[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Brewster 11-26-1974 by L.L. No. 2-1974 (Ch. 63 of the 1992
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the intent of this chapter to provide
for the removal or repair of buildings in business, industrial and
residential sections that from any cause may now be or shall hereafter
become dangerous or unsafe to the public.
The provisions of this chapter shall be in addition
to, and in furtherance of, the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention
and Building Code, including but not limited to Sections 108 and 109
of the Property Maintenance Code of New York State.
All buildings or structures which are structurally
unsafe, unsanitary or not provided with adequate egress or which constitute
a fire hazard or are otherwise dangerous to human life or which in
relation to existing use constitute a hazard to safety or health by
reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment
are, severally, for the purposes of this chapter, unsafe buildings.
All such unsafe buildings are hereby declared to be illegal and shall
be abated by repair and rehabilitation or by demolition in accordance
with the procedures herein set forth.
The Building Inspector for the Village of Brewster
shall examine or cause to be examined every building reported as unsafe
or damaged and shall make a written report of such examination to
the Village of Brewster Board of Trustees.
Whenever the Building Inspector shall find any
building or structure or portion thereof to be an unsafe building,
as defined in this chapter, he shall give to the owner or some one
of the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees or
any other person having a vested or contingent interest in the same,
as shown by the records of the Receiver of Taxes and/or in the office
of the County Clerk or County Register, written notice, personally
or by registered mail addressed to the last known address, if any,
of the owner or some one of the owner's executors, legal representatives,
agents, lessees or any other person having a vested or contingent
interest in said premises, stating the defects thereof, giving particulars
in which the building or structure is unsafe or dangerous and requiring
the same to be made safe and secure or removed within a stated time.
If such service is made by registered mail, a copy of such notice
shall be posted on the premises. The time provided in such notice
for the correction or removal of such conditions shall be not less
than 30 nor more than 60 days. Such notice shall further provide for
a survey of such premises in the event of the neglect or refusal of
the person served with the notice to comply with the same, said survey
to be made by an inspector and architect to be named by the Village
of Brewster Board of Trustees and a practical builder, engineer or
architect appointed by the person notified as above, and in the event
of 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 state that in the event that the building or other structure
shall be reported unsafe or dangerous under such survey, an application
will be made at a special term of the Supreme Court in the judicial
district in which the property is located 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.
If the Building Inspector finds that there is
actual and immediate danger of failure or collapse so as to endanger
life, such notice shall also require the building, structure or portion
thereof to be vacated forthwith and not reoccupied until the specified
repairs and improvements are completed, inspected and approved by
the building official. The Building Inspector shall cause to be posted
at each entrance to such building the following notice: THIS BUILDING
IS UNSAFE AND ITS USE OR OCCUPANCY HAS BEEN PROHIBITED BY THE BUILDING
INSPECTOR. Such notice shall remain posted until the required repairs
are made or demolition is completed. It shall be unlawful for any
person, firm or corporation or their agents or other servants to remove
such notice without written permission of the Building Inspector or
for any person to enter the building except for the purpose of making
the required repairs or of demolishing the same.
A.
In cases of emergency when the Building Inspector
is unable to obtain the cooperation of the owner or agent or person
in control and when, in the opinion of the Building Inspector, the
situation involves imminent danger to human life or health, the Building
Inspector shall promptly cause such building, structure or portion
thereof to be made safe or removed. For this purpose, he may at once
enter such structure or the land on which it stands or abutting land
or structure with such assistance and at such cost as may be necessary.
He may vacate adjacent structures and protect the public by appropriate
barricades or such other means as may be necessary, and for this purpose
may close a public or private way.
B.
Costs incurred under this section shall be paid out
of the Village treasury on certificate of the Building Inspector.
Such costs shall be charged to the owner of the premises involved
and shall be collected in the manner provided by law.
Upon the completion of the survey and the report thereon, made as prescribed in § 82-5 above, the report of the survey shall be filed with the Village of Brewster Board of Trustees and a copy thereof posted on the subject premises. The surveyors shall be paid a reasonable compensation for their services, which amount of compensation shall be determined by the Village of Brewster Board of Trustees.
All costs and expenses incurred by the Village
in connection with the proceedings to remove or secure, including
the cost of actually removing said building or structure, shall be
assessed against the land on which said buildings or structures are
located.
In addition to the assessment of costs provided
for in this chapter, any person, firm or corporation who shall violate
any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to
a maximum penalty of $250 or a maximum term of imprisonment of 15
days, or both, for each offense.
This chapter shall be enforced by any official authorized to issue and serve appearance tickets under Chapter 4, Appearance Tickets, of the Code of the Village of Brewster or the laws of the State of New York.
