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

Home Browse Search

(3) In order to protect a building against unlawful entN or vandalism while it is vacant an owner may secure the windows and doors of the building by the use of boarding. If boarding is used to secure the building, the following standards must be met: Windows shall be framed by two by four (2x4) boards secured with plywood to the frame by using six (6) seven-inch lag bolts into King studs in all corners and in the center of the vertical boards. The plywood must be 4 ply CDX sheeting or approved equivalent material, no less than one half inch in thickness and attached by tamper proof screws no less than three inches in length. The screws must be type W for wood and type S for steel, and must be applied to a maximum of eight (8) inches on center. (4) Boarding of a vacant structure is to be considered a temporary and not a long term method of securing the building. Any boards applied to secure doors and windows for more than thirty days must be surface coated with exterior grade paint so as to reduce the blighting effect on the immediate neighborhood. (h) Registration fee (1) The owner of any building required to be registered under this section shall pay an annual registration fee to the Department of Code Enforcement upon registration. However, the owner of a building that is vacant but not abandoned within the meaning of this section, who voluntarily registers the building pursuant to subsection (d)(3), is not required to pay a registration fee. (2) If the building is used for or zoned for residential purposes and contains not more than three (3) residential units the registration fee shall be fifty dollars ($50.00 per year. 3) If the building is used or zoned for residential ourooses and contains more than three (3) residential units, or if it is used or zoned for any non-residential purposes, the fee shall be two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00) for the first year or any part thereof, three hundred and seventy-five dollars ($375.00) for the second year or any part thereof, and five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the third and each subsequent year or any part thereof that the property is required to be registered pursuant to this section. (4) The purpose of the registration fee is to reimburse the Department of Code Enforcement for the costs of monitoring the property and the additional costs of responding to emergencies and property maintenance requirements for a vacant and abandoned building. (i) Liability Insurance (1) The owner of any property required to be registered by this section must maintain a policy of liability insurance for the building, and must provide to the Department of Code Enforcement the name, address and telephone number of the insurance agent and carrier, along with a copy of the certificate or other proof of