It shall be the duty of the Department of Community Development to enforce the provisions of this Chapter and to refuse to issue any permit for any building or for the use of any premises which would violate any of the provisions of this Chapter.

It shall also be the duty of all officers and employees of the City to assist the Department of Community Development by reporting any seeming violation in new construction, reconstruction or land uses.

Vacant land shall not be occupied or used, except for agricultural uses, until a certificate of use and occupancy shall have been issued by the Department of Community Development.

Premises and buildings hereafter erected or structurally altered shall not be used, occupied or changed in use until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the Department of Community Development, stating that the building or the proposed use of a building or the premises comply with the building laws and the provisions of these regulations.

Certificates of use and occupancy shall:

Temporary Certificate.

When weather conditions prevent installation of any required greenbelt, parking lot landscaping or yard landscaping, the Department of Community Development or designee may issue a certificate of occupancy before installation of the said landscaping, but not before a surety or cash escrow is posted for the benefit of the City. Failure to install any required landscaping within six (6) months of issuance of the certificate of occupancy shall constitute a default and the City shall be entitled to proceed against the surety or cash escrow.

A building shall not be erected, constructed, altered, moved, converted, extended or enlarged without the owner first having obtained a building permit. Such permit shall require conformity with the provisions of this Chapter. When issued, such permit shall be valid for the period of time specified thereon. The Department of Community Development shall be responsible for issuing the building permits.

Where a building permit for a structure has been issued in accordance with law prior to the effective date of this Chapter (i.e., July 5, 1977) and provided that construction is begun within six (6) months of the date of the building permit and diligently prosecuted to completion, such structure may be completed in accordance with the approved plans on the basis of which the building permit has been issued and further, may, upon completion, be occupied under a certificate of occupancy by the use for which originally designated, subject thereafter to the provisions of Sections 400.750 et seq., Non-Conforming Uses.

Where site plan review is required according to this Chapter, building permits shall not be issued unless the site plan has been reviewed in accordance with Section 400.960 and/or other appropriate Sections of this Chapter.

All applications for building permits for use, other than those described in Subsection (C) of this Section, shall be accompanied by a drawing or plot plan, as required by the Department of Community Development, showing with dimensions, the lot lines, the location of existing easements on the lot, the proposed buildings, the location of the existing buildings on the lot and such other information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of these regulations, including, if necessary, a boundary survey and a staking of the lot by a registered land surveyor and complete construction plans. The drawings shall contain suitable notations indicating the proposed use of all land and buildings. A careful record of the original copy of such applications and plats shall be kept in the office of the Department of Community Development at all times and a duplicate copy shall be kept at the building site at all times during construction.

"GPRS" Bonus.

All Tiers. Complete building permit applications shall receive an initial review within five (5) business days of receipt.