The Zoning Officer*, who shall be appointed by the City Council, shall:

In addition, the Zoning Officer shall review all applications for completeness and reject, in writing with cause given, any incomplete or incorrect application.

A zoning permit shall be obtained before any person may:

Applications for a zoning permit shall be accompanied by an application provided by the City and such other information as the Zoning Officer may require for administration of this chapter, together with a filing fee as periodically established by the City.

All permits and certificates which are granted by the Zoning Officer or those granted as special exceptions, on appeal to the Board or as a conditional use shall be exercised promptly. If the use and/or the work so authorized are not initiated within one year from the date of permit or certificate, then such certificate or permit shall be null and void.

Enforcement notice. When it appears to the Zoning Officer that a violation has occurred, the Zoning Officer shall send an enforcement notice. The enforcement notice shall be sent to the owner of record of the parcel on which the violation has occurred, to any person who has filed a written request to receive enforcement notice regarding the parcel, and to any other person requested in writing by the owner of record. The enforcement notice shall state the following:

Causes of action. In case any building, structure, landscaping or land is, or is proposed to be, erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted, maintained or used in violation of this chapter, the City, the Zoning Officer of the City, or any aggrieved owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such building, structure, landscaping or land, or to prevent, in or about such premises, any act, conduct, business or use constituting a violation. When any such action is instituted by a landowner or tenant, notice of that action shall be served upon the City at least 30 days prior to the time the action is begun by serving a copy of the complaint on the City Council of the City of Oil City. No such action may be maintained until such notice has been given.

Enforcement remedies. Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the City, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the City as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the City may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless the Magisterial District Judge determining that there has been a violation further determines that there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating this chapter to have believed that there was no such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation, and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney's fees collected for the violation of zoning ordinances shall be paid over to the City. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant any person or entity other than the City and its Zoning Officer the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.

The Zoning Officer, or designee, charged with the enforcement of this chapter, acting in good faith and without malice in the discharge of the duties described in this chapter, shall not be personally liable for any damage that may accrue to persons or property as a result of an act or by reason of an act or omission in the discharge of such duties. A suit brought against the Zoning Officer or employee in the enforcement of any provision of such ordinance or other pertinent laws or ordinances implemented through the enforcement of this chapter or enforced by the enforcement agency shall be defended by the City until final termination of the proceedings, and any judgment resulting therefrom shall be assumed by the City.

This chapter shall not be construed to relieve from or lessen the responsibility of any person owning, operating or controlling any building or parcel of land for any damages to persons or property caused by defects, nor shall the enforcement agency of the City be held as assuming any such liability by reason of the reviews of permits issued under this chapter.