[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Kingsbury 9-14-1992 by L.L. No.
3-1992 (Ch. 53 of the 1983 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
Whenever any building or a part thereof shall become unsanitary
or any dwelling shall become so unsanitary as to be unfit for human
habitation or whenever occupancy of a building or dwelling shall cause
an unsanitary condition on or adjacent to the premises thereof and
such condition shall be determined by the Health Officer, after due
notice to the owner and hearing thereon, to constitute a nuisance
or condition detrimental to life and health, the Health Officer may,
in addition to other remedies provided by law, issue an order requiring
the owner thereof to abate said nuisance or condition by placing said
building or dwelling in a sanitary or habitable condition within a
time specified in said order. Upon the failure of such owner to comply
with said order, the Health Officer may issue a further order, to
be affixed conspicuously upon such building or dwelling and served
upon the occupant or lessee thereof and upon the owner thereof or
his agent, requiring all persons to vacate such building or dwelling
and to discontinue its use at such time as shall be stated in said
order and until such time as the building or dwelling shall be placed
in a sanitary or habitable condition and the nuisance abated. Upon
failure of such building or dwelling to be vacated within the time
specified, the Board of Health may issue a warrant to the Chief of
Police directing that said building or dwelling shall be vacated.
When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following respective meanings:
Any other structure which is not a residence or intended
to house human beings. This constitutes commercial buildings used
for retail, wholesale and warehousing or similar use.
Any building, house or structure or portion thereof which
is occupied as, in whole or part, or intended to be used as, a home,
residence, living or sleeping place of one or more human beings, either
permanently or transiently.
No person shall occupy any building as a dwelling unless such
building has adequate and sanitary facilities for the disposal of
sewage. Every person responsible for the plumbing or sanitary facilities
of a building shall maintain such facilities in an adequate and sanitary
condition.
A.
Every dwelling and building shall be provided with such receptacles
as may be necessary to contain all garbage and rubbish, and all such
receptacles shall be maintained in good repair. Receptacles for garbage
shall be made of metal or rubber, be watertight and provided with
tight-fitting covers.
B.
Every dwelling and building and every part thereof, including the
lot on which such dwelling is located, shall be kept free from any
accumulation of garbage, rubbish and filth.
C.
Garbage must be disposed of in accordance with local ordinances and
in any case in such a fashion as not to serve as a breeding or harboring
place for vermin or to create a nuisance.
A.
No person shall cause or suffer the creation of any nuisance or condition
that shall attract rodents, insects, pests or other vermin detrimental
to health.
B.
Every owner, lessee or occupant of premises on which nuisances exist
shall take such steps as may be necessary to prevent any nuisance
arising or to cause the removal of existing nuisances.
No person shall occupy any building or dwelling unless such
building has an adequate water supply. No water supply shall be deemed
adequate for sanitary purposes unless it has been approved by the
New York State Department of Health or any other governmental agency
having jurisdiction thereof.
No person shall harbor animals, domestic or otherwise, in such
a way as to cause or suffer the creation of any nuisance or condition
that shall, in the opinion of the Health Officer, be deemed unsanitary.
The owner, lessee or occupant of premises on which any such nuisance(s)
or unsanitary condition(s) exists shall take such steps as may be
reasonably necessary, in the judgment of the Health Officer, to prevent
any such nuisance(s) or unsanitary condition(s) from arising or to
cause the removal of said nuisance(s) or unsanitary condition(s).
The Health Officer or his or her duly authorized representative
is authorized to enter upon any parcel of property within the Town
of Kingsbury, inclusive of the Village of Hudson Falls, for the purpose
of inspecting conditions on said premises and may collect data, take
samples and conduct other investigations reasonably related to the
gathering of information on the sanitary conditions existing on said
premises.
The Health Officer shall have all powers reasonably necessary
to execute his or her duties in this chapter. Without limitation,
where it is determined by the Health Officer that the minimum standards
of this chapter cannot be met, the Health Officer may direct the owner
of the premises at issue to undertake specific repairs, alterations
or modifications to the premises and to comply with a schedule established
by the Health Officer to plan and to abate any nuisance or unsanitary
condition existing on said premises. When such repairs are not undertaken
within the time specified by the Health Officer, the Health Officer
or his or her authorized representative may cause such repairs to
be made and may recover the costs thereof from the owner of the parcel
of property upon which the nuisance or unsanitary conditions exist.
Repairs, alterations and modifications to premises shall be in accordance
with all necessary permits issued by the Town of Kingsbury or other
state and federal regulatory authorities, except for such repairs,
alterations and modifications ordered by the Health Officer, in his
or her reasonable discretion, on an emergency basis.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Health Officer to enforce any and every
regulation of this Kingsbury Health and Sanitation Code. In the carrying
out of said duty, the Health Officer shall file a written determination
detailing his or her findings and orders with the Town Supervisor
and Code Enforcement Officer and serve a copy of the same upon the
owner of premises falling under his or her scrutiny (the "preliminary
determination and order"). Such service shall be effected in such
a manner as to afford said owner, lessee and occupant his or her due-process
rights. The preliminary determination and order may, without limitation,
contain the following:[1]
(1)
An order preliminarily enjoining said owner, occupant and tenant
from using or otherwise occupying the premises in a manner which allows
said nuisance or unsanitary condition(s) to exist, including, without
limitation, an order to temporarily vacate the premises.
(2)
An order setting a time and date, taking into account any potential
emergency conditions, at which the owner, lessee and/or occupant shall
be directed to appear before the Town Board or its designee(s) sitting
as the local Board of Health.
B.
No person shall refuse or fail to comply with any preliminary determination
and order of the Health Officer. Any such failure shall automatically
trigger review by the Kingsbury Town Board sitting as the local Board
of Health.
C.
The local Board of Health shall have all powers reasonably necessary
to enforce this chapter, including, without limitation, the powers
conveyed herein to the Health Officer as well as the powers specified
in the New York State Public Health Law.
A.
Violation a misdemeanor. Pursuant to the provisions of § 12-b
of the Public Health Law, any violation of or nonconformance with
any provision of this Kingsbury Health and Sanitary Code or of any
rule, regulation or determination (preliminary or otherwise) duly
made hereunder shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine
of not less than $100 or by imprisonment for not more than six months,
or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation of
this chapter continues shall be deemed a separate violation of this
chapter with a maximum fine of $1,000.
B.
An action against any owner, lessee or occupant for a violation of
this chapter shall be brought by the local Board of Health in the
Kingsbury Justice Court.
The Town of Kingsbury reserves the right to incorporate any
of the regulations established by the Washington County Health Department
or the New York State Health Department regarding said sanitary conditions
within the Town of Kingsbury, Washington County, New York.
Except as otherwise specified, this Kingsbury Health and Sanitary
Code shall take effect on September 30, 1992.
