Walton Village City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
Administration and Enforcement
§ 260-55 Enforcement.
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Official to enforce the provisions of this Zoning chapter and to refuse to issue any permit for any building or for the use of any premises that would violate any of the provisions of said Zoning chapter. It shall also be the duty of all officers and employees of the municipality to assist the Code Enforcement Official by reporting to him any seeming violation in new construction, reconstruction or land uses.
If the Code Enforcement Official finds that any of the provisions of this Zoning chapter are being violated, then the Code Enforcement Official shall notify in writing the person responsible for such violation, indicating the nature of the violation. Upon receipt of said notice, the person responsible for the violation shall have seven days to remove the violation. The Code Enforcement Official may meet with the person responsible for the violation to review the issue within the seven-day period.
The Code Enforcement Official shall issue a written notice to stop work to a landowner of a property in which there is a violation of this Zoning chapter while construction is under way.
If a building permit has been denied or if a stop-work notice has been issued, the landowner may seek administrative relief in accordance with the procedures outlined in this Zoning chapter.
If the landowner continues the violation in contravention to the procedures of this Zoning chapter, the Code Enforcement Official shall notify the Village Board of Trustees in writing that the violation is continuing, and if the Village Board of Trustees, upon review of the facts, finds that the violation is so continuing, it shall order the Code Enforcement Official to commence court proceedings in accordance with applicable statutes.
Administrative costs and charges. If any person shall fail to comply with the provisions of this chapter after reasonable notice to that person, the Code Enforcement Official or the Village Board may authorize and take such action as may be necessary to correct the violation. Thereafter the costs of such action, repair, vacation or demolition, together with an additional charge of 50% thereof for administration and supervision, shall be charged against the land on which the building exists (or existed) as a municipal lien, or cause such costs to be added to the tax rolls as an assessment, or to be levied as a special tax against the land upon which the building stands or did stand, or to be recovered in a suit at law against the owner. In cases where such procedure is desirable and any delay thereby caused will not be dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people of the Village, the Village Board may authorize the Village Attorney to take legal action on its behalf to force the owner to make all necessary corrections and/or to enforce all of the charges or fees made herein together with all reasonable attorneys' fees, and filing fees as may be incurred in such enforcement action.
[Added 10-1-2007 by L.L. No. 6-2007]
Adoption of fee schedule. The Village Board may adopt a fee schedule, billing procedures and other matters necessary for the administration of this section and may amend such schedule and procedures from time to time as may be necessary.
[Added 10-1-2007 by L.L. No. 6-2007]
§ 260-56 Certificate of occupancy. [1]
No vacant land shall be occupied or used, except for agricultural uses, until the Code Enforcement Official shall have issued a certificate of occupancy.
No premises shall be used, and no buildings hereafter erected or structurally altered shall be used, occupied or changed in use, until a certificate of occupancy and compliance shall have been issued by the Code Enforcement Official, following an inspection of the premises or building, stating that the building or proposed use of a building or premises complies with the building laws and the provisions of these regulations.
Certificates of occupancy and compliance shall be applied for coincident with the application for a building permit and shall be issued within 10 days after erection or structural alteration of such buildings shall have been completed in conformity with the provisions of these regulations. A record of all certificates shall be kept on file in the office of the Code Enforcement Official.
No permit for excavation for any building shall be issued before application has been made for a certificate of occupancy and compliance.
§ 260-57 Building permits. [1]
Any application for a building permit shall first be submitted to the Code Enforcement Official, who shall review said application to determine if it is complete and conforms to the provisions of this Zoning chapter.
No building shall be erected, constructed, altered, moved, converted, extended or enlarged without the owner or owners first having obtained a building permit therefore from the Code Enforcement Official. Such permit shall require conformity with the provisions of this Zoning chapter and any other applicable federal, state, county or local law or code. When issued, such permit shall be valid for the period specified thereon.
No mobile home shall be placed for occupancy at any location without the owner or owners first having obtained a placement permit therefor from the Code Enforcement Official.
No building permit by the Code Enforcement Official, lawfully issued prior to the effective date of this Zoning chapter, or of any amendments hereto, and which permit, by its own terms and provisions, is in full force and effect at said date, shall be invalidated by the passage of this Zoning chapter, or any such amendment, but shall remain a valid and subsisting permit, subject only to its own terms and provisions and laws, rules and regulations pertaining thereto, and in effect at the time of the issuance of such permit, provided that all such permits shall expire not later than 60 days from the effective date of this Zoning chapter, unless actual construction shall have therefore begun and continued pursuant to the terms of said permit.
§ 260-58 Special regulations for protection of banks and waterways.
[Amended 11-5-2007 by L.L. No. 8-2007]
Prior to the issuance of a building permit, approval by the Floodplain Administrator shall be required if the lot or lots included within the application for a permit abut one or more banks of a waterway.
Any application for a permit or development shall include evidence that the proposed action will not cause deterioration of the bank of a waterway, that proper conservation methods will be employed to protect the bank and that the bank of any waterway will be restored to an acceptable condition and maintained in a proper manner. In considering and approving the application, the Floodplain Administrator shall take into consideration the following:
Satisfactory approval of any proposal by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, specifically that state's review process under Article 5 of the Stream Protection Law. The Department of Environmental Conservation will advise the applicant of measures that can be taken to protect the banks.
Compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), Environmental Conservation Law § 8-0101 et seq., which provides that all applications shall be reviewed to determine whether there will be a significant environmental impact caused by the development. If a significant impact is expected, an environmental impact statement shall be required.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The applicant shall submit evidence that the bank shall be maintained in a natural condition or improved to a natural condition suitable to the Floodplain Administrator to include sloping of the bank, seeding and mulching of the bank, adding stone to the lower portion of the bank to prevent erosion and planting vegetation on the bank to enhance it as a wooded area. An application for a building permit shall include the proposal for treatment on a drawing required by the Floodplain Administrator or shall submit along with the application for a permit a statement prepared by a licensed engineer or other appropriate professional the action to be taken by the applicant to protect or restore the banks.
The Floodplain Administrator may conduct public hearings before issuing a decision.
§ 260-59 Special regulations for solar energy systems and equipment.
All solar energy systems and equipment that are incorporated into a building or are detached collectors adjacent to the building shall meet the applicable local and/or state specifications, standards and regulations governing construction and operations. Information shall be supplied on a plan along with the application for a building permit showing the dimensions and location of the solar energy systems and equipment and that the location of the same will assure proper operation. If trees or other vegetation on the lot in question prevent's the proper operation of the equipment, then the applicant shall provide a written plan, prepared by a duly licensed tree surgeon or other qualified professional, for the trimming of trees or vegetation to assure proper operation of the equipment. The expense of maintaining continuing solar access and operation of the systems or equipment shall be borne by the applicant.
§ 260-60 Plot plans.
All applications for building permits shall be accompanied by written approval from the Village Board of Trustees or, if such approval is not required, by a drawing or plot plan in duplicate or as required by the Code Enforcement Official showing, with dimensions, the lot lines, the building or buildings, the location of 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 competent 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 offices of the Code Enforcement Official, and a duplicate copy shall be kept at the building at all times during construction. In a particular case, the Code Enforcement Official may waive the requirement for plot plans when such plan is clearly unnecessary to a decision or the record on the case.[1]
§ 260-61 Penalties for offenses.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person or persons violating the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $250, imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both.