Markham City Zoning Code
ADMINISTRATION AND
ENFORCEMENT
§ 156.455 DIRECTOR OF BUILDING AND HOUSING TO ENFORCE PROVISIONS.
These zoning regulations shall be enforced by the Director of Building and Housing who is empowered and it shall be his or her duty to administer the zoning regulations in conjunction with the administration of such portions of this code and any applicable ordinances of the city as are commonly designated as the Building Code in such a manner as to facilitate their joint administration. For the purpose of enforcing these zoning regulations, the authority vested in him or her under the Building Code is declared to be vested in him or her under these zoning regulations.
(Prior Code, § 156.370)
§ 156.456 OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATES.
(A) No change in the use or occupancy of land, nor any change of use or occupancy in an existing building shall be made, nor shall any new building be occupied for any purpose until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Director of Building and Housing. Every certificate of occupancy shall state that the new occupancy complies with all provisions of these zoning regulations.
(B) 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 Inspector by the owner or lessee of the land or building occupied by such non-conforming use within one year from 8-26-1956, or the date that any building or use becomes non-conforming by reason of an amendment to this chapter. It shall be the duty of the Inspector to issue a certificate of occupancy for non- conforming use.
(C) Any use which does not conform with the use regulation of the district in which it is located and for which any occupancy permit has not been obtained in conformity with the requirements of division (B) above shall be presumed to be operating in violation of these zoning regulations, and such use shall thereupon be abated.
(D) Certificates of occupancy shall be applied for at the same time that the building permit is applied for and shall be issued within ten days after the erection or alteration of the building shall have been completed.
(E) A record of all certificates of occupancy shall be kept on file in the office of the Inspector 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.
(Prior Code, § 156.371)
§ 156.457 PLATS TO ACCOMPANY APPLICATION FOR BUILDING PERMIT.
Each application for a building permit shall be accompanied by a plat in duplicate, drawn to scale showing the actual dimensions of the lot to be built upon, the size of the building to be erected and such other information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of these zoning regulations. A record of these applications and plats shall be kept in the office of the Director of Building and Housing.
(Prior Code, § 156.372)
§ 156.458 PROCEDURE TO PREVENT VIOLATIONS.
(A) In case any building or structure is constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted or maintained or any building, structure or land is used in violation of these zoning regulations, the Director of Building and Housing (or any owner or tenant of real property in the same contiguous zoning district as the building or structure in question), in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding:
(1) To prevent the unlawful construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use;
(2) To prevent the occupancy of the building, structure or land;
(3) To prevent any illegal act, conduct, business or use in or about the premises; and
(4) To restrain, correct or abate the violation.
(B) When any such action is instituted by an owner or tenant, a copy of the complaint shall be served upon the Mayor at the time suit is begun. No such action may be maintained until such notice has been given.
(C) In any action or proceeding for a purpose mentioned in this section, the court with jurisdiction of such action or proceeding has the power and in its discretion may issue a restraining order, or a preliminary injunction, as well as a permanent injunction, upon such terms and under such conditions as will do justice and enforce the purposes of this chapter.
(D) (1) If a permanent injunction is decreed in any action or proceeding for a purpose mentioned in this section, the court, in its decree, may, in its discretion, allow the plaintiff a reasonable sum of money for the services of the plaintiff’s attorney.
(2) This allowance shall be a part of the costs of the litigation assessed against the defendant and may be recovered as such.
(Prior Code, § 156.373)
§ 156.459 FEES.
Any person, firm, corporation or other entity desiring to file a petition pursuant to which a public hearing must be held by either the Plan Commission or the Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals, and upon which City Council action will be sought, shall pay to the City Clerk at the time of filing such petition a filing fee in accordance with the following schedule, which filing fee shall be non-refundable. In addition, said individual, firm, corporation or other entity shall reimburse the city for any and all costs which the city may incur in connection with said petition. Such costs shall include by way of example and not limitation the costs of recording plats, attorney’s fees incurred in the preparation of documents and publication fees.
Plan Commission | |
Annexation only | $150 |
Annexation with rezoning | $300 |
Dedications | $150 |
PUDs | $200, plus $10 per residential lot and $10 per unit |
Rezoning | $200 |
Special Use | $300 |
Subdivisions | $200, plus $10 per residential lot and $10 per unit |
(For commercial or industrial petitions) | $25 per unit and/or lot |
Vacations | $250 |
Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals | |
Conditional use | $250 |
Variations | $100 |
(Prior Code, § 156.374) (Ord. 67-O-667, passed - -1967; Ord. 84-O-1163, passed 12-17-1984)
§ 156.460 AVAILABILITY OF COPIES OF CHAPTER.
The City Clerk shall keep in his or her office at least three copies of this chapter, including such maps and standards as are incorporated in this chapter by reference, and any amendment thereof, for inspection by interested persons. The Clerk shall also make available copies of this chapter for purchase at $10 each, either through duplication in advance of contemplated demand or upon order as required. The foregoing copies of this chapter shall be in addition to the original copy which statutes required the Clerk to keep as a part of the official record of enacted ordinances.
(Prior Code, § 156.375) (Ord. 69-O-700, passed - -1969)
§ 156.999 PENALTY.
(A) Any person who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with, or who resists the enforcement of any provision of this chapter, except where a different penalty is specifically designated, shall be fined not less than $25, nor more than $200, for each offense. Each day a violation is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense.
(C) (1) Any person, firm or corporation, who places a mobile sign, upon property within the city without first having obtained and kept in full effect a permit as required for such sign, shall pay a fee therefor equal to twice the fee which is otherwise charged hereunder.
(2) Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of § 156.343 of this chapter shall be fined not less than $25, nor more than $500. A separate and distinct offense shall be regarded as having been committed each day upon which said person, firm or corporation shall continue any such violation.
(3) When the person, firm or corporation responsible for violating the provisions of § 156.343 of this chapter, cannot reasonably be determined, then the person, firm or corporation holding the permit to place the mobile sign at such location shall be the person, firm or corporation who is in violation of this section. In the event that at the time of the violation, there exists no valid permit for the particular mobile sign in violation, then the owner of the sign or the owner of the property or business where the sign is located shall be the person, firm or corporation in violation of § 156.343 of this chapter.
(D) The penalty for violation of § 156.344 of this chapter shall be a fine of not less than $50, nor more than $300, enforceable in the local Municipal Court.
(Prior Code, § 156.279)
(E) Any person, corporation, partnership or other entity who violates and provisions of § 156.345 of this chapter, in relation to the construction, maintenance or replacement of signs or who knowingly misrepresents information in order to procure a permit or license hereunder shall upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than $200, and not more than $500. Each day that such violation continue shall constitute a separate offense. The city may, in addition to the penalties provided herein, initiate or pursue any action in law or equity necessary to procure compliance with the provisions of § 156.345 of this chapter and any other ordinances of the city regulating signs within the city limits.
(F) Any person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with, or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of §§ 156.390 through 156.402 of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than $10, nor more than $500, for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(Prior Code, § 156.999)
(Ord. 72-O-793, passed - -1972; Ord. 82-O-1081, passed 3-15-1982; Ord. 86-O-1257, passed 8-6-1986; Ord. 06-O-1865, passed 6-21-2006; Ord. 08-O-1913, passed 4-2-2008; Ord. 14-O-2086, passed 3-19-2014)