition, are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people of the Village.
I. 
Those buildings existing in violation of any provision of Chapter 123, Building Construction and Fire Prevention, or any other provisions of the Code of the Village of Hamburg or the State of New York.
A. 
When it shall appear to the Code Enforcement Officer that a building or structure is in an unsafe condition or constitutes a danger to the public or to the inhabitants, occupants or users thereof, the Code Enforcement Officer shall make, or cause some other qualified official to make, a formal inspection of such building or structure and shall report, in writing, to the Board of Trustees the findings and recommendations with respect to the repair or demolition of said building or structure.
B. 
Upon receipt of such report, the Board of Trustees shall consider same and then determine by resolution if the report so warrants, in its opinion, that said building or structure is unsafe and/or dangerous and order its demolition or its repair, and further order that a notice shall be given to the persons or corporations or their agent owning or occupying said building or structure in the manner hereafter provided.
A. 
The notice shall be directed to and served upon the owner or the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees or any person having a vested or contingent interest in the premises, as shown by the most recently completed assessment roll of the Village of Hamburg, in either of the following manners:
(1) 
By personal service of a copy thereof upon one of the persons specified above; or
(2) 
By mailing to such owner by registered mail, or a similar delivery service, a copy of such notice directed to the owner at the last known address of the person to be served and by securely affixing a copy of such notice upon the building or structure at or near the principal entrance thereto.
The notice shall contain the following:
A. 
A description of the premises sufficient to identify same and the particular building or structure covered by the report.
B. 
A statement of the particulars in which the building or structure is found to be unsafe or dangerous.
C. 
An order requiring the building to be made safe and secure or to be demolished.
D. 
An order requiring that the necessary repairs or improvements to make the building or structure safe and secure, or the demolition of the building or structure, shall commence within 20 days of the service of the notice and shall be completed within 60 days thereafter unless, for good cause shown, the Board of Trustees shall specify a period of time other than 60 days for such completion.
E. 
A date, time and place for a hearing before the Board of Trustees in relation to such dangerous or unsafe building or structure, which hearing shall be scheduled not less than five business days from the date of the service of the notice.
F. 
A notification that, in the event of the neglect or refusal to comply with said order to secure or demolish and remove the building or structure within the time specified for such compliance, the Board of Trustees is authorized to provide for securing of the building or structure or its demolition and removal and to assess against the property all costs and expenses incurred by the Village of Hamburg in connection with procedures to repair and make secure, or to demolish and remove, including the cost of actually demolishing and actually removing said building or structure, and any other costs or expenses incurred by the Village of Hamburg in connection with any proceedings conducted under the authority of this chapter. This may be accomplished by:
(1) 
The institution of a special proceeding to collect the costs; or
(2) 
Assessing said costs against the land and/or improvements being taxed on the particular tax parcel on which the building or structure is located.
G. 
That, in addition to any other remedies, the owner could be liable for a fine of $250 for each week that the owner remains in violation of this chapter.
In the event of the refusal or failure of the person(s) or entity(ies) so notified to comply with said order of the Village Board after the hearing, if any, the Village Board shall provide for the securing or the demolition and removal of such building or structure either by Village employees or by contract. Except in emergency cases, as certified by the Village Board, any contract for the securing or demolition and removal of a building or structure shall be awarded through competitive bidding if required by state law.
A copy of said notice shall be filed in the office of the Erie County Clerk and indexed in the same manner as a notice of pendency.
A. 
All costs incurred by the Village in enforcing this chapter shall be recoverable from the owner of the premises. Such costs shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) 
Actual attorney fees and disbursements for services rendered with or without the commencement of litigation;
(2) 
Actual engineering fees and disbursements, including the costs of the Village Code Enforcement Officer;
(3) 
Actual costs of securing, demolishing, removing or repairing the building or structure deemed dangerous or unsafe;
(4) 
Costs of serving and/or publishing notices; and
(5) 
Costs of tax and/or title searches.
B. 
The costs incurred in enforcing this chapter as levied shall be added to the next assessment roll for Village taxes against the tax parcel(s) which include the unsafe or dangerous building or structure involved and shall be collected and enforced in the same manner as other taxes for the parcel(s).
C. 
In addition to any other remedies herein, the Village may commence a special proceeding under Article 4 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules in a court of competent jurisdiction to collect the costs incurred by the Village in enforcing this chapter. Should the Village recover and be paid said costs through such a proceeding (and after costs have been added to the assessment rolls), the assessment roll and tax records shall be adjusted accordingly to properly credit amounts so paid and recovered.
If the Superintendent of Public Works and the Code Enforcement Officer shall determine that the structure is in such condition that there is an actual immediate danger of its falling or collapsing so as to endanger life and property, the Code Enforcement Officer may forthwith cause the necessary work to be done, including demolition, to render said building or structure temporarily safe, whether or not the procedure prescribed in this chapter has been instituted or not. Under such circumstances, the Superintendent of Public Works or Code Enforcement Officer may require all occupants or tenants of the structure or building to vacate same forthwith, and, when necessary for the public safety, the Superintendent of Public Works or Building Inspector may temporarily close and barricade sidewalks, streets, adjoining buildings or structures and prohibit the same from being used until the dangerous condition has been removed. The costs of such action shall be recovered as provided in this chapter.
Any person or persons who shall violate any provisions of this chapter or commit unauthorized removal of notices or interference with officials shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 15 days, or both. Each week the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.