Town of Babylon, NY Article II General Penalties

[Adopted 12-9-1969[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: The provisions of this article are derived from Sections 1-11 and 1-12 of the 1969 Unified Code of Ordinances of the Town of Babylon.

§ 1-15 Penalties for offenses.

[Amended 11-17-1970; 10-7-2003 by L.L. No. 18-2003; 12-19-2007 by L.L. No. 23-2007]

A. Unless otherwise provided herein or in any ordinance, chapter, article, section, provision or amendment thereto, any person, firm or corporation violating any ordinance, chapter, article, section, provision or amendment or addition thereto, herein contained or hereafter adopted or of any New York State codes, laws, statutes or regulations or failure or neglect to comply with any order issued pursuant thereto, shall be guilty of an offense and, upon conviction thereof, a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $2,500 must be imposed or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment.

[Amended 7-12-2011 by L.L. No. 13-2011; 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022]

B. Each day that a violation of zoning regulations or of any New York State codes, laws, statutes or regulations persists shall constitute a separate offense (Chapter 213 hereof).

[Amended 7-12-2011 by L.L. No. 13-2011]

C. Each day that a continuing violation (defined herein below) of zoning regulations or of any New York State codes, laws, statutes or regulations persists shall be subject to a separate criminal penalty.

[Amended 7-12-2011 by L.L. No. 13-2011]

D. Each day any and all other continuing violations (defined herein below) of the Babylon Town Code or of any New York State codes, laws, statutes or regulations persist shall be subject to a separate criminal penalty.

[Amended 7-12-2011 by L.L. No. 13-2011]

E. All criminal penalties shall be mandatory penalties and must be imposed. There shall be no unconditional or conditional discharges without mandatory penalties being imposed. Only upon application by the Special Assistant District Attorney, and for good cause shown, may the court sentence a defendant to a conditional discharge without the mandatory penalty also being imposed.

F. Any criminal penalty imposed shall be in addition to any civil penalty; provided, however, that no person shall be subject to a civil penalty and criminal penalty for the same violation at the premises on the same day.

G. Continued violation. There shall be a presumption that a violation continues from the day the Town establishes that said violation existed until the violation's existence is rebutted. However, the presumption shall extend no longer than 30 days for each criminal offense charged unless the offense charged is a misdemeanor, in which case the presumption may extend up to 60 days.

[Amended 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022]

H. Ownership. There shall be a presumption of ownership by the person indicated as the owner by the deed on file in the Babylon Tax Assessor's office. Said presumption may be rebutted by a certified copy of a deed recorded in the Suffolk County Clerk's office or other similar evidence inherently trustworthy and competent.

I. Upon application of the Town Attorney's office, any offense based on a violation of this Code or of any New York State codes, laws, statutes or regulations may be reduced to an "attempted offense" as established by the New York State Penal Law § 110.00. Penalties for the reduced charge of attempt shall be:

[Added 10-6-2009 by L.L. No. 16-2009; amended 1-25-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011; 7-12-2011 by L.L. No. 13-2011; 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022]

(1) Any person who shall attempt to violate any of the provisions of this Code or of any New York State codes, laws, statutes or regulations shall be guilty of an offense, and upon conviction thereof, a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500 must be imposed and a term of imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both, for conviction of a first offense; for conviction of a second offense, both of which were committed within a period of five years, a fine not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 must be imposed and a term of imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days may be imposed, or both; and upon conviction for a third or subsequent offense, all of which were committed within a period of five years, a fine not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,500 must be imposed and a term of imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days may be imposed, or both. Each day's continued violation shall constitute a separate additional offense.

J. Appearance tickets. The following employees, agents, officers or servants of the Town of Babylon shall have the power to issue appearance tickets for offenses based on violations of the Babylon Town Code, any New York State codes, laws, statutes or regulations: Zoning Inspectors, Building Inspectors, Ordinance Enforcement Officers, Fire Marshals, Park Rangers; Bay Constables for offenses based on violations of Chapter 81 of the Babylon Town Code; Sanitation Inspectors for offenses based on violations of Chapter 133 of the Babylon Town Code, and any employee, agent, officer or servant of the Town of Babylon as may from time to time be appointed to do so by the Chief of Staff.

[Added 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022]

§ 1-16 Civil penalties.

[Amended 5-4-2004 by L.L. No. 14-2004; 6-19-2007 by L.L. No. 9-2007; 12-19-2007 by L.L. No. 23-2007]

A. The Bureau of Administrative Adjudication is authorized to conduct adjudicatory proceedings for violations of the Town Code as set forth in Chapter 66 of this Code. Violations of the New York State Residential Code, Fire Code, Plumbing Code, Mechanical Code, Fuel Gas Code, Property Maintenance Code and Emergency Conservation Code which are enforceable by building inspectors, zoning inspectors, fire marshals, and ordinance enforcement officers are deemed to be violations of the Town Code which may be adjudicated before the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication. Any person or entity found by the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication to have violated a provision of the Town Code shall be subject to a monetary penalty of not less than $500 nor more than $2,500 unless a specific monetary penalty for such violation is set forth for the particular Code provision that has been violated.

[Added 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022; amended 8-2-2023 by L.L. No. 15-2023; 12-20-2023 by L.L. No. 25-2023]

B. [1]Notwithstanding any proceedings before the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication, the Town Attorney is authorized to pursue in any court of competent jurisdiction any and all actions in law or equity, including but not limited to actions for: compensatory damages; civil penalties; to compel compliance, or to restrain by injunction, violations of this Code, any New York State codes, laws, statutes or regulations and any other remedies which the Town Attorney may deem necessary and proper.

[Amended 4-22-2009 by L.L. No. 5-2009; 7-12-2011 by L.L. No. 13-2011; 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022]

(1) Any owner, lessee, occupant, person or entity found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have violated any of the provisions of this Code shall be subject to a civil penalty.

(a) Each day of a continuing violation shall be subject to an escalating civil penalty. If the section which has been violated does not provide a civil penalty, then the penalty shall be as follows: $350 for the first day of violation or any part thereof, $500 for the second day of violation or any part thereof, and $1,000 for the third day of violation or any part thereof, and for all subsequent days of violation, up to and including the 60th day the violation persists.

(2) All such civil penalties shall be mandatory penalties and must be imposed upon a judgment in favor of the Town. If said penalty is not paid to the Town of Babylon within 10 days of a judgment, a civil judgment shall be entered against the property, and the owner of the property and said judgment may be collectable by a tax assessment against the property on which said violation occurred.

(3) Any civil penalty imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be in addition to any fine and/or imprisonment as a result of a criminal prosecution provided for in the Babylon Town Code or any state or local law and in addition to any monetary penalty imposed by the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication. There is no requirement of notice prior to the commencement of a civil action.

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, regarding strict liability, was repealed 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022. This local law also provided for the redesignation of former Subsection A as Subsection B.

C. Continued violation. There shall be a presumption that a violation continues from the day the Town establishes that said violation existed until the violation's existence is rebutted, but in any case, the presumption extends no longer than 60 days for each civil action filed regarding a violation.

D. Ownership. There shall be a presumption of ownership by the person indicated as the owner by the deed on file in the Babylon Tax Assessor's office. Said presumption may be rebutted by a certified copy of a deed recorded in the Suffolk County Clerk's office or other similar evidence inherently trustworthy and competent.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Former Subsection E, regarding appearance tickets, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022.

§ 1-17 Action to compel compliance.

In addition to the fine and/or imprisonment and civil penalties as provided for in §§ 1-15 and 1-16 of this article, the Town Board may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the Town in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation of any such ordinance, chapter, article, section, provision or amendment or addition herein contained or hereafter adopted.

§ 1-18 Proceeding where different penalties exist for same violation.

[Amended 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022]

In all cases where the same conduct may violate more than one provision of the Town Code, the Town Attorney may elect under which provision to proceed; but not more than one recovery shall be had against the same person for the same conduct.