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Home My Public Portal AboutORD14786 Substitute #2 BILL NO. 2010-123 SPONSORED BY COUNCILMAN Medin ORDINANCE NO. 14- d AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSON, MISSOURI, AMENDING THE CITY CODE, CHAPTER 8, BY ADDING ONE NEW ARTICLE PERTAINING TO ABANDONED BUILDINGS. BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSON, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Code, Chapter 8, is hereby amended by adding one new Article, to read as follows: ARTICLE Vlll. ABANDONED BUILDINGS Sec. 8-150 Findines. The City Council determines that the presence of vacant and abandoned structures creates an element of neighborhood blieht. Itisrecoenized that blightlowers Broperty values,leads todeterioratinehousineconditions, undermines the uq ality of neighborhood life, affects the public health,safely and eE neral welfare and can also result inhuman in'ur and criminal activities.It is also determined that vacant and unoccupied structures occu an inordinate amount of City administrative and ordinance enforcement resources. As such,the City Council finds the prolonged presence of vacant and abandoned structures to be unacceptable to the citizens of Jefferson City. Sec.8-151 Definitions. As used in this chapter: A. "Abandoned structure" means any building which, including an accessory building,which: 1. has _o. abandoned been unoccupied fora ep riod of at least ninety(90)consecutive days: and 2. which also meet at least mw tivo of the following conditions: M Is not secured: or Q Is fire damaged to an extent which prohibits safe human occupancy: or (3) Is the site of loiterin or vagrancy: or Demonstrates a lack of property maintenance and u 1p ceep as evidenced by one or more violations of the board C Code: or Has been ed 1!p for at least ninety(90)days: or f Has taxes in arrears to the Citv fora ep riod of time exceeding 365 days or ,(7) Has water and/or electricity that has been disconnected: or Is structurally unsound: or Is a potential hazard or danger to persons. B. "Accessory buildinz"means a subordinate structure on the same premises as the main structure,the use of which would be naturally and normally incidental to that of the main structure, whether the main Substitute #2 structure is an Abandoned Structure or not,such as but not limited to a ag rage,barn or storage shed. C. "Owner" means any ep rson with a legal or equitable ownership interest in the structure. D. "Secured" means a buildina which has all op ints of entry into the structure either: 1. Closed by use of windows and doors which are in rp oper worldnQ order intact, without how broken elements,and are locked; or 2. Are secured by exteriorgrade plywood in compliance with this chapter. In lieu of plywood,the proper may be secured by an alternative means if approved in advance by the Director of Community Development. Sec. 8-152 Registration. Owners of Abandoned Structure shall register such properties with the Citv and pay an administration fee. Registration shall occur upon the building meeting the requirements set forth in this Article,and in no event more than 15 days after notice by the City that the property is required to be registered.The duty to register an Abandoned Structure shall not require prior notice to the owner by the City. Registration of an Abandoned Structure does not preclude the City from taking appropriate actions to secure the property or to issue orders to repair or abate dangerous, hazardous or unlawful conditions or from actin to eliminate an imminent hazard to public health and safety. Sec. 8-153 Registration Information. A For each Abandoned Structure each owner shall register with the Citv and rp ovide the following information on an Abandoned structure Registration Form available from the Citv: 1. The address of the Abandoned Structure; 2. The leeal names of all owners of the property; 3. The complete mailin address of all owners; 4. Telephone numbers of each owner, including cell phone and mobile phone numbers; 5. Proof of identification of each responsible owner• 6. The name address and telephone number of a local agent or representative authorized by the owner to handletheaffairsof the,property. For the up rposeofthissubsection,"local"shall mean a person who resides within the LLty of Jefferson or within 5 miles of the Citv limits and maybe one of the owners. If the local a tent representative is not an owner,the owners shall rp ovideproof that the local mgen representative is authorized to act on the owner's behalf and to accept, on behalf of the owner,service of any citation,order or 'L d, icial process; 7. The reason for vacancy of the ro er S. The estimated length of time the property is expected to remain vacant; and 9. Any leans for restoration, reuse or removal with an accompanying timeline and work schedule. B. An owner shall notify the City and file an amended form within seven days of anv change in the registration information required by this section. Sec. 8-154 Registration and Administrative Fee. Substitute #2 A. An owner of an Abandoned Structure, whether registered or not, shall nav an Abandoned Structure registration fee and an administrative fee, the amounts of which shall be established bv the City Administrator for the time durine which such structure remains an Abandoned Structure. B. Fees under this section shall be established to support the services rendered bv the Citv in the course of its duties related to Abandoned Structure.Failure to register an Abandoned Structure or pay the month[ administrative fee shall be cause for penalties to be assessed and are violations of this chapter. C. The monthly administrative fee shall be paid so that it is received by the City on or before the seventh dda of each month following each month durine which the structure was an Abandoned Structure for fifteen (15)days or more. D. A late fee,in an amount to be established b the City Administrator,shall also be pavable b an owner of an Abandoned Structure when the monthly administrative fee is not timely paid. 8-155 Recovery of Fees. If all or part of the fees required by this chapter are not paid or are overdue,the City may recover such sums by_ A. Filing suit a_ ag inst the owner for entry of civil money judgment: or B. Anv other means available bv law. Sec. 8-156 Securing Structures. All Abandoned Structures must be secured upon qualifying as an Abandoned Structure or upon notice that the buildin must be registered as an Abandoned Structure, or upon order of t he Director of Community Development or his designee. A. A City order to secured to re-secure an abandoned residential property shall be complied with by the owner within seventy-two hours. If the securing has not been completed or does not comply with the requirements for securing the structure under this chapter,the City shall secure the structure and the City shall bill the owner of record for all costs incurred including service fee and administrative costs. The amount so billed may be assessed as a lien against the property. B. Plvwood boarding,if used,shall be Ip aced over all op ints of entry on an Abandoned Structure such that all exterior openings suitable for animal or human entry are secured as follows: 1. On all first story and rg ound assessable op ints of entry,such shall be secured by use of exterior grade Plywood or its equivalent,of at least one-half inch thickness,cut to the size of the opening and secured by the use of Phillips headed no less than two-inch long screws, 2. Onentry op intsbeingsecuredabovethefirststorvorwerenotaccessiblefrom rg oundlesuch shall be secured hy use of exterior grade plywood or its equivalent of at least one-half inch thickness cut to the size of the opening and secured hy the use of no less than 16 penny common nails. Sec.8-157 Right of Entry and Inspection. If the owner has failed to secure a property and it has been secured by the City, the City may enter or reenter the structure to conduct necessary inspections to insure compliance with the requirements of this cha ter Substitute #2 and to determine if there are any emergency or hazardous conditions. Sec. 8-158. Reuse and occupancy. No Abandoned Structure shall be reoccupied until inspected and found to be in full compliance with all applicable City codes and a Certificate of Occupancy is issued by the City. Sec. 8-159. Responsibility for Violations. All nuisance,housing,building and related code violations will be cited and noticed to the owner of record and shall become the owner's responsibility to brine in compliance.If the owner sells or otherwise disposes of the property to another party,the new owner shall not be entitled to any extension of time to corrector address such violations as existed at the time of sale,transfer or conveyance of the property. See. 8-160. Penalty A. A ep rson who fails to canard with the requirements of this Article isgqfflty.RfAn ordinance violation and shall be subject to a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars $( 500)or uQ to nine (90)days in faj or b for each offense. B. In addition to any other ep nalty provided,the City may enforce this Article bv a suit for an iniunction. C. Prior to charginr anp ep rson with violatin the registration reauireuieut is Article VIA the Citv Prosecutor shall anti the accused g[ihe violation and rive the accused ten days tq register,ijthe accused shall register within the said ten days Dien this shall be a complete de ease to tke charre of aihtre to register. Section 2. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage and approval. Passed �� /f ��1� Approved_ Presiding Officer M7yor,/' ATT-E T: AIty VE AS TO FORM: C.bitty Gel- Ci ounselor