[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Newburgh 9-23-1974
as Ch. 33 of the 1974 Municipal Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to promote, safeguard and preserve the
health, welfare and property of the residents of and owners of property located
in the Town of Newburgh by providing for the removal or repair of buildings
within the limits of said Town of Newburgh which, from any cause, may now
or shall hereafter become dangerous or unsafe to the public.
Any structure or building which has any of the following defects or
conditions shall be deemed unsafe or dangerous within the meaning of this
chapter:
A.
Those whose interior walls or other vertical structural
members list, lean or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line passing through
the center of gravity falls outside of the middle third of its base.
B.
Those which, exclusive of the foundation, show thirty-three
percent (33%) or more of damage or deterioration of the supporting member
or members or fifty percent (50%) of damage or deterioration of the nonsupporting
enclosing or outside walls or covering.
C.
Those which have improperly distributed loads upon the
floors or roofs or in which the same are overloaded or which have insufficient
strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used.
D.
Those which have been damaged by fire, wind or other
causes so as to have become dangerous to life, safety, morals or the general
health and welfare of the occupants or the people of the Town of Newburgh.
E.
Those which have become or are so dilapidated, decayed,
unsafe or unsanitary or which so utterly fail to provide the amenities essential
to decent living that they are unfit for human habitation or are likely to
cause sickness or disease so as to work injury to the health, morals, safety
or general welfare of those living therein.
F.
Those having light, air and sanitation facilities which
are inadequate to protect the health, morals, safety or general welfare of
human beings who live or may live therein.
G.
Those having inadequate facilities for egress in case
of fire or panic or those having insufficient stairways, elevators, fire escapes
or other means of communication.
H.
Those which have parts thereof which are so attached
that they may fall and injure members of the public or property.
I.
Those which because of their condition are unsafe, unsanitary
or dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people
of this town.
Whenever it shall be reported or come to the attention of the Town Board
that any building or collapsed structure may be or shall become dangerous
or unsafe to the public, said Board shall, by resolution, direct the Building
Inspector of the Town of Newburgh to cause an inspection to be made of said
building or structure alleged to be dangerous or unsafe and to report his
findings thereon in writing to said Town Board. The Building Inspector shall,
for the purposes hereof, be deemed a town official.
The Town Board shall consider the report and, if in its opinion the report so warrants, shall by resolution determine that the structure or building in question is unsafe or dangerous and shall order that the same shall be made safe and secure or removed; provided, however, that a notice thereof shall be given as provided in § 75-5 hereof.
A.
Contents of notice. The notice shall be in writing and
shall contain the following:
(1)
A description of the premises.
(2)
A statement of the particulars in which the building
or structure is unsafe or dangerous.
(3)
An order requiring the same to be made safe and secure
or removed.
(4)
That the making safe and secure or removal of said building
or structure shall commence within twenty (20) days of the serving of the
notice, as hereinafter provided, and shall be completed within forty-five
(45) days thereafter.
(5)
A date, time and place for a hearing before the Town
Board in relation to such dangerous or unsafe building, which hearing shall
be scheduled not less than five (5) business days from the date of service
of the notice.
[Amended 5-18-1981 by Ord. No. 81-2]
(6)
That in the event of neglect or refusal to comply with
the order to secure or demolish and remove the building, the Town Board is
authorized to provide for its demolition and removal, to assess all expenses
thereof against the land on which it is located and to institute a special
proceeding to collect the cost of demolition, including legal expenses.
[Amended 5-18-1981 by Ord. No. 81-2]
B.
Service of notice. The notice shall be served in the
following manner:
(1)
By personal service of a copy thereof upon the owner
or some one (1) of the owner's executors, legal representatives, agents,
lessees or any other person having a vested or contingent interest in the
premises as shown by the last preceding completed assessment roll of said
town and/or in the office of the Orange County Clerk, such service to be complete
and the twenty-day time period recited in said notice to commence upon the
filing of an affidavit of personal service upon the owner with the Town Clerk
of the Town of Newburgh; or
(2)
By mailing a copy of said notice to such owner, as aforesaid,
by registered mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the last known
address of the owner or other persons as aforesaid and by affixing a copy
of said notice to the premises, such service to be complete and the twenty-day
time period recited in said notice to commence ten (10) days after the filing
of the return receipt and the affidavit of posting with the Town Clerk of
the Town of Newburgh; and
(3)
By personal service of a copy of said notice upon any
adult residing in or occupying said premises or, if no such person can be
reasonably found, by posting a copy of said notice upon the premises.
C.
Filing of notice. A copy of the notice served as provided
herein shall be filed in the office of the County Clerk of Orange County.
[Added 5-18-1981 by Ord. No. 81-2]
[Amended 5-18-1981 by Ord. No. 81-2]
In the event of the refusal or neglect of the person so notified to
comply with said order of the Town Board within the time provided, and after
the hearing, the Town Board shall provide for the demolition and removal or
securing of said building or structure either by town employees or by contract.
In cases of emergency which, in the reasonable opinion of the Town Board,
involve imminent danger to life or health, the Board may promptly cause such
building, structure or portion thereof to be made safe or removed. For this
purpose, the Town Board may at once authorize entry to such structure or land
on which it stands to make the same safe or remove said structure or an abutting
land or structure with such assistance and at such cost as may be necessary.
The Board may vacate adjacent structures and protect the public by appropriate
barricades or such other means as may be necessary and, for this purpose,
may close a public or private way.
[Amended 5-18-1981 by Ord. No. 81-2[1]]
A.
All costs and expenses incurred by the town in connection
with the proceedings to remove or secure such building or buildings shall
be assessed upon the land upon which said building or buildings are located.
Such assessment shall be assessed on the next town assessment roll as an additional
tax to the regular tax assessment against such property, and the same shall
be levied and collected in the same manner as the regular town tax.
B.
In the alternative, the Town Board may
commence a civil proceeding to collect the costs of demolition, including
reasonable and necessary legal expenses incidental thereto, against the owner
of the building or structure that has become dangerous or unsafe.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former § 33.7,
Application to Supreme Court, which preceded this section.
