[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Plainville
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Enforcement — See Ch. 277.
[Adopted 6-6-2011 ATM by Art. 45]
The purpose of this bylaw is to help protect the health, safety
and welfare of the residents of Plainville by preventing blight, protecting
property values and neighborhood integrity, protecting Town resources
and ensuring the safe and sanitary maintenance of vacant buildings.
Vacant buildings create an increased risk for fire damage, encourage
vandalism and unlawful entry, and give rise to other public health
and safety hazards. This bylaw is intended to promote the Town's
public welfare by requiring all property owners to register and properly
maintain vacant buildings.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A board consisting of the head of the Fire Department, a
surveyor, and one disinterested person to be appointed by the Building
Commissioner, in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 143, § 8.
A structure enclosed within exterior walls or firewalls,
built, erected, or framed of any materials, and fixed to the ground,
having a roof, to form a structure for the shelter of persons, animals
or property, or the storage of commercial or industrial personal property.
The Building Inspector of the Town of Plainville or his designee.
Occupied in accordance with the provisions of the Massachusetts
Building Code.
A person or entity who, alone or severally with others:
Has legal or equitable title to any building or has care, charge
or control of any building in any capacity including but not limited
to agent, executor, executrix, administrator, adminstratrix, trustee,
or guardian of the estate of the holder of legal title; or
Is a tenant a legal right to possess an entire building; or
Is a mortgagee in possession of any building; or
Is an agent, trustee, receiver or other person appointed by
the courts and vested with possession or control of a building; or
Is an officer or trustee of an association of unit owners of
a condominium or cooperative which contains a vacant building.
Any building which is not legally occupied, is abandoned,
or is not used for a period of at least 45 consecutive days, and also
shows visible signs of substantial physical distress, including, but
not limited to, boarded-up or broken windows or doors, fire damage,
exposure to the elements, susceptibility to unauthorized entry, disconnected
utilities, accumulation of trash, junk and/or debris, or that appears
to pose a risk to public safety, as determined by the Building Commissioner.
A.
Prior to or not more than seven days after a building becomes a vacant
building, as defined herein, the owner(s) must register the vacant
building with the Building Commissioner on forms provided by the Building
Commissioner. All registrations must state the owner's name,
phone number, and mailing address as well as an emergency contact,
if not the same. This registration must state if the property is vacant
at the time of filing, and if so for how long the building shall remain
vacant. None of the required addresses shall be a post office box.
Once the building is no longer vacant or is sold, the owner must provide
proof of sale or written notice and proof of lawful occupancy to the
Building Commissioner. The Building Commissioner will notify Police,
Fire, Water and Sewer, and Health Departments of the submitted registration
of vacant building as well as the reoccupancy of the building.
B.
The Building Commissioner may exempt a property owner from the provisions
of this bylaw upon the presentation of evidence, in such form as may
be convincing to the Building Commissioner, that the failure to use
or occupy a building for a period in excess of 45 days does not violate
the purpose or intent of this bylaw. Examples of such exemptible circumstances
may include, but not be limited to, temporary residence in a medical
or rehabilitation facility, temporary residence in an alternate seasonal
home or resort, or other such circumstances provided they do not exceed
180 days. However, mere storage of goods in the vacant building shall
not, in and of itself, qualify as an exemption.
A.
On or before October 15 of each calendar year, the Town shall send
a billing statement, setting forth the annual registration fee, to
the owner of the vacant building. The annual registration fee shall
be set by the Board of Selectmen pursuant to MGL c. 40, § 22F.
B.
On or before November 15 of each calendar year, the owner of any
vacant building shall pay to the Town an annual registration fee to
cover the administrative cost of monitoring and ensuring the security
and proper maintenance of such building, as identified in said billing
statement. Failure to pay the annual registration fee shall be a violation
of this bylaw, and the full fee shall be deemed an assessment resulting
from a violation of this bylaw. Such fee, and any fines issued for
violations of this bylaw, shall constitute a "municipal charges lien"
on the property on which the vacant building is located, to be collected
in accordance with MGL c. 40, § 58.
A.
The owner of a vacant building must maintain the vacant building
in accordance with all applicable local and state Sanitary Codes,
Building Codes and Fire Codes, pertaining to the external/visible
maintenance of the building and major system maintenance of the property.
B.
The owner of a vacant building must promptly repair all broken windows,
doors, other openings and any unsafe conditions at a vacant building.
Boarding up of open or broken windows and doors is prohibited except
as a temporary measure for no longer than 45 consecutive days, unless
the Commissioner determines that, due to vandalism or security reasons
and due to circumstances out of the owner's control, the proper
boarding of windows and doors is necessary for a period of time longer
than 45 consecutive days. Boards or coverings must be fitted to the
opening size and colored to blend with the existing building color
scheme.
C.
The owner must maintain the building and property for the duration
of the vacancy or abandonment. The owner shall maintain the condition
of the building and property so as to appear not to be vacant. Upon
notice by the Building Commissioner, any accumulated trash and/or
graffiti shall be removed from the property by the owner within seven
days. The Building Commissioner and/or his designee will document
violations. The owner of any building vacant for a period exceeding
six months, whose utilities have been shut off, shall have those utilities
removed or cut and capped to prevent accidents.
D.
If deemed necessary by the Building Commissioner and the Board of
Survey, the owner must erect and maintain, at his/her own expense,
a six-foot privacy fence within 30 feet of the entire building. The
Building Commissioner shall notify the owner in writing of the basis
for requiring any such fencing.
E.
Compliance with this bylaw shall not relieve the owner of any obligations
set forth in any other applicable bylaw, regulation, codes, covenant
conditions or restrictions and/or association rules and regulations.
In case of a conflict with these rules and regulations, the stricter
of the rules and regulations shall apply.
The Building Commissioner, Police Chief, Fire Chief and the
Health Agent, or their designees, shall have the authority to periodically
inspect the exterior and interior of any building subject to this
bylaw for compliance, as authorized under the terms of registration
form filed with the Building Commissioner. The Building Commissioner
shall have the discretionary authority to disconnect utilities immediately
if a potential hazard that may be dangerous to life and limb is present.
A.
Violations of any portions of this bylaw shall be punishable by a
fine of $100 a day in total. However, the Building Commissioner may
waive the fine in total or in part upon the abatement of the violation(s).
B.
The Building Commissioner or his designee shall enforce all provisions of this bylaw and shall institute all necessary administrative or legal action to assure compliance. Any owner found to be in violation of this bylaw shall receive a written warning and a minimum of seven days to remedy all violations prior to the institution of any enforcement action by the Commissioner. The Building Commissioner, acting on behalf of the Town of Plainville, may also bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction seeking equitable relief to enforce this bylaw. This bylaw may also be enforced through noncriminal disposition in accordance with the provisions of in Chapter 277, Article II, of the Code of the Town of Plainville.
If the Building Commissioner determines the building to be unsafe,
the Commissioner may act immediately in accordance with the Massachusetts
State Building Code to protect public safety. Furthermore, nothing
in this bylaw shall abrogate the powers and/or duties of municipal
officials to act pursuant to any general statutory authority including,
without limitation, MGL c. 139, § 1 et seq. and MGL c. 143,
§ 6 et seq.
If any provision of this bylaw is held to be invalid by a court
of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be considered separate
and apart from the remaining provisions, which shall remain in full
force and effect.