[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the City of
Hyattsville as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 10-20-1997 by
HB No. 97-03]
Subtitle 13, Division 7, Property Standards and Maintenance,
of the Prince George's County Code, 1995 Edition[1], as it may from time to time be amended, is hereby adopted
by the City, and all of the powers, rights and requirements of compliance
therein, (except with respect to enforcement and penalty) to the extent
that they may be exercisable by a municipal corporation, may be exercised
by the City.
[1]
Editor's Note: A copy of the applicable text of the standards
adopted herein is on file and open to public inspection in the office
of Code Enforcement.
Notice of violation of such standards shall be the responsibility
of the Code Enforcement Officer, with right of appeal to the City
Council.
A.
Violations of this chapter shall be punishable as a municipal infraction as provided in Chapter 20 of this Code.
B.
In addition to the penalties prescribed above, the City shall have
the right to institute injunction, mandamus or any other appropriate
civil action or proceeding to prevent violations of this chapter.
[Adopted 2-17-2004 by
HO-2004-02]
A.
For purposes of this article "enclosure" shall mean, any barrier,
partition or screen that can be installed, removed, swung, drawn,
or lowered or that is stationary, and is put in place for the purpose
of, or has the effect of, limiting or blocking an opening in buildings
used for a commercial purpose, whether or not the item is intended
to provide or assure safety. Enclosure shall include, but not be limited
to, gates, grilles and shutters.
B.
Purpose. It is the intent and purpose of this section to protect
the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the
City of Hyattsville by regulating the placement of enclosures within
window and door openings of buildings used for a commercial purpose.
Such regulation shall, among other things: permit the rapid, free
and unobstructed access to buildings by emergency personnel and equipment;
add to the attractiveness and comfort of the commercial districts;
create a better commercial environment in the City; and preserve,
improve and protect the general character of commercial property within
the City and the improvements thereon.
A.
Permit required. No enclosure shall be installed within or over the
openings of buildings used or designated to be used for commercial
purposes in the City of Hyattsville, and no such enclosure shall be
altered or replaced, until a permit is obtained from the City. All
such work on enclosures must conform to this code and conditions imposed
on the permit.
B.
Application. Applications for issuance of a City permit to install
an enclosure within an opening of a building used for a commercial
purpose in the City of Hyattsville shall be filed with the permit
administrator on a form prescribed by the permit administrator. The
permit administrator shall be designated by the City Administrator.
The application shall be accompanied by the following:
(1)
Plans and specifications drawn to scale with sufficient clarity and
detail to show the nature and character of the proposed work.
(2)
A site plan drawn to scale depicting the size and location of all
buildings, including accessory structures, fences and other structures
on the site, distances from lot lines, and distances to buildings,
including accessory buildings, on adjacent lots. The site plan shall
be drawn in accordance with an accurate boundary survey.
(3)
A written statement and adequate evidence demonstrating that the
proposed work will conform to the standards set forth in this section
for the granting of a City permit.
(4)
A copy of the county permit, if one is required for the proposed
work.
(5)
Permit fee of $100 which shall cover one inspection. A re-inspection
fee of $50 may be imposed. A late fee of $100 will be assessed for
failure to apply for the permit before beginning work on the enclosure.
A.
The permit administrator shall be responsible for issuing permits
and waivers under this article of the City Code. The application for
a permit may be denied, granted or granted with reasonably necessary
conditions. If an application is denied, the permit fee shall be refunded
to the applicant.
B.
The City may refuse to issue a permit where the public health, safety,
welfare of the citizens, or property values are impacted by any of
these issues:
(1)
The visibility of enclosure from the public roadway(s) and sidewalk(s)
adjacent to the subject property.
(2)
The amount of time the enclosure(s) would be deployed and visible
during daylight hours.
(3)
The amount of surface area and/or conspicuousness of the proposed
enclosure(s).
(4)
The enclosure's harmony or consistency with surrounding materials,
colors, shapes and forms.
(5)
The potential for the enclosure to interfere with emergency personnel
access to the building.
C.
Conditions for issuance of permit.
(1)
The submitted plans and the work performed pursuant to a permit to
install an enclosure within an opening of a building used for a commercial
purpose must meet the following conditions:
(a)
Any enclosure must be at least 80% open (visible through).
(b)
No enclosure that covers a vertical surface area of more than
20 square feet shall be mounted on the exterior of a commercial structure
if that device could be viewed from an adjacent public roadway, right-of-way
or sidewalk.
(c)
If any enclosure will be fixed in place, the applicant must
present evidence of approval of the proposed installation by the Fire
Marshal. If the proposed installation does not include a quick-release
mechanism, the applicant must also present evidence of approval of
the installation by the City police department.
A.
The applicant may appeal the issuance or denial of a permit or waiver
to the City Administrator or his/her designee. The appeal must be
made in writing within 15 calendar days of the issuance or denial.
The City Administrator shall conduct a hearing of record regarding
the appeal, giving at least 10 calendar days' notice of the hearing
to the parties.
A.
In the event that an applicant desires to install an enclosure that
is not allowed under this article, the following security measures
are permitted and are encouraged in lieu of devices regulated by this
article:
(1)
Barrier-type devices that are indistinguishable from the other architectural
elements of the enclosure (e.g., enclosure-plastic windows, reinforced
doors, etc.).
(2)
Alarm devices that provide an audible signal of an unauthorized intrusion.
(3)
Surveillance measures that detect and/or report an unauthorized intrusion
(video cameras, alarm monitoring services, security guards, etc.).
A.
The permit administrator may grant a waiver of the conditions for the issuance of a permit outlined in § 69-6B in this chapter provided that the applicant demonstrates that the sole purpose of the enclosure is to provide security or safety, and provided further the applicant can demonstrate the following:
(1)
That alternative security measures such as those described in § 69-8 are impractical and/or insufficient to provide adequate security for subject premises.
(2)
That a clear danger of criminal activity exists for the subject premises,
as indicated by crime records for the most recent 24 months of occupation
of said premises and/or a demonstration that the type of business
conducted in the subject premises is frequently and disproportionately
victimized by crime.
(3)
For any device that fails to meet one or more of the provisions of § 69-8, that no other device that conforms to this article more is practical and/or sufficient to provide adequate security for subject premises; and
(4)
That a significant hardship will be suffered by the applicant if
a permit is not granted for such enclosure(s).
A.
Any owner of a property at which a nonconforming enclosure was installed
prior to enactment of this article shall have five years from the
date of enactment of this article to bring the property into conformance
with the provisions of this article.
A.
All devices regulated by this article that are approved by permit
or as a legal, nonconforming use, shall be maintained in good repair,
painted a uniform color and be free from graffiti.
B.
Any such device exhibiting substantial conditions of deterioration
including either rusted finishes, peeling paint, accumulated grime,
graffiti, bent, broken or distorted surfaces, if not repaired within
30 days after written notice from the City, shall be considered beyond
repair, and shall be removed by the owner of the property at his or
her own expense upon direction by the City, and the property owner
shall be cited for a violation of this article. Failure to remove
the cited enclosure within 30 days and each subsequent 30 days thereafter
shall be deemed additional violations of this article. For purposes
of this section, "substantial conditions" shall be considered to be
20% or more of the surface material.
C.
A property owner directed by the City to remove an enclosure under
the terms of this section 69- 11 shall be ineligible to apply for
a permit for an enclosure at the same premises for a period of three
years, except as a waiver.
