A zoning enforcement officer designated by the city council shall administer and enforce this ordinance and carry out the duties required. The zoning enforcement officer may be provided with the assistance of such other persons as the city council may direct.

If the zoning enforcement officer shall find that any of the provisions of this ordinance are being violated, notification shall be given in writing to the person responsible for such violations, indicating the nature of the violation and ordering the action necessary to correct it. Such written notice shall not be a necessary condition precedent to enforcement of this ordinance. The zoning enforcement officer shall order discontinuance of illegal work being done; or shall take any other action authorized by this ordinance to ensure compliance with or to prevent violation of its provisions.

The mayor and city council shall appoint a building inspector or may contract for such services.

No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, added to, or structurally altered without a building permit being issued by the building inspector. No building permit shall be issued until the applicant has complied with the provisions of this ordinance. However, a homeowner is exempted from obtaining a building permit for remodeling and/or improving his or her dwelling or property as long as the cost of the construction materials does not exceed $1,000.00, and the work is begun and completed solely by the homeowner. This exemption applies only to nonstructural changes (refer to the definition of "Structure" in the City Zoning Ordinance [Section 402]) and does not apply to any activity which changes the square footage of a structure.

All applications for building permits shall be accompanied by plans in duplicate, drawn to scale, showing the actual dimensions of the lot, of any existing buildings or structures, the shape, size, height, use, and the location on the lot of the building or structure proposed to be erected or altered, and such other information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of the provisions of this ordinance.

One copy of the layout plan or site plan shall be returned when approved by the building inspector, together with any permit to the applicant upon payment of any fee or fees as shall be determined by the mayor and city council.

If no substantial construction progress has been made within six months of the date of the issuance of the building permit, the permit becomes void. Building permits shall not be transferable.

The building inspector shall maintain a record of all building permits issued.

No building permit shall be issued by any officer, department or employee of the City of Morrow unless the application for such permit has been examined by the zoning enforcement officer, certifying that the proposed building, structure or alteration complies with all provisions of this ordinance. Any building permit issued in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall be null and void.

(Ord. No. 2000-13, § 1, 10-10-00)

The certificate of zoning compliance shall be in addition to all other permits, including use permits for conditional uses required by this ordinance.

An application for certificate of zoning compliance shall be submitted upon such form and accompanied by such additional information, including a plat of the property, as the zoning enforcement officer shall prescribe.

All certificates of zoning compliance shall be applied for coincident with the application for a building permit. Said certificate shall be issued within ten days after the erection or alteration shall have been approved as complying with the provisions of this ordinance. It shall be unlawful to occupy or use any dwelling, building, or other structure, within the purview of this ordinance until a certificate of zoning compliance has been properly issued.

A record of all certificates of zoning compliance shall be kept on file in the office of the zoning enforcement officer and a copy shall be furnished, on request, to any person having an interest in the building or land involved.

Building permits or certificates of zoning compliance issued on the basis of plans and applications approved by the building inspector and zoning enforcement officer authorize only the use, arrangement, and construction set forth in such approved plans and applications, and no other use, arrangement or construction. Use, arrangement, or construction at variance with that authorized shall be deemed violation of this ordinance.