[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Troy 9-6-2018 by Ord. No. 84.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to prohibit the processing and
approval of any and all applications for approval and issuance of
any permit or certificate of occupancy or use by any board or official
of the City of Troy for any property owner who has outstanding real
estate taxes, water or sewer fees, solid waste fees, special assessments,
fines for violations of City ordinances or any other fees or past
due monies or any outstanding violations of any local laws or ordinances
of the City of Troy on any properties owned by the applicant situated
within the City of Troy.
This chapter shall be known as "Application Processing Restriction
Law of the City of Troy."
This chapter shall apply to the provisions of all the local
laws and ordinances adopted by the City of Troy for any and all applications
submitted on or after the effective date of this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An individual who owns at least 5% of the interest in a corporation
or is a partner in a business entity shall be granted the same legal
status as the corporation or partnership in which said individual
owns an equity interest for the purpose of determining whether said
individual, corporation or partnership is an applicant under this
chapter.
A.
Simultaneous with the filing of an application to any board or official
of the City of Troy as listed below, an applicant must submit proof
in a form acceptable to the City that no outstanding real estate taxes,
water or sewer fees, solid waste fees, special assessments, fines
for violations of City ordinances or any other fees or past due monies,
together with all penalties and interest thereon, exist for any properties
owned by the applicant situated within the City of Troy and that no
outstanding violations of any local law or ordinance of the City of
Troy exist thereon:
B.
The processing and approval of any and all applications for approval
and issuance of any permit or certificate of occupancy or use by any
board or official of the City of Troy for any property owner who has
outstanding real estate taxes, water or sewer fees, solid waste fees,
special assessments or outstanding violations of any local laws or
ordinances of the City of Troy or any properties owned by the applicant
situated within the City of Troy are hereby prohibited except to the
extent that the Corporation Counsel can verify that the applicant
has deposited with the City Treasurer to be held in escrow a sum of
money sufficient to cover any and all outstanding amounts owed to
the City of Troy. In that event, the application form must contain
a statement signed by the Corporation Counsel which verifies that
there are sufficient monetary funds on deposit in an attorney escrow
account to cover any and all outstanding amounts owed to the City
of Troy.
C.
In the event that an application is in process before any of the
boards or officials as listed above and a violation of this chapter
occurs, processing of the application shall cease upon presentation
of proof of the violation by the Receiver of Taxes or Code Enforcement
Officer of the City of Troy except to the extent that the Corporation
Counsel can verify that there are sufficient monetary funds on deposit
in an attorney escrow account to cover any and all outstanding amounts
owed to the City of Troy. In that event, the application form must
contain a statement signed by the Corporation Counsel which verifies
that the applicant has deposited with the City Treasurer to be held
in escrow a sum of money sufficient to cover any and all outstanding
amounts owed to the City of Troy.
D.
In the case of an application for a building permit, a certificate
of occupancy, a zoning variance or planning approval, the terms of
this chapter shall apply to the grantee of real property conveyed
by other than a bona fide arm's-length transaction in all instances
in which the grantor's application would have been barred pursuant
to the terms of this chapter.
E.
A building permit, once granted, shall be revoked in the event that
the applicant accrues violations or unpaid monies, or violations or
unpaid monies are discovered, after the permit is granted. The revocation
shall take effect five business days after receipt by the permit holder
of notice from the City of Troy of the pending revocation. Upon such
revocation, all permitted activities and privileges shall immediately
cease. No application fees shall be refunded upon revocation of the
permit. The applicant must reapply for the issuance of such revoked
permit by submitting a new application and paying all necessary application
fees, and any such permitted activities or privileges may only be
resumed once a new permit has been granted.
A.
This chapter shall not apply to the processing of an existing application
for a building permit intended to cure existing violations of the
New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and/or the
Troy Code of Ordinances. Once said violations have been corrected,
the provisions of this chapter will take effect except to the extent
that the Corporation Counsel can verify that the applicant has deposited
with the City Treasurer to be held in escrow a sum of money sufficient
to cover any and all outstanding amounts owed to the City of Troy.
In that event, the application form must contain a statement signed
by the Corporation Counsel which verifies that there are sufficient
monetary funds on deposit in an attorney escrow account to cover any
and all outstanding amounts owed to the City of Troy.
B.
Notwithstanding the provisions contained in this section to the contrary,
when in the opinion of the Director of Code Enforcement or the City
Engineer the issuance of a permit is necessary to prevent harm to
life, safety, or the general welfare of the public, the Director of
Code Enforcement shall be authorized to issue said permit for the
sole and exclusive purpose of bringing such violations into compliance
with the Code of the City of Troy. Nothing contained herein shall
relieve the property owner from complying with all other applicable
sections of the Code, including, without limitation, the provisions
contained in this section.