It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to hereafter occupy or for any owner or agent thereof to permit the occupation of any building, or addition thereto, or part thereof, for any purpose until a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the Building Commissioner. Where a building is divided by unpierced walls, then a Certificate of Occupancy shall be required for each unit thereof. The Certificate of Occupancy so issued shall state that the occupancy complies with all of the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance and building ordinances. For purposes of this Article, buildings shall include but not be limited to homes, apartments, trailers, commercial and industrial structures which shall be used for living quarters or for the conducting of commercial or industrial enterprises.

This Section shall not apply to any occupancy in existence at the time of the adoption of this Chapter until a change of occupancy occurs.

The occupancy permit shall contain such information as is determined by the Building Commissioner to be relevant to the enforcement of this Section including names, ages, relationships and number of occupants who will occupy the premises. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly make any false statement in his/her application for an occupancy permit.

Every building in which a change of occupancy is to occur must be reported by the owner to the Building Commissioner so that an enforcement official may inspect the structure according to the provisions of this Section. All real estate brokers and agents and similar businesses and owners of multiple-family dwelling units shall report each dwelling unit which is to change occupancy as in this Section defined to the Building Commissioner so that an enforcement official may inspect the structure according to the provisions of this Section. The inspection must be completed and a compliance letter issued by the enforcement official within thirty (30) days prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy. Failure to register or make a report of a change of occupancy shall constitute a violation of this Chapter, and the person and/or firm responsible for the failure shall be subject to the penalties of this Chapter.

A conditional occupancy permit may be issued by the Building Commissioner, if, in his/her judgment, any deficiencies in structures or premises covered by this Section would not seriously endanger the health or safety of the occupants or the community, and provided that the owner or occupant makes an affidavit stating that he/she will correct deficiencies within a specified time and thus bring the structure into compliance with the provisions of this Article. The applicant may then occupy the structure while repairs are being made. At such time as the structure complies with all the provisions of this Section, an occupancy permit will be issued as provided above.

The fee for said occupancy shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) for each unit occupied, however there shall be no charge for the initial building inspection required prior to its issuance. A fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) will be charged for the second (2nd) inspection and each additional reinspection thereafter. In addition thereto the owner or manager shall be charged the inspection fee required if plumbing, electrical or other inspectors are required and called for as a result of the initial building inspection.

No permit for the excavation for, or the erection or alteration of any building shall be issued before the application has been made for a Certificate of Occupancy and compliance, and no building or premises shall be occupied until that certificate and permit is issued.

A record of all Certificates of Occupancy shall be kept on file in the office of the Building Commissioner, and copies shall be furnished on request to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in land or in a building affected by such Certificate of Occupancy.

A Certificate of Occupancy shall be required of all non-conforming uses of land or buildings created by the passage of these zoning regulations. Application for such Certificates of Occupancy for non-conforming uses shall be filed with the Building Commissioner by the owner or lessee of the land or building occupied by such non-conforming use within two (2) years from July 6th, 1988. It shall be the duty of the Building Commissioner to issue a Certificate of Occupancy for a non-conforming use upon the filing of an application for the same.

Any person upon conviction shall be punished as set forth in Article XXIV, Violation And Penalty, of this Chapter.