[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council
of the Village of New Haven as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted by Ord. No. 22]
[Amended 1-13-2015 by Ord. No. 333]
It shall be unlawful, after notice by the Village Council that a building, fence or structure is unsafe and liable to fall and injure persons or property, to fail to remove same within the time limited by the order of the Village Council, and any person so failing to comply with the order of the Village Council to tear down, remove or repair any unsafe building, fence or structure shall be punished upon conviction thereof by the penalties set forth in Chapter 59, Municipal Civil Infractions, of the Code of the Village of New Haven.
The Village Council shall, by notice in writing,
notify the owner or occupant as to its requirements as to tearing
down, removing or repairing any unsafe building, fence or structure,
giving at least 10 days' notice to remedy the situation.
If any person shall neglect, after notice, to
tear down, remove or repair any building, fence or structure deemed
by the Village Council to be in a ruinous or unsafe condition, the
Council may cause the same to be done by any officer of the Village,
and any expense incurred by the Village may be charged upon the lot
or premises and collected as a special assessment thereon or the Village
may bring an action in debt or assumpsit against the owner or occupant
of any such lot or premises for the recovery of such expense.
[Adopted 1-11-2012 by Ord. No. 313]
As used in this article, the following terms have the meaning
set forth herein:
A residential structure is considered to be abandoned if
it has not been legally occupied by a human continuously for 30 days
or more or meets any of the following criteria:
Provides a location for loitering, vagrancy, unauthorized entry
or other criminal activity.
Has been boarded or partially boarded restricting ingress and
egress through windows and/or doors for at least 30 days.
Has real estate taxes in arrears for a period of time exceeding
165 days.
Has either water, sewer, electric or gas or any of the foregoing
disconnected or not in use.
Has not been maintained in compliance with ordinances of the
Village that relate to residential structures their occupancy or use.
Refers to a residential structure not legally occupied by
a human for 30 days or more continuously.
A.
Any lender under a note secured by a mortgage or any person, firm,
or corporation holding a mortgage on a property who has filed a complaint
for foreclosure by judicial action or is publishing a notice of foreclosure
by advertisement, shall within five days of either filing the complaint
or publishing the notice, inspect the property subject matter of the
foreclosure proceedings. If the property is vacant or shows evidence
of either being abandoned or vacant, the property shall forthwith
be registered within 10 days pursuant to this article. The property
shall thereafter be inspected at least once monthly until any rights
of the lender or party holding a mortgage no longer exists in the
subject property.
B.
A lender and/or party holding a mortgage shall undertake all reasonable
and necessary steps to continue utility service to the subject parcel
in order to avoid sump pump failure, backup, broken pipes, or other
damage to the subject property.
Owners and holders of any mortgage on abandoned and/or vacant
structures, jointly and severally, shall be responsible for registering
such properties compliant with this chapter. Registration requirements
do not preclude the Village from taking action pursuant to any applicable
federal or state law or ordinance of the Village, or to issue notices
and orders as may apply under other ordinances of the Village. Fees
shall be charged to defray the Village's cost of registering
such properties, as shall be determined and established periodically
by resolution of the Village Council.
For each abandoned and/or vacant structure, as defined in this
article, an owner of such property and any person, firm, or corporation
holding a mortgage on a property as disclosed as a matter of record
shall register with the Village providing the following information:
A.
The legal name and date of birth of each owner, or mortgage holder.
If ownership or the entity holding a mortgage is by means of a corporation,
limited liability company partnership, or other nonnatural means,
the resident agent. The resident agent, managing partner, general
partners and/or shareholders names and dates of birth shall be provided.
B.
Address of persons referred to in Subsection A(1).
C.
Telephone number and address of an agent or representative authorized
by the owner, and/or party holding a mortgage to handle affairs for
the property and to act as the person for notification. Such agent
or representative must be capable of traveling to the property within
a one-hour driving radius of the Village.
D.
Proof of identification of owners by way of copies of drivers' licenses,
copies of Articles of Incorporation, copartnership agreements or other
agreements verifying the existence of such entity.
E.
A statement which shall set forth the estimated length of time the
property is expected to remain unused, reason for nonuse and description
for all plans for restoration, repair, reuse, maintenance, continuous
of utility operation.
F.
Such additional information as may be required and set forth and
any registration form approved by the Village President.
In order to defray the Village's costs of monitoring abandoned
and/or vacant residential structures, the Village shall charge a monthly
fee in an amount as established from time to time by resolution of
the Village Council. No fee shall be imposed until 60 days following
transmittal by first class mail to the last known owner of record
based on assessing records of a notice to register pursuant to this
article.
Upon a notice to secure a residential structure being sent by
first class mail to any person or entity appearing as an owner of
record based on assessing records, such residential premises shall
be secured within 72 hours. The Village may but is not required to
secure the property, including the removal of debris, cutting of vegetation,
boarding the property in whole or in part, or taking other measures
to secure the property. All such costs shall be assessable against
any owner of the property. Both the owner and any holder of a mortgage
shall be responsible at a minimum monthly of any abandoned and/or
vacant property, to determine whether the property is compliant with
the requirements of this article.
If any owner or mortgage holder fails to secure the property,
the Village may seek an administrative search warrant in order to
permit entry upon the property in order to secure the property. All
administrative expenses associated with the issuance of the search
warrant shall be recoverable and assessed against any owner and/or
mortgage holder of the property jointly and severally.
A.
Each owner and/or mortgage holder of any abandoned or vacant residential
structure shall be jointly and severally responsible for maintaining
the structure and property in conformity with applicable law including
ordinances of the Village. This includes but is not limited to exterior
maintenance, vegetation cutting and maintenance, landscaping, snow
removal and maintenance and repairs to the structure itself.
B.
The property shall be kept free of weeds, dry brush, dead vegetation,
trash, junk, debris, building materials and any accumulation of newspapers,
circulars, flyers, notices, except those required by federal, state,
or local law, discarded personal items, including but not limited
to furniture, clothing, large and small appliances, printed material
or any other items that give the appearance that the property is abandoned.
The property shall be maintained free of graffiti, tagging, or similar
markings by removal or painting over with an exterior grade paint
matching the color of the exterior of the structure. Visible front
and side yards shall be landscaped and maintained to the neighborhood
standard at the time registration was required. Landscaping includes
but is not limited to trimming grass, ground cover, bushes, shrubs,
hedges or similar plantings, maintaining decorative rock or bark and
mulching. Maintenance includes but is not limited to regular watering,
irrigation, cutting, pruning and removal of all trimmings. Pools and
spas shall be kept in working order so the water remains clear and
free of pollutants and debris or drained and kept dry. Each of these
requirements shall be cumulative and in addition to any and all other
requirements otherwise required of the ordinances of the Village or
other laws and codes.
Upon a notice to register or notice to secure being sent to
any owner, such abandoned and/or vacant structure shall not be reoccupied
until inspected and found to be in full compliance with the Code of
the Village. All violations shall be corrected in accordance with
the State Construction Code and/or any other applicable codes, including
the International Property Maintenance Code, if applicable. All mechanical,
electrical, plumbing and structural systems shall be certified by
a licensed contractor as being in good repair. A right to occupy shall
not be permitted until all outstanding cost assessments or fees owed
to the Village have been paid in full.
Owners of property and holders of mortgages shall be jointly
and severally liable for avoiding and/or correcting any interruption
in utilities which will have the result of causing or contributing
damage to the premises, including maintaining continuity of electrical
power so that sump pumps will operate, maintaining heat so as to avoid
broken pipes and furnishing other utilities as necessary to secure
and maintain the premises.
Any and all fees or costs incur relating to this article, including
but not limited to registration fees and costs incurred associated
with enforcement activity, shall be fully reimbursable to the Village
by the owners of the property and mortgage holders jointly and severally
and shall be considered a lien upon the subject property subject to
enforcement in the same manner as ad valorem real property taxes.
Such method of enforcement shall be a cumulative remedy. Further examples
of activities for which fees and costs shall be payable include costs
for preparation of correspondence relating to this article, costs
for inspection, costs for vehicle removal, costs for entry of the
subject property, costs for preparation and securing of an administrative
search warrant, costs for preparation of proceeding with enforcement
pursuant to this article.
Any person aggrieved by any requirement of this article may
appeal to the Village President of the Village, furnishing a written
application filed within 20 days of the decision, notice, order or
action from which an appeal is taken. Such appeal shall be based on
a claim that the true intent of this article or rules adopted thereunder
have been incorrectly interpreted or that the provisions of this article
do not fully apply or that the requirements of this article are adequately
satisfied by other means, or that the strict application of any requirement
of this article would cause undue hardship.
Any violations of this article shall be deemed to be a civil
infraction punishable as a civil infraction in accordance with state
law and this Code.[1] Institution of civil infraction proceedings shall not
restrict the Village from pursuing further remedies.
