[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of Cuba Village 9-6-1984 by L.L. No. 1-1984. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention and building construction — See Ch. 105.
The title of this chapter shall be known as
the "Unsafe Building Demolition Law."
The Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer
appointed by the Board of Trustees of Cuba Village shall be charged
with the responsibility of carrying out the obligations and duties
set forth in this chapter.
All buildings or structures which have any or
all of the following defects shall be deemed dangerous or unsafe buildings:
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, 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 has
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 the 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 the Village.
J.
Those buildings existing in violation of any provision of Chapter 105, Fire Prevention and Building Construction, or any other provisions of the Code of the Village of Cuba Village or the State of New York.
K.
Those which are open at the doorways or windows or
walls, making them accessible to and an object of attraction to minors
under 18 years of age as well as to vagrants and other trespassers.
L.
Those which are or may become places of rodent infestation.
M.
Those which consist of debris, rubble or parts of
buildings left on the ground after demolition, reconstruction, fire
or other casualty.
No person, firm, corporation or association
that is the owner of a building in the Village of Cuba Village shall
cause, suffer, allow or permit said building to become dangerous or
unsafe to the public. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the
owner of any such building to take all steps necessary to prevent
a building from becoming dangerous or unsafe to the public from any
cause whatsoever. If such building does become dangerous, the owner
shall repair or remove said building. In the event of the failure
of the owner to repair or remove said building, the Building Inspector/Code
Enforcement Officer of the Village of Cuba Village shall make a complete
inspection and report of the condition of said building to the Board
of Trustees. Notice shall thereafter be served on the owner or some
one of the owners, executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees
or any other person having a vested or contingent interest in said
building. The notice shall contain a description of the premises,
a statement of the particulars in which the building or structure
is unsafe or dangerous and an order requiring said building or structure
to be made safe and secure or removed. The notice shall also provide
for the time within which the person served with said notice shall
commence and complete the securing or removal of the building or structure.
In the event of the neglect or refusal of the person so served with
said notice to comply with the same, a survey of the premises shall
be made by an inspector or architect to be named by the Board of Trustees
of said Village and a particular builder, engineer or architect appointed
by the person notified as above. In the event of the refusal or neglect
of the person so notified to appoint such surveyor, the two surveyors
named shall make the survey and report. The notice shall further provide
that in the event that the building or other structure is reported
dangerous or unsafe under such survey, an application shall be made
at a Special Term of the Supreme Court, Allegany County, 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. Surveyors appointed by the Board of Trustees shall be
compensated by the Village.
A signed copy of the report of the surveyors
shall be posted on the building.
All costs and expenses incurred by the Village
in connection with any and all of the above proceedings to remove
or secure, including the cost of actually removing said building or
structure or securing the same, shall be assessed against land on
which the building or structure is located.
If such owner or person served by mail as hereinabove
provided shall fail to pay the costs and expenses incurred by the
Village within 10 days after being notified of the costs thereof by
registered mail, the Village Clerk shall file, immediately preceding
the time for making the annual assessment roll, a certificate of such
actual cost and expense, with a statement as to the property upon
which such cost and expense were incurred and the buildings or other
obstructions removed, as the case may be, in the office of the Village
Clerk, and the Village Clerk shall, in the preparation of the next
assessment roll of general Village taxes, assess such amount upon
such property, and the same shall be levied, collected and enforced
in the same manner, by the same proceedings, at the same time, under
the same penalties and having the same lien upon the property assessed
as the general Village tax and as a part thereof.
In cases of great emergency, where the delay
of proceedings, as hereinbefore provided, would result in probable
loss of life or property, the Mayor shall have the power to direct
the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer to proceed at once
to take such action as is needed to guard the safety of persons and
property.
Any person committing an offense against any
provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a violation
pursuant to the Penal Law of the State of New York, punishable by
a fine not exceeding $250 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding
(15) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation
of an offense shall constitute, for each day the offense is continued,
a separate and distinct violation.
