[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Mamaroneck as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Unsafe buildings — See Ch. 71.
Electrical standards — See Ch. 90.
Fire limits — See Ch. 103.
Plumbing — See Ch. 158.
Sewers — See Ch. 173.
Solid waste — See Ch. 183.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 187.
Swimming pools — See Ch. 192.
Trees — See Ch. 207.
[Adopted 2-17-1937 (Ch. 46 of the 1975 Code)]
This article shall apply only to that part of
the Town of Mamaroneck outside of incorporated villages, and whenever
and wherever the words "Town of Mamaroneck" are used, such words shall
mean the Town of Mamaroneck outside of incorporated villages.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The stopping of a motor vehicle or motorcycle upon any public
highway and leaving such motor vehicle or motorcycle unattended by
a person capable of operating it for a period longer than necessary
to load or unload passengers or freight.
Includes individuals, copartnerships, corporations and incorporated
and joint-stock associations.
[Added 5-3-1939]
That portion of the street between the physically established
curblines and the designated property lines.
Every way set apart for public travel, except alleyways,
bridle paths and footpaths.
Every device by which any person or property is or may be
transported or drawn upon the street.
[Amended 9-24-1947; 7-17-1996 by L.L. No. 14-1996; 4-7-2021 by L.L. No. 5-2021]
A.Â
Every owner, tenant or occupant of real property shall
cut, trim or remove all brush, grass, rubbish, noxious weeds, litter
or other similar unsightly or objectionable material therefrom at
his/her/its own expense.
B.Â
The Town Clerk, the Building Inspector or the Director
of Building Code Enforcement and Land Use Administration may serve
written notice upon the owner, tenant and/or occupant of any real
property to trim, prune and, if necessary, remove noxious weeds, rubbish,
litter or other similar unsightly or objectionable material from the
property on a date that is not less than 10 days from the date of
such notice. Such notice may be served either personally or by mail,
addressed to any owner, tenant or occupant at the address shown for
such property on the assessment roll or in any letter or writing addressed
to the Town Clerk, the Assessor or the Receiver of Taxes.
C.Â
If there is a failure to comply with the notice described in § 161-3B, the Town may, but shall not be obligated to, cut, trim or remove all brush, grass, rubbish, noxious weeds, litter or other similar unsightly or objectionable material from the property. Pursuant to § 64, Subdivision 5-a, of the New York Town Law and § 10, Subdivisions 1(ii)a(8) through (9-a), of the Municipal Home Rule Law, the soft and hard costs incurred by the Town in doing so, including the prorated portion of the salaries (including overtime) of Town employees who perform or supervise all or some of the work, shall be assessed upon and constitute a lien and charge on the real property until paid or otherwise satisfied or discharged and shall be collected in the same manner and at the same time as other Town charges.
All owners, tenants and/or occupants of premises
at any corner formed by the intersection of highways shall, within
15 days of the receipt from the Town Clerk of written notice to do
so, trim, prune and, if necessary, remove all hedges, brush, shrubs
and overhanging limbs of trees or any obstacle upon such part of the
premises as is specified in said notice, to the end that persons driving
vehicles upon either of such intersecting highways shall have an unobstructed
view across such part of said premises to the other of said highways
for a distance of at least 20 feet from such intersection, measured
along such highway on which such vehicle is traveling.
A.Â
Any person violating any of the provisions of this
article, as same may be amended from time to time, for which no other
penalty is provided, shall be guilty of a violation punishable by
a fine of $250.
[Amended 10-20-1954; 7-17-1996 by L.L. No. 14-1996; 4-7-2021 by L.L. No. 5-2021]
B.Â
Additional penalties.
[Amended 12-17-1953]
(2)Â
The penalty for violation as above provided shall be in addition to any fine provided for in § 161-5A.
(3)Â
Every day or part thereof that such violation shall
continue shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct violation of
said several provisions of this article and shall render every person
liable for a separate penalty for each such violation.
[Adopted 6-17-1970 by L.L. No. 2-1970 (Ch.
61 of the 1975 Code)]
[Amended 7-17-1996 by L.L. No. 14-1996]
In order to prevent blight and the spread thereof,
it is hereby declared that all structures used for residential or
commercial purposes, including but not limited to one-family dwellings,
two-family dwellings, multiple dwellings, shopping centers, supermarkets,
retail stores, discount houses, warehouses, manufacturing or fabrication
plants, factories, gasoline service stations, restaurants, food-service
establishments, office buildings, public garages, motor vehicle repair
shops or other business uses, whether occupied or vacant, and accessory
structures, located in the Town of Mamaroneck, shall be maintained
in conformance with the standards set out in this article so as to
assure that these structures and properties will not adversely affect
the neighborhood and the community at large. It is found and declared
that by reason of lack of maintenance and progressive deterioration,
certain structures and properties have the further effect of creating
blighting conditions and that, if the same are not curtailed and removed,
the aforesaid conditions will grow and spread and will necessitate
in time the expenditure of large amounts of public funds to correct
and eliminate the same. By reason of timely regulations and restrictions,
as herein contained, the growth of blight may be prevented and the
neighborhood and property values thereby maintained and the desirability
and amenities of residential and nonresidential uses and neighborhoods
enhanced and the public health, safety and welfare protected and fostered.
This article has been prepared and adopted with consideration of the
character of the various zoning districts and the stability for the
particular uses therein.
The following definitions shall govern the interpretation
of this article unless otherwise expressly defined herein. Words used
in the singular shall include the plural and vice versa. The word
"shall" is always mandatory.
A natural person or persons, corporations, copartnerships,
unincorporated associations or any other organizations of two or more
persons who is or are the owner or owners, mortgagee or vendee in
possession, assignee of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee
or agent directly or indirectly in control of a building within the
confines of the Town, as defined aforesaid.
All areas within the Town of Mamaroneck, exclusive of areas
wholly within any incorporated village.
A.Â
Surface and subsurface water shall be appropriately
drained to protect buildings and structures and to prevent the development
of stagnant ponds.
B.Â
No shopping baskets, carts or wagons shall be left
unattended or standing, and said baskets, carts or wagons shall be
regularly collected and removed to the interior of the building or
buildings from which they were taken by the person responsible for
said building or buildings.
C.Â
All fences shall be maintained by the person responsible
for the property. Such maintenance shall include but not be limited
to the replacement and/or repair of fences which may become in disrepair.
D.Â
All landscaping shall be well maintained so that lawns,
hedges, bushes and trees shall be kept trimmed and free from becoming
overgrown and unsightly where exposed to public view and where the
same may constitute a blighting factor, thereby depreciating adjoining
property. Such maintenance shall include but not be limited to the
replacement of trees and shrubs which may die and/or otherwise be
destroyed.
E.Â
All recharge stormwater basins shall be maintained
by the person responsible for the property. Such maintenance shall
include but not be limited to:
(1)Â
The cleaning of storm sewers and other drainage appurtenances
serving said basin so that said installations function as designed.
(2)Â
The removal of any garbage, rubbish, silt, topsoil
or other foreign material which creates an unsanitary condition or
prevents or impedes the leaching action of said basin.
F.Â
Steps, walks, driveways, parking spaces and similar
paved areas shall be maintained so as to afford safe passage under
normal use and weather conditions. Any holes or other hazards that
may exist shall be filled or necessary repairs or replacement carried
out. All off-street parking facilities shall be swept at least twice
a year.
G.Â
Yards, courts and vacant lots shall be kept clean
and free of physical hazards, rodent harborage and infestation. They
shall be maintained in a manner that will prevent rubbish from being
blown about the neighborhood. Open wells, cesspools or cisterns shall
be securely closed or barricaded from access to the public.
H.Â
All permanent signs exposed to public view shall be
maintained in good repair. Excessively weathered or faded signs shall
be removed or put into a good state of repair. All nonoperative or
broken electrical signs shall be repaired or removed.
[Amended 7-17-1996 by L.L. No. 14-1996]
I.Â
No person shall deposit, throw or scatter or suffer, permit or allow the accumulation of any filth, dirt, ashes, junk, garbage, wastepaper, dust, rubbish, sticks, stones, grass, wood, leaves, paper or paper boxes, iron, tin, nails, bottles or glass of any kind, old cars and parts thereof or any other kind of rubbish or waste material upon any sidewalk, highway or public place or upon any vacant or improved lot, piece or parcel of ground abutting upon any sidewalk, highway or public place or upon any private property within the Town except in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 183, Solid Waste, of the Code of the Town of Mamaroneck.
A.Â
All exterior exposed surfaces not inherently resistant
to deterioration shall be repaired, coated, treated or sealed to protect
them from deterioration or weathering.
B.Â
Floors, walls, ceilings, stairs, furnishings and fixtures
of buildings shall be maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary condition.
Every floor, exterior wall, roof and porch or appurtenance thereto
shall be maintained in a manner so as to prevent collapse of the same
or injury to the occupants of the building or to the public.
C.Â
The foundation walls of every building shall be maintained
in good repair and be structurally sound.
D.Â
Exterior walls, including doors and windows, roofs
and the areas around doors, windows, chimneys and other parts of a
building shall be so maintained as to keep water from entering the
building and to prevent undue heat loss from occupied areas. Materials
which have been damaged or show evidence of dry rot or other deterioration
shall be repaired or replaced and refinished in a workmanlike manner.
Exterior walls, roofs and other parts of the building shall be free
from loose and unsecured objects and material. Such objects or materials
shall be removed, repaired or replaced.
E.Â
The owner of a vacated building shall take such steps
and perform such acts as may be required of him from time to time
to ensure that the building and its adjoining yards remain safe and
secure and do not present a hazard to adjoining property or to the
public.
F.Â
Buildings and structures shall be maintained free
of insect, vermin and rodent harborage and infestation. The methods
used for exterminating insects, vermin and rodents shall conform to
generally accepted practice.
[Added 1-2-1974 by L.L. No. 1-1974]
A.Â
Every owner, operator or person who shall have contracted
or undertaken to heat or to furnish heat for any building or portion
thereof, or has a business establishment where one or more persons
are employed, shall heat or furnish heat for every occupied room in
such building or portion thereof so that a minimum air temperature
of 68° F. shall be maintained therein between the hours of 6:00
a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and not less than 60° F. between the hours
of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., whenever the outer or street temperature
shall fall below 50° F. Potable water heating equipment shall
be maintained to supply sufficient domestic hot water at adequate
pressure to each hot-water plumbing outlet at a minimum temperature
range of one hundred thirty degrees to one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit
(130° to 140° F.) at all times.
(1)Â
This section shall not apply where the failure to
maintain the minimum requirement is caused by a general shortage of
fuel, negligent or malicious act of the occupant, necessary repairs
or alterations or any cause beyond the control of the owner or occupant.
(2)Â
The term "air temperature" shall mean a temperature
of the atmosphere obtained at the approximate center line of any interior
wall at a distance of 48 inches above the average floor level of the
room.
(3)Â
This section shall not apply to buildings or portions
thereof used and occupied for trades, businesses or occupations where
high or low air temperatures are essential and unavoidable.
B.Â
No person shall cause any service facility, equipment
or utility which is required to be supplied by the provisions of this
article to be removed or shut off from or discontinued for any occupied
dwelling unit except for necessary repairs, alterations or emergencies.
A.Â
Any person violating any provisions of this article
shall be guilty of an offense punishable by fine or imprisonment,
or both. Any person violating any provisions of this article shall
be subject to a penalty in the sum of not more than $50 for the first
violation and in a sum of not more than $100 for subsequent violations,
said penalties to be recovered in a civil action in the name of the
Town of Mamaroneck.
[Amended 7-17-1996 by L.L. No. 14-1996]
[Amended 1-20-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016]
The Building Inspector or the Director of Building
Code Enforcement and Land Use Administration or either's designated
representative shall enforce this article.
[Added 5-19-1999 by L.L. No. 4-1999]
A.Â
Whenever there are 10 or more families occupying any
multiple dwelling and the owner does not reside therein, there shall
be a janitor, housekeeper or some other person responsible on behalf
of the owner, who shall reside in said dwelling or within a distance
of 300 feet from said dwelling, and who shall at all times maintain
the premises in compliance with this article and keep the premises
free from filth, garbage, refuse and rubbish and who shall be responsible
for the daily collection of garbage and other refuse from the occupants
on a regular schedule and at a reasonable time and place the same
out for collection and who shall have charge of such dwelling, except
that where two or three multiple dwellings are connected or adjoining,
one resident janitor or such other person named above shall be sufficient.
The name of such janitor or other such person shall be registered
with the Building Department of the Town of Mamaroneck.
B.Â
The owner or agent shall make his name, post office
address and telephone number known to all tenants by posting it in
a lobby or public hallway or other method satisfactory to the Building
Inspector or the Director of Building Code Enforcement and Land Use
Administration and shall also make available and known to all tenants
and the Building Inspector or the Director of Building Code Enforcement
and Land Use Administration the name, address and telephone number
of an alternate individual who shall be responsible during the absence
of said superintendent, janitor, caretaker or housekeeper. In the
event that the landlord chooses to post his telephone number, he must
post the telephone number of an agent authorized by him to make repairs
and to act in emergencies.
[Amended 10-16-2002 by L.L. No. 10-2002; 1-20-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016]
C.Â
When changes in personnel occur, it shall be the obligation
of the owner or agent to keep the Building Department and tenants
advised of all changes.
D.Â
Said janitor, superintendent, caretaker or housekeeper
shall have sufficient knowledge, competence and responsibility and
shall have authority from the owner or operator to attend to or arrange
for continual operation of all essential services and facilities required
under this article.
E.Â
Failure of any janitor, superintendent, caretaker
or housekeeper to comply with the provisions of this article shall
not relieve the owner or agent from the duties and responsibilities
imposed by this article.