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Background Paper for Proposed
ORDINANCE
DATE: September 27, 2010AGENDA ITEM # S-3
DEPARTMENT:
Law Department
Thomas J. Florczak, City Attorney
TITLE
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 13 OF TITLE IV OF THE PUEBLO MUNCIPAL
CODE RELATING TO DANGEROUS BUILDINGS AND PROVIDING REMEDIES AND
PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF
ISSUE
Should the City Council amend the City’s Dangerous Buildings Code to enable the City to
recover estimated abatement costs from the responsible entity as well as officers, directors and
members of such entity who knowingly participate in the entity’s failure to comply with
abatement orders?
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Ordinance.
BACKGROUND
The City previously adopted the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings
("Code") to address dangerous buildings. In the case of non-responsive property owners, the
Code provides for the City to demolish the structure and thereafter lien the property for its
incurred costs. The City may have to wait several years to recover the amounts it paid to
demolish the structure and to clean up the property.
On occasion, the City has obtained an injunction against the owner of the property directing the
owner to complete and pay for the abatement. Often the owner of the property does not reside
in Pueblo or is an entity rather than a natural person. In such cases use of the Court’s contempt
powers to enforce an injunction is not effective in forcing these owners to clean up the property.
The amendments proposed in the Ordinance would allow the City to obtain a money judgment
for the amount, or estimated amount of the abatement costs prior to undertaking abatement.
Authorization of a civil action seeking money judgment provides an added incentive for the
property owner to comply with the Code. While theeffectiveness of these modifications is not
known, they add to the City’s tool box in responding to dangerous buildings.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Unknown.
ORDINANCE NO. 8269
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 13 OF TITLE IV
OF THE PUEBLO MUNCIPAL CODE RELATING TO
DANGEROUS BUILDINGS AND PROVIDING REMEDIES
AND PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: (brackets
indicate matter being deleted, underscoring indicates new matter being added)
SECTION 1.
Subsection 4-13-2(k), of Chapter 13, Title IV of the Pueblo Municipal Code, as
amended is hereby amended to read as follows
Section 4-13-2. Amendments
. . .
(k) Section 402 entitled "Recordation of Notice and Order" of the
U.D.B.C. is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SECTION 402 – RECORDATION OF NOTICE AND ORDER
"If the repairs described in the order are either not commenced or not
[]
or
completed within the time specified therein, and no appeal has been
within thirty days of the effective date of service of
properly and timely filed
the order
, the Building Official shall, file in the office of the County Recorder a
certificate describing the property and certifying (i) that the building is a
The Building
dangerous building and (ii) that the owner has been so notified.
Official may record a copy of the order as such certificate.
Whenever the
repairs ordered shall thereafter have been completed or the building demolished
so that it no longer exists as a dangerous building on the property described in
the certificate, the Building Official shall file a new certificate with the County
Recorder certifying that the building has been demolished or all required
corrections have been made so that the building is no longer dangerous,
whichever is appropriate."
SECTION 2.
Section 4-13-5, of Chapter 13, Title IV of the Pueblo Municipal Code, as
amended is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4-13-5. Offenses; criminal penalties; permit revocation; civil liability
;
other enforcement.
. . .
(f) In the event that any owner or occupant of premises within the City,
or any licensed contractor or any permittee, shall fail or refuse to comply with any
provisions of this Chapter, the Uniform Dangerous Building Code or any permits
issued thereunder, the City may initiate an action for injunctive relief in any court
of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with this Chapter, the Uniform
Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings or permit.
The City may also seek and obtain a money judgment against
(g)
any owner, occupant, contractor, or permittee for the actual and/or
estimated costs to repair or demolish any structure and recover damages,
if any, resulting from the failure or refusal to comply with any provisions of
this Chapter, the Uniform Abatement of Dangerous Building Code, or any
permits issued thereunder. The members, officers, and/or directors of any
entity which is the record owner of a premises subject to an order issued
hereunder may be joined in the action and be held jointly and severally
liable upon any monetary judgment obtained in favor of the City, upon
showing that such member, officer, and/or director knew or should have
known of the order and the entity failed to comply. It shall be an affirmative
defense for a member, officer, and/or director that the member, officer,
and/or director lacked the ability to cause the entity to comply, or that
compliance by the entity was impossible.
[]
h
(g) A dangerous building is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. It
shall be unlawful and a Class 1 municipal offense for any person to own, keep,
maintain, use or occupy a dangerous building.
[]
i
(h) The enforcement remedies set forth in this Section and in this
Code, the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, the Uniform
Housing Code and the International Building Code are hereby expressly declared
to be cumulative, and the exercise of any one (1) or more of them is not
dependent upon the exercise of any other remedy, nor does the exercise of any
one (1) or more of them constitute any bar or limitation to the exercise of any
other.
SECTION 3.
This Ordinance, and the amendments made herein to Title IV of the Pueblo
Municipal Code shall be subject to administration and enforcement in accordance with
Chapter 13 of Title IV, Pueblo Municipal Code, as amended. Any person who violates
any provision of this Ordinance or the amendments made herein to Title IV of the
Pueblo Municipal Code shall be guilty of a municipal offense and subject to punishment
and all other remedies as provided in Chapter 13 of Title IV of the Pueblo Municipal
Code, as amended, and in Section 11-1-103 of the Pueblo Municipal Code, as
amended.
SECTION 4.
This Ordinance shall become effective upon final passage and approval.
INTRODUCED: September 27, 2010
BY: Vera Ortegon
COUNCILPERSON
PASSED AND APPROVED: October 12, 2010