[Adopted 7-20-1999 by L.L. No. 6-1999]
[Amended 4-18-2000 by L.L. No. 7-2000[1]]
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Babylon hereby finds that buildings and places that are used as an adult use, as such is defined in Chapter 213, Article XXXI, of this Code, in violation of the restrictions therein or buildings in which public conduct occurs in violation of Chapter 165, Article II, of this Code, constitute a public nuisance resulting from the adverse secondary effects that adult uses and said violative public conduct have on surrounding properties and communities as has been found in the numerous studies performed in the Towns of Long island, the City of New York and many other municipalities across the country and that it is in the best interests of the public health, safety and welfare of the Town of Babylon to abate such adult uses and violative public conduct so as to preserve the quality of life and property values of adjoining properties and surrounding communities.
B.
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to establish a standardized procedure for securing legal and equitable remedies and to strengthen existing laws so as to effectively deal with the problem of adult uses operating in violation of Chapter 213, Article XXXI, of this Code and violative public conduct in buildings in violation of Chapter 165, Article II, of this Code.
[Amended 4-18-2000 by L.L. No. 7-2000]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
For the purpose of this article, any building, residence,
premises, structure or place for which an owner or person in charge
has been given written notice that a summons has been served for prohibited
conduct, as defined herein, at such location and, within one year
of that first summons, an additional summons has been served for prohibited
conduct, as defined herein, at the same location, which the owner
or person in charge thereof is again notified of in writing.
A.
Notice that a summons or summonses for prohibited
conduct have occurred at a location shall be served by personal service
upon the owner or person in charge of the affected building or structure
or, if no such person can be reasonably found, by mailing said owner
such notice by means of certified mail, return receipt requested,
to the last known address as shown by the records of the Town Assessor
and by securely affixing a copy of such notice upon the door of the
affected building or structure. A copy of the notice shall also be
mailed by certified mail to any mortgagee of record of the property
if such address is on file in the office of the Receiver of Taxes.
B.
The notice must contain a statement of the date or dates upon which prohibited conduct took place on the property, the nature of the prohibited conduct, a copy of this article and a warning that if a second summons is served for prohibited conduct as defined in § 165-13 of this article within one year of the first summons, the Town will seek action pursuant to § 165-16 of this article.
A.
Upon a first or second summons for prohibited conduct, the Department of Planning and Development and/or the Suffolk County Police Department may issue a summons to the owner or person in charge of said premises for a violation of § 165-17 of this article.
B.
Upon a first summons for prohibited conduct, the Department of Planning and Development shall send the property owner a notice pursuant to the requirements of § 165-14 of this article. Upon a second summons for prohibited conduct occurring within one year of the first summons, a second notice as described in § 165-14 will be sent to the property owner which will also include a notification of the public hearing to be held pursuant to § 165-16 of this article.
C.
The Department of Planning and Development will then
issue a report in writing to the Town Board which shall include but
not be limited to:
A.
The Town Board, at said public hearing or an emergency public hearing as authorized by § 62 of the Town Law, shall consider such report of prohibited conduct as well as any other information it deems relevant in determining if the location is to be deemed a public nuisance as defined in § 165-13 of this article.
B.
If the Town Board decides said location is in fact
a public nuisance, it may immediately authorize the Commissioner of
the Department of Public Works to secure and board up said location
and assess such costs as a special assessment to the property owner
and authorize the Town Attorney to bring and maintain a civil action
or special proceeding in name of the Town in a court of competent
jurisdiction for equitable and legal relief, including but not limited
to a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, a permanent
injunction and other equitable remedies as well as civil penalties
(fines), including the recovery of the costs of the action, litigation
expenses, board-up, site cleanup and reasonable attorney's fees.
[Amended 10-7-2003 by L.L. No. 25-2003; 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022]
A.
The Town Board finds that the proliferation of violations
of the provisions of the Town Code of the Town of Babylon has caused
a serious threat to the safety and welfare of the residents of the
Town and has eroded the quality of life of all who live and work in
the Town. The Town Board therefore finds it necessary and proper to
increase the fines and related penalties for violations of the Town
Code. It is further the intent of the Town Board to exercise its authority
as provided by law with particular reference to its authority pursuant
to Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(4)(b) and Town Law § 135,
and the Town Board hereby supersedes any inconsistent provisions of
state law.
B.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to own or lease any
building, residence, premises, structure or place which is being used
as a public nuisance as defined in this article.
C.
Upon conviction of an offense based on any violation
of this section, a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000
for each offense and/or up to 30 days' imprisonment must be imposed.
Any person found by the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication to have
violated this section shall likewise be subject to a monetary penalty
of not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000.
A.
The provisions of this article are severable. If any
clause, sentence, paragraph, section, word or part of this article
shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
thereof but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence,
paragraph, section, word or part thereof directly involved in the
controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. The invalidity
of any word, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this
article shall not affect the validity of any other part of this article
which can be given effect without such invalid part of parts.
B.
If any portion of this article is found to be in conflict
with any other provision of any other local law or ordinance of the
Code of the Town of Babylon, the provision which establishes the higher
standard shall prevail.
[Amended 4-18-2000 by L.L. No. 7-2000]
A.
Abatement of adult use.
(1)
Upon written request by the property owner, the Commissioner
of the Department of Public Works shall allow access to the premises
to the property owner, his agents, servants and/or employees for the
purpose of abating the nuisance, which shall include the removal of
all inventory constituting the stock in trade of an adult use and
all related trade fixtures and equipment, including but not limited
to video booths, video screens, televisions, video cassette recorders
and video cassettes, books, magazines and other paraphernalia of an
adult or sexual nature. Upon completion of the removal of the foregoing
from the premises, the Commissioner shall relinquish control of the
premises to the property owner.
(2)
Where the nature of the particular adult use does
not lend itself to abatement by removal of inventory, furniture, fixtures
and equipment, the Commissioner of the Department of Public Works
shall relinquish control of the premises to the property owner upon
execution and delivery by the property owner to the Town Attorney
of a declaration of covenants and restrictions, the form and content
of which shall be approved by the Town Attorney, which shall provide
that the premises shall not be used as an adult use, and consent to
the entry of a civil judgment by the Clerk of the County of Suffolk,
on 10 days' prior written notice, in the amount of $1,000 per day
for each day a violation of the covenants and restrictions shall have
occurred, and which judgment may be entered upon an affidavit of the
observation of such violation by a building inspector, zoning inspector,
code enforcement officer, fire marshal or police officer.
B.
Abatement of violative public conduct. The Commissioner of the Department of Public Works shall relinquish control of the premises to the property owner upon execution and delivery by the property owner to the Town Attorney of a declaration of covenants and restrictions, the form and content of which shall be approved by the Town Attorney, which shall provide that the public conduct in violation of Chapter 165, Article II, of this Code is prohibited at the premises, and consent to the entry of a civil judgment by the Clerk of the County of Suffolk, on 10 days' prior written notice, in the amount of $1,000 per day for each day a violation of the covenants and restrictions shall have occurred, and which judgment may be entered upon the affidavit of observation of such violation by a building inspector, zoning inspector, code enforcement officer, fire marshal or police officer.
