9810-07 Amend Chapter 6 - Add Section 37.1 - Require Registration and Maintenance of Vacant and Abandoned Buildings

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(3) For purposes of this section an owner is a person or entity with a fee interest in a parcel of real property on which a vacant and abandoned building is located, and whose identity and address may be determined from an instrument recorded in the St. Joseph County Recorder's Office. (d) Continuing Maintenance; Mandatory and Voluntary Registration (1) Upon finding a building vacant and abandoned, the Director of the Department of Code Enforcement may issue to the building owner an order for continuing maintenance pursuant to the Unsafe Building Act, IC 36-7-9, as it may be amended from time to time, or pursuant to similar authority granted by State Statute, this Code or other statutes, ordinances and regulations. (2) The owner of a building that is abandoned as defined by this section shall register with the Department of Code Enforcement pursuant to subsection (fl of this section. (3) The owner of a building that is vacant but not abandoned within the meaning of this section may opt to register the building with the Department of Code Enforcement, so as to notify City officials of the property manager and exchange other information pertinent to the condition of the building. (e) Property Manager (1) The owner of a building required to be registered pursuant to this section must appoint a property manager residing within fifty (50) miles of the property. The failure to appoint a property manager is a separate violation of this section. The property manager may be the owner or an agent of the owner. (2) An agent acting as the property manager must be at least eighteen (18) years of age. (3) The property manager must be available to government officials by telephone twenty-four hours a day. The owner's failure to make certain that such a property manager is available and maintains the property is a separate violation of this section. ~f Information Required with Registration The owner of a building that is vacant and abandoned shall register the property with the Department of Code Enforcement upon receipt of an order for registration. Registration shall be on a form provided by the Department of Code Enforcement, shall be verified under the penalties for perjury, and shall include the following information: