§ 11-415. SUMMARY ABATEMENT.

(a) Whenever the Building Official or Fire Chief determines that an imminent life safety hazard exists that requires immediate correction or elimination, the Building Official or Fire Chief may exercise the following powers without prior notice to the responsible person:

(1) Order the immediate vacation of any tenants and prohibit occupancy until all repairs are completed; and/or

(2) Post the premises as unsafe, substandard or dangerous; and/or

(3) Board, fence or secure the building or site until the building or structure is repaired, rehabilitated or demolished; and/or

(4) Demolish and grade that portion of the building or site to prevent further collapse and remove any hazard to the general public; and/or

(5) Make any minimal emergency repairs as necessary to eliminate any imminent life safety hazard; and/or

(6) Take any other action as appropriate under the circumstances.

(b) The Building Official or Fire Chief shall pursue only the minimum level of correction or abatement as necessary to eliminate the immediacy of the hazard.

(c) Upon completion of the summary abatement, the Building Official shall notify the record owner of the property, the holder of any mortgage, deed of trust or other lien on the property, if recorded, or otherwise actually known to the Building Official, and any tenants of the building or structure, of the following:

(1) Location of property,

(2) Condition of the property,

(3) The violations, and

(4) Any action by the Building Official or Fire Chief taken to summarily abate the imminent life safety hazard and the costs incurred therein;

(5) The right to appear at the hearing and object to the determination made and the summary action taken by the Building Official or the Fire Chief.

Service of the notice shall be given in the same manner as provided in Section 11-414. The notice shall set a hearing date before the City Hearing Officer, not sooner than 15 days from service, for the Building Official or Fire Chief to establish that said building or structure was dangerous and required the immediate action taken. If the Hearing Officer finds that there was not an imminent life safety hazard, or the action taken by the Building Official or Fire Chief was more than necessary to eliminate the life safety hazard, the Hearing Officer shall order the property restored to its original condition or a condition which eliminates the imminent life safety hazard. If the property cannot be restored, the Hearing Officer shall continue the hearing for a period of not less than 30 days to allow both parties to gather and present evidence on the reasonable value of the property loss. Within 15 days of the conclusion of the continued hearing the Hearing Officer will, based on the evidence presented, file with the City Clerk's office and mail a copy to appellant and the Building Official, his/her findings of fact and decision to compensate the property owner or not and the monetary amount, if any, to be compensated. The City Council, shall, at its next scheduled hearing, after the filing of such findings of fact and decision with the City Council, or on a date to which the matter may have been continued by the Council, without taking evidence or hearing argument on behalf of either Appellant or City, consider the findings of fact and decision of the Hearing Officer and either affirm, modify, modify with conditions or revoke the order. Notice in writing of the decision of the Council shall be mailed to Appellant, and filed with the Building Official and the City Attorney.

(d) The Building Official shall keep an itemized account of the expenses incurred by the city in removing or isolating such condition or conditions. The costs incurred by the city in summarily abating the violation may be recovered by the city pursuant to Chapter 1, Article 5 of this Code. (Added Ord. 97-70, § 2, eff. 1-4-98; Am. Ord. 2002-51, § 20, eff. 10-31-02).