[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of LeRoy 7-7-1997
by L.L. No. 7-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "Unsafe Buildings
Law" of the Village of LeRoy.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote and preserve the health, safety
and welfare of the public and residents and/or owners of property located
within this Village of LeRoy by providing a method for the removal or repair
of buildings that, from any cause, may now be or shall hereafter become dangerous
or unsafe to the public and residents and/or owners of property within the
Village of LeRoy. Unsafe buildings serve as an attractive nuisance for young
children who may be injured therein, may be a point of congregation by vagrants
and transients, may attract rodent or insects and may also attract illegal
drug activity. The powers conferred upon the Village of LeRoy by this chapter
shall be in addition to all other powers conferred upon the Village of LeRoy
in relation to the same subject by state law.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any building, structure or portion thereof used for residential,
business, commercial or industrial purposes.
The Building Inspector of the Village of LeRoy or such other person
appointed by the Village Board of Trustees to enforce the provisions of this
chapter.
All buildings which have any or all of the following defects:
Any building of which the interior walls or exterior bearing walls or
other vertical structural members list, lean or buckle to such an extent as
to weaken the structural support they provide.
Buildings which, exclusive of the foundation, show 33% or more of damage
to or deterioration of the supporting member or members or 50% of damage to
or deterioration of the nonsupporting, enclosing or outside walls or covering.
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.
Those which have been damaged by fire, wind, disrepair or other causes
so as to have become dangerous to life, safety or the general health and welfare
of the occupants or to the people of the Village of LeRoy or to other adjacent
or nearby buildings.
Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe or unsanitary
or which so fail to provide the amenities essential to normal living conditions
that they are unfit for human habitation or are likely to cause sickness or
disease to those living therein or adjacent thereto.
Those having light, air and sanitation facilities which are inadequate
to protect the health, safety or general welfare of human beings who live
or may live therein, with particular reference to the requirements of the
New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code as a determinant.
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, again referencing the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention
and Building Code as a determinant.
Those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they may fall
and injure members of the public or property.
Those which consist of debris, rubble or parts of buildings left on
the ground after demolition, reconstruction, fire or other casualty.
Those which, because of their condition are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous
to the health, safety or general welfare of the people of this Village of
LeRoy.
No person, firm, corporation or association owning, possessing or controlling
a building in the Village of LeRoy shall permit, suffer or allow said building
now or hereafter to be or become unsafe to the public and/or residents from
any cause whatsoever.
The Building Inspector shall make inspections of all unsafe buildings
within the Village of LeRoy and report to the Village Board of Trustees all
unsafe buildings which from time to time may be found within the limits of
the Village of LeRoy.
The Village Board of Trustees shall consider the report of the Building
Inspector and, if in their opinion the report so warrants, shall determine
that the building is unsafe and order its repair, if the same can be safely
repaired, or order its demolition, if it cannot be safely repaired, and further
order that a notice shall be given to the owner, an owner or a representative
of the owner, which is to contain the following:
A.
A description of the premises.
B.
A statement of the particulars in which the building
is unsafe.
C.
An order requiring the building to be repaired or demolished.
D.
A statement that the repairing or demolition of the building
shall commence within 30 days of the serving of the notice, as hereinafter
provided, and shall be completed within 60 days thereafter, unless such time
limits be extended by the Village Board for good cause shown.
E.
A date, time and place for a hearing before the Village
Board of Trustees at which the owner of such building or other person responsible
therefor, or his or her attorney, may contest the determination that said
building is unsafe or may present evidence as to why the determination and/or
order should be modified in any respect. Such hearing shall be scheduled not
less than five business days from the day of service of the notice, unless
the recipient of the notice and the Village Board of Trustees agree otherwise;
F.
A statement that in the event of neglect or refusal to
comply with the order to repair or demolish the building, the Village Board
of Trustees is authorized to provide for its repair or demolition, to assess
all expenses thereof against the land on which it is located and to institute
a special proceeding to collect the costs of demolition, including legal expenses.
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 representative, 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 of
LeRoy, or of the records of the Genesee County Clerk, such service to be complete
and the thirty-day time period recited in said notice to commence upon service;
or
B.
By mailing a copy of said notice to such owner as aforesaid
by registered mail return receipt requested, addressed to the last known address
of the owner and by affixing a copy of said notice to the premises, such service
to be complete and the thirty-day time period recited in said notice to commence
10 days after the filing of the return receipt with the Village Clerk.
C.
A copy of the notice shall also be filed in the office
of the Genesee County Clerk, which notice shall be filed by such Clerk in
the same manner as a notice of pendency pursuant to Article 65 of the Civil
Practice Law and Rules, and shall have the same effect as a notice of pendency
as therein provided, except as otherwise hereinafter provided. A notice so
filed shall be effective for a period of one year from the date of filing;
provided, however, that it may be vacated upon the order of a judge of a court
of competent jurisdiction or upon the consent of the Village Attorney.
A.
The hearing shall be conducted before the Village Board
of Trustees. The Building Inspector shall present his or her report to the
Village Board of Trustees in writing, and orally if desired by the Board,
and may call witnesses. The owner or his or her representative, if present,
shall call such witnesses as he or she deems necessary. The Village Board
of Trustees shall make written findings of fact from the testimony offered
as to whether or not the building in question is an unsafe building.
B.
If such owner shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply
and shall fail to appear at said hearing, then the Village Board of Trustees
shall direct the repair or demolition of the building forthwith under such
terms and conditions, if any, as it may deem appropriate.
C.
If such owner shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply
and after appearing at said hearing the Village Board of Trustees finds that
the building is a public nuisance and directs its repair or demolition, the
owner shall repair or demolish said building within the time prescribed by
the Village Board of Trustees.
D.
If the owner fails or neglects within the time prescribed
by the Village Board of Trustees to repair or demolish said building as directed
by said Village Board following the hearing, then the Village Board of Trustees
shall direct the repair or demolition of same forthwith under such terms and
conditions, if any, as it may deem appropriate.
In the event of neglect or refusal of the persons so notified to comply
with said order of the Village Board of Trustees, the Village Board of Trustees
shall provide for the demolition and removal of such building either by the
Village of LeRoy employees or by contract. Except in an emergency, any such
contract shall be awarded in compliance with state competitive bidding laws.
A.
In case there shall be, in the opinion of the Building
Inspector, actual and immediate danger of the falling of a building or other
unsafe condition so as to endanger public safety, life or property or as to
constitute an actual or immediate menace to health or public welfare as a
result of the conditions present in or about a building, he or she, upon notifying
the Village Mayor, or if unavailable, the Village Administrator, shall cause
the necessary work to be done to render such a building temporarily safe,
whether the procedure prescribed in this chapter for unsafe buildings has
been instituted or not.
B.
When emergency work is to be performed under this section,
the Building Inspector shall cause the owner thereof to be served personally
or by registered mail, return receipt requested and, if served by registered
mail, shall post on the premises a notice to comply containing a description
of the premises, a statement of the facts in which the building is unsafe
or dangerous and orders and directions to correct the conditions which constitute
an emergency within a specified period not to exceed three days from actual
or constructive receipt of the notice.
C.
In the event that the emergency does not permit any delay
in correction, the notice shall state the Village of LeRoy has corrected the
emergency condition.
D.
In both cases, the notice shall state that the corrective
costs of the emergency shall be assessed against the owner pursuant to the
provisions of this chapter or other state law.
In addition to the remedies provided by this chapter, the Village Board
of Trustees may request the Village Attorney to make an application to the
Supreme Court for an order determining the building to be a public nuisance
and directing that it shall be repaired and secured or demolished.
A.
All costs and expenses incurred by the Village of LeRoy
in connection with the administratively and/or judicially substantiated proceedings
to remove or secure, including the cost of actually removing said building,
shall be assessed against the land on which said building is located.
B.
The Village of LeRoy also may commence a special proceeding
pursuant to § 78-b of the General Municipal Law for a civil judgment
to collect the costs of demolition, including reasonable and necessary legal
expenses.
