Tenafly City Zoning Code
§ 35-807.13
Preventive Maintenance.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 807L]
Recognizing the need for preventive maintenance to insure the continued useful life of landmarks and structures in landmark districts, the Governing Body of the Borough of Tenafly hereby declares that code enforcement in relation to landmarks and structures in landmark districts is a high municipal priority.
a.
Deterioration and Service of Notice of Violation. In the event that any landmark or improvement in a landmark district deteriorates to the point that, in the best estimate of the municipal Construction Code Official, the cost of correcting the outstanding code violation equals more than 25% of the cost of replacing the entire improvement on which the violations occur, the Construction Code Official shall serve personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice on the owner of the landmark listing the violation, the estimate for their abatement, and the replacement cost of the improvement and stating if the owner does not take all necessary remedial action within 90 days, or such extensions of time as the Construction Code Official shall for good cause grant, the Borough may at the expiration of the ninety-day period, enter upon the property in question and abate the violations itself and cause the cost thereof to become a lien on the property.
b.
Request for Hearing by Property Owners.
1.
Upon receipt of such notice from the Construction Code Official, the owner may, within 10 days after such a receipt, notify the Construction Code Official of his wish to have a hearing as to the allegations and estimates set forth in the Construction Code Official notice. Such hearing shall be conducted by the Planning Board and shall, so far as possible, be a formal adversary proceeding in which the Planning Board shall establish the matters alleged in the notice by a preponderance of the evidence.
2.
If the owner does not request a hearing, the procedure set forth in paragraph a of subsection 35-807.13 shall pertain. If a hearing is requested, the Construction Code Official will, within 10 days following the hearing, serve on the owner an opinion of the Planning Board, in writing, setting forth the conclusions and the reasons therefor. Such opinion shall be deemed to be a first notice pursuant to paragraph a of subsection 35-807.13.
c.
Violation Abatement by Borough. Thereafter, if the owner of the property in question does not comply, the Construction Code Official may enter onto the premises and by use of municipal labor or outside contractors or both, perform such work as is necessary to abate all violations. All such work shall be in compliance with this section. The Construction Code Official shall then certify to the Governing Body of the Borough of Tenafly the cost of such work, plus all administrative, clerical and legal costs and overhead attributable thereto and shall present same to the Governing Body of the Borough of Tenafly.
The Governing Body may, by resolution, vote to cause the sum so certified to become a lien upon the landmark property in question, payable with the next quarter's property taxes and, if not paid, bearing interest at the same rate as delinquent taxes.
d.
Emergent Situations. In the event of a fire, storm, act of God or other disaster which affects a landmark, the municipal official in charge shall contact the Chairman of the Historic Commission, if possible, under the circumstances prior to taking any action with regard to the landmark. Failure of the official to contact the Chairman shall not be considered a violation of this section.